Short Wave

Asked and answered: why some of you might be more prone to being bitten by mosquitoes* than others. Turns out, some interesting factors could make you more appetizing. Plus, in true micro wave fashion, we go over some of your delightful listener mail.

*In general, much more research needs to be done to understand all the nuances of what makes us so appealing to some mosquitoes.

Email us your scientific questions, praise, comments and concerns at [email protected]. It just might end up in an episode!

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The Department of Homeland Security official says in his complaint that he was ordered to halt reports that made the president "look bad." DHS and the White House deny the allegation.

This episode: campaign correspondent Scott Detrow, White House correspondent Franco Ordoñez, election security editor Phil Ewing, and congressional correspondent Susan Davis.

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NPR science correspondent Nell Greenfieldboyce had to know more when she recently heard this mind-bending fact for the first time: a quarter of all known animal species are beetles.

Turns out — it's not just that beetles are incredibly diverse. It's that they inspire a lot of passionate study within the scientific community. But there's at least one other animal that might give beetles a run for their money.

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President Trump was aware of the severity of the coronavirus in early February, telling Bob Woodward that it was much more severe than the flu. In public, Trump used the flu comparison in a different way: highlighting the flu's high seasonal death toll compared to the few dozen early cases of coronavirus.

He admitted to Woodward in March that he was intentionally downplaying the pandemic in order to avoid panic.

Those revelations are contained in Woodward's new book Rage.

The United States death toll from the disease will likely top 200,000 by the end of the month.

This episode: campaign correspondent Scott Detrow, White House reporter Ayesha Rascoe, and senior political editor and correspondent Ron Elving.

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Fire has always been part of California's landscape. But long before the vast blazes of recent years, Native American tribes held controlled burns that cleared out underbrush, encouraged new plant growth, and helped manage wildfires. It's a tradition that disappeared with the arrival of Western settlers. NPR climate correspondent Lauren Sommer explains how tribal leaders are trying to restore the practice by partnering up with state officials who are starting to see cultural burns as a way to help bring extreme wildfires under control.

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Pressed on whether he was politicizing vaccine development by suggesting that a vaccine could come before election day (very unlikely), President Trump insisted his pitch was that a vaccine would be available by the end of the year, and that he was just saying it may be possible by late October or early November. And, his campaign is struggling with money.

This episode: campaign correspondent Scott Detrow, White House reporter Ayesha Rascoe, and national political correspondent Mara Liasson.

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About 30% of people in science and engineering jobs in the U.S. were born outside the country. So when the Trump Administration suspended certain work visas in June, including one held by a lot of international scientists, research labs across the nation felt the effects. On the show, we talk to a physicist affected by the order, and The Chronicle of Higher Education's Karin Fischer about what policies like this mean for science research in the U.S.

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In this Labor Day episode of the podcast, we hear from voters in Wisconsin, Iowa, and Pennsylvania about how they're feeling about their options in November.

This episode: campaign correspondent Asma Khalid, campaign correspondent Scott Detrow, political reporter Danielle Kurtzleben, and national political correspondent Mara Liasson,

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Isolated bursts of violence between protesters have left at least three Americans dead. But demonstrations across the country remain primarily peaceful. And reporting in The Atlantic alleges that President Trump called military service members "losers" and repeatedly privately degraded troops.

Also: Facebook now acknowledges that it has a role to play in election security, but experts say that the moves it announced this week are insufficient given the scale of the problems — especially when it comes to disinformation originating from President Trump.

This episode: campaign correspondent Asma Khalid, White House correspondent Franco Ordoñez, justice correspondent Ryan Lucas, technology correspondent Shannon Bond, and voting reporter Miles Parks.

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*Astrophysically speaking. That's the subject of Katie Mack's new book: the possible ends to our entire universe. Specifically, she breaks down some following potential outcomes: heat death, the big crunch and vacuum decay. (Spoiler alert: the names of the other scenarios we don't get to in this episode are just as cool.)

Email the show your existential questions at [email protected]. But please, no existential dread at this time — we're full up on that.

P.S. We're off Monday for Labor Day. So, catch you Tuesday!

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