Science Friday

By Science Friday and WNYC StudiosScience Life Sciences Natural Sciences

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Science Friday episodes

May 19Why does fashion repeat in 20-year cycles? Math has the answer
Bucket hats. Low-rise jeans. Track suits. As you might’ve noticed, Y2K fashion is in right now. People say that fashion moves in 20-year cycles, and it turns out…it does! At least according to math.
Host Flora Lichtman sits down with mathematician Emma Zajdela to figure out how she analyzed over 35,000 images of women's clothing dating all the way back to the 1860s to confirm this theory.
Guest:
Dr. Emma Zajdela is a Franco-American mathematician and science diplomacy activist.
Other episodes you may enjoy:
The Many, Many Ways Tuberculosis Shaped Human Life

Functional Fashion From An Artist And A Caterpillar
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Transcripts for each episode are available within 1-3 days at sciencefriday.com.
Subscribe to this podcast. Follow our show on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and Bluesky @scifri and sign up for our newsletters. Got a science question that’s keeping you up at night? Call us: 877-472-4374

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16 min
May 18Earth's ancient hydrogen, and fossilized vomit
A recent study simulated the extreme temperatures and pressure of the Earth’s interior by squeezing a sample between diamonds and heating it with a laser. In those simulations, researchers found that the Earth’s core may contain vast amounts of hydrogen, locked away in alloys with iron and silicon. Planetary scientist Anat Shahar joins Host Ira Flatow to discuss what this tells us about how the planet formed, and where water on Earth may have come from.
Then, another kind of deep history: Paleontologist Arnaud Rebillard introduces Host Flora Lichtman to “regurgitalite”—fossilized vomit. Rebillard studied a sample of regurgitalite some 50 million years older than the dinosaurs.
Guests:
Dr. Anat Shahar is a planetary scientist, and vice president for research at the Carnegie Institution for Science in Washington, D.C.
Arnaud Rebillard is a PhD candidate in paleontology at the Natural History Museum of Berlin.
Other episodes you may enjoy:
Could Underground Hydrogen Reserves Put Clean Energy Within Reach?

A Reptile’s Baffling Backfin And The Math Of Dashing Dinos
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The transcript for this episode is available at sciencefriday.com.
Subscribe to this podcast. Follow our show on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and Bluesky @scifri and sign up for our newsletters. Got a science question that’s keeping you up at night? Call us: 877-472-4374

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18 min
May 15How yawning might help clear dirty fluid from the brain
Just about every animal with a backbone yawns (maybe even dinosaurs), but why we do it is still something of a mystery. A SciFri listener from Texas recently spotted some research that suggests yawning could play a role in clearing waste products from the brain, and asked us to get to the bottom of it. Biomechanical engineer Lynne Bilston, an author on that study, joins Flora to discuss the findings and what they could mean for neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's.
Plus, about a third of Americans aren’t getting the recommended seven hours of sleep per night, according to a new CDC report. We check in with sleep researcher Stuti Jaiswal to break down the report and find out how to get a better night's sleep.
Check out an MRI video of what yawning looks like inside the body.
Guests:
Dr. Lynne Bilston is a biomechanical engineer at UNSW Sydney in Australia.
Dr. Stuti Jaiswal is a physician scientist and co-director, education at Scripps Research Translational Institute in San Diego, California.
Other episodes you may enjoy:
Does Taping Your Mouth Shut Help You Sleep?

The Brain’s Glial Cells Might Be As Important As Neurons
Want SciFri gear? Check out our new shop!
Transcripts for each episode are available within 1-3 days at sciencefriday.com.
Subscribe to this podcast. Follow our show on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and Bluesky @scifri and sign up for our newsletters. Got a science question that’s keeping you up at night? Call us: 877-472-4374

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
19 min
May 14The new frontier of cancer research is in space
An upcoming resupply mission will carry tumor samples to the International Space Station for research. Experiments in microgravity have yielded shocking results: Some tumors triple in size in just 10 days—the kind of growth that could take 10 years on Earth. What does that mean for science, and for astronauts?
Joining Ira to discuss this new frontier in cancer research are hematologist Catriona Jamieson and aerospace engineer Meenal Datta.
Guests:
Dr. Catriona Jamieson is a hematologist at the UC San Diego Health Moores Cancer Center in California.
Dr. Meenal Datta studies the physics of cancer at the University of Notre Dame’s College of Engineering in Indiana.
Other episodes you may enjoy:
How A Fringe Idea Led To Lifesaving Cancer Treatments

To Get Ready For Mars, NASA Studies How The Body Changes In Space
Want SciFri gear? Check out our new shop!
Transcripts for each episode are available within 1-3 days at sciencefriday.com.
Subscribe to this podcast. Follow our show on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and Bluesky @scifri and sign up for our newsletters. Got a science question that’s keeping you up at night? Call us: 877-472-4374

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
18 min
May 13Who's composing music for my washing machine?
Have you noticed that your newer appliances are serenading you? Many new washing machines, dishwashers, dryers, and vacuums have sonic signatures. But why? And who are the composers making music for the machines in your home?
Flora talks to sonic branding experts Audrey Arbeeny, who has developed sounds for washing machines; and Joel Beckerman, who has composed for Roomba.
Guests:
Audrey Arbeeny is the owner and executive producer of Audiobrain. She’s composed for Whirlpool, KitchenAid, the London Olympic Games, and Microsoft’s Xbox 360.
Joel Beckerman is a composer and founder of Made Music Studio, and author of “The Sonic Boom: How Sound Transforms the Way We Think, Feel, and Buy.” He’s composed for the NFL, IMAX, and the Roomba vacuum.
Other episodes you may enjoy:
Are Physical Buttons And Knobs Making A Comeback?

Common Loons Are Pop Music Icons
Want SciFri gear? Check out our new shop!
Transcripts for each episode are available within 1-3 days at sciencefriday.com.
Subscribe to this podcast. Follow our show on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and Bluesky @scifri and sign up for our newsletters. Got a science question that’s keeping you up at night? Call us: 877-472-4374

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
18 min
May 12How El Niño shapes the world’s weather trends
Scientists studying climate models say there’s a high chance this will be an El Niño year—and that we could be in for a “super” El Niño. The difference is indicated by sea surface temperatures in part of the Pacific Ocean rising a little—or a lot—above their long-term average.
El Niño is one half of what climatologists call the ENSO, the El Niño-Southern Oscillation. The oscillation operates on a roughly 3-7 year cycle, changing the path of the jet stream and shifting weather conditions around the world. An El Niño year, for instance, typically brings wetter weather in the western U.S. but dryer conditions in the Pacific Northwest, and can be a drought buster for regions such as southern California. But shifting ocean currents also have the potential to affect marine ecosystems, leading to algal booms, coral bleaching, and more.
Climate scientist Dillon Amaya joins Host Ira Flatow to describe the role of the El Niño in shaping world weather, and what effects a particularly strong El Niño year might have on global ecosystems.
Guest:
Dr. Dillon Amaya is a research scientist at the NOAA Physical Sciences Laboratory in Boulder, Colorado.
Other episodes you may enjoy:
Meet A Pioneer Of Modern Weather Prediction

Could We Get Weather Forecasts Years—Or A Decade—In Advance?
Want SciFri gear? Check out our new shop!
Transcripts for each episode are available within 1-3 days at sciencefriday.com.
Subscribe to this podcast. Follow our show on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and Bluesky @scifri and sign up for our newsletters. Got a science question that’s keeping you up at night? Call us: 877-472-4374

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
13 min
May 11Planning your photo ops for a trip around the moon
In April, the crew of Artemis II got an unprecedented tour of the far side of the moon, and they brought back a proverbial shoebox full of pictures. Lunar scientist Kelsey Young stayed on Earth, and helped guide the astronauts through their photo shoots from Mission Control.
Young talks with Host Flora Lichtman about how the science team chose their shot list, how to lead distant astronauts in their scientific observations, and what researchers are learning from the images and in-the-moment descriptions captured by the Artemis II crew.
Guest:
Dr. Kelsey Young is the Artemis science flight operations lead for NASA's Science Mission Directorate.
Other episodes you may enjoy:
Inside the lives of astronauts’ families

How The Moon Transformed Life On Earth, From Climate to Timekeeping
Want SciFri gear? Check out our new shop!
Transcripts for each episode are available within 1-3 days at sciencefriday.com.
Subscribe to this podcast. Follow our show on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and Bluesky @scifri and sign up for our newsletters. Got a science question that’s keeping you up at night? Call us: 877-472-4374

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
19 min
May 08Understanding the gynecological health crisis facing Black women
When Kemi Doll was in medical school, she learned that Black women are twice as likely to die from uterine cancer as white women, and also suffer disproportionately from other uterine-related conditions. What wasn’t explained was why. Now a gynecologic oncologist, Doll has made it her mission to change these trends and improve care for Black women.
She joins Flora to discuss her new book, “A Terrible Strength: The Hidden Crisis of the Black Womb and Your Survival Guide to Healing.” They explore the way systemic racism and the normalization of Black women’s pain lead to later diagnoses of uterine cancer and poorer health outcomes for a range of gynecologic conditions including fibroids, endometriosis, and heavy periods. And Doll explains the problem with using reproductive health as a synonym for uterine health.
Guest:
Dr. Kemi Doll is a gynecologic oncologist and professor at the University of Washington Schools of Medicine and Public Health.
Other episodes you may enjoy:
Endometriosis Is Common. Why Is Getting Diagnosed So Hard?

A Black Physician’s Analysis Of The Legacy Of Racism In Medicine
Want SciFri gear? Check out our new shop!
Transcripts for each episode are available within 1-3 days at sciencefriday.com.
Subscribe to this podcast. Follow our show on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and Bluesky @scifri and sign up for our newsletters. Got a science question that’s keeping you up at night? Call us: 877-472-4374

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
18 min
May 07Data about your body is up for sale. Who's buying it?
Cameras and sensors are just about everywhere, recording your face, how you walk, where you go, your heart rate. And AI is making it easy to amass and analyze that data about all of us.
Privacy attorney Anne Toomey McKenna joins Host Flora Lichtman to talk about the ubiquity of biometric surveillance and how data brokers are gathering and selling our information, including to law enforcement.
Guest:
Anne Toomey McKenna is an attorney specializing in privacy and biometric surveillance. She’s on the Advisory Board for AI Policy at the Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers - USA.
Other episodes you may enjoy:
Why Worry About My Data If I Have Nothing To Hide?

New Products Collect Data From Your Brain. Where Does It Go?
Transcripts for each episode are available within 1-3 days at sciencefriday.com.
Want SciFri gear? Check out our new shop!
Subscribe to this podcast. Follow our show on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and Bluesky @scifri and sign up for our newsletters. Got a science question that’s keeping you up at night? Call us: 877-472-4374

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
12 min
May 06 Sci-fi thriller combines aliens, robots, and Cherokee culture
Breaking news out of eastern Oklahoma! A hole in the sky has opened. Through it, an unidentified turtle-shaped craft has descended. Alerts say that this is first contact.
So it goes in the sci-fi thriller “Hole in the Sky.” In the book, author Daniel H. Wilson imagines this moment where we meet alien life for the first time. It’s set in the heart of Cherokee Nation and follows characters including a military man, a NASA scientist, and a Cherokee father named Jim who is just trying to survive the alien entity.
Wilson joins Flora for a conversation about the book and how he integrated elements of Cherokee culture with science fiction. They get into the ways we project our own fears—like genocide and slavery—onto aliens, and how science fiction helps us imagine the unimaginable.
The SciFri Book Club is reading “Hole in the Sky” during May and June. Join us to read along!
Read an excerpt from “Hole in the Sky.”
Guest:
Dr. Daniel H. Wilson is a Cherokee citizen and bestselling author of “Robopocalypse,” “Hole in the Sky,” and several other books. He holds advanced degrees in machine learning and robotics and lives in Portland, Oregon.
Transcripts for each episode are available within 1-3 days at sciencefriday.com.
Want SciFri gear? Check out our new shop!
Subscribe to this podcast. Follow our show on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and Bluesky @scifri and sign up for our newsletters. Got a science question that’s keeping you up at night? Call us: 877-472-4374

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
18 min

About Science Friday

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Covering the outer reaches of space to the tiniest microbes in our bodies, Science Friday is the source for entertaining and educational stories about science, technology, and other cool stuff.