Unexplainable

By Vox

Natural Sciences

What's Unexplainable about?

Unexplainable takes listeners right up to the edge of what we know ... and then keeps right on going. This Vox podcast explores scientific mysteries, unanswered questions, and all the things we learn by diving into the unknown. New episodes every Wednesday.

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LAST EPISODE

Does garlic break magnets?

09.20.2023

What would an episode of Unexplainable have sounded like if it had been made in 100 CE? For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable It’s a great place to view show transcripts and read more about the topics on our show. Also, ...

Unexplainable episodes:

09.20.2023 Does garlic break magnets? What would an episode of Unexplainable have sounded like if it had been made in 100 CE? For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable It’s a great place to view show transcripts and read more about the topics on our show. Also, ...
09.13.2023 How to decode a thought Can researchers decipher what people are thinking about just by looking at brain scans? With AI, they're getting closer. How far can they go, and what does it mean for privacy? To buy tickets to our upcoming live show in ...
08.30.2023 It’s getting harder to see Something about modern life is leading to higher rates of nearsightedness across the world. What is it? To buy tickets to our upcoming live show in New York, go to http://vox.com/unexplainablelive For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable It’s a great place ...
08.23.2023 Jumping the gun At last year’s World Athletics Championships, sprinter TyNia Gaither was disqualified for false starting... after the gun went off. Officials said she started faster than humanly possible. How can that be? This episode originally ran on June 15, 2022. For ...
08.16.2023 Can we talk to animals? Two scientists explain how AI might help us translate animal communication, and what we might learn from their squawks, chirps, songs, and chatter. This episode was recorded live at the Aspen Ideas Festival. For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable It’s a ...
08.09.2023 Unexplainable or Not: Beach day! Sam Sanders, host of Vulture’s Into It podcast, is in the hot seat for a new episode of our game show. Can he guess which sandy mystery has been solved and which ones are still unexplainable? For more, go to ...
08.02.2023 Who let the wolves in? Dogs were the first domesticated animal in history, emerging from wolves some 20,000 years ago. But how did wolves become dogs? To find the answer, scientists have to play with a lot of puppies. For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable It’s ...
07.26.2023 Why do we have a moon? In all our searching of the universe, we’ve never seen another moon like ours. It's big, it's weird, and it has played a huge role in shaping our planet. But how did we get it? Every possible story points to ...
07.19.2023 The Black Box: In AI we trust? AI can often solve problems in unexpected, undesirable ways. So how can we make sure it does what we want, the way we want? And what happens if we can’t? This is the second episode of our new two-part series, ...
07.12.2023 The Black Box: Even AI’s creators don’t understand it AI has the potential to impact our society in dramatic ways, but researchers can’t explain precisely how it works or how it might evolve. Will they ever understand it? This is the first episode of our new two-part series, The ...
06.28.2023 Do animals grieve? A dog on its owner’s grave. A killer whale carrying around its dead calf. A goose that isolates when its mate dies. These behaviors in animals may look like human mourning, but should scientists call them "grief?" For more, go ...
06.21.2023 Why do we dream? Dreams are weird, but can they be a scientific tool? Can they teach us anything about humanity? About ourselves? This episode originally ran on April 12, 2022. For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable It’s a great place to view show transcripts ...
06.14.2023 Cracking the Indus code The Indus Valley civilization was one of the largest, most advanced civilizations in the ancient world. But we barely know anything about them, in large part because we haven’t been able to decipher the cryptic symbols they left behind. For ...
06.07.2023 Awestruck Awe is what takes our breath away when we face a sky full of stars or listen to a moving piece of music. But scientists are still trying to pin down why we feel such a powerful emotion, and whether ...
05.24.2023 Expecting: Weed and pregnancy Many states have extremely punitive policies around cannabis and pregnancy. But researchers don't actually have great data on cannabis's harms. For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable It’s a great place to view show transcripts and read more about the topics on ...
05.17.2023 Expecting: Baby brain Caring for a child seems to change parents’ brains. But what does that actually mean for how parents think and experience the world? For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable It’s a great place to view show transcripts and read more about ...
05.10.2023 Expecting: Pregnancy souvenirs Fetuses leave cells behind in their parents' bodies, where they braid themselves into tissues, and remain, for years. What are they doing in there? For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable It’s a great place to view show transcripts and read more ...
05.03.2023 The tornado problem 2023 has been a record-setting year for tornadoes, and these storms came with barely any warning. So to better understand tornadoes, scientists might need to confront more of these storms head-on. This episode originally ran on July 12, 2021. For ...
04.26.2023 How to resurrect a mammoth Scientists are hard at work trying to bring back woolly mammoths (and dodos). But should they? And what would they actually be bringing back? For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable It’s a great place to view show transcripts and read more ...
04.19.2023 Live show, dead dinosaurs We did a live show! We talked about how one of our favorite episodes came together and how we went about creating (somewhat) accurate dinosaur sounds. For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable It’s a great place to view show transcripts and ...
04.12.2023 Talking trees Studies suggesting trees communicate through an elaborate underground fungal network have captured imaginations. It’s a beautiful idea, but the fantasy may have gotten ahead of the science. For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable It’s a great place to view show transcripts ...
04.05.2023 Your questions, unexplained This week, we tackle three listener questions — on sleepwalking, deja vu, and Earth’s magnetic field. Next time, we could be (not) answering yours. Email us at [email protected], or fill out this form. For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable It’s a ...
03.22.2023 What's so funny? Scientists are digging into what makes something funny. We compare their notes with comedians — including Atsuko Okatsuka, Josh Johnson, Dulcé Sloan, and Chris Fleming. For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable It’s a great place to view show transcripts and read ...
03.15.2023 Origins: The meaning of “life” For every definition of life, there’s a creature that sends us right back to the drawing board. This is the third episode in our three-part series, Origins, about the beginnings and boundaries of life on Earth. For more, go to ...
03.08.2023 Origins: The first living thing How did life on Earth start? To help answer that, researchers are trying to create some life for themselves. This is the second episode in our three-part series, Origins, about the beginnings and boundaries of life on Earth. For more, ...
03.01.2023 Origins: How did Earth get its water? Life as we know it needs water, but scientists can’t figure out where Earth’s water came from. Answering that question is just one piece of an even bigger mystery: “Why are we here?” This is the first episode in our ...
02.15.2023 What is love? Can science help us predict whether a relationship will succeed? Or is it all just chaos? This episode originally ran on February 9, 2022. For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable It’s a great place to view show transcripts and read more ...
02.08.2023 Why we hiccup Listeners told us that eating baby carrots or telling lies can bring on the hiccups. Burping or kissing can make them stop. Um, what? For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable It’s a great place to view show transcripts and read more ...
02.01.2023 We booped an asteroid Last fall, a NASA spacecraft slammed into an asteroid to test a way to avert a disaster on Earth. So are we safe now? For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable It’s a great place to view show transcripts and read more ...
01.25.2023 Your creepy, crawly roommates Our houses are homes to hidden worlds of bugs. And the more ecologists explore those worlds, the more they realize that some of our tiny roommates actually have a lot to teach us. For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable It’s a ...
01.18.2023 Henrietta Leavitt and the end of the universe In the early 1900s, Henrietta Leavitt made one of the most important discoveries in the history of astronomy: a yardstick to measure distances to faraway stars. Using this tool, scientists eventually transformed our understanding of the universe. They realized space ...
01.11.2023 Plants with eyes? In the temperate rainforests of Chile, there is a vine that can shapeshift to copy the look of other plants. But how? Can it... see them? Or is something weirder happening? For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable It’s a great place ...
01.04.2023 Unexplainable or Not: Bikes, planes, ice skates Our game show is back! This week, Avery Trufelman, host of the Articles of Interest podcast, tries to guess which of these three mysteries of movement have been solved and which are still unexplainable. For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable It’s ...
12.21.2022 Your gut's feelings How we feel emotionally may be influenced by unseen troves of microbial life that live inside us. Is it possible to harness this gut power? For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable It’s a great place to view show transcripts and read ...
12.14.2022 Nuclear fusion breaks through Back in January, we spoke to a scientist at the National Ignition Facility about how close they were to achieving what’s been called “one of the most impressive scientific feats of the 21st century.” This week, they announced they’ve finally ...
12.07.2022 Basic instinct How do animals know how to do things like spin a web or build a dam? A neuroscientist argues it's not “instinct.” Something bigger is going on. For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable It’s a great place to view show transcripts ...
11.30.2022 Why we cry Humans seem to be the only animals that cry from emotion. What makes our tears so special? For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable It’s a great place to view show transcripts and read more about the topics on our show. Also, ...
11.16.2022 Can we live in space? NASA just launched the Artemis program, a series of missions that will eventually take humans back to the moon, and beyond. But can humans actually survive in space long-term? For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable It’s a great place to view ...
11.09.2022 Holding on to power A mountain, a tower, a thermos full of molten salt: These are the batteries that could power our renewable future. For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable It’s a great place to view show transcripts and read more about the topics on ...
11.02.2022 Redefining death Death used to be fairly self-evident, but new technologies have forced us to ask: When is someone actually dead? And now, new research is raising a further question: Could death someday be reversible? For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable It’s a ...
10.26.2022 Talking to ghosts Why do so many people think they can see and hear ghosts, and what does that say about our conscious experience of the world? This episode originally ran on October 27, 2021. For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable It’s a great ...
10.19.2022 Why is everyone getting food allergies? In the past few decades, the rate of food allergies in both children and adults has dramatically increased. What’s causing this rise, and what can we do about it? For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable It’s a great place to view ...
10.15.2022 Introducing The Gray Area On the first episode of Vox’s new podcast, The Gray Area, host Sean Illing talks with Neil deGrasse Tyson about the limits of both politics and science. Listen and follow on Apple Podcasts: https://bit.ly/3Cxl1KD Listen and follow on Spotify: https://bit.ly/3er7Mn2 ...
10.05.2022 Let’s play Unexplainable or Not For the first time, we get some answers. For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable It’s a great place to view show transcripts and read more about the topics on our show. Also, email us! unex[email protected] We read every email. Support Unexplainable ...
09.28.2022 The math problem that could break the internet Today's internet is built on a series of locks and keys that protect your private information as it travels through cyberspace. But could all these locks be broken? For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable It’s a great place to view show ...
09.21.2022 Jumping the gun At the 2022 World Athletics Championships, sprinter TyNia Gaither was disqualified for false starting ... after the gun went off. Officials said she started faster than humanly possible. How can that be? For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable It’s a great ...
09.14.2022 An Alzheimer's uproar This past July, a bombshell report in Science magazine suggested that a key Alzheimer’s study might have contained manipulated evidence. What does this mean for over a decade's worth of research? And where does the field go from here? For ...
08.31.2022 Salamander search party One of the world’s most biodiverse aquifers is full of strange, blind creatures that have evolved in isolation for millions of years. But one is missing. This episode was reported by Benji Jones and Mandy Nguyen, who produced the episode. ...
08.24.2022 What did dinosaurs sound like? They probably didn’t roar like lions. Their real voices were likely much, much weirder. We asked scientists to help us recreate these strange, extinct sounds. For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable It’s a great place to view show transcripts and read ...
08.17.2022 Can ovaries make new eggs? There's an old story scientists tell about human ovaries: that they are ticking clocks that only lose eggs, never gain them. Now that story might be changing, opening the door to new treatments for infertility and menopause. For more, go ...

Older episodes

Unexplainable

What's Unexplainable about?

Download our free app to listen on your phone

Unexplainable episodes:

Does garlic break magnets?

How to decode a thought

It’s getting harder to see

Jumping the gun

Can we talk to animals?

Unexplainable or Not: Beach day!

Who let the wolves in?

Why do we have a moon?

The Black Box: In AI we trust?

The Black Box: Even AI’s creators don’t understand it

Do animals grieve?

Why do we dream?

Cracking the Indus code

Awestruck

Expecting: Weed and pregnancy

Expecting: Baby brain

Expecting: Pregnancy souvenirs

The tornado problem

How to resurrect a mammoth

Live show, dead dinosaurs

Talking trees

Your questions, unexplained

What's so funny?

Origins: The meaning of “life”

Origins: The first living thing

Origins: How did Earth get its water?

What is love?

Why we hiccup

We booped an asteroid

Your creepy, crawly roommates

Henrietta Leavitt and the end of the universe

Plants with eyes?

Unexplainable or Not: Bikes, planes, ice skates

Your gut's feelings

Nuclear fusion breaks through

Basic instinct

Why we cry

Can we live in space?

Holding on to power

Redefining death

Talking to ghosts

Why is everyone getting food allergies?

Introducing The Gray Area

Let’s play Unexplainable or Not

The math problem that could break the internet

Jumping the gun

An Alzheimer's uproar

Salamander search party

What did dinosaurs sound like?

Can ovaries make new eggs?