Episódios

  • Solving A Centuries Old Maritime Mystery

    Solving A Centuries Old Maritime Mystery
    Jun 2 2025
    For hundreds of years sailors have told stories about miles of glowing ocean during moonless nights. This phenomenon is known as "milky seas," but the only scientific sample was collected in 1985. So atmospheric scientist Justin Hudson, a PhD candidate at University of Colorado, used accounts spanning 400 years to create a database of milky seas. By also using satellite images to visually confirm the tales, Justin hopes his research brings us one step closer to unraveling this maritime mystery.

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    13 minutos
  • Why Daylight Boosts Immunity

    Why Daylight Boosts Immunity
    May 30 2025
    Depending on what time it is, your body responds differently to an injury or infection. During the day, you're likely to heal faster and fight infection better than at night. And historically, scientists weren't entirely sure why. That picture is starting to clear up thanks to a new study published last week in the journal Science Immunology. The research finds a missing piece of the puzzle in neutrophils, powerful immune cells that — despite living less than 24 hours — know the difference between day and night.

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    9 minutos
  • Unpacking Bipolar Disorder

    Unpacking Bipolar Disorder
    May 28 2025
    Around 40 million people around the world have bipolar disorder, which involves cyclical swings between moods: from depression to mania. Kay Redfield Jamison is one of those people. She's also a professor of psychiatry at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and has written extensively about the topic, from medical textbooks to personal memoirs. Today on Short Wave, she joins us to talk about the diagnosis process, treating and managing bipolar disorder.

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    14 minutos
  • Nature Quest: The Climate-Kid Question

    Nature Quest: The Climate-Kid Question
    May 27 2025
    Gen Z and younger millennials are the most climate literate generations the world has ever seen. They learned about climate change in school; now, it's part of how they plan for the future, including for jobs, housing ... and kids.

    So, what do experts say about how to navigate the kid question? In this installment of Nature Quest, Short Wave speaks to climate journalist Alessandra Ram about the future she sees for her newborn daughter. Plus, how do we raise the next generation in a way that's good for the planet?

    Resources discussed in this episode include:
    Jade Sasser's book, Climate Anxiety and the Kid Question
    Kimberly Nicholas's High Impact Climate Action Guide
    Elizabeth Bechard's book, Parenting in a Changing Climate
    The Climate Mental Health Network's Climate Emotions Wheel

    Got a question about changes in your local environment? Send a voice memo to shortwave@npr.org with your name, where you live and your question. You might make it into our next Nature Quest episode!

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    14 minutos
  • The Great Space Race ... With Clocks

    The Great Space Race ... With Clocks
    May 26 2025
    Happy Memorial Day, Short Wavers! This holiday, we bring you a meditation on time ... and clocks. There are hundreds of atomic clocks in orbit right now, perched on satellites all over Earth. We depend on them for GPS location, Internet timing, stock trading and even space navigation. In today's encore episode, hosts Emily Kwong and Regina G. Barber learn how to build a better clock. In order to do that, they ask: How do atomic clocks really work, anyway? What makes a clock precise? And how could that process be improved for even greater accuracy?

    - For more about Holly's Optical Atomic Strontium Ion Clock, check out the OASIC project on NASA's website.
    - For more about the Longitude Problem, check out Dava Sobel's book,     Longitude.

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    15 minutos
  • Flamingos: The Water-Bending Physics Masters

    Flamingos: The Water-Bending Physics Masters
    May 23 2025
    Riddle us this: Which animal is pink, curved beaked and a master of the physics required to create water tornadoes? If you guessed flamingos, you're right. New research out this month in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences shows that across a range of harsh environments, flamingos have become masters — of physics, fluid dynamics and so much more — all in pursuit of their filter-fed prey. Short Wave host Regina G. Barber sits down with biomechanics researcher Victor Ortega Jiménez to hear all of the incredibly involved lengths these birds go through to get their prey.

    Want to hear about more physics or animal discoveries? Email us at shortwave@nprg.org to tell us what areas of science you'd be interested in.

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    12 minutos
  • New Antivenom, Thanks To 200 Intentional Snake Bites

    New Antivenom, Thanks To 200 Intentional Snake Bites
    May 21 2025
    What's it like to get bit by a venomous snake? "It's like a bee sting times a thousand," Tim Friede says. Tim would know. Over the past few decades, he's let himself be bitten over 200 times by all kinds of venomous snakes — black mambas, taipans, cobras, kraits and more. With time, he's gradually built immunity to multiple types of venom. Could scientists help him share that immunity with others?

    Science reporter Ari Daniel joins Short Wave to explain how antivenom works, what scientists discovered and where the research may lead. Plus, what does Tim Friede have in common with Princess Bride?

    Want to hear about more medical discoveries? Email us at     shortwave@nprg.org to tell us what areas of science you'd be interested in.

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    11 minutos
  • Will Trump Unleash Energy Dominance Or Damage?

    Will Trump Unleash Energy Dominance Or Damage?
    May 20 2025
    The Trump administration is rewriting policies and reducing funding for multiple agencies that handle climate change, including NOAA, EPA and FEMA. We asked NPR reporters Lauren Sommer and Alejandra Borunda what that the implications of that are — and who the changes will affect.

    Want to hear more ways research is being impacted by the new administration? Email us at shortwave@nprg.org to let us know — and we may cover your idea in a future episode!

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    14 minutos