Parents are supposed to provide the best life possible for their kids, right? But what does that mean when genetic testing for the baby enters the picture? And how far should they go? Vox senior re...
Is geoengineering the answer to the climate crisis? Or is it too dangerous to even discuss? It’s been theoretical so far, but now, one startup says their technology could soon shield the Earth from...
Yellowstone can be a deadly place... but not for the reasons you might think. Guest: Mike Poland, scientist in charge at the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory For show transcripts, go to ...
A two-time Nobel Prize-winning scientist changed chemistry, biology, and the politics of science. But when he pushed vitamin C as a cure-all, did he go too far? Guest: Daniel M. Davis, hea...
This episode is a follow-up to The Sound Barrier series, which explores our brain's relationship to sound. In our third episode of the series, we asked listeners to try to experience sile...
As our brains develop throughout our childhood and teens, they form connections and then prune back the ones that aren't used. What can we learn from them? Guests: Alison Barth, professor in ...
What's going on in teens' heads? Scientists working on a country-wide study following thousands of young people have spent the last decade trying to answer that question. Guests: Raul Gonz...
Way back when forests first evolved on Earth... they might have triggered one of the biggest mass extinctions in the history of the planet. (Originally aired in 2024) Guests: Charles Ver St...
It's a quasi-moon. Or, a quasi-satellite. Whatever you want to call it, it's hanging out near Earth. And it could be the source of some fascinating new science. Guests: Nick Moskovitz, astr...
So many of us have been told that meditation can make us less stressed, more productive, and happier. But for a small group of people, it has a dark side. What’s going on? Guests: Willoughby ...
A dog on its owner’s grave. A killer whale carrying around its dead calf. A goose that isolates when its mate dies. These behaviors in animals may look like human mourning, but should scientists ca...
When Wanda Diáz-Merced lost her sight as a college student, she thought her dreams of becoming an astronomer were over — until she learned to listen to space instead. Wanda is one of several pione...
A scientist asked people to sit in a silent room for 15 minutes. Almost half of them decided to give themselves a painful electric shock instead. What is it about our brains that makes our relatio...
Almost 15% of adults suffer from a persistent, often intolerable sound... that is literally just in their heads. Why does the brain do this to us? We help one of our listeners get some answers. Th...
Just like optical illusions trick our eyes, audio illusions can trick our ears. It makes scientists wonder: What exactly are we hearing, when we're hearing? This is the first episode of our new fo...
This week on Unexplainable or Not, Sally Helm, the newest member of our team, tries to figure out what's killing mussels, why rivers suddenly change course, and what the longest river in the world ...
Now why would you click on something like this? What's wrong with you?! Why are you — and so many other people — into scary stuff? Two scientists are trying to find out. (Originally aired in 2024) ...
Killing two people is worse than killing one. What about 440 billion crustaceans? Adapted from Dylan Matthews's essay on Vox.com. This story is part of a series supported by Animal Charity Ev...
Think about the thing you’ve practiced more than anything else in the world. Maybe it’s painting. Or writing. Or playing baseball. Now, imagine you wake up one day, and you just can’t do it. You’...
Terry Riley's "In C" is one of the most influential pieces of music of the last century...but you'll never hear it the same way twice. Guest: Evan Ziporyn, composer, clarinetist, an...
