Science Quickly

Scientific American•www.sciencequickly.com

Host Rachel Feltman, alongside leading science and tech journalists, dives into the rich world of scientific discovery in this bite-size science variety show.

Last refreshed: June 12th, 2026 at 10:21 AM

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Episodes

Parrot Babies Babble Just like Us

Parrot nestlings spend time stringing together jumbled mixtures of sound—a rehearsal for more adult conversations Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

May 12, 2023•8 min

A 19th-Century Obscenity Law Is Being Used Again to Limit Abortion

Recent rulings on the abortion pill cite the Comstock Act, a 150-year-old law that’s still on the books Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

May 10, 2023•10 min

These Mini Ecosystems Existed Underfoot of Dinosaurs, but Our Parking Lots Might Pave Them to Extinction

Vernal pools are safe havens for creatures such as fairy shrimp, and they have lived through the end of the dinosaurs, the breakup of Pangaea and multiple ice ages. But humans are paving them over. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

May 08, 2023•10 min

This $600-Million Room Contains the World's Largest Collection of These Tiny Endangered Animals

Inside a vault at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles lies a microscopic population of immense value—the repository for vernal pool fairy shrimp. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

May 05, 2023•10 min

Surviving in the Ephemeral Pools of Life

Carpets of gold, burrowing toads and fairy shrimp all depend on vernal pools—habitats that, most of the time, do not exist. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

May 03, 2023•11 min

This Fleeting Ecosystem Is Magical, and You Have Probably Never Heard of It or Even Noticed It

Vernal pools are home to spectacular residents such as fairy shrimp, but these unusual natural wonders are under threat. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

May 01, 2023•9 min

Do We Need To Save the Whales Again?

A scientist who does whale necropsies — or in layman's terms, whale autopsies — tells us why so many dead whales are washing up on beaches. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apr 28, 2023•8 min

The Bad Side of 'Good' Cholesterol

Very high HDL cholesterol levels almost double your risk of heart problems. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apr 26, 2023•9 min

AI Chatbots and the Humans Who Love Them

Humans are building meaningful relationships with AI chatbots. What will the consequences be? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apr 24, 2023•14 min

A Mission to Jupiter's Strange Moons Is Finally on Its Way

The Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE) and Europa Clipper missions will search for signs of habitability on three of Jupiter’s potentially ocean-bearing moons. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apr 19, 2023•9 min

The Surprising Backstory behind Witch Hunts and Reproductive Labor

Two of the foremost experts on witch hunts talk about the link between the formation of domestic labor and the rise of witch hunting. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apr 18, 2023•9 min

What You Need to Know about GPT-4

The AI GPT-4 has emergent abilities—but that’s not why it’s scary. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apr 14, 2023•11 min

Good News for Coffee Lovers

A careful new study reveals coffee is generally safe for your heart and may boost your daily step count. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apr 12, 2023•11 min

Meet the Magnificent Microbes of the Deep Unknown

These two researchers journey toward the center of Earth—via windows to the crust—to find bacteria that can breathe iron, arsenic and other metals that would kill us pretty quickly. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apr 10, 2023•14 min

How Zombifying Fungi Became Master Manipulators

The real-life fungi that inspired The Last of Us hijack the bodies of ants, wasps, cicadas, and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apr 07, 2023•13 min

Science Has New Ideas about 'Oumuamua's Weirdness

Our first known interstellar visitor is now long gone, but new research has some ideas about why it moved the way it did while it was in our cosmic neighborhood. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apr 05, 2023•6 min

Open Offices Aren't Working, so How Do We Design an Office That Does?

Insights from Deaf and autistic communities could finally make office spaces better for everyone. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apr 03, 2023•13 min

Cosmos, Quickly: Remembering the Genius of Vera Rubin

Vera Rubin went from a teenager with a cardboard telescope to the “mother of dark matter.” Some of her colleagues and mentees weigh in on her fascinating life and how she was a champion for women in astronomy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mar 31, 2023•12 min

Long COVID's Roots in the Brain: Your Health, Quickly, Episode 3

Post-COVID symptoms can linger for months or years, and more and more evidence points to problems with the nervous system. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mar 29, 2023•12 min

If AI Starts Making Music on Its Own, What Happens to Musicians?

Music made with artificial intelligence could upend the music industry. Here’s what that might look like. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mar 27, 2023•16 min

Music-Making Artificial Intelligence Is Getting Scary Good

Google’s new AI model can generate entirely new music from text prompts. Here’s what they sound like. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mar 24, 2023•17 min

Artificial Intelligence Helped Make the Coolest Song You've Heard This Week

Machine-learning algorithms are getting so good that they can translate Western instruments into Thai ones with ease. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mar 22, 2023•15 min

Space Force Humor, Laser Dazzlers, and the Havoc a War in Space Would Actually Wreak

In the inaugural episode of Cosmos, Quickly, we blast off with Lt. Gen. Nina Armagno of the Space Force, who is charged with protecting our space in space, particularly from Russia and China. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mar 20, 2023•15 min

Squeak Squeak, Buzz Buzz: How Researchers Are Using AI to Talk to Animals

The burgeoning field of “digital bioacoustics” is helping us understand animals like never before. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mar 17, 2023•11 min

RSV Vaccines Are Coming At Last: Your Health, Quickly, Episode 2

A vaccine pioneer tells us that shots to protect against RSV—a dangerous virus for babies and older people—are finally nearing approval. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mar 15, 2023•10 min

If the Mathematical Constant Pi Was a Song, What Would It Sound Like?

Every year on Pi Day, we have a reason to celebrate one of math’s most famous symbols. But this year we speak to someone who has captured it in song. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mar 14, 2023•11 min

How To Stop a (Potentially Killer) Asteroid

We slammed a $330-million spaceship the size of a dairy cow into an asteroid the size of the Great Pyramid of Giza. Here’s what we’re learning about how our first step in planetary defense could save us in the future. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mar 10, 2023•9 min

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