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.
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- Update frequency
- every 2 days
- Average duration
- 12 minutes
- Episodes
- 1344
- Years Active
- 2019 - 2025
Grape Growers' Next Collaborators? Robots
If you crossed WALL-E with a floor lamp, it might look a little like the PhytoPatholoBot. These robots aren't roving through space or decorating a living room — they're monitoring the stems, leaves a…
00:13:39 |
Tue 10 Dec 2024
Who Does Science? Under Trump, That Could Change
The next four years may be challenging for foreign-born scientists who want to work in the United States. Foreign-born workers account for about half of the doctoral-level scientists and engineers wo…
00:12:12 |
Mon 09 Dec 2024
The Comeback Of The Southwest Peach
Centuries ago, Southwest tribal nations tended vast orchards of peach trees. But in 1863, thousands of those trees were cut down by the United States government when it ordered the Diné to leave thei…
00:14:56 |
Fri 06 Dec 2024
The Ambitious Quest To Genetically Map All Known Vertebrates
The Vertebrate Genomes Project: It's an ambitious effort by an international group of scientists to create a "Genome Ark" by sequencing the genomes of about 70,000 animal species. The hope is that th…
00:14:30 |
Wed 04 Dec 2024
These Rats Can Drive. What's Happening In Their Brains?
In neuroscientist Kelly Lambert's lab at the University of Richmond, rats hop into cars, rev their engines and skid across the floor of an arena. Researchers taught these tiny rodents to drive — and …
00:15:00 |
Tue 03 Dec 2024
Why Your Brain Loves Sales
This Cyber Monday, a meditation on holiday sales. A quick trip to pick up presents can turn into an hours-long shopping spree thanks to all the ways stores use research from fields like consumer neur…
00:14:14 |
Mon 02 Dec 2024
This Hazelnut May Help The Land Back Movement In Canada
Beaked hazelnuts are a wild food native to North America. Indigenous peoples in British Columbia have passed down stories of these hazelnuts as a vital food source their ancestors planted and cultiv…
00:10:21 |
Fri 29 Nov 2024
This COP29, It's All About The Numbers
This year's United Nations climate talks, COP29, wrapped Saturday. Throughout the talks, it was all about the numbers. With the help of NPR climate reporters Julia Simon and Alejandra Borunda, we hom…
00:14:28 |
Wed 27 Nov 2024
How Do You Preserve An Endangered Language?
By the end of the century, more than 40% of the world's estimated 7,000 languages are in danger of disappearing. Those include indigenous languages in the Amazon. The United Nations also estimates th…
00:13:14 |
Tue 26 Nov 2024
The Battle To Save Monarch Butterflies
Monarch butterfly populations have plummeted due to habitat loss, pesticide use and climate change. In early December, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is going to decide whether the monarch should…
00:15:25 |
Mon 25 Nov 2024
Are Starship Launches Trashing Texas?
SpaceX's Starship rocket took off again Tuesday for its sixth test flight. Crowds, including President-elect Donald Trump, gathered at the launch site in Texas to watch it fly part way around the wor…
00:14:01 |
Fri 22 Nov 2024
The Mystery of the Dead Coho Salmon
For decades, Coho salmon were turning up dead in urban streams the Pacific Northwest. The salmon would stop swimming straight, and then die before they had a chance to spawn. Researchers worried that…
00:11:57 |
Wed 20 Nov 2024
How To Have Hard Conversations
Many people are gearing up for holiday conversations with loved ones who may disagree with them — on everything from politics to religion and lifestyle choices. As the conversations unfold, these div…
00:14:40 |
Tue 19 Nov 2024
Don't Let Jet Lag Ruin Your Holiday Plans
Getting enough sleep regularly can be tough — and even harder when you're traveling for the holidays. "We need sleep like we need water," says Jade Wu, a behavioral sleep medicine psychologist and au…
00:13:41 |
Mon 18 Nov 2024
The Mystery Mollusk Roaming The Midnight Zone
This critter lurks in the ocean's midnight zone, has a voluminous hood, is completely see through and is bioluminescent. It's unlike any nudibranchs deep sea experts have ever seen before — and now, …
00:08:55 |
Fri 15 Nov 2024
Should Humans Live On Mars?
As global warming continues and space technology improves, there is more and more talk about the growing possibility of a sci-fi future in which humans become a multiplanetary species. Specifically, …
00:14:14 |
Wed 13 Nov 2024
These Drones Could Help Keep Your Lights On
One in four U.S. households experiences a power outage each year. Scientists at Oak Ridge National Laboratory are working on technology they hope will help fix electric grids: drones. They're betting…
00:13:02 |
Tue 12 Nov 2024
Eating Breakfast? You Can Thank Fermentation
In this episode, you're invited to the fermentation party! Join us as we learn about the funk-filled process behind making sauerkraut, sourdough and sour beer. Plus, no fermentation episode is comple…
00:12:37 |
Mon 11 Nov 2024
Picking Up Cosmic Vibrations
A pivotal week in Corey Gray's life began with a powwow in Alberta and culminated with a piece of history: The first-ever detection of gravitational waves from the collision of two neutron stars. Cor…
00:13:57 |
Fri 08 Nov 2024
A Better Life For Trafficked Turtles
In North-Central New Jersey, there is a backyard teeming with around 200 turtles. Many of these shelled creatures have been rescued from the smuggling trade and are now being nursed back to health i…
00:11:30 |
Wed 06 Nov 2024
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