Sign up to save your podcasts
Or
Share Short Wave
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Or
Short Wave
Based on Podcast App listening data
Short Wave episodes
- Could our trash become local fishes’ treasure?Helicopters. Cargo containers. Old washing machines. For years, fishermen dumped this waste into the Gulf of Mexico. But they weren’t just trying to get rid of junk; they were trying to create artificial reefs that would help attract fish. For this month’s Nature Quest, WWNO coastal reporter Eva Tesfaye takes a (metaphorical) dive into the gulf to find out if Alabama’s ocean junkyard is an economic – and environmental – solution.
Want to learn more about artificial reefs? Check out WWNO's podcast Sea Change for more reporting from Eva and her colleagues.
This episode is part of Nature Quest, our monthly segment that brings you a question from a Short Waver who is noticing a change in the world around them.
Send a voice memo to [email protected] telling us your name, location and a question about a change you're seeing in nature – it could be our next Nature Quest episode!
Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave.
See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.
NPR Privacy Policy13 min - The serious hunt for alien lifeBring up aliens and a lot of people will scoff. But not everyone is laughing. Around the turn of the century, 3.8 million people banded together in a real-time search for aliens — with screensavers. It was a big moment in a century-long concerted search for extraterrestrial intelligence. So far, alien life hasn't been found. But for scientists like astronomer James Davenport, that doesn't mean the hunt is worthless. It doesn't mean we should give up. No, according to Davenport, the search is only getting more exciting as new technology opens up a whole new landscape of possibilities. So, today, we're revisiting our episode on the evolving hunt for alien life.
Want more space content? Let your opinion be heard by dropping us a line at [email protected]! Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave.
See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.
NPR Privacy Policy13 min - The noise that isn't there
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.
This is the second episode of a five-part series called The Sound Barrier from our friends at Vox's Unexplainable podcast.Guests: Stéphane Maison, director of the tinnitus clinic at Mass Eye and Ear and Dan Polley, tinnitus researcher at Mass Eye and Ear
See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.
NPR Privacy Policy22 min - The truth about intermittent fastingFrom TikTok and Instagram influencers to celebrities like Hugh Jackman and Kourtney Kardashian, intermittent fasting has gotten a lot of hype. The diet restricts what time you eat rather than what or how much you eat. The idea is that short periods of fasting cause your body to burn through stored fat reserves. But is that conventional wisdom true? And can it really contribute to weight loss? Regina G. Barber and Rachel Carlson tackle those questions — plus why some researchers are rethinking how to protect people's mental health when talking to chatbots and how ultra-endurance running changes the human body.
Have a scientific question you want us to answer? Email us your question at [email protected].
Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave.
See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.
NPR Privacy Policy9 min - The neuroscience of cracking under pressureThe 2026 Winter Olympics are unfolding in Milan and Cortina, and we can’t look away: We’re watching athletes fly down mountains on skis and glide — sometimes slipping and falling — on the ice. Vikram Chib studies performance and how the brain responds to rewards at Johns Hopkins University. And he says rewards aren’t just for Olympians; they’re baked into basically everything humans do. But those rewards and the pressure that comes with them can come at a cost to people’s brains. And even Olympians are human. Sometimes, we crack. So, today, Vikram dives into the science behind choking under pressure.
Interested in more Olympics science? Email us your question at [email protected] – we may cover it in a future episode!
Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave.
See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.
NPR Privacy Policy13 min - Tea time... with an ape?Picture this: You’re at a pretend tea party, but instead of sitting across from toddlers in tiaras, you’re clinking cups with Kanzi—an ape with the incredible ability to communicate with humans. NPR science correspondent Nate Rott talked to some scientists who did exactly that. But these scientists weren’t just having pretend tea parties with Kanzi for fun, they were trying to test the limits of his imagination – because humans’ ability to play out “pretend” scenarios in our heads and guess at the potential consequences of our actions is key to how we live our lives. And we might not be the only animals to do it!
For more of Nate’s reporting, plus videos of Kanzi, check out the full story on NPR here. Chris Krupenye’s study can be found here.
If you liked this episode, you might also like our episode on bonobos and the evolution of niceness, and what insights monkeys offer us for the evolution of human speech.
Interested in more science about our brains and their abilities? Email us your question at [email protected].
Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave.
See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.
NPR Privacy Policy12 min - Could this vaccine trial mean a future without HIV?Early last year, a hundred researchers, clinicians and other experts on HIV discussed the development of an innovative vaccine that could prevent the disease. But just as the meeting was about to wrap up, the mood darkened. A new executive order signed by President Trump on Inauguration day had frozen all foreign aid, pending a review. Soon, DOGE would begin its decimation of USAID — and with it, this vaccine trial. That is – until the South African researchers came up with a new plan.
Read more of freelance science reporter Ari Daniel’s story here.
This story was supported by a grant from the Pulitzer Center.
Interested in more on the future of science? Email us your question at [email protected].
Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave.
See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.
NPR Privacy Policy12 min - Why do we kiss? It's an evolutionary conundrumThe evolutionary purpose of kissing has long eluded scientists. Smooching is risky, given things like pointy teeth, and inherently gross, given an estimated 80 million bacteria are transferred in a 10 second kiss. And yet, from polar bears to humans, albatrosses and prairie dogs, many animals kiss. So, what gives? Evolutionary biologist Matilda Brindle tells us the sordid details driving this behavior, what distinguishes different kinds of kissing and whether culture has anything to do with why people kiss.
Interested in more of the science behind love and connection? Email us your question at [email protected].
Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave.
See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.
NPR Privacy Policy14 min - AI is great at predicting text. Can it guide robots?
It seems like artificial intelligence is everywhere in our virtual lives. It's in our search results and our phones. But what happens when AI moves out of the chat and into the real world? NPR science editor and correspondent Geoff Brumfiel took a trip to the Intelligence through Robotic Interaction at Scale Lab at Stanford University to see how scientists are using AI to power robots and the large hurtles that exist for them to perform even simple tasks. (encore)
Read Geoff's full story.
Interested in more AI stories? Email us your ideas at [email protected].Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave.
See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.
NPR Privacy Policy13 min - The physics of the Winter OlympicsWatching a ski jumper fly through the air might get you wondering, “How do they do that?” The answer is – physics!
That’s why this episode, we have two physicists – Amy Pope, a physicist from Clemson University and host Regina G. Barber – break down the science at play across some of the sports at the 2026 Winter Olympics. Because what’s a sport without a little friction, lift and conservation of energy? They also get into the new sport this year, ski mountaineering - or “skimo” as many call it - and the recent scandal involving the men’s ski jump suits.
Interested in more science behind Olympic sports? Check out our episodes on how extreme G-forces affect Olympic bobsledders, the physics of figure skating and the science behind Simone Biles' Olympic gold.
Also, we’d love to know what science questions have you stumped. Email us your questions at [email protected] – we may solve it for you on a future episode!
Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave.
See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.
NPR Privacy Policy13 min
About Short Wave
From the publisher's feed
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.
Support public media by joining NPR+ at plus.npr.org. You’ll get perks for over 25 NPR podcasts, including sponsor-free listening for Short Wave.
Support public media by joining NPR+ at plus.npr.org. You’ll get perks for over 25 NPR podcasts, including sponsor-free listening for Short Wave.
Best of Short Wave
Ranked by our users in the last 21 days
More shows like Short Wave
This American Life
91,022 Listeners
Radiolab
43,852 Listeners
Planet Money
30,701 Listeners
Hidden Brain
43,359 Listeners
The NPR Politics Podcast
25,764 Listeners
Science Vs
12,188 Listeners
Science Friday
6,431 Listeners
The Daily
111,799 Listeners
Up First from NPR
56,447 Listeners
The Indicator from Planet Money
9,537 Listeners
Today, Explained
10,267 Listeners
Throughline
16,365 Listeners
Life Kit
4,763 Listeners
Consider This from NPR
6,373 Listeners
Unexplainable
2,314 Listeners