Quirks and Quarks

00:54:09

How feasting black holes time their burps

Quirks and Quarks ·

2026/10/02

Black holes are voracious eaters, but they’re also quite messy, and often after devouring a star, they’ll let out a big burp, launching jets of high energy particles through space. Now, in a recent study, a team of astrophysicists has figured out the formula behind the timing of these burps. Also today:Skiing, hiking and roads are taking a toll on wolverinesThe buzzy, chirpy sounds of the Jurassic forestA notorious invasive species has been here a lot longer than we thought. Does that

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00:54:09

How corals tell us climate change is supersizing El Niño

Quirks and Quarks ·

2026/09/25

The El Niño underway in the Pacific Ocean is a natural climate phenomenon but its warming effects are being boosted by climate change. Researchers recently used corals growing around the Galapagos Islands to create a local temperature record of the ocean going back 1,000 years.Also today:Massive study redraws bat family tree and uncovers genetic odditiesHow the Surinam toad uses star-shaped fingertip lobes to ‘see’ its preyT. rex tooth enamel reveals these dinosaurs were warm-bloodedWhy great white

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00:54:09

A feather found in dino poop and more...

Quirks and Quarks ·

2026/09/18

It’s long been a mystery why one particular avian dinosaur was the only kind to survive mass extinction, but the recent discovery of a perfectly preserved fossilized feather, found in a cherry-sized piece of dinosaur poop, offers new clues.Also today:Why citizen scientists buried thousands of undiesHow climate change tipped the scales on a catastrophic Himalayan avalancheWhy an AI leap has left mathematicians feeling uneasyWhy scientists put teeny-tiny micro-trackers on chimney swifts

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00:54:09

Summertime and the science isn’t always easy

Quirks and Quarks ·

2026/09/11

Summer is fieldwork time for many scientists. We talk to researchers who have been busy hiking on fresh lava, capturing thousands of ticks, shooing away moose from their study sites, and even spelunking for Neanderthals — all in the ever-important quest for data.

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00:54:09

Sweat, comets and dino milk. It’s our summer question...

Quirks and Quarks ·

2026/09/04

Quirks & Quarks has been taking your burning questions for 50 years. And while we thought we might have answered every question there is, our listeners proved there are always more science questions for us to tackle. Including:What does the black hole orbit?What do you sweat out in a sauna?Why are robins' eggs blue?What if we no longer had a moon?Did dinosaurs produce milk?Were there ever giant humans?

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00:54:09

How to battle climate apathy, and more stories about...

Quirks and Quarks ·

2026/08/28

From doubting our doubts to sleuthing out scientific fraud, this week we revisit some of our favourite stories about humans.

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00:54:09

Celebrating 50 years of Quirks & Quarks!

Quirks and Quarks ·

2026/08/21

For our 50th anniversary celebration last October, we spoke with some of Canada's top scientists about their predictions for the future. We revisit our conversations with:Evan Fraser, director of Arrell Food Institute and professor of geography at the University of GuelphKatie Mack, Hawking Chair in Cosmology and Science Communication at the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical PhysicsLuke Stark, assistant professor in the faculty of information and media studies at Western UniversityLaura Tozer,

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00:54:08

Sensing space junk, and other stellar stories

Quirks and Quarks ·

2026/08/14

From filming a black hole to flaming hot water ice on Neptune, we revisit some of our favourite space-related stories from the past season.

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00:54:09

Dust? Tongues? Uranus? It’s our Holiday Question Show!

Quirks and Quarks ·

2026/08/07

On this week’s best of Quirks & Quarks, we revisit our annual holiday listener question show, with fascinating queries like:Why did a Canadian astronaut's eyesight change when she went to space?How is the dust inside our homes changing?Why do some professional athletes stick out their tongues when they play?Why are most fruits round, but bananas and pineapple are not?What would have happened if the dino-killing asteroid never struck Earth?We'll satisfy all these scientific curiosities and many

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00:54:09

Monkeys swallow soil to eat more junk food, and other...

Quirks and Quarks ·

2026/07/31

From the science of how we sweat to solving golf's greatest mystery, we revisit some of our favourite summery segments from the past season.

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00:54:09

Using ants to make yogurt, and other producer picks

Quirks and Quarks ·

2026/07/24

From elephant whiskers to Arctic rhinos and even science programming in prisons, we revisit some of our producers’ favourite stories from this season. Including:One of the world's earliest plant-eaters discovered in Nova ScotiaElephant trunk whiskers increase their sensitivity to better 'feel' their surroundingsYogurt with a creepy-crawly secret ingredientRhinos roamed Arctic Canada 23 million years agoBringing science education to the incarcerated

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00:54:09

Whales, sex and rocks — it's our book show!

Quirks and Quarks ·

2026/07/17

We revisit our conversations with authors of some of the year’s most fascinating science books in our annual holiday book show. Featuring:Questioning the purpose of whale song — for love or echolocation?Journeying through deep geological time to better tackle problems of the futureBiological sex is complicated, but that's what helps animals like humans thrivePlus, science journalist and BookLab podcast co-host Dan Falk reviews The Martians by David Baron, Dinner With King Tut by Sam Kean and The

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00:54:09

Pumas vs. penguins, and other clever carnivores

Quirks and Quarks ·

2026/07/10

From tiny T. rexes to a car-sized sea monster, we revisit some of our favourite stories about predators in their prime, like:Smaller tyrannosaur solves decades-long debate about the T. rexAmong Yellowstone’s top predators, wolves beat out cougars as the top dogBears with us. Tracking grizzlies in B.C.Cleveland’s ancient car-sized sea monster had bony fangs made out of its skullWild wolves run for their lives when they hear Big Bad Humans nearbyWhy penguin-eating pumas live closer together in

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00:54:09

Summer Science Spectacular

Quirks and Quarks ·

2026/07/03

From camping out on 'bird poop island,' chasing down wild dogs in Madagascar, or even looking for bombs in a bog in Ottawa –– no one quite does summer like scientists. This week, we revisit some of the hijinks that Canadian researchers got up to last year as they left their labs to get their hands dirty in the field.FEATURING:Camping out on a remote island with thousands of screaming, pooping, barfing birdsDodging lions and mongooses to monitor what wild dogs are eating in MozambiqueSaving ancient

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00:54:09

Sweat, comets and dino milk. It’s our summer question...

Quirks and Quarks ·

2026/06/26

Quirks & Quarks has been taking your burning science questions for half a century. And while we thought we might have answered every question there is to answer over the years, our listeners proved there are always more fascinating head-scratchers for us to tackle.Like:Are comets eternal?In a sauna, what am I sweating out?Did dinosaurs produce milk?If heat rises, why is there snow on the top of mountains?What does a black hole orbit?What if we had no moon?Why are cat and dog tongues so

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00:54:09

Great white sharks in hot water, and more…

Quirks and Quarks ·

2026/06/19

Some of the oceans biggest, most powerful predators, like certain sharks and tuna, are “mesothermic” or warm-bodied. Running hot allows them to rapidly convert their food to energy and heat, helping them swim faster and hunt in cold waters. But that advantage may become a disadvantage in a warming climate, meaning these fish need to find new ways of cooling off, or face a new threat to their survival.PLUS:Ancient Peruvians traded parrots across deserts and mountainsFrom the archive: David, Jay and

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00:54:08

Fossilized squirrel poop full of ancient animals, and...

Quirks and Quarks ·

2026/06/12

Gold miners working in the Yukon regularly find ancient ground squirrel burrows throughout the permafrost, many containing fossilized feces. Researchers analyzing these well-preserved poop piles found they contain some of the oldest DNA ever recovered, dating from 30,000 to 700,000 years ago. Tucked inside were traces of a wide range of ancient animals, including woolly mammoths, grasshoppers, steppe bison, ancient horses, American cheetahs, as well as hundreds of plant species.PLUS:‘Super-good,

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00:54:09

Humans and animals love the same sounds, and more...

Quirks and Quarks ·

2026/06/05

150 years ago, Charles Darwin noticed that birds and humans were both drawn to bright plumage and elaborate display. He called this interspecies esthetic appreciation a “shared taste for the beautiful.” Now, in a recent study, an interdisciplinary team of scientists built an online game exploring the mating calls of 16 different species and discovered, to their surprise, that humans and animals agree on which sounds are more attractive.PLUS:How the brain can learn to truly multitaskFrom the

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00:54:09

A terrifying T. rex of the sea, and more…

Quirks and Quarks ·

2026/05/29

The newly described Tylosaurus rex was a violent bus-sized Komodo dragon-like creature with serrated teeth. Dubbed the ‘T. rex of the sea,’ it would have occupied the top of the food chain in the marine ecosystem over 80 million years ago.PLUS:Pigeons use their livers to find their way homeFrom the archives: How Jocelyn Bell Burnell discovered pulsarsScientists discover an underground network of lakes hidden under Arctic iceNew book explores the million year history of how we sleep — and why we’re

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00:54:09

Listening in on fish grunts, and more…

Quirks and Quarks ·

2026/05/22

Scientists recorded audio and video of 8 different kinds of rockfish living in the wild near British Columbia, and were surprised they could tell the species apart through their various grunts, pops and knocks, even though the fish are closely related.PLUS:DNA identifies four Franklin Expedition sailors — and solves a 160-year-old mysteryImmune cells that fight infection get a boost from foodRadio waves let us see the unseeable: black holes, pulsars and volcanoes on VenusFrom the archives: What will

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