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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.If you"re hooked, try Short Wave Plus. Your subscription supports the show and unlocks a sponsor-free feed. Learn more at plus.npr.org/shortwave

science life sciences

All Episodes

12:34

What COVID Going Endemic Means For You

Short Wave ·

2024/08/21

U.S. health officials now say COVID-19 is an endemic disease. That means it's here to stay – circulating fairly regularly like the flu. Even though that changes how public health officials think about managing the virus, they say it doesn't mean being less cautious or vigilant during surges, like the current one this summer. COVID still poses significant risks for older individuals and those with underlying conditions — and anyone who gets COVID is at risk of developing long COVID. NPR science

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14:42

Solve A Moon Mystery! With Radiolab

Short Wave ·

2024/08/20

All summer long, we've been on a 10-episode odyssey through the changing universe (check out the series). But there was one big set of objects that we skipped over: moons. So now we're back, with special guest, Radiolab's Latif Nasser, to talk about yes, our moon — and the many moons and quasi-moons beyond it. Where did our Moon come from? How many moons are out there? What's this "quasi-moon" of which we speak and why is it "dancing" around space? Also, Latif tells us about Radiolab's contest to

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12:55

The Power Of Braille Literacy

Short Wave ·

2024/08/19

For blind and low vision adults, the ability to read braille can be life-changing. Braille literacy is directly linked to higher rates of academic success and better employment outcomes for them. But there's a problem. The U.S. is facing a national shortage of qualified braille teachers and there's a lack of scientific research around braille overall. An interdisciplinary team led by linguist Robert Englebretson wants to change that.Read some of the team's work here:- Englebretson R, Holbrook MC,

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13:03

Firing A Weapon Might Hurt Your Brain

Short Wave ·

2024/08/16

Some weapons used by the United States military are so powerful, they can pose a threat to the people who fire them — even in training. When weapons are fired, an invisible blast wave travels through the brains of anyone nearby. Exposure to lots of these blasts over time — even low level ones — has been shown to cause brain health problems for service members. If you liked this episode, consider checking out some more episodes on the brain, including its waste system, face blindness and the

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12:19

How To Beat The Heat, Olympian-Style

Short Wave ·

2024/08/14

Over the next week, forecasts project extreme heat across much of the South, Midwest and parts of the West. So, this episode, health correspondent Pien Huang helps us take heat training cues from Olympians, many of whom spent weeks preparing for a sweltering Paris Olympics, by training in the heat to get their bodies used to hot, humid weather. But heat training is not just for competitive athletes. It's recommended for people in the military and those who work outdoors in hot weather — and it could

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12:43

How Will the Universe End?

Short Wave ·

2024/08/13

Today, we're bringing you the final installment of our space summer series ... with the end ... of EVERYTHING. Will the universe end in a huge cosmic unraveling? A slow and lonely dissolution? Or a quantum-level transition that breaks the laws of physics? Theoretical astrophysicist Katie Mack breaks down three possible scenarios for how the universe as we know it will finally come to an end. To celebrate the end of our Space Camp series, we also made a QUIZ! Check it out at

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13:12

To Save The Grizzly Bear, You Gotta Think Like One

Short Wave ·

2024/08/12

Grizzly bears in the contiguous United States have been taken off — then put back on — the endangered species list twice since they were first labeled as threatened almost 50 years ago. Now, the issue is on the table again. Today, we get into the complicated science behind grizzly recovery, how humans have sliced up their habitat and what it will take to stitch that habitat back together again.Interested in more charismatic megafauna? Email shortwave@npr.org. We've love to consider covering your

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14:02

What Is An Unfair Advantage In Sports?

Short Wave ·

2024/08/10

We at Short Wave have been following all things Olympics, from the medals and new records to the ugly accusations that two women boxers aren't really women. Last year, the boxers failed gender tests, according to the International Boxing Association. The IBA claims the women have a "hormonal imbalance" that gives them women an unfair advantage. The International Olympic Committee has condemned these claims and defended the boxers' right to compete in the women's category. But this Olympics is far

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8:58

These Sea Lions Are Basically Scientists

Short Wave ·

2024/08/09

How do you study unmapped areas of the ocean and identify critical habitat for an endangered species? You include the study animal in the scientific process! Researchers from the University of Adelaide fitted endangered Australian sea lions with cameras and tracking devices to better understand where they spent their time. The information could help scientists protect critical sea lion habitat and could give researchers a new tool for mapping the ocean. Interested in more underwater science? Email

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12:01

Was The Paris Olympic Pool Slow?

Short Wave ·

2024/08/07

In the last week, we've seen swimmers diving headfirst into the 2024 Paris Olympics pool, limbs gracefully slicing through the water. And yet, world and Olympic records weren't broken at quite the rate some expected, leading many on social media to speculate: Was the pool the culprit? With the help of NPR correspondents Bill Chappell and Brian Mann, we investigate.Read Bill Chappell's full story about this here. Want us to cover the science behind more Olympic sports? Email us at shortwave@npr.org

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14:22

We're All Swimming In Big Bang Juice

Short Wave ·

2024/08/06

The Big Bang: The moment when our universe — everything in existence — began....Right? Turns out, it's not quite that simple. Today, when scientists talk about the Big Bang, they mean a period of time – closer to an era than to a specific moment. Host Regina Barber talks with two cosmologists about the cosmic microwave background, its implications for the universe's origins and the discovery that started it all. Interested in more space science? Email us at shortwave@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor

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12:42

The Toll Of Social Media On Mental Health

Short Wave ·

2024/08/05

Rates of depression and anxiety have risen among teens over the last decade. Amid this ongoing mental health crisis, the American Psychological Association issued guidelines for parents to increase protection for teens online. In this encore episode, NPR science correspondent Michaeleen Doucleff looks into the data on how that change has impacted the mental health of teenagers. In her reporting, she found that the seismic shift of smartphones and social media has re-defined how teens socialize,

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12:53

What Makes Simone Biles The GOAT, Scientifically

Short Wave ·

2024/08/02

Another Olympics, another set of stellar performances by the U.S. women's artistic gymnastics team. Thursday, the team won two medals in the women's all-around final: a gold for Simone Biles and a bronze for Sunisa Lee. The medals add to the team's overall count, which also includes a gold for the women's team final. Simone and Suni are expected to lead the team to more medals in the coming days. Each day the gymnasts compete, we are left to pick our jaws off the floor and wonder: How do they do

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13:35

The Mathematical Marvel Of The Rubik's Cube

Short Wave ·

2024/07/31

The Rubik's Cube was created 50 years ago by Hungarian inventor Ernő Rubik. Since then, over 500 million of them have been sold. We dive into this global phenomenon that's captured the imagination of countless people around the world and inspired all kinds of competitions — even solving with your feet! But no matter the cube, the process of solving one involves math — specifically, algorithms. Roman Chavez loved Rubik's Cubes so much, he founded the Jr. Oakland Cubers in high school. Now a

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14:08

The Curious Case Of The Supermassive Black Hole

Short Wave ·

2024/07/30

Black holes are one of the most mysterious cosmological phenomena out there. Astrophysicist Priya Natarajan calls them "the point where all known laws of physics break down."On the list of perplexing qualities: The origins of supermassive black holes. That story was only confirmed within the last year. Check out more of our series Space Camp on the weird and mysterious in space at npr.org/spacecamp.Interested in more space science? Email us at shortwave@npr.org.Listen to Short Wave on Spotify and

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12:48

We Hate To Tell You This, But Some Leeches Can Jump

Short Wave ·

2024/07/29

Generally, we at Short Wave are open-minded to the creepies and the crawlies, but even we must admit that leeches are already the stuff of nightmares. They lurk in water. They drink blood. There are over 800 different species of them. And now, as scientists have confirmed ... at least some of them can jump!Interested in more critter science? Email us at shortwave@npr.org — we'd love to consider your animal of choice for a future episode!Learn more about sponsor message choices:

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9:20

What Chimpanzee Gestures Reveal About Human...

Short Wave ·

2024/07/26

Chimpanzees are humans' closest living relatives. But does much of their communication resembles ours? According to a new study published earlier this week in the journal Current Biology, chimpanzees gesture back-and-forth in a similar way to how humans take turns speaking. The research presents an intriguing possibility that this style of communication may have evolved before humans split off from great apes, and tells researchers more about how turn-taking evolved. Interested in more science

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13:10

Dancing Yeti Crabs, Morphing Cuttlefish, Other...

Short Wave ·

2024/07/24

As a kid, Sabrina Imbler loved the ocean. They'd swim and snorkel, following around parrotfish in the water. Later, they tried to learn everything they could about the brightly-colored tropical fish – how some create a mucus cocoon at night to protect it from parasites, or how they help keep coral reefs healthy.As they got older, their fascination with sea creatures only grew. Imbler released a collection of essays in 2022 called How Far The Light Reaches: A Life In Ten Sea Creatures. Each chapter

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14:22

Outer Space Changes You, Literally. Here's What It...

Short Wave ·

2024/07/23

Lower gravity. Higher radiation. No ER access. These are just a few of the challenges that humans face in outer space. Emily and Regina talk to a NASA astronaut (and astronaut scientist) about the impact of spaceflight on the human body. Plus, we learn about telomeres (hint: They change in space)!Check out more of our series on space: https://www.npr.org/spacecampInterested in more space science? Email us at shortwave@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR

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13:12

The Brain Makes A Lot Of Waste. Here's How It Cleans...

Short Wave ·

2024/07/22

Scientists have long studied the relationship between sleep and the brain, and why poor sleep is linked to neurological diseases like Alzheimer's. NPR science correspondent Jon Hamilton talks to host Regina G. Barber about the brain's washing system and the particular sound researchers have found that seems to turn it on in mice. Read Jon's full piece here.Interested in more science about the brain? Email us at shortwave@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices:

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1,419 results

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