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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

11:59

Is This Real? Loss of Smell And The Coronavirus

Short Wave ·

2020/04/01

Doctors around the world are sharing stories of patients losing their sense of taste or smell — and testing positive for the coronavirus. Is it a real symptom of COVID-19? There isn't scientific evidence for that. But the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery is gathering anecdotal information to find out more. Short Wave's Maddie Sofia and Emily Kwong talk about science during a pandemic.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

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14:09

Seen Any Nazi Uranium? Researchers Want To Know

Short Wave ·

2020/03/31

Encore episode. NPR science correspondent Geoff Brumfiel shares the story of Nazi Germany's attempt to build a nuclear reactor — and how evidence of that effort was almost lost to history. It's a tale he heard from Timothy Koeth and Miriam Hiebert at the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Maryland in College Park. Read more on their original story in Physics Today. Find and support your local public radio station here. Follow host Maddie Sofia on Twitter

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13:27

Lessons In Being Alone, From A Woodland Snail

Short Wave ·

2020/03/30

Bedridden with illness, Maine writer Elisabeth Tova Bailey found an unlikely companion — a solitary snail a friend brought her from the woods. Elisabeth spent the following year observing the creature and it was the inspiration for her memoir, "The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating."Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

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13:00

No, The Coronavirus Isn't Another Flu

Short Wave ·

2020/03/27

President Trump has compared the coronavirus to the seasonal flu. NPR reporter Pien Huang speaks to host Maddie Sofia about why the coronavirus appears deadlier and more transmissible — and why it poses such a risk to our healthcare system. Here's Pien's story. Email the show at shortwave@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

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10:17

Stay Home And Skype A Scientist

Short Wave ·

2020/03/26

The spread of the coronavirus has led many to stay home in recent weeks. During that time, the non-profit Skype A Scientist has seen a surge in demand for its service of virtually connecting students to scientists. Maddie talks to Sarah McAnulty, executive director of the group and a squid biologist, about bringing science to kids and, at the same time, confronting stereotypes about who can be a scientist.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

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13:45

Exploring The Canopy With 'TreeTop Barbie'

Short Wave ·

2020/03/25

Encore episode: Pioneering ecologist Nalini Nadkarni takes us up into the canopy — the area above the forest floor — where she helped research and document this unexplored ecosystem. Plus: the story of her decades-long effort to get more women into science, and how she found a surprising ally in the fight — Barbie. Video and more from Maddie's trip to the canopy is here. Follow Maddie on Twitter @maddie_sofia. Email the show at shortwave@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices:

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13:00

Why Is The Coronavirus So Good At Spreading?

Short Wave ·

2020/03/24

Ed Yong rounds up some theories in a recent article for The Atlantic. He tells host Maddie Sofia one reason the virus spreads so well might have to do with an enzyme commonly found in human tissue.Email the show at shortwave@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

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10:27

It's Okay To Sleep Late (But Do It For Your Immune...

Short Wave ·

2020/03/23

Dr. Syed Moin Hassan was riled up. "I don't know who needs to hear this," he posted on Twitter, "BUT YOU ARE NOT LAZY IF YOU ARE WAKING UP AT NOON." Hassan, who is the Sleep Medicine Fellow at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, speaks to Short Wave's Emily Kwong about de-stigmatizing sleeping in late, and why a good night's rest is so important for your immune system. Email the show at shortwave@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

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13:45

Keep Your Distance

Short Wave ·

2020/03/20

It's a phrase we're hearing a lot now, social distancing. Practicing it is essential to slowing the spread of the coronavirus. But what does it really mean? NPR's Maria Godoy gives us advice on what good social distancing looks like in our daily lives - from socializing with friends to grocery shopping to travelling.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

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8:44

Yep. They Injected CRISPR Into An Eyeball

Short Wave ·

2020/03/19

It's no exaggeration to say the gene-editing technique CRISPR could revolutionize medicine. We look at a new milestone — a CRISPR treatment that edits a patient's DNA while it's still inside their body. NPR health correspondent Rob Stein explains how, if this treatment works, it could open up new avenues of treatment for diseases, like a genetic form of blindness, that were previously off limits to CRISPR.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

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10:46

Coronavirus Can Live On Surfaces For Days. What That...

Short Wave ·

2020/03/18

It actually behaves much like other viruses in that regard. NPR health correspondent Allison Aubrey has more on what we know, what we don't, and tips on how to keep surfaces clean. More from her reporting is here. Following all of NPR's coverage of the coronavirus pandemic here. Email the show at shortwave@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

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14:30

Coronavirus Is Closing Schools: Here's How Families...

Short Wave ·

2020/03/17

As schools across the U.S. shutter for weeks at a time, Short Wave looks at the science behind the decision. Plus, tips from a psychologist on how to cope with long, unexpected periods at home.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

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11:48

Is Failure To Prepare For Climate Change A Crime?

Short Wave ·

2020/03/16

That's the central question of an unprecedented lawsuit against a company whose chemical plant flooded during Hurricane Harvey in August 2017. Containers and trailers there caught fire, sending up a column of black smoke above the facility for days. Now Arkema (the company), an executive, and the local plant manager are facing criminal charges — recklessly emitting air pollution, and a third employee with assault. Rebecca's latest reporting on the case is here. Email the show at

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16:28

Coronavirus Latest: Testing Challenges And Protecting...

Short Wave ·

2020/03/13

There's a lot going on with the coronavirus. To keep you up to speed, we'll be doing more regular updates on the latest about the pandemic. Today, NPR science correspondents Jon Hamilton and Nell Greenfieldboyce discuss challenges in testing for the virus and how COVID-19 affects the elderly.Email the show at shortwave@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

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11:34

Humble Pi: When Math Goes Awry

Short Wave ·

2020/03/12

Pi Day (3/14) approaches. To help honor the coming holiday and the importance of math, stand-up mathematician Matt Parker unspools a common math mistake known as the off-by-one-error. His new book is called 'Humble Pi: When Math Goes Wrong In The Real World.'Email the show at shortwave@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

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13:03

As Coronavirus Spreads, Racism And Xenophobia Are Too

Short Wave ·

2020/03/11

Coronavirus is all over the headlines. Accompanying the growing anxiety around its spread, has been suspicion and harassment of Asians and Asian Americans. For more on this, we turned to Gene Demby, co-host of NPR's Code Switch podcast, and his conversation with historian Erika Lee. We talk about how this wave of stigma is part of a longer history in the United States of camouflaging xenophobia as public health and hygiene concerns.Learn more about sponsor message choices:

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10:46

Freshwater Mussels Are Dying And No One Knows Why

Short Wave ·

2020/03/10

In 2016, biologists and fishermen across the country started to notice something disturbing. Freshwater mussels were dying in large numbers. NPR National Correspondent Nathan Rott tells us about the unsolved mystery surrounding the die-off, the team racing to figure it out, and why mussels are so important for the health of our streams and rivers.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

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12:32

Creating Antimatter: Matter's "Evil Twin"

Short Wave ·

2020/03/09

Physicists have done the math and there should be as much antimatter as matter — but that hasn't been the case so far. NPR Correspondent Geoff Brumfiel explains what's up with matter's "evil twin," antimatter.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

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12:21

The U.S. Doesn't Use The Metric System. Or Does It?

Short Wave ·

2020/03/06

From currency and commerce, food labels to laboratories, the metric system is the foundation of many science and math fields. To mark our 100th episode (a multiple of 10, which is the basis for the metric system!), we spoke with Elizabeth Benham, Metric Program Coordinator at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, about the presence of the metric system in our everyday lives.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

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12:51

Mouse Vs Scorpion: A Mind-Blowing Desert Showdown

Short Wave ·

2020/03/05

This one doesn't end the way you'd expect. Inspired by the Netflix documentary series "Night On Earth," we learn everything we can about a mouse and scorpion who do battle on the regular — from two scientists who study them: Ashlee Rowe at the University of Oklahoma and Lauren Esposito at the California Academy of Sciences. If you have Netflix, you can watch the critters clash about 18 minutes into the episode 'Moonlit Plains' here. Read more about Lauren's work with scorpions here, and Ashlee's

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1,542 results

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