Radiolab is on a curiosity bender. We ask deep questions and use investigative journalism to get the answers. A given episode might whirl you through science, legal history, and into the home of someone halfway across the world. The show is known for innovative sound design, smashing information into music. It is hosted by Lulu Miller and Latif Nasser.
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When we think of China today, we think of a technological superpower. From Huawei and 5G to TikTok and viral social media, China is stride for stride with the United States in the world of computing. However, China’s technological renaissance almost didn’t happen. And for one very basic reason: the Chinese language, with its 70,000 plus characters, couldn’t fit on a keyboard. Today, we tell the story of Professor Wang Yongmin, a hard-headed computer programmer who solved this puzzle and laid the...
Oceanographer Edie Widder shares her lifelong journey exploring deep-sea bioluminescence, a phenomenon she first encountered with a glowing shrimp. She describes the challenges of studying this "dripping light" and how creatures use it for vital functions like hunting, mating, defense, and camouflage. The episode delves into the mysterious mechanisms and evolutionary origins of this underwater glow, highlighting its potential as the planet's most common form of communication and the awe it evokes.
Radiolab delves into the perplexing intellectual U-turn of Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, whose pivotal 1919 dissent introduced the "marketplace of ideas" and fundamentally reshaped American free speech. The episode explores the personal and political influences behind his change of heart, including his Civil War experience and interactions with young progressive intellectuals. It then critically examines whether this influential metaphor holds up in the era of social media, presenting research that reveals how falsehoods often outcompete truth online, urging a re-evaluation of our approach to free speech as a continuous, adapting experiment.
Radiolab investigates the radical shift in online content moderation, focusing on how TikTok's model of proactively pushing "milquetoast" content has reshaped platforms like Facebook. The discussion highlights the move from reactive content removal to a system of "prior restraint" and "platform islands," where owners exert immense power in shaping public opinion. This evolution raises critical questions about free speech, political influence, and the future "productification of speech" in an increasingly automated digital landscape.
This episode explores Ella Al-Shamahi's unique path from a devout creationist, who became a missionary at 13, to a respected evolutionary biologist. She recounts her struggle at university to disprove Darwin, confronting undeniable scientific evidence like retrotransposons that ultimately shattered her worldview. Ella describes the traumatic experience of leaving her ultra-conservative community, forging a new identity, and how this personal ordeal now informs her empathetic approach to engaging with those who deny science.
Radiolab revisits the Supreme Court case Adoptive Couple v. Baby Girl, which placed a three-year-old girl at the center of a legal storm involving her biological father, an adoptive couple, and the 1978 Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA). The episode explores the devastating historical context of Native American child removal that led to ICWA's creation, the personal heartbreaks of the families involved, and the intricate legal arguments that ultimately affirmed ICWA while returning Veronica to her adoptive parents. It also touches on the lingering questions about ICWA's future challenges and the definition of Native American identity in law.
Dive into the intricate world of the human voice, tracing its surprising evolutionary journey from ancient fish to complex mammalian speech. The episode delves into the profound neurological impact of voices, particularly a mother's, on the developing brain. It then shares the powerful and poignant story of Alice Wong, an activist who confronts the loss of her speaking voice and redefines dignity while navigating communication through technology, connecting her experience to the overlooked legacy of the Passy Muir valve inventor.
In the 1920s, a Russian biologist studying onion roots made a surprising discovery: underground, down in the darkness, it seemed like the cells inside the onion roots were making their own … light. The “onion root experiment” went on to become something of a cult classic in science, and eventually the biologically-made light was dubbed “biophotons.” In the ensuing century, biophoton discoveries moved from onion roots to bacteria, frog embryos, and humans. Today, scientist Nirosha Murugan is on a...
How a group of 80’s Cuban misfits found rock-and-roll and created a revolution within a revolution, going into exile without ever leaving home. Reporter Luis Trelles brings us the story of punk rock’s arrival in Cuba and a small band of outsiders who sentenced themselves to death and set themselves free. We originally released this episode back in 2015 in a collaboration with Radio Ambulante, but the story is so fascinating (and, in many ways, still relevant) that we haven’t stopped thinking abo...
In August we performed a live taping of the show from a theater perched on the edge of Manhattan, overlooking the Hudson River, overshadowed by the wide open night sky. Three stories about voids. One about a fish that screams into the night – and the mystery of its counterpart that doesn’t. Another about a group of women who gazed at the night sky and taught us just how vast the universe is, and a third about a man who talk to aliens – and the people who tell him he’s putting human civilization ...
With this episode, we’re putting on our music hat. For a program that relies so much on scoring and sound, it’s not often we talk about the musicians and the music they make that inspire us. Today, that changes. Today, we bring you two stories. Each about musicians that our former host and creator of Radiolab, Jad Abumrad, loves. We originally released these stories many years ago, and both start deep in music itself. Then quickly, they dig deeper — into our relationships with technology, and ou...
As he finished his medical school exam, David Fajgenbaum felt off. He walked down to the ER and checked himself in. Soon he was in the ICU with multiple organ failure. The only drug for his condition didn’t work. He had months to live, if that. If he was going to survive, he was going to have to find his own cure. Miraculously, he pulled it off in the nick of time. From that ordeal, he realized that our system of discovering and approving drugs is far from perfect, and that he might be able to u...
In an episode first released in 2010, then-producer Lulu Miller drives to Michigan to track down the endangered Kirtland’s warbler. Efforts to protect the bird have lead to the killing of cowbirds (a species that commandeers warbler nests), and a prescribed burn aimed at creating a new habitat. Tragically, this burn led to the death of a 29-year-old wildlife technician who was dedicated to warbler restoration. Forest Service employee Rita Halbeisen, local Michiganders skeptical of the resources ...
This episode delves into the surprising discovery of menopause in killer whales and chimpanzees, challenging the long-held belief that it's unique to humans. It explores various hypotheses for why females of certain species live long after reproduction, from the 'grandmother hypothesis' in orcas to the 'reproductive conflict' in chimps. Ultimately, the episode reframes the post-menopausal phase as a time of purpose, wisdom, and new possibilities, inviting a re-evaluation of societal roles for older females.
Astrophysicist Charity Woodrum shares her journey studying the life and death of galaxies, a pursuit rooted in her challenging childhood. After experiencing an unimaginable personal tragedy, she found herself searching for light in the darkest places—both in the cosmos and within herself. Her groundbreaking discovery of galaxy rejuvenation, where dying galaxies can reignite star formation, powerfully mirrored her own path toward healing and finding hope amidst profound grief, ultimately leading her to her dream job at NASA.
Radiolab delves into two profound concepts that push the boundaries of human perception. First, theoretical physicist Brian Greene discusses the multiverse, where our universe is just one of many, prompting a re-evaluation of what can truly be known. The second segment features author Jim Holt, who challenges the perceived solidity of matter, revealing that even seemingly tangible objects are mostly empty space and governed by mathematical fields rather than physical "stuff." Together, these discussions question the fundamental nature of existence, suggesting a universe rooted in abstract ideas and information.
Back in 2017 our colleagues at More Perfect gathered a room full of people together to debate a straight forward question: Can free speech go too far? Today, eight years have passed and plenty has changed, but this question feels alive as ever. And so we’re re-airing More Perfect’s The Hate Debate. Taped live at WNYC's Jerome L. Greene Performance Space, Elie Mystal, Ken White and Corynne McSherry duke it out over whether the first amendment needs an update in our digital world. Special thanks t...
This Radiolab episode delves into the profound concept of symmetry, beginning with an ancient parable about seeking our other halves and then exploring it through modern science. It features a neuroscientist's brain-scanning experiments on human "clicking" and a deep dive into chirality, revealing why life's molecules are surprisingly left-handed. The discussion continues with how our perception of self is shaped by mirrors and seemingly minor details like hair parts, before concluding with the astonishing realization that the very existence of matter in the universe is due to a fundamental asymmetry.
This episode delves into the fascinating history of shortwave radio, from its early promise as a utopian tool for global connection to its evolution into a powerful instrument for government propaganda during WWII and the Cold War. It explores how shortwave became a battleground for ideological conflicts and later, after the Cold War, a haven for extremist groups, setting the stage for surprising modern developments.
Jilted lovers and disrupted duck hunts provide a very odd look into the soul of the US Constitution. What does a betrayed lover’s revenge have to do with an international chemical weapons treaty? More than you’d think. From poison and duck hunts to our feuding fathers, we step into a very odd tug of war between local and federal law. When Carol Anne Bond found out her husband had impregnated her best friend, she took revenge. Carol's particular flavor of revenge led to a US Supreme Court case th...
This episode explores the surprising ways sharks reproduce, from live birth to spiral egg cases. It then delves into one man's decade-long effort in Malta to rescue shark egg cases from dead fish and raise the babies in captivity before releasing them back into the ocean. The story sparks a debate about the effectiveness of such 'feel-good' conservation versus its impact on public education and changing perceptions about sharks.
Marine biologist Alison Kock discovered the incredible flying great white sharks of False Bay, a predation hotspot for seals. But these apex predators mysteriously disappeared after strange deaths. Drone footage revealed orcas were hunting the sharks specifically for their livers, driving the remaining sharks away through fear, illustrating how even top predators can be displaced.
This episode delves into the surprising world of shark immunology, tracing the evolution of the immune system back 450 million years to these ancient creatures. Researchers are now investigating flexible shark antibodies for their potential to target cancer cells and other diseases, highlighting how animals we fear might hold keys to medical breakthroughs.
In this episode of Radiolab's "Week of Sharks," the team confronts the cinematic image of sharks by embarking on a cage diving expedition in South Australia. The journey involves waiting for days to see a great white shark and experiencing the mix of fear and wonder when finally descending into the water. The episode then delves into the deep evolutionary history of sharks, highlighting their survival through mass extinctions and the astonishing diversity of species across the globe.
Episode one of Swimming with Shadows: A Radiolab Week of Sharks . Rodney Fox went into the ocean one summer day in 1963. He came out barely alive, his body torn apart by a great white shark. At the time, it was one of the worst shark attacks ever survived. After he recovered, he was pulled back into the shadowy world he feared most. Again and again and again. That shark attack left behind a question that still lingers, for Rodney, and for all of us: When you can’t see the thing that scares you, ...
Radiolab is on a curiosity bender. We ask deep questions and use investigative journalism to get the answers. A given episode might whirl you through science, legal history, and into the home of someone halfway across the world. The show is known for innovative sound design, smashing information into music. It is hosted by Lulu Miller and Latif Nasser. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising....
Radiolab announces a special week-long series, "Swimming with Shadows: A Radiolab Week of Sharks," challenging the monstrous image created by Jaws. The series aims to transform the public's perception by exploring diverse, surprising stories about sharks, from flying and glowing species to those potentially curing cancer, presenting them as complex animals rather than just scary predators.
Tsutomu Yamaguchi was in Hiroshima when the first atomic bomb dropped, miraculously surviving before traveling home to Nagasaki, where he survived the second bomb just three days later. The episode delves into his immediate health struggles and the scientific community's fears that radiation-damaged DNA would create a "thousand-year curse" of genetic defects in future generations. Surprisingly, studies revealed a remarkable resilience, suggesting robust DNA repair mechanisms played a key role, allowing Yamaguchi to live a long life and challenging initial predictions about hereditary damage.
Recorded live, this episode dives into the mysterious undigestible sugars in breast milk and the unique gut bacteria, Bifidobacterium infantis, they nourish. Hear compelling stories of how reintroducing Bifid helped save dying foals and dramatically improved a baby's severe pain. Discover the groundbreaking results in preventing a deadly disease in premature infants, the surprising disappearance of this co-evolved microbe from modern populations, and the theory linking its absence to rising health issues, despite regulatory hurdles.
Animals rescue people all the time, but not like this. In this episode, first aired more than a decade ago, Jim Eggers is a 44-year-old man who suffers from a problem that not only puts his life at risk—it jeopardizes the safety of everybody around him. But with the help of Sadie, his pet African Grey Parrot, Jim found an unlikely way to manage his anger. African Grey Parrot expert Irene Pepperberg helps us understand how this could work, and shares some insights from her work with a parrot name...
