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PODCAST

Short Wave

New discoveries, everyday mysteries, and the science behind the headlines — in just under 15 minutes. It"s science for everyone, using a lot of creativity and a little humor. Join hosts Emily Kwong and Regina Barber for science on a different wavelength. Support public media by joining NPR+ at plus.npr.org. You’ll get perks for over 25 NPR podcasts, including sponsor-free listening for Short Wave.

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All Episodes

15:42

Migrating Monarchs

Short Wave ·

2021/06/14

It is one of the Earth's great migrations: each year, millions of monarch butterflies fly some 3,000 miles, from their summer breeding grounds as far north as Canada to their overwintering sites in the central Mexico. It's one of the best-studied migrations and in recent years, ecologists like Sonia Altizer have been able to better answer how and why these intrepid butterflies make the journey. Short Wave brings this episode from the TED Radio Hour's episode with Sonia Altizer, with the University

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12:37

Yep, We Made Up Vegetables

Short Wave ·

2021/06/11

After hearing a vicious rumor on the internet that vegetables aren't real, Maddie goes looking for answers. Turns out, vegetables are a mere culinary construct. Still healthful and delicious, but a kinda mythic category of food. With the help of Harvard botanist Molly Edwards, Maddie and Emily break down our favorite foods from broccoli to zucchini. Take our survey! Tell us what you love and what you would love to see more of — on our show, and also other NPR podcasts.Email the show at

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12:10

The Science Behind That Fresh Rain Scent

Short Wave ·

2021/06/10

(Encore episode.) Scientists have known for decades that one of the main causes of the smell of fresh rain is geosmin: a chemical compound produced by soil-dwelling bacteria. But why do the bacteria make it in the first place? Reporter Emily Vaughn answers this mystery.Read the paper on which this episode was based.Take our survey! Tell us what you love and what you would love to see more of — on our show, and also other NPR podcasts.Other scent mysteries driving your nose wild? Email the show at

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13:17

Cleveland - What Climate Equity Could Look Like

Short Wave ·

2021/06/09

The Biden Administration is working to fight climate change in a way that also address the country's economic and racial disparities. Emily talks with NPR correspondent Dan Charles about why the ground work for a climate justice plan could be laid in the city of Cleveland. For more of Dan's reporting, follow him on Twitter @NPRDanCharles.You can email Short Wave at ShortWave@npr.org. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

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9:25

COVID News Round-Up: Vaccination Progress, Booster...

Short Wave ·

2021/06/08

Nationwide, almost 65% of adults have had at least one vaccine shot, but vaccination rates vary significantly depending on the state. NPR health correspondent Allison Aubrey gives us the latest on the country's vaccination progress: which states are on track (and which are not), new research about why it's important teenagers get vaccinated, and what we know about the possibility of booster shots.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

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11:32

Taking A New Look At Some Old Bones

Short Wave ·

2021/06/07

Paleontologist Yara Haridy looks at fossilized bones for a living. When she randomly walked by a scientific poster one day, she discovered an entirely new way to take pictures of her fossils. The results are shedding new light on how bones evolved.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

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12:50

Bringing The Sensation Of Touch To A Robotic Limb

Short Wave ·

2021/06/04

There's big change that's happening in the field of artificial limbs: artificial limbs that both move — and feel. NPR correspondent Jon Hamilton explains why touch is so important for people who are trying to control a state-of-the art robotic arm or a prosthetic limb.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

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15:15

Scientific Sankofa And The Complexities Of Genetic...

Short Wave ·

2021/06/03

Short Wave reporter Emily Kwong speaks with Janina Jeff, the host and executive producer of In Those Genes, a "science and culture podcast that uses genetics to decode the lost histories of African descendants." They discuss what a person's genetic ancestry test does and does not reveal, and the complicated intersection of genetics, history and race.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

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12:41

It's Okay To Let Go Of Herd Immunity

Short Wave ·

2021/06/02

Researchers say the concept of achieving herd immunity threshold isn't the right finish line to end the pandemic. It's an elusive number to define in the first place, and it changes under various circumstances. Science correspondent Geoff Brumfiel talks with Maddie about the complexities in even defining the number and what the public should focus on instead.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

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8:42

Rainbows! How They Form And Why We See Them

Short Wave ·

2021/06/01

Happy Pride, Short Wave Listeners! Here's a fun episode from our archives to celebrate the month!It's another "Back To School" episode where we take a concept you were maybe taught in school as a kid, but didn't really learn or just forgot. Short Wave producer Thomas Lu and host Maddie Sofia go on a journey to explore what a rainbow exactly is and how we see them! We all remember ROY G BIV, right?Email us your Back-To-School ideas at shortwave@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices:

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14:14

Disabled Scientists Are Often Excluded From The Lab

Short Wave ·

2021/05/28

Scientists and students with disabilities are often excluded from laboratories — in part because of how they're designed. Emily Kwong speaks to disabled scientist Krystal Vasquez on how her disability changed her relationship to science, how scientific research can become more accessible, and how STEMM fields need to change to be more welcoming to disabled scientists. Read Krystal's article in Chemistry World, 'Excluded From The Lab.' You can email Short Wave at ShortWave@npr.org.Learn more about

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14:03

Big Vape: The Incendiary Rise of Juul E-cigarettes

Short Wave ·

2021/05/27

Juul Labs seemingly started out with the aim to reduce smoking, but the company's e-cigarettes came to symbolize something very different: a teen vaping epidemic. Host Maddie Sofia talks with Time health writer Jamie Ducharme about the science and marketing behind the rise and subsequent controversy surrounding Juul Labs. Plus, a look at what might be next in the future of e-cigarettes.Click here for links to studies mentioned in this episode.Learn more about sponsor message choices:

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12:47

The Curious Stardust At The Ocean Floor

Short Wave ·

2021/05/26

Researchers report in the journal Science that they appear to have some clues about the origin of Earth's plutonium - which has been long debated. Correspondent Nell Greenfieldboyce explains that traces of rare forms of iron and plutonium have been found in extraterrestrial debris that had sunk to the bottom of the Pacific Ocean, hauled up by an oil company, then donated for research. By comparing the iron and the plutonium, scientists found the plutonium was likely forged in a cosmic cataclysm,

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9:13

The State Of Vaccinations In The U.S.

Short Wave ·

2021/05/25

Eight states have passed an important milestone: getting 70% of all adults vaccinated with at least one shot. That's a number President Biden wants the country to reach by July Fourth. As cases of COVID-19 in the U.S. continue to come down, host Maddie Sofia talks with NPR health correspondent Allison Aubrey about vaccination progress around the country. Have questions about the latest coronavirus headlines? Email us at shortwave@npr.org and we might cover it on a future episode.Learn more about

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14:08

'Off The Charts' Rise In Alcoholic Liver Disease...

Short Wave ·

2021/05/24

**Heads up. This episode discusses addiction and alcoholism.**Some doctors are seeing a disturbing spike in lethal alcoholic liver disease, especially among young women. The recent trend has been supercharged, they say, in the pandemic. Emily Kwong speaks to NPR science correspondent Yuki Noguchi about this and some of the challenges to getting proper treatment. To read more on the story, check out Yuki's reporting here. You can email us at ShortWave@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices:

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14:20

Who Should Control Earth's Thermostat?

Short Wave ·

2021/05/21

Solar geoengineering--the human attempt to cool the planet by reflecting sunlight away from Earth--is fraught with technological and ethical challenges. Maddie discusses some of these with contributor Ariela Zebede.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

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9:14

Biden Proposes A 'Civilian Corps' To Address Climate...

Short Wave ·

2021/05/20

During the Great Depression, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt created the Civilian Conservation Corps to improve the country's public lands, forests, and parks. Now, nearly a hundred years later, President Biden is trying to bring a similar version of it back. He wants to launch the Civilian Climate Corps to address the threat of climate change. NPR's White House correspondent Scott Detrow and National Desk Correspondent Nathan Rott report on Biden's plan and how it could play out.Click here to

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13:17

Pandemic Could Roll Back Advancements For Women in STEMM

Short Wave ·

2021/05/19

In general, there are more men in STEMM fields than women. Representation in science, technology, engineering, math, and medicine is even lower for women of color — facing racial discrimination on top of gender discrimination. And then, the pandemic hit. Short Wave reporter Emily Kwong speaks with Dr. Eve Higginbotham about our earliest understandings of how the pandemic has impacted women in STEMM, and what support institutions can offer to make it easier for women in stay in the workforce and

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11:19

Too soon? The CDC Relaxes Mask Guidance For Fully...

Short Wave ·

2021/05/18

Many Americans are baring their faces in public again, following new CDC recommendations that fully vaccinated people don't need them in most settings. But there are critics who question the CDC's decision and say it's too soon. Maddie Sofia talks with NPR health correspondent Allison Aubrey about this latest mask guidance and the questions it raises for businesses, essential workers, and the most vulnerable. If you'd like help finding a vaccination site, you can dial 1-800-232-0233 or go to

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13:27

Racism, Opioids And COVID-19: A Deadly Trifecta

Short Wave ·

2021/05/17

(Encore.) Drug overdose deaths are on the rise all around the country, including in Chicago, Illinois. ProPublica Illinois reporter Duaa Eldeib explains how the coronavirus pandemic has exacerbated the opioid epidemic, and the challenges that public health officials are facing as they work to reduce opioid-related deaths.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

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1,540 results

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