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PODCAST

Science Friday

Science Friday, as heard on PRI, is a weekly discussion of the latest news in science, technology, health, and the environment hosted by Ira Flatow. Ira interviews scientists, authors, and policymakers, and listeners can call in and ask questions as well.

society & culture

All Episodes

17:36

Mating, Marriage, And Monogamy In The Age Of Apps

Science Friday ·

2026/02/14

With so many dating apps—and so many people using them—why are a record number of American adults single? Is marriage as important as it was a generation or two ago? Evolutionary biologist and sex researcher Justin Garcia joins Host Flora Lichtman to talk about dating and mating, and what evolutionary biology can tell us about our need to form a “pair bond” … or not.Read an excerpt from Justin’s new book, The Intimate Animal: The Science of Sex, Fidelity, and Why We Live and Die for Love.Guest: Dr

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12:34

1233: What A Tea Party With A Bonobo Taught Us About...

Science Friday ·

2026/02/13

Our ability to imagine is part of what makes us who we are—not just as individuals, but also as humans. It turns out, though, that we may not be the only species capable of playing pretend. In a string of experiments, scientists sat down, set the table, and hosted pretend tea parties with a bonobo named Kanzi to see if he’d play along—and he did.Producer Kathleen Davis chats with study author Amalia Bastos about Kanzi, what it means to imagine, and how our definition of “humanness” keeps

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23:50

1232: How Is Screen Time Affecting My Kid?

Science Friday ·

2026/02/12

Screens are ubiquitous in today’s world, and concerns about how they affect kids are mounting. Last month, Australia banned social media use for kids under 16, with some European countries poised to follow. But what’s the science on how neverending YouTube videos or TikToks affect kids’ brains and bodies? Joining Host Flora Lichtman to discuss are neuroscientist John Foxe and behavioral developmental pediatrician Jenny Radesky.Guests:Dr. John Foxe is Director of The Del Monte Institute for

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17:51

1230: Stressed About The World? Take A Cue From...

Science Friday ·

2026/02/10

Cyanobacteria may be the ultimate lesson in resilience. These 3.5 billion-year-old organisms have lived through hell-on-earth conditions, and found creative ways to persevere. While the state of the world feels out of control, Host Flora Lichtman talks to molecular microbiologist Devaki Bhaya about the planet’s ultimate survivalists.Guest: Dr. Devaki Bhaya is a molecular microbiologist at Carnegie Science in Stanford, California. The transcript for this episode is available at

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19:12

1228: Olympic Ski Mountaineering, And Mountain Goat...

Science Friday ·

2026/02/06

This year’s Winter Olympics feature a new event called “skimo,” or ski mountaineering. The racing event involves periods of skiing uphill using “skins” for traction, sprinting uphill on foot, and a downhill ski slalom to the finish. Mountaineering historian Peter Hansen joins Host Flora Lichtman for an introduction to skimo, and the scientific connections of early modern mountaineers. Then, wildlife ecologist Kevin White describes the amazing capabilities of the mountain goat, what’s known about the

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30:14

1226: Should Ultraprocessed Foods Be Off The Menu?

Science Friday ·

2026/02/04

The new dietary guidelines from the USDA call for Americans to “eat real food” and consume less “highly processed” food. But how? By some estimates, ultraprocessed foods make up nearly 60% of the average American adult diet, and they’re all over school lunch menus.Health policy expert Laura Schmidt and nutrition policy researcher Alyssa Moran join Host Flora Lichtman to talk about ultraprocessed foods and our food supply. What might they be doing to our health, and what steps could policymakers take

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22:43

1225: The Growing Experiment Of Putting Solar Panels...

Science Friday ·

2026/02/03

In an effort to make their farms more environmentally and economically sustainable, some farmers are experimenting with agrivoltaics: growing crops underneath solar panels. This dual harvest is working for some, but what will it take for agrivoltaics to work on a larger, more industrial scale? Joining Host Ira Flatow are journalist Jana Rose Schleis and environmental economics expert Madhu Khanna.Guests:Jana Rose Schleis is a news producer at KBIA in Columbia, Missouri. Her podcast series, “The Next

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29:20

1224: We’re All Being Played By Metrics

Science Friday ·

2026/02/02

Point systems are everywhere. Ready for movie night? Consult Rotten Tomatoes. Vetting a new pediatrician? See how many stars they have. At work, it can be even more pervasive: There’s KPIs and ROIs because success has to be measurable. But what happens when we boil something down to one nice number? What do we lose? Philosopher C. Thi Nguyen, author of the new book The Score, joins Host Flora Lichtman to explore how metrics can be soul-crushing in work and in life, yet keeping score is freeing in

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20:06

The Middle + SciFri: How Can Trust In Science Be...

Science Friday ·

2026/01/31

We’re bringing you a special bonus episode from our friends at the live call-in show “The Middle with Jeremy Hobson.” Jeremy is joined by Science Friday Host Flora Lichtman and theoretical astrophysicist Priya Natarajan to talk about how trust in science can be restored. It took a hit with the COVID-19 pandemic, and the Trump Administration has now elevated science skeptics to positions of power and proposed giant cuts in scientific research.Subscribe to this podcast. Plus, to stay updated on all

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17:57

1222: Untangling The History Of Dog Domestication

Science Friday ·

2026/01/30

All the pups we love—from chihuahuas to great danes—are descendants of the mighty gray wolf. But how did we end up with so many breeds? The story that's often told is that dog diversity really took off with the Victorians in the 1800s, but new research is unleashing a different tale. Host Flora Lichtman talks with bioarchaeologist Carly Ameen about the diversification of dogs. Plus, a long-running experiment to tame silver foxes is cluing us into how domestication happens. Canine researcher Erin

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12:35

1220: How China Is Driving Down Electricity Costs...

Science Friday ·

2026/01/28

In a speech last week in a speech at the World Economic Forum, President Trump said China was making a lot of wind turbines, but not using much wind power in their own country. Is that right? China studies professor Jeremy Wallace joins Host Ira Flatow to talk about the renewable energy landscape in China. They’ll dig into how China is flooding the world with affordable solar technology, making it the cheapest form of electricity in history. Plus, what energy tech China is manufacturing, what it's

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18:21

1219: Managing The Risks Of Spaceflight, 40 Years...

Science Friday ·

2026/01/27

Forty years ago this week, the space shuttle Challenger exploded in flight, 73 seconds after liftoff from Cape Canaveral. All seven crew members were killed. In the months that followed, the tragedy was traced to a failed O-ring in one of the shuttle’s rocket boosters. Now, with the Artemis II mission preparing for launch to lunar orbit, what have we learned about spaceflight and risk? Former astronaut Jim Wetherbee joins Host Ira Flatow to remember the Challenger tragedy, and look ahead to the age

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12:27

1218: How A Mutation Made This Year’s Flu Season So Bad

Science Friday ·

2026/01/26

A rogue strain of flu, subclade K, has sickened more than 19 million people in the US so far this season. And the flu shot hasn’t offered that much protection. What’s going on with this superflustorm?Joining Host Flora Lichtman with some answers is Jennifer Duchon, a pediatric infectious disease specialist.Guest: Dr. Jennifer Duchon is a pediatric infectious disease specialist at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York.Transcripts for each episode are available within 1-3 days at

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17:28

1217: Tracking The Toxic Fallout Of The LA Fires

Science Friday ·

2026/01/23

This time last year, Los Angeles was on fire, and more than 16,000 homes and buildings burned to the ground. Cars, batteries, solar panels, insulation, and cleaning supplies went up in flames, releasing chemicals like lead, benzene, and asbestos into giant smoke plumes that wafted across the city.A year later, scientists are trying to understand the fallout of this urban wildfire—what chemicals got left behind, how to remediate them, and the threats to our health. Host Flora Lichtman talks with

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22:36

1216: Deepfakes Are Everywhere. What Can We Do?

Science Friday ·

2026/01/22

Deepfakes have been everywhere lately, from fake AI images of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro following his (real) capture by the United States, to X’s Grok AI generating nonconsensual images of real people in states of undress. And if you missed all that, you've almost certainly had your own deepfake close encounter in your feed: maybe rabbits bouncing on a trampoline or an unlikely animal friendship that seems a little too good to be true.Deepfakes have moved beyond the realm of novelty, and it’s

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18:42

1212: Teasing Apart The Causes And Early Signs Of...

Science Friday ·

2026/01/16

Each year, around 90,000 people in the U.S. are diagnosed with Parkinson’s, a neurodegenerative disease that can cause tremors and affect cognition. Scientists are working to identify some of the earliest signs of the disease, and to figure out how we might test for—and treat—Parkinson’s in the future.Neurologists Emily Tamadonfar and Michael Okun join Host Flora Lichtman to discuss what we know about why Parkinson’s starts and how it may be associated with genetic mutations, pollution, and other

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18:59

1210: Secrets Of Ancient Concrete, And... Data...

Science Friday ·

2026/01/14

The concrete of ancient Rome is famous for its durability. Just look at the Pantheon and those iconic aqueducts that helped transport water throughout the empire—still standing 2,000 years later.But knowledge about how this concrete was made hasn’t been very solid. Well, scientists have discovered a construction site in Pompeii preserved in the volcanic ash, which might hold clues to how we can improve our concrete today. Concrete researcher Admir Masic joins Host Ira Flatow to discuss the

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18:52

1209: One Year Into Trump’s Term, Where Does Science...

Science Friday ·

2026/01/13

Last February, Sudip Parikh, CEO of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, issued a dire warning about federal cuts to science, saying the country was on its way to losing its status as a global science leader.Nearly a year later, where does the United States stand with science funding, and what happens next? Sudip Parikh joins Host Flora Lichtman once again to discuss.Guest: Dr. Sudip Parikh is CEO and Executive Publisher of the American Association for the Advancement of Science,

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18:15

1207: ‘The Kissing Bug’ And The Story Of A Neglected...

Science Friday ·

2026/01/09

Growing up, Daisy Hernández was told that her aunt had become ill from eating a bad apple. She watched as her aunt became sicker and sicker, and didn’t learn until years later that she was living with Chagas disease. It affects around 8 million people, mostly across the Americas, and yet many of us have never heard of it.Hernandez’s book, The Kissing Bug, is SciFri’s first book club pick of the year. Host Flora Lichtman speaks with Hernández about her book, the story of her aunt who died of Chagas,

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14:18

1205: The Community Group Rethinking LA's Approach To...

Science Friday ·

2026/01/07

A year ago this week, the Eaton and Palisades fires broke out in Los Angeles, and ultimately became one of the most destructive urban fire events in recent history. Today we’ll hear about a community brigade that is taking firefighting into its own hands through a technique called “home hardening.”Journalist Adriana Cargill, host of the new podcast “The Palisades Fire: A Sandcastle Special” from PRX, embedded with this group to understand what the future of firefighting could look like. She and Jack

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797 results

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