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PNAS Science Sessions

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Welcome to Science Sessions, the PNAS podcast program. Listen to brief conversations with cutting-edge researchers, Academy members, and policymakers as they discuss topics relevant to today's scientific community. Learn the behind-the-scenes story of work published in PNAS, plus a broad range of scientific news about discoveries that affect the world around us.

Last refreshed: July 22nd, 2025 at 7:07 PM ⓘ

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Episodes

How a neural network taught itself chess

Tom McGrath describes how the neural network AlphaZero taught itself how to play chess without observing a human game.

Jan 03, 2023•7 min

Honeybees: Nature’s puzzle solvers

Orit Peleg, Golnar Fard and Francisco López Jiménez explain how honeybees overcome geometric constraints to construct honeycombs.

Dec 19, 2022•7 min

Cultural identity in sperm whales

Taylor Hersh explores how patterns of clicks produced by sperm whales suggest the exchange of cultural information between the whales.

Dec 05, 2022•10 min

Tuning into nature’s music

Researchers discuss what animal soundscapes can tell us about the health of ecosystems.

Nov 14, 2022•19 min

Point sources of methane emission

Daniel Cusworth discusses combining aircraft-based and satellite-based measurement to identify methane emission point sources.

Oct 31, 2022•10 min

How climate warming releases ocean methane

Syee Weldeab describes what researchers can learn from ancient global warming about the risks posed by ocean floor methane hydrates.

Oct 17, 2022•11 min

U-turn in occupational gender segregation

Ling Zhu and David B. Grusky explore intergenerational factors influencing occupational gender segregation in the United States.

Oct 03, 2022•10 min

Activated patients reduce implicit bias

Izzy Gainsburg and Veronica Derricks discuss how patient activation can disrupt implicit bias in physician-patient interactions.

Sep 19, 2022•10 min

How bumblebees respond to noxious stimuli

Matilda Gibbons, Lars Chittka and Jonathan Birch discuss the possibility that bumblebees may feel pain.

Sep 06, 2022•10 min

Science of Misinformation

Researchers explore how misinformation spreads and what can be done to stop it.

Aug 15, 2022•21 min

Bias and the placebo effect

Lauren Howe and Alia Crum explore the interactions of societal biases with the placebo effect.

Aug 01, 2022•9 min

Epigenetic clocks for humans and dogs

Steve Horvath and Elaine Ostrander explain the usefulness of epigenetic clocks in humans and dogs.

Jul 18, 2022•13 min

Peopling of the Americas

Researchers explore how and when humans first arrived in the Americas.

Jun 27, 2022•20 min

How the saw sings

L. Mahadevan, Petur Bryde, and Suraj Shankar explain the otherworldly sounds of the musical saw.

Jun 13, 2022•11 min

Underrepresentation of women in economics

Guido Friebel discusses the lack of gender parity in academic positions in economics.

May 31, 2022•13 min

How bias impedes women’s ascent to political leadership

Christianne Corbett and Robb Willer explore perceptions of electability of female political candidates.

May 16, 2022•10 min

Treating cystic fibrosis

A feature episode explores recent developments and future research directions in treating cystic fibrosis.

Apr 25, 2022•25 min

Rising temperatures and European bird traits

Martijn van de Pol reports that approximately half of the changes in the traits of 60 European bird species can be attributed to rising mean temperatures.

Apr 11, 2022•9 min

Origin of the Great Unconformity

Brenhin Keller and Kalin McDannell explore the origins of a worldwide gap in the geologic record spanning hundreds of millions to billions of years.

Mar 28, 2022•8 min

Ethnoracial identity of MENA Americans

Neda Maghbouleh, Ariela Schachter, and René Flores explore the US Census classification of people with Middle Eastern and North African ancestry.

Mar 14, 2022•11 min

Disparities in scholarly output

Thema Monroe-White and Cassidy Sugimoto discuss how disparities at the intersection of race and gender affect the expansion of scientific knowledge.

Feb 28, 2022•9 min

Frontiers in coral conservation – Part 2

Researchers explore cutting-edge approaches to coral reef conservation. Image credit: Cody Engelsma (Mote Marine Laboratory, Sarasota, FL).

Feb 14, 2022•12 min

Frontiers in coral conservation – Part 1

Researchers explore cutting-edge approaches to coral reef conservation. Image credit: Cody Engelsma (Mote Marine Laboratory, Sarasota, FL).

Jan 31, 2022•13 min

Racial disparities in communication

Ray Block Jr. and John Holbein report that Americans are more likely to respond to an emailed survey request from a sender with a putatively White name than a sender with a putatively Black name. Image credit: iStock/Prostock-Studio.

Jan 18, 2022•13 min

Tropical forests in the Anthropocene – Part 2

A collection of research articles explores how tropical ecosystems have borne the brunt of the human impact on the environment. Image credit: Pixabay/Pexels.

Dec 27, 2021•15 min

Tropical forests in the Anthropocene – Part 1

A collection of research articles explores how tropical ecosystems have borne the brunt of the human impact on the environment. Image credit: Pixabay/Pexels.

Dec 13, 2021•15 min

CRISPR use in agriculture: Part 2

A special episode explores the state of CRISPR use in agriculture. Image credit: Can Stock Photo/molekuul.

Nov 29, 2021•18 min

CRISPR use in agriculture: Part 1

A special episode explores the state of CRISPR use in agriculture. Image credit: Can Stock Photo/molekuul.

Nov 15, 2021•17 min

Language loss and medicinal plant knowledge

Rodrigo Cámara-Leret explains the impact of indigenous language extinction on medicinal plant knowledge. Image credit: Pixabay/DEZALB.

Nov 02, 2021•17 min

How Zen stones form

Nicolas Taberlet and Nicolas Plihon explore the physical explanation for a fascinating natural phenomenon: the formation of Zen stones on frozen lakes. Image credit: N. Taberlet, N. Plihon. Lab Physique ENS de Lyon and CNRS.

Oct 18, 2021•11 min

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