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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

14:29

Tech Companies Are Limiting Police Use of Facial...

Short Wave ·

2020/06/23

Earlier this month, IBM said it was getting out of the facial recognition business. Then Amazon and Microsoft announced prohibitions on law enforcement using their facial recognition tech. There's growing evidence these algorithmic systems are riddled with gender and racial bias. Today on the show, Short Wave speaks with AI policy researcher Mutale Nkonde about algorithmic bias — how facial recognition software can discriminate and reflect the biases of society.Learn more about sponsor message

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8:56

There Is No 'Second Wave'

Short Wave ·

2020/06/22

America is still stuck in the first one. Maddie and Emily examine how the idea of a 'second wave' of coronavirus might have taken hold. NPR science correspondent Nurith Aizenman's report on why the first wave isn't over.Email the show at shortwave@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

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12:40

A Kazoo And The Evolution Of Speech

Short Wave ·

2020/06/19

Encore episode. Researchers discovered that this simple instrument could offer insights into the evolution of human speech. Short Wave reporter Emily Kwong talks with primatologist Adriano Lameira about a growing body of evidence that humans may not be the only great apes with voice control. Read the paper he published last year.P.S. Sign up for our trivia night this Tuesday, June 23, at 8 pm EDT!Follow Maddie Sofia @maddie_sofia and Emily Kwong @emilykwong1234. Email the show at

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12:51

The Inseparable Link Between Climate Change And...

Short Wave ·

2020/06/18

Marine biologist Ayana Elizabeth Johnson wrote a Washington Post op-ed about the ways the fight around climate change and racial justice go hand in hand. Host Maddie Sofia talks with her about that and how Ayana says the fight against climate change could be stronger if people of color weren't being constantly exhausted by racism.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

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10:32

How Many People Transmit The Coronavirus Without Ever...

Short Wave ·

2020/06/17

It's called asymptomatic spread. Recently a scientist with the World Health Organization created confusion when she seemed to suggest it was "very rare." It's not, as the WHO attempted to clarify.NPR science reporter Pien Huang explains what scientists know about asymptomatic spread, and what might have caused the WHO's mixed messages. Email the show at shortwave@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

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12:27

We Don't Know Enough About Coronavirus Immunity

Short Wave ·

2020/06/16

Does getting the coronavirus once make you immune to it or could you get it again? Many are looking to antibody tests for answers. The logic is: if I have antibodies for the coronavirus, I must be immune.Well, turns out ... it's complicated, as Katherine Wu writes for the Smithsonian Magazine. We invited her onto the show to explain. Between episodes, you can catch up with Maddie on Twitter @maddie_sofia. Plus, we always want to hear what's on your mind — coronavirus or otherwise. Tell us by

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12:19

The Fight Over A Weedkiller, In The Fields And In The...

Short Wave ·

2020/06/15

A federal court recently ordered farmers to stop spraying one of the country's most widely used herbicides, dicamba. NPR's food and agriculture correspondent Dan Charles tells us the ruling has turned the world of Midwestern agriculture upside down. Then the Environmental Protection Agency came out with its own order.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

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14:32

Coronavirus 'Long-Haulers' Have Been Sick For Months....

Short Wave ·

2020/06/12

That's what they call themselves: long-haulers. They've been sick for months. Many have never had a positive test. Doctors cannot explain their illness any other way, and can only guess at why the virus appears to be with them for so long. Ed Yong of The Atlantic explains what might be going on, and why their experience mirrors that of other sufferers with chronic illnesses who battle to be believed. We also spoke with Hannah Davis, a long-hauler from New York City.Read Ed's story on long-haulers

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14:30

Spinosaurus Makes Waves

Short Wave ·

2020/06/11

We chat with National Geographic Explorer and paleontologist Nizar Ibrahim about his team's discovery of the Spinosaurus, the first known swimming dinosaur. The years-long journey to uncover the fossilized remains is like something out of a movie, beginning with a mustached Moroccan man wearing white. Read more on National Geographic's website. Tweet Maddie your dinosaur facts @maddie_sofia. Plus, email the show your dinosaur-themed episode ideas at shortwave@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message

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12:29

How Tear Gas Affects The Body

Short Wave ·

2020/06/10

In protests around the country, law enforcement agencies have used tear gas to disperse crowds. But is it safe? ProPublica environment reporter Lisa Song speaks with Short Wave reporter Emily Kwong about the potential dangers of that practice, especially in the middle of a respiratory pandemic.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

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10:50

People Are Volunteering To Be Exposed To The...

Short Wave ·

2020/06/09

In this episode, Maddie Sofia talks with Invisibilia's Alix Spiegel about the bioethics of conducting human challenge trials with the aim of producing a viable coronavirus vaccine. We hear from James Kublin, a clinical health professor in the Department of Global Health at the University of Washington, and from Lehua Gray, a 32-year-old woman interested in participating in a trial.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

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14:21

Science Is For Everyone — Until It's Not

Short Wave ·

2020/06/08

Encore episode. Brandon Taylor's story has a happy ending. Today he's a successful writer whose debut novel 'Real Life' received glowing reviews earlier this year. But his success only underscores what science lost when Brandon walked away from a graduate biochemistry program in 2016. He tells host Maddie Sofia why he left, and what he misses.Read his essay in BuzzFeed, 'Working In Science Was A Brutal Education. That's Why I Left.'Find and support your local public radio station at

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23:18

Code Switch: A Decade Of Watching Black People Die

Short Wave ·

2020/06/06

The last few weeks have been filled with devastating news — stories about the police killing black people. So today, we're turning the mic over to our colleagues at NPR's Code Switch. Now, as always, they're doing really important work covering race and identity in the United States. In this episode, they spoke with Jamil Smith, who wrote the essay "What Does Seeing Black Men Die Do For You?" for The New Republic. Thank you for listening.Learn more about sponsor message choices:

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14:45

Coronavirus And Racism Are Dual Public Health...

Short Wave ·

2020/06/05

Across the country, demonstrators are protesting the death of George Floyd and the ongoing systemic racism that is woven into the fabric of the United States. The protests come in the middle of an unprecedented pandemic that is disproportionately killing people of color — particularly black Americans. We talk to public health expert David Williams about how these two historic moments are intertwined.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

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12:09

#BlackBirdersWeek Seeks To Make The Great Outdoors...

Short Wave ·

2020/06/04

Happy #BlackBirdersWeek! This week, black birders around the world are rallying around Christian Cooper, a black man and avid birder, who was harassed by a white woman while birding in Central Park. We talk with#BlackBirdersWeek co-founder Chelsea Connor about how black birders are changing the narrative around who gets to enjoy nature and the challenges black birders face.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

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11:22

Meet The 'Glacier Mice.' Scientists Can't Figure Out...

Short Wave ·

2020/06/03

In 2006, while hiking around the Root Glacier in Alaska, glaciologist Tim Bartholomaus encountered something strange and unexpected on the ice — dozens of fuzzy, green balls of moss. It turns out, other glaciologists had come across before and lovingly named them "glacier mice."Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

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15:33

The Key To Coronavirus Testing Is Community

Short Wave ·

2020/06/02

In San Francisco, the coronavirus has disproportionately affected Hispanic and Latinx communities. This is especially true in the Mission District — a neighborhood known for its art and food culture. To understand more about how the virus has penetrated the neighborhood, a group of collaborators known as Unidos En Salud carried out a massive testing initiative focused on community and collaboration. Follow Maddie on Twitter for more coronavirus coverage. Her Twitter handle is @maddie_sofia. Email

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13:24

The World Is Constantly Running Out Of Helium

Short Wave ·

2020/06/01

Encore episode. Helium is the second-most common element in the cosmos, but it's far rarer on planet Earth. As part of our celebration of the periodic table's 150th birthday, correspondent Geoff Brumfiel shares a brief history of helium's ascent, to become a crucial part of rocket ships, MRI machines, and birthday parties. Read more of Geoff's reporting on helium here.Email the show at shortwave@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

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12:27

What We Will ⁠— And Won't ⁠— Remember About The Pandemic

Short Wave ·

2020/05/29

There's no doubt we're living through a Big Historic Event, but that doesn't necessarily mean we'll remember it all that well. Shayla Love, a senior staff writer for VICE, explains what memory research and events from the past say we will and won't remember about living through the coronavirus pandemic. Plus, why essential workers may remember this time differently from people who are staying home.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

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14:38

The Pandemic Cut Down Car Traffic. Why Not Air...

Short Wave ·

2020/05/28

An NPR analysis of a key air pollutant showed levels have not changed dramatically since the pandemic curbed car traffic in the U.S. NPR science reporter Rebecca Hersher and NPR climate correspondent Lauren Sommer explain why — and what really makes our air dirty. Here's their story.Email the show at shortwave@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

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1,542 results

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