Short Wave

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 tell scientists more about the structure, the interior and the habitability of Europa, one of the four large moons of Jupiter. Host Regina G. Barber talks with astrobiologist and friend of the show Mike Wong about why their mutual love for this fascinating moon and what it means for the search for life outside of Earth. Plus, they talk about other icy moons that may also have the trifecta of ingredients needed to sustain life: liquid water, specific elements and an energy source.

Want to hear more space science? Let your voice be heard by emailing [email protected]!

Also, if you liked this episode, check out our episodes on NASA's future missions to Uranus and our episode on whether Dune could really exist!

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In honor of our show turning 5 (!!) today...
5 Short Wave staffers
answer 5(x2) questions
from some of our 5-year-old listeners
and explain the science ... like they're 5.

SPOILER ALERT: The questions are brilliant, delightful and span everything from how colors work to insects, the formation of Earth and space.

Want to know more about the science of the world? Email us at [email protected] — we might cover it on a future episode!

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Host Regina G. Barber talks with Rosalyn LaPier about ethnobotany--what it is and how traditional plant knowledge is frequently misunderstood in the era of COVID and psychedelics. And, how it's relevant and important for reproductive health today. (encore)

Have a topic you want us to cover on a future episode? Email us at [email protected]!

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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 glaciers we're more familiar with, rock glaciers are under-researched and hiding in plain sight. But inside these glaciers covered with rocks is a little bit of climate hope.

Read more of science correspondent Nell Greenfieldboyce's reporting here.

Want to know more about the hidden science of the world? Email us at [email protected] — we might cover it on a future episode!

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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 these feelings get out of hand in humans today? And why do some of us crave that feeling from scary movies or haunted houses? For answers, we turn to Arash Javanbakht, a psychiatrist from Wayne State University. He likes studying fear so much, he wrote a whole book called Afraid. This episode, he gets into the difference between fear and anxiety, many of the reasons people feel afraid and why things like scary movies could even be therapeutic.

Want to know more about the science behind what keeps you up at night? Email us at [email protected] — we might cover it on a future episode!

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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 the mid-20th century. Then, there was an era of "micro-expression training," which claimed person could be caught lying through a skilled analysis of their face. Now, there's talk of using artificial intelligence to analyze the human voice.

But do any of these methods even work? And if not ... what are the risks? Emily and Gina investigates how deception research has changed and why it matters.

Check out our episode page, where Emily linked to the experts she talked to and the papers she discussed.

Got another human behavior you want us to investigate using science? Email us at [email protected] — we'd love to hear from you!

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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 diagram of 50 million connections in an adult fruit flies brain. The journal Nature simultaneously published nine papers related to this new brain map. Until now, only a roundworm and a fruit fly larva had been mapped in this way.

Read more of science correspondent Jon Hamilton's reporting here.

Want to know more about the future of brain science? Email us at [email protected] — we might cover it on a future episode!

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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 week in the journal Nature holds new insights into the precursor to lightning. To figure it out, researchers flew a NASA ER-2 – essentially the research version of a spy plane – over several tropical thunderstorms. What they found: The same high energy radiation is found in places like neutron stars and around black holes.

Want to hear more stories about the science behind natural phenomena? Email us at [email protected] — we'd love to hear from you!

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Years ago, astronomy professors started noticing something that troubled them: Many of their students didn't understand climate change and the science supporting it. So a small group of professors decided to do something about it — teach climate change in their introductory astronomy courses.

Want to hear more stories about climate change? Email us at [email protected] — we'd love to hear from you!

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Over six million fungal species are believed to inhabit planet Earth. Outsmarting them is the work of Arturo Casadevall's lifetime. What If Fungi Win? is the question at the heart of Arturo's new book, co-authored with journalist Stephanie Desmon. In this episode, Emily and Regina take a trip to Arturo's lab at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore and meet a group of scientists thinking about the fungal consequences of climate change, urban heat islands, and scooping up microbes with candy.

Curious about fungi? Email us at [email protected] — we'd love to hear from you!

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