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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

14:25

What Would It Be Like To Fall Into A Black Hole?

Short Wave ·

2020/05/27

Black holes are one of the most beguiling objects in our universe. What are they exactly? How do they affect the universe? And what would it be like to fall into one? We venture beyond the point of no return with Yale astrophysicist Priyamvada Natarajan, into a fascinating world of black holes — where the laws of physics break down. Talk the mysteries of our universe with Short Wave reporter Emily Kwong on Twitter @emilykwong1234. Email the show your biggest cosmological questions at

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13:22

Space Launch! (It's Tomorrow And It's Historic.)

Short Wave ·

2020/05/26

Tomorrow, two NASA astronauts are set to head up into space on a brand new spacecraft, built by the company SpaceX. The last time NASA sent a crew up in an entirely new vehicle was in 1981 with the launch of the Space Shuttle. Maddie talks to NPR's Nell Greenfieldboyce about tomorrow's launch and how it compares to that earlier milestone. We'll also look at how this public-private partnership is changing the future of space exploration.Learn more about sponsor message choices:

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2:57

A Short Wave Mad Lib

Short Wave ·

2020/05/25

We're off for Memorial Day, so Maddie and Emily have a special Short Wave mad lib for you. Back with a new episode tomorrow. Email the show at shortwave@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

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14:00

How to Correct Misinformation, According to Science.

Short Wave ·

2020/05/22

The World Health Organization has called the spread of misinformation around the coronavirus an "infodemic." So what do you do when it's somebody you love spreading the misinformation? In this episode, Maddie talks with Invisibilia reporter Yowei Shaw about one man's very unusual approach to correcting his family. And we hear from experts about what actually works when trying to combat misinformation.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

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12:53

Science Movie Club: 'Contact'

Short Wave ·

2020/05/21

Yes, there actually are astronomers looking for intelligent life in space. The 1997 film adaptation of Carl Sagan's 'Contact' got a lot of things right ... and a few things wrong. Radio astronomer Summer Ash, an education specialist with the National Radio Astronomy Observatory, breaks down the science in the film.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

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12:14

What You Flush Is Helping Track The Coronavirus

Short Wave ·

2020/05/20

More than 100 cities are monitoring sewage for the presence of the coronavirus, and public health officials think wastewater could provide an early warning system to help detect future spikes. NPR science correspondent Lauren Sommer explains how it works, and why scientists who specialize in wastewater-based epidemiology think it could be used to monitor community health in other ways. Email the show at shortwave@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR

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11:10

The Squishy, Slimey Science Of ASMR

Short Wave ·

2020/05/19

Encore episode. The science is nascent and a little squishy, but researchers like Giulia Poerio are trying to better understand ASMR — a feeling triggered in the brains of some people by whispering, soft tapping, and delicate gestures. She explains how it works, and tells reporter Emily Kwong why slime might be an Internet fad that is, for some, a sensory pleasure-trigger.Read more about Emily's reporting on ASMR on the NPR Shots Blog.Email the show at shortwave@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor

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11:07

The Pandemic Time Warp

Short Wave ·

2020/05/18

The pandemic has upended every aspect of our lives, including the disorienting way many of us have been perceiving time. It might feel like a day drags on, while a week (or month!) just flies by. We talk with Dean Buonomano, a professor of neurobiology and psychology at UCLA, about his research into how the brain tells time. We'll also ask him what's behind this pandemic time warp.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

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11:38

What Did Earth Look Like 3.2 Billion Years Ago?

Short Wave ·

2020/05/15

The surface of the Earth is constantly recycled through the motion of plate tectonics. So how do researchers study what it used to look like? Planetary scientist Roger Fu talks to host Maddie Sofia about hunting for rocks that paint a picture of the Earth a few billion years ago, in the early days of the evolution of life.Follow host Maddie Sofia on Twitter @maddie_sofia. Email the show at shortwave@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

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13:12

The Coronavirus Is Mutating. Here's What That Means.

Short Wave ·

2020/05/14

Ed Yong of The Atlantic explains how a viral article led to headlines about a possible coronavirus mutation. All viruses mutate — it doesn't necessarily mean the virus has developed into a more dangerous "strain." Read Ed's recent piece on coronavirus mutations here, and more of his reporting on the pandemic here. Email the show at shortwave@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

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11:09

Kids' Books Where Science Is The Adventure

Short Wave ·

2020/05/13

Maddie talks with author and neuroscientist Theanne Griffith about her new children's book series, The Magnificent Makers, which follows two intrepid third graders as they race to complete science-based adventures. Follow host Maddie Sofia on Twitter @maddie_sofia. Email the show at shortwave@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

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13:21

Making Music Out Of The Coronavirus

Short Wave ·

2020/05/12

When Markus Buehler heard about the coronavirus, he wanted to know what it sounded like. Today on the show, Maddie speaks with Short Wave reporter Emily Kwong about how Markus Buehler, a composer and engineering professor at MIT, developed a method for making music out of proteins, and how music can potentially help us hear what we have trouble seeing at the nanoscale level.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

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10:36

We Need More Coronavirus Testing. Are Antigen Tests...

Short Wave ·

2020/05/11

There's a difference between diagnostic, antibody, and antigen tests. All provide different levels of reliability and speed.NPR health correspondent Rob Stein breaks down the differences and explains why public health officials are especially hopeful about antigen testing. Find out how your state is doing on overall testing.Email the show at shortwave@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

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11:58

Here's The Deal With 'Murder Hornets'

Short Wave ·

2020/05/08

Reports of so-called 'murder hornets' have been all over the news this week. (Even though they were first spotted in the United States late last year.) We talk with entomologist Samuel Ramsey who explains how much of a threat the Asian giant hornet could be to honeybees throughout the country. And, he shares his own encounter fighting these insects while researching bees in Thailand.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

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11:48

What We're Missing, By Missing Strangers Now

Short Wave ·

2020/05/07

With a lot of us stuck at home, trying to physically distance from each other, one part of daily life has largely disappeared: bumping into strangers. On today's show, Maddie talks with Yowei Shaw, a reporter from NPR's Invisibilia, about the surprising benefits of stranger interactions. And Short Wave tries out QuarantineChat, a workaround to our current strangerless existence.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

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13:37

Scientists Think The Coronavirus Transmitted...

Short Wave ·

2020/05/06

The Trump administration has advanced the theory the coronavirus began as a lab accident, but scientists who research bat-borne coronaviruses disagree. Speaking with NPR, ten virologists and epidemiologists say the far more likely culprit is zoonotic spillover⁠—transmission of the virus between animals and humans in nature. We explain how zoonotic spillover works and why it's more plausible than a lab accident.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy

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15:02

What Is Dark Energy? Physicists Aren't Even Sure

Short Wave ·

2020/05/05

Dark energy makes up almost 70% of our universe and is believed to be the reason the universe is expanding. Yet very, very little is known about it. To figure out what we do know — and what it could tell us about the fate of the universe, we talked to astrophysicist Sarafina Nance. She studies cosmology, a field that looks at the origin and development of the universe.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

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12:47

Letters From The 1918 Pandemic

Short Wave ·

2020/05/04

The 1918 flu outbreak was one of the most devastating pandemics in world history, infecting one third of the world's population and killing an estimated 50 million people. While our understanding of infectious diseases and their spread has come a long way since then, 1918 was notably a time when the U.S. practiced widespread social distancing.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

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12:45

How An Early Plan To Spot The Virus Fell Weeks Behind

Short Wave ·

2020/05/01

In several major cities, public health officials work every year to monitor the flu. It's called sentinel surveillance. And as early as mid-February, the government had a plan to use that system to find early cases of the coronavirus, by testing patients with flu-like symptoms. But NPR's Lauren Sommer reports the effort was slow to get started, costing weeks in the fight to control the spread of the virus. Read more from Lauren's reporting here. Email the show at shortwave@npr.org.Learn more about

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13:22

How Bears Come Out Of Hibernation Jacked

Short Wave ·

2020/04/30

Spring is in the air — and so are black bears coming out of hibernation. Rae Wynn-Grant, a large carnivore biologist, explains there's a lot more going on during hibernation than you might expect.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

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1,542 results

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