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PODCAST

Unexplainable

Unexplainable takes listeners right up to the edge of what we know…and then keeps on going. The Unexplainable team — Noam Hassenfeld, Julia Longoria, Byrd Pinkerton, and Meradith Hoddinott — tackles scientific mysteries, unanswered questions, and everything we learn diving into the unknown. New episodes Mondays and Wednesdays. From Vox and the Vox Media Podcast Network.

science life sciences

All Episodes

27:28

The James Webb Space Telescope

Unexplainable ·

2021/09/22

After decades of planning, NASA is finally (finally!) set to launch the successor to the Hubble. The new Webb telescope will be a paradigm shift for astronomy, exploring places in the cosmos that have been completely invisible to us until now. But first, it has to safely reach a point nearly a million miles away from the Earth. For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable It’s a great place to sign up for our newsletter, view show transcripts, and read more about the topics on our show. Also, email

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31:10

What causes Alzheimer’s?

Unexplainable ·

2021/09/15

For decades, Alzheimer’s researchers have been stubbornly pursuing a single theory, but they’re starting to wonder: is this narrow focus the reason we still don’t have a cure? For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable It’s a great place to sign up for our newsletter, view show transcripts, and read more about the topics on our show. Also, email us! unexplainable@vox.com We read every email. Support Unexplainable by making a financial contribution to Vox! bit.ly/givepodcasts Learn more about your

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29:23

Havana syndrome

Unexplainable ·

2021/09/01

Several years after US diplomats in Cuba claimed they were attacked by an invisible weapon, similar incidents continue to be reported around the world. Scientists haven’t been able to determine a definitive cause, but the possibilities point toward something just as mysterious as the illness itself: the inner workings of the human brain. For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable It’s a great place to sign up for our newsletter, view show transcripts, and read more about the topics on our

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26:52

Getting to the bottom of butts

Unexplainable ·

2021/08/25

Once upon a time, there were no anuses. These ingenious organs allowed our primordial ancestors to grow bigger and more complex, but scientists still don’t understand how they evolved. And they’re still grasping at a mystery that literally surrounds it: Why is the human butt so big? For more go to http://vox.com/unexplainable It's a great place to sign up for our newsletter, view show transcripts, and read more about the topics on our show. Also email us! unexplainable@vox.com We read every

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31:22

The mysteries of endometriosis

Unexplainable ·

2021/08/18

This common chronic condition — where tissue similar to what grows inside the uterus grows elsewhere in the body — is barely understood. So why is a condition so prevalent and painful still so unknown? It has a lot to do with who gets to ask research questions. Correction, August 18: An earlier version of this episode implied that the tissue involved in endometriosis is the same as the endometrium, which lines the uterus. It is similar tissue, but not identical. For more, go to

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30:45

A 150-year-old human

Unexplainable ·

2021/08/11

Two scientists. A billion-dollar wager. One unanswered question: Is the first human who will live to 150 already alive? The technology to make that happen may already be in development. But if it works, there will be new, unsettling questions for humankind to answer. For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable It’s a great place to sign up for our newsletter, view show transcripts, and read more about the topics on our show. Also, email us! unexplainable@vox.com We read every email. Support

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27:25

How low can you go?

Unexplainable ·

2021/08/04

Earlier this year, Nicole Yamase explored the bottom of the Challenger Deep, the deepest place in the ocean, where few people have ever been. The rest of the seafloor is almost as mysterious — 80 percent remains unmapped — but the few glimpses scientists have gotten have completely revolutionized our understanding of the planet. For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable It’s a great place to sign up for our newsletter, view show transcripts, and read more about the topics on our show. Also,

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25:18

The tornado problem

Unexplainable ·

2021/07/28

8 minutes, 24 seconds. That’s the average amount of warning time people get before a tornado touches down. To do better, and to understand tornadoes, scientists need to confront more of these storms, head on. For a clean version of this episode and more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable It’s a great place to sign up for our newsletter, view show transcripts, and read more about the topics on our show. Also, email us! unexplainable@vox.com We read every email. Support Unexplainable by making a

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25:15

Moon poop

Unexplainable ·

2021/07/21

Astronauts left something on the moon that could help unlock the origins of life itself. For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable It’s a great place to sign up for our newsletter, view show transcripts, and read more about the topics on our show. Also, email us! unexplainable@vox.com We read every email. We are conducting an audience survey to better serve you. It takes about five minutes, and it really helps out the show. Please take our survey here: vox.com/survey Support Unexplainable by

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30:39

Hot pink flying squirrels

Unexplainable ·

2021/07/14

An accidental discovery on a nighttime walk led one scientist and his team to wonder: How many mammals glow under ultraviolet light? The list keeps growing, but scientists still aren’t sure why these furry creatures glow. For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable It’s a great place to sign up for our newsletter, view show transcripts, and read more about the topics on our show. Email us at unexplainable@vox.com. We read every email! Also, we are conducting an audience survey to better serve you

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32:20

Henrietta Leavitt and the end of the universe

Unexplainable ·

2021/06/30

In the early 1900s, Henrietta Leavitt made one of the most important discoveries in the history of astronomy: a yardstick to measure distances to faraway stars. Using this tool, scientists eventually transformed our understanding of the universe. They realized space was expanding, that this expansion was accelerating, and that ultimately, everything will end. For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable It’s a great place to sign up for our newsletter, view show transcripts, and read more about the

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28:56

How do animals know where to go?

Unexplainable ·

2021/06/23

As part of a massive new global tracking project, scientists are monitoring animals from a receiver on the International Space Station, mapping the incredible, previously unknown journeys that animals undertake. They’re beginning to tackle questions like how far do animals actually move? And how in the world do they know where they’re going? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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25:29

Invasion of the jumping worms

Unexplainable ·

2021/06/16

These worms are fast, they’re mysterious, and they’re quickly changing North American ecosystems. How worried should we be about global worming? For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable It’s a great place to sign up for our newsletter, view show transcripts, and read more about the topics on our show. Also, email us! unexplainable@vox.com We read every email. Support Unexplainable by making a financial contribution to Vox! bit.ly/givepodcasts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit

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29:32

The many heights of Mount Everest

Unexplainable ·

2021/06/09

How tall is the world’s tallest mountain? The answer is surprisingly tricky, which means that Everest’s official height is constantly changing. In fact, depending on the type of measurement scientists use, Everest may not be the tallest mountain in the world. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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33:28

Unexplainable Flying Objects

Unexplainable ·

2021/06/02

UFOs are real, but that doesn’t mean they’re aliens. Today, Explained, Vox's daily news podcast, tells the story of America's longstanding relationship with UFOs and what we might learn from an upcoming government report. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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32:19

The hunt for a new Pluto

Unexplainable ·

2021/05/26

Something strange is going on at the outer reaches of the solar system. One astronomer thinks it might be a Neptune-sized ninth planet, and he’s on a quest to find it. That search is happening at an enormous telescope on the summit of Maunakea, a dormant Hawaiian volcano with a long astronomical and cultural history. But many Native Hawaiian scientists are asking: What’s lost in the pursuit of larger and larger telescopes? For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable It’s a great place to sign up

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29:16

Cloudy with a chance of chaos

Unexplainable ·

2021/05/19

It’s surprisingly hard to predict how clouds form, move, and change, but it’s essential to try. Because how clouds react to a warming world helps determine how hot our future will be. For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable It’s a great place to sign up for our newsletter, view show transcripts, and read more about the topics on our show. Also, email us! unexplainable@vox.com We read every email. Support Unexplainable by making a financial contribution to Vox! bit.ly/givepodcasts Learn more

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25:52

A new force of nature?

Unexplainable ·

2021/05/12

Last month, physicists at Fermilab in Illinois found that tiny subatomic particles called muons were wobbling strangely. This small observation could transform the future of particle physics, potentially pointing toward undiscovered particles or maybe even a new force of nature. For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable It’s a great place to sign up for our newsletter, view show transcripts, and read more about the topics on our show. Also, email us! unexplainable@vox.com We read every

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26:30

Placebos work. Why?

Unexplainable ·

2021/05/05

For decades, scientists thought that placebos only worked if patients didn’t know they were taking them. Not anymore: You can give patients placebos, tell them they’re on sugar pills, and they still might feel better. No one is sure how this works, but it raises a question: Should doctors embrace placebos in mainstream medicine? For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable It’s a great place to sign up for our newsletter, view show transcripts, and read more about the topics on our show. Also, email

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24:33

A virus that could heal people

Unexplainable ·

2021/04/28

In 2016, the UN declared antibiotic-resistant bacteria the “greatest and most urgent global risk.” Our best hope just might be phages, or viruses that attack bacteria. Phages’ potential is enormous, but so is everything we don’t know about them. For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable It’s a great place to sign up for our newsletter, view show transcripts, and read more about the topics on our show. Also, email us! unexplainable@vox.com. We read every email. Support Unexplainable by making a

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269 results

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