Science, Spoken - podcast cover

Science, Spoken

WIREDplay.prx.org

Get in-depth coverage of current and future trends in technology, and how they are shaping business, entertainment, communications, science, politics, and society.

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Episodes

The Real Problem With the Boeing 737 Max

Two tragic crashes over the past six years, then a third plane with loose bodywork—the aircraft designed to send Boeing’s reputation soaring has sent it into a tailspin. Read this story here . Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Jan 16, 20249 min

Norway’s Deep-Sea Mining Decision Is a Warning

Politicians claim the move could provide vital minerals for the green transition. Critics say opening up exploration creates geopolitical headaches and is environmentally unsound. Read this story here . Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Jan 15, 202410 min

How Your Body Adapts to Extreme Cold

Scientists are finding a dynamic story in human physiology linked to frigid temperatures—a story that climate change may rewrite. Read this story here . Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Jan 10, 202411 min

Critical Infrastructure Is Sinking Along the US East Coast

Up and down the Atlantic Coast, the land is steadily sinking, or subsiding. That’s destabilizing levees, roads, and airports, just as sea levels are rising. Read this story here . Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Jan 08, 20248 min

Former NBA Star Rick Fox Is Making a Play for Carbon-Neutral Concrete

Carbon-neutral concrete could transform construction’s footprint—if it can scale in time. At Partanna Global, Bahamian basketball star and actor Rick Fox is trying to speed things up. Read this story here . Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Jan 04, 20246 min

Your Eco-Friendly Lifestyle Is a Big Lie

Eating organic and switching to low-energy light bulbs feels like the green thing to do, but are people missing the bigger opportunities right in front of them? Read this story here . Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Jan 03, 20248 min

A Demographic Time Bomb Is About to Hit the Beef Industry

A tiny proportion of Americans—particularly boomers—eat the majority of the nation’s beef. Can clever framing sway a younger generation? Read this story here . Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Jan 01, 20248 min

Why Deleting Carbon From the Atmosphere Is So Controversial

Delegates agreed on a historic climate deal at COP28. But without more ambition, humanity will have to rely ever more on a contentious strategy: carbon removal. Read this story here . Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Dec 25, 202311 min

Snow Sports Are Getting More Dangerous

Extreme conditions caused by climate change are making winter sports more risky. From Colorado to Washington, that’s also making mountain rescue missions even more perilous. Read this story here . Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Dec 22, 20238 min

Energy Drinks Are Out of Control

Highly caffeinated drinks have become a cultural staple. But following a death allegedly related to Panera Bread’s Charged Lemonade, has our collective obsession with energy drinks become unsafe? Read this story here . Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Dec 21, 202310 min

You Know It’s a Placebo. So Why Does It Still Work?

As researchers try to make sense of “open-label” placebos—fake drugs that proudly announce their fakeness—the mysterious effect is starting to show up beyond the world of medicine. Read this story here . Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Dec 20, 202311 min

Oh Good, Hurricanes Are Now Made of Microplastics

When Hurricane Larry made landfall two years ago, it dropped over 100,000 microplastics per square meter of land per day. It’s another ominous sign of how plasticized the environment has become. Read this story here . Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Dec 19, 20237 min

How Dr. Clara Nellist Collides Art and Science

This particle physicist, science communicator, and member of the team who uncovered the Higgs Boson wants everyone to know that art and science aren’t mutually exclusive. Read this story here . Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Dec 15, 20238 min

A Brilliant COP Agreement? It Depends Who You Ask

The agreement at COP28 satisfies no-one. But it’s probably the best that countries could have hoped for. Read this story here . Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Dec 14, 20235 min

Here’s Scientific Proof Your Cat Will Eat Almost Anything

Free-ranging domestic cats eat over 2,000 animal species across the globe, including hundreds at risk of extinction. It’s a problem with no easy solution. Read this story here . Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Dec 13, 202310 min

This Pill Tracks Your Vitals From the Inside

An ingestible “digital pill” that measures heart rate and breathing from inside the stomach could detect the warning signs of sleep apnea, cardiac distress, and even opioid overdoses. Read this story here . Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Dec 12, 202310 min

The First Crispr Medicine Is Now Approved in the US

The one-time gene editing fix is meant to halt debilitating pain crises for sickle cell patients, who formerly could only be cured with a risky stem cell transplant. Read the full story here . Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Dec 11, 20236 min

Don’t Worry, It’s Just ‘Fire Ice’

Methane hydrate is an ice-like substance you can set on fire. Now scientists have found that more of it may be in danger of melting—and releasing powerful greenhouse gas—than previously realized. Read this story here . Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Dec 08, 20238 min

Dr. Ishwaria Subbiah Is Reimagining Cancer Care

All but raised in oncology wards, Dr. Subbiah is on a mission to make cancer care work for everyone, including those usually overlooked. Read this story here . Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Dec 07, 20238 min

Ozempic Could Also Help You Drink Less Alcohol

Mounting evidence bolsters the idea that drugs like semaglutide—better known as Ozempic or Wegovy—can hamper a thirst for booze. Read this story here . Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Dec 06, 20237 min

Want to Store a Message in DNA? That’ll Be $1,000

French startup Biomemory is rolling out a credit-card-sized storage device that uses DNA to encode a kilobyte of text data. Read this story here . Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Dec 05, 20237 min

Cicadas Are So Loud, Fiber Optic Cables Can ‘Hear’ Them

In 2021, scientists experimenting with fiber optics picked up a strange signal: the cacophony of cicadas. It could lead to a new way of monitoring insects. Read this story here . Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Dec 01, 20238 min
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