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
- Update frequency
- every 2 days
- Average duration
- 12 minutes
- Episodes
- 1344
- Years Active
- 2019 - 2025
A Key To Black Infant Survival? Black Doctors
In the United States, Black infants die at over twice the rate of White infants. New research explores one key factor that may contribute to the disproportionately high rates of death among Black ne…
00:12:40 |
Fri 18 Sep 2020
How The U.S. Is Caught In A "Pandemic Spiral"
Ed Yong, a science writer for The Atlantic, writes that the U.S. is caught in a "pandemic spiral." He argues some of our intuitions have been misleading our response, rather than guiding us out of di…
00:12:48 |
Thu 17 Sep 2020
Miss an episode? Now's your chance to catch up...
In case you missed our announcement Monday, Short Wave is temporarily shifting production schedules. We're dropping episodes into your feed four times a week instead of five. That means we'll be taki…
00:01:30 |
Wed 16 Sep 2020
Saving Water A Flush At A Time
Flushing toilets can consume a lot of water. So Tak-Sing Wong, a biomedical engineer at Penn State University, is trying to minimize how much is needed. Wong developed a slippery coating for the insi…
00:11:00 |
Tue 15 Sep 2020
A Mathematician's Manifesto For Rethinking Gender
In her new book, x+y, mathematician Eugenia Cheng uses her specialty, category theory, to challenge how we think about gender and the traits associated with it. Instead, she calls for a new dimension…
00:15:10 |
Mon 14 Sep 2020
Micro Wave: Why Mosquitoes Bite You More Than Your Friends
Asked and answered: why some of you might be more prone to being bitten by mosquitoes* than others. Turns out, some interesting factors could make you more appetizing. Plus, in true micro wave fashio…
00:09:44 |
Fri 11 Sep 2020
This Is Not A Typo: One In Four Animals Known To Science Is A Beetle
NPR science correspondent Nell Greenfieldboyce had to know more when she recently heard this mind-bending fact for the first time: a quarter of all known animal species are beetles.
Turns out — it's …
Turns out — it's …
00:10:31 |
Thu 10 Sep 2020
Managing Wildfire Through Cultural Burning
Fire has always been part of California's landscape. But long before the vast blazes of recent years, Native American tribes held controlled burns that cleared out underbrush, encouraged new plant gr…
00:12:44 |
Wed 09 Sep 2020
The International Scientists Getting Pushed Out
About 30% of people in science and engineering jobs in the U.S. were born outside the country. So when the Trump Administration suspended certain work visas in June, including one held by a lot of in…
00:14:24 |
Tue 08 Sep 2020
SPACE WEEK: An Astrophysicist On The End Of Everything
*Astrophysically speaking. That's the subject of Katie Mack's new book: the possible ends to our entire universe. Specifically, she breaks down some following potential outcomes: heat death, the big …
00:12:50 |
Fri 04 Sep 2020
SPACE WEEK: Is Space Junk Cluttering Up The Final Frontier?
Since the dawn of Sputnik in 1957, space-faring nations have been filling Earth's orbit with satellites. Think GPS, weather forecasting, telecommunications satellites. And as those have increased, so…
00:12:25 |
Thu 03 Sep 2020
SPACE WEEK: What Would It Be Like To Fall Into A Black Hole?
Black holes are one of the most beguiling objects in our universe. What are they exactly? How do they affect the universe? And what would it be like to fall into one? We venture beyond the point of n…
00:14:25 |
Wed 02 Sep 2020
SPACE WEEK: Every Moon, Ranked
Science writer Jennifer Leman did it. She ranked all 158 moons in our solar system. The criteria? Interviews with NASA scientists, astronomers, and her own moonpinions. She talks to host Maddie Sofia…
00:13:23 |
Tue 01 Sep 2020
SPACE WEEK: The Mystery Of Dark Energy
It's Space Week on Short Wave! Today, an encore of our episode on dark energy. This mysterious energy makes up almost 70% of our universe and is believed to be the reason the universe is expanding. Y…
00:15:32 |
Mon 31 Aug 2020
The Arecibo Telescope Is Damaged — And That's A Big Deal
In early August a cable snapped at the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico, causing substantial damage to one of the largest single dish radio telescopes in the world. Planetary scientist Edgard River…
00:12:22 |
Fri 28 Aug 2020
The Science Of Wildfire Smoke
Smoke from wildfires can travel huge distances. We've already seen smoke from the fires in California reach all the way to Minnesota. And with all that smoke comes possible risks to human health. So …
00:13:23 |
Thu 27 Aug 2020
What Does A Healthy Rainforest Sound Like?
On a rapidly changing planet, there are many ways to measure the health of an ecosystem. Can sound be one of them? We dive into a new methodology that applies machine learning technology to audio sou…
00:12:47 |
Wed 26 Aug 2020
Scorpion Vs Mouse: A Mind-Blowing Desert Showdown
Encore episode. 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 regu…
00:13:40 |
Tue 25 Aug 2020
Safely Socializing In The Time Of 'Rona
Socializing is critical for mental and emotional health. You need it. We need it. But what's the safest way to socialize during a pandemic? We propose a few rules-of-thumb and suggestions to see you …
00:12:51 |
Mon 24 Aug 2020
Science Movie Club: 'Arrival'
The 2016 movie 'Arrival,' an adaptation of Ted Chiang's novella 'Story of Your Life,' captured the imaginations of science fiction fans worldwide. Field linguist Jessica Coon, who consulted on the fi…
00:13:09 |
Fri 21 Aug 2020
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