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
1425 episodes transcribedA 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 w...
In North-Central New Jersey, there is a backyard teeming with around 200 turtles. Many of these shelled creatures have been rescued from the smugglin...
It's Election Day in the United States. Across the nation, millions of ballots are being cast. But what would happen if the rules of our electoral sys...
How did life start on Earth? The answer is a big scientific mystery scientists are actively investigating. After talking with many scientists, host Re...
NOTE: This episode contains multiple high-pitched noises (human and other animals) that some listeners might find startling or distressing.In this epi...
Humans have seen a significant increase in life expectancy over the past 200 years — but not in overall lifespan. Nobody on record has lived past 122...
What's your favorite apple? Maybe it's the crowd-pleasing Honeycrisp, the tart Granny Smith or the infamous Red Delicious. Either way, before that app...
More than a million species are at risk of extinction, many within decades, because of human actions. Among them? The kāhuli, Hawaii's native tree sna...
For the past 70 years, schizophrenia treatments all targeted the same chemical: dopamine. While that works for some, it causes brutal side effects for...
Every American red wolf alive right now is descended from only 14 canids. In the 1970s, humans drove the red wolf to the brink of extinction. Because...
Calling all foragers! The new board game Undergrove, co-designed by Elizabeth Hargrave and Mark Wootton, is all about the symbiotic relationships betw...
In the humid rainforests of northern and eastern Madagascar reside seven newly described frog species. They often hang out near fast, flowing rivers....
NASA's Europa Clipper mission launched Monday, beginning its years-long journey to the distant icy moon it's named after. This mission is designed to...
In honor of our show turning 5 (!!) today... 5 Short Wave staffersanswer 5(x2) questionsfrom some of our 5-year-old listenersand explain the science ....
Host Regina G. Barber talks with Rosalyn LaPier about ethnobotany--what it is and how traditional plant knowledge is frequently misunderstood in the e...
Even though there are more than 10,000 rock glaciers in the western United States, most people would look at one without knowing it. Unlike the snowy...
In human history, fear kept us safe when running from predators and anxiety kept us from going back to that lion-infested area. But what happens when...
For over a century, we've been inventing technology to catch liars in the act. To this end, the polygraph was invented and became wildly popular in th...
Fruit fly brains are smaller than a poppy seed, but that doesn't mean they aren't complex. For the first time, researchers have published a complete d...
Lightning: It happens all the time, and yet the exact details of how it's made has long eluded scientists. That is, until now. New research out this w...
