Coronavirus: President Biden’s Report Card
We grade the new White House administration's pandemic response thus far with New York Times science and global health reporter Apoorva Mandavilli.
Feb 16, 2021•25 min•Ep. 120
Science Rules! with Bill Nye
Bill Nye is on a mission to change the world — one voicemail at a time. Bill and science writer Corey S. Powell take your burning questions and put them to the world's leading experts on just about every topic in the universe. Should you stop eating cheeseburgers to combat climate change? Could alien life be swimming inside the moons of Jupiter and Saturn? Does your pet parakeet learn to sing the way that you learned to speak? Bill, Corey, and their special guests will answer those questions and convince you that... science rules!
Episodes
Cooking with Science: Why Eggs Turn White, Pickles Crunch, and Popcorn Sets Off Your Smoke Detectors
Pia Sorensen has a kitchen laboratory where she demonstrates how pans of denatured proteins and hot fats can create a delicious meal — or a big ol’ mess.
Feb 11, 2021•46 min•Ep. 78
NFL Meets MIT: Science Tackles the Super Bowl
Former NFL lineman (and current math whiz) John Urschel and materials scientist Ainissa Ramirez highlight all the science you can see on display at the Super Bowl, from the mechanics of blocking to the psychology of play-calling.
Feb 04, 2021•49 min•Ep. 77
Coronavirus: Did COVID Escape From a Lab?
It’s a highly controversial and unlikely hypothesis. But, as Dr. David Relman explains, we can't rule it out, because we still don't know the original source of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
Feb 02, 2021•26 min•Ep. 117
It's a Parasite's World. We Just Live in It.
When it comes to things that give us the heebie-jeebies, parasites reign supreme. But according to this week's guest, ecosystems couldn't exist without them. Chelsea Wood explains what makes them so creepy, how to prevent them from killing us, and why she keeps digging around in decades-old cans of salmon.
Jan 28, 2021•57 min•Ep. 76
The Greatest Invention of All Time Is ... TIME!
We talk to master watchmaker Rebecca Struthers about how people learned to measure time and the twisted way that clocks came to control the way we eat, sleep, work, and relax (if we relax at all).
Jan 21, 2021•55 min•Ep. 75
Coronavirus: 100 Days, 100 Million Shots
Dr. Celine Gounder — a member of President-Elect Joe Biden’s COVID-19 Advisory Board — answers all of your questions about the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines and details an ambitious plan to vaccinate a third of America.
Jan 19, 2021•28 min•Ep. 114
The True Limit to Space Exploration: Our Sanity
If humans want to explore the solar system (and beyond), we'll have to learn to do something inconceivable for most of us pre-pandemic — exist with each other in tiny quarters for months. Kim Binsted's HI-SEAS program is trying to teach us how to do just that.
Jan 14, 2021•50 min•Ep. 74
Mayim Bialik’s Contract With the Universe
The star of The Big Bang Theory , Blossom , and the new show Call Me Kat explains how she balances her love of science with her career in acting, and we put her neuroscience Ph.D. to use answering your questions about cognitive disabilities and disorders.
Jan 07, 2021•57 min•Ep. 73
How To (Still) Be Happy
It turns out being happy, or becoming happier is possible with a bit of effort. We’re joined by happiness expert and host of The Happiness Lab , Dr. Laurie Santos to talk about her research into human happiness and to take your calls, including one from Mike from Colorado who asks, “Is there a genetic component to happiness?”
Dec 31, 2020•48 min•Ep. 24
Save the Oceans: Recycling Is Not Enough
Every year, another 11 million tons of plastic trash ends up in the ocean. Winnie Lau, senior manager of the “Preventing Ocean Plastics” project, explains why recycling isn't helping — and what we should be doing instead.
Dec 24, 2020•45 min•Ep. 72
Meet the Olympic Swimmer Making Ripples Out of the Pool
Who better to answer your science-swimming questions than gold-medalist Simone Manuel?
Dec 17, 2020•44 min•Ep. 71
The Sound of Stonehenge (and Other Aural Mysteries)
Trevor Cox leads us through a wonderland of sound featuring sonic booms, Stonehenge, and pseudoscientific phenomena.
Dec 10, 2020•57 min•Ep. 70
Coronavirus: America’s King of Health Is Skipping Christmas … and So Should You
Francis Collins is the director of the National Institutes of Health. He gives us a prognosis for the next few months and diagnoses the future of health research in the U.S.
Dec 08, 2020•37 min•Ep. 107
What Happens if You Fall Into a Black Hole?
Dr. Priyamvada Natarajan is an expert on the strangest things in physics: warped space, dark matter, dark energy, and even questions from our listeners.
Dec 03, 2020•52 min•Ep. 69
Our Fishy Ancestors Grew a Pair (of Legs)
Neil Shubin reveals how he discovered Tiktaalik — a long-sought fossil link between swimming fish and walking land animals — and shares other remarkable tales about life's evolution.
Nov 26, 2020•55 min•Ep. 68
Coronavirus: With 4 Million Currently Infected, How to Give Safe Thanks
Atul Gawande is a member of President-elect Joe Biden’s COVID task force. He helps us dig through the latest coronavirus news including vaccine trial results, mask mandates, and how to manage risks over the holidays.
Nov 24, 2020•32 min•Ep. 104
The Science of Bond — James Bond
Can any part of the long-running film franchise stand up to scientific scrutiny? Matt Gourley — co-host of the James Bonding podcast, among much else — joins to answer all your questions about the coolest gadgets, the craziest stunts, and the glaringest plot holes.
Nov 19, 2020•54 min•Ep. 67
Werner Herzog and the Vermin of the Sky
The legendary filmmaker teams up with British geoscientist Clive Oppenheimer to explain how meteorites — what they call ”visitors from darker worlds” — have shaped societies throughout history.
Nov 12, 2020•42 min•Ep. 66
Yuval Noah Harari Charts the Evolution of Homo Sapiens
As different as we humans are from each other — politically and otherwise — we’re all part of the same species. We explore the history of Homo Sapiens and who (or what) might eventually replace us as kings of the forest.
Nov 05, 2020•56 min•Ep. 65
Science Stands Up to Politics
This year Science has published an unprecedented series of scathing articles by editor in chief Holden Thorp criticizing President Trump's handling of the dual crises of COVID-19 and climate change. It's finally time for science to join the fight.
Oct 29, 2020•45 min•Ep. 64
Coronavirus: A Vaccine Maker Gets Personal
We get a look inside the mind of Tal Zaks, the Chief Medical Officer at Moderna, as the company develops and tests what it hopes will become the first successful vaccine against the coronavirus. For more episodes like this, subscribe to If I Don’t See You on Stitcher Premium.
Oct 27, 2020•38 min•Ep. 99
Why You're Worrying About the Wrong Technologies
Are robots coming for our jobs? (Probably not.) If we could remove cancer from our genome, should we? (Probably.) Can our codes of ethics keep pace with innovation? (Let's do our best.) Biotech entrepreneur Juan Enriquez is here to prepare us for tomorrow.
Oct 22, 2020•47 min•Ep. 63
The Asteroid Hunter Catches His Prey
NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft has spent four years stalking Bennu, an asteroid that could one day collide with Earth. We speak with Dante Lauretta, the mission's leader, as the probe is about to grab a pebbly sample of Bennu and bring it home.
Oct 15, 2020•53 min•Ep. 62
Coronavirus: Killing Covid-19 at the Speed of (UV) Light
Dr. Karl Linden explains how ultraviolet light can be used to destroy the coronavirus as if by magic — but it’s not magic, it’s science!
Oct 13, 2020•29 min•Ep. 96
Supermodel Karlie Kloss Takes on Silicon Valley
The founder of Kode with Klossy is trying to make fashion more sustainable and the tech industry more female.
Oct 08, 2020•42 min•Ep. 61
Science is Racist. Here's How to Fix It.
Dr. Dorothy Roberts explains the long history of racism in science and medicine — and where we go from here.
Oct 01, 2020•54 min•Ep. 60
Coronavirus: Dude, Where’s My Vaccine?
What happens when you try to develop a vaccine for a brand new disease at “warp speed”? Where do the various trials stand today, and what are the safety concerns associated with emergency use authorizations? Dr. Eric Topol has the answers.
Sep 29, 2020•27 min•Ep. 93
The Hidden Inventors Who Changed the World
Ainissa Ramirez is an expert in the unheralded field that shapes so much of the modern world: the science of materials. She explains how seemingly modest inventions like glass, the pocket watch, and the telegraph have transformed us all.
Sep 24, 2020•45 min•Ep. 59
Gene Editing and the Future of Us
Jennifer Doudna co-discovered CRISPR, a revolutionary tool for editing DNA and changing our genes. She joins us to talk about what her innovation means for health, medicine, and — for better or worse — the ability to redesign ourselves.
Sep 17, 2020•50 min•Ep. 58