If an asteroid were hurling through space, making a beeline straight to Earth, how would humans prevent it from doing what it did to the dinosaurs? Would we bomb it? Would we shoot lasers at it like a scene from Hollywood's latest sci-fi flick? Well, the folks at NASA have designed and tested a theory.

"The DART mission, the Double Asteroid Redirection Test, is essentially our first test of a kinetic impact for planetary defense." says Cristina Thomas, assistant professor of Astronomy and Planetary Science at Northern Arizona University.

Put simply, scientists at NASA took a spacecraft and crashed it into an asteroid — hoping the little nudge, like bumper cars, would be enough to push the asteroid off course.

Today on the show, Short Wave's scientist-in-residence Regina G. Barber talks to Cristina Thomas about what it was like watching the success of the DART mission and what this means for science and planetary defense.

Email Short Wave at [email protected]. Or, follow us on Twitter at @NPRShortWave.

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy

Griner, a prominent basketball player, had been convicted of bringing hash oil into the country. President Biden secured Griner's release by commuting the sentence of Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout. The president said Russia refused to release other Americans imprisoned in the country, including former Marine Paul Whelan who Russia convicted of espionage in 2018.

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy

The human body is made up of more than 30 trillion cells, but how do they all work together? It's all about communication! "They talk through molecules going from one cell to the adjacent cell," says Dr. Sandra Murray, a professor of cell biology and physiology at the University of Pittsburgh who studies how cells communicate with each other to do complex tasks, like close a wound or deliver a baby.

This year, Dr. Murray became the first person of color elected as president of the American Society for Cell Biology. She talks with host Aaron Scott about the beautiful language of cells, how she made her way as a Black woman in STEM, and what gives her hope in her field today.

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy

The senator has a moderate tone, progressive policies and deep roots in his community. His campaign focused on speaking to voters of all stripes while his opponent, Herschel Walker, doubled-down on base messaging. Can Democrats use that playbook elsewhere?

This episode: White House correspondent Tamara Keith, political correspondent Susan Davis, and GPB reporter Stephen Fowler.

This episode was produced by Elena Moore and Casey Morell. It was edited by Eric McDaniel. Our executive producer is Muthoni Muturi. Research and fact-checking by Katherine Swartz.

Unlock access to this and other bonus content by supporting The NPR Politics Podcast+. Sign up via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.

Connect:
Email the show at [email protected]
Join the NPR Politics Podcast Facebook Group.
Subscribe to the NPR Politics Newsletter.

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy

Just after Thanksgiving, for the first time in almost 40 years, Hawaii's Mauna Loa volcano erupted. It's one of several ongoing eruptions – including Kilauea, also on Hawaii, and Indonesia's Mount Semeru. At just over half the size of the big island of Hawaii, Mauna Loa is the world's biggest active volcano.

Today, volcanologist Alison Graettinger talks to Scientist in Residence Regina G. Barber about what makes Mauna Loa's eruption different than Indonesia's and others around the Pacific, and what it reveals about planet Earth.

Watch the U.S. Geological Survey's live video of the eruption here.

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy

Under a court order, officials in Republican-controlled Cochise County, Ariz., finally certified their local midterm elections results after they missed the state's legal deadline and put more than 47,000 people's votes at risk. A bipartisan pair of former officials in the state are calling for the two members who initially voted against certification to be criminally investigated.

This episode: White House correspondent Tamara Keith, voting correspondent Hansi Lo Wang, and national political correspondent Mara Liasson.

This episode was produced by Elena Moore and Casey Morell. It was edited by Eric McDaniel. Our executive producer is Muthoni Muturi. Research and fact-checking by Katherine Swartz.

Unlock access to this and other bonus content by supporting The NPR Politics Podcast+. Sign up via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.

Note: A previous version of the story's audio contained the wrong date for an Arizona election certification deadline. The deadline was November 28, not November 8.

Connect:
Email the show at [email protected]
Join the NPR Politics Podcast Facebook Group.
Subscribe to the NPR Politics Newsletter.

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy

When lightning strikes a giant tree in the tropical rainforest, there's usually no fire, no blackened crater — you might not even notice any damage. But come back months later, as Evan Gora does, and you may find that tree and dozens around it dead. Gora, a forest ecologist who studies lightning in tropical forests, says we are just beginning to understand how lightning actually behaves in these forests, and what its implications are for climate change. On today's episode, Evan Gora tells Aaron Scott about shocking discoveries in lightning research, and why Evan has developed a healthy respect for the hazards it poses – both to individual researchers and to the forests that life on Earth depends on.

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy

As Democrats plan for a presidential campaign season without Iowa at the top of the calendar, we look at the impact the decision could have on the state — and how the act of running for president itself may never be the same going forward.

This episode: White House correspondent Tamara Keith, senior political editor & correspondent Ron Elving, and Iowa Public Radio's lead political reporter Clay Masters.

This episode was produced and edited by Elena Moore and Casey Morell. Our executive producer is Muthoni Muturi. Research and fact-checking by Katherine Swartz.

Unlock access to this and other bonus content by supporting The NPR Politics Podcast+. Sign up via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.

Connect:
Email the show at [email protected]
Join the NPR Politics Podcast Facebook Group.

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy

It's easy to overlook the soil beneath our feet, or to think of it as just dirt to be cleaned up. But soil wraps the world in an envelope of life: It grows our food, regulates our climate, and makes our planet habitable. "What stands between life and lifelessness on our planet Earth is this thin layer of soil that exists on the Earth's surface," says Asmeret Asefaw Berhe, a soil scientist at the University of California-Merced.

Just ... don't call it dirt.

"I don't like the D-word," Berhe says. Berhe says soil is precious, taking millennia to regenerate. And with about a third of the world's soil degraded, according to a UN estimate, it's also at risk. Prof. Berhe, who is also serving as Director of the U. S. Dept. of Energy's Office of Science, marks World Soil Day by telling Aaron Scott about the hidden majesty of soil and why it's crucial to tackling the climate crisis.

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy

The Democratic National Committee is meeting this week in Washington to decide whether Iowa should still have the first caucus in the party's presidential nominating contest. President Biden and others favor switching to a different state, arguing Iowa's population isn't representative of America as a whole.

Also, Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes was found guilty of seditious conspiracy in a trial related to the Jan. 6 insurrection. What do the results of this and other related trials mean for the Justice Department's ongoing investigations?

This episode: White House correspondent Asma Khalid, political correspondents Susan Davis & Barbara Sprunt, and justice correspondent Ryan Lucas.

This episode was produced and edited by Eric McDaniel, Elena Moore and Casey Morell. Our executive producer is Muthoni Muturi. Research and fact-checking by Katherine Swartz.

Unlock access to this and other bonus content by supporting The NPR Politics Podcast+. Sign up via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.

Connect:
Email the show at [email protected]
Join the NPR Politics Podcast Facebook Group.

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy