This Halloween, we look at how technology is forcing us to ask: When is someone actually dead? And we look into research that is raising a further question: Could death someday be reversible? This episode originally ran on November 22, 2022. For show transcripts, go to bit.ly/unx-transcripts For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable It’s a great place to view show transcripts and read more about the topics on our show. Also, email us! unexplainable@vox.com We read every email. Support Unexpla...
Oct 25, 2023•34 min•Transcript available on Metacast Over the last few years, orcas have been targeting boats, often leaving them stranded at sea. Are these orcas trying to attack humans, or is there something more mysterious going on? For show transcripts, go to bit.ly/unx-transcripts For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable It’s a great place to view show transcripts and read more about the topics on our show. Also, email us! unexplainable@vox.com We read every email. Support Unexplainable by making a financial contribution to Vox! bit.ly/gi...
Oct 18, 2023•22 min•Transcript available on Metacast Our game show is back! This time, comedian Wyatt Cenac is in the hot seat in front of a live audience. Can he guess which climate mystery has been solved and which ones are still unexplainable? For show transcripts, go to bit.ly/unx-transcripts For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable It’s a great place to read about the topics on our show. Also, email us! unexplainable@vox.com We read every email. Support Unexplainable by making a financial contribution to Vox! bit.ly/givepodcasts Learn mor...
Oct 04, 2023•34 min•Transcript available on Metacast Towering walls of water sometimes appear in the ocean without warning or apparent cause. What drives their terrifying power? For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable It’s a great place to view show transcripts and read more about the topics on our show. Also, email us! unexplainable@vox.com We read every email. Support Unexplainable by making a financial contribution to Vox! bit.ly/givepodcasts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Sep 27, 2023•28 min•Transcript available on Metacast What would an episode of Unexplainable have sounded like if it had been made in 100 CE? For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable It’s a great place to view show transcripts and read more about the topics on our show. Also, email us! unexplainable@vox.com We read every email. Support Unexplainable by making a financial contribution to Vox! bit.ly/givepodcasts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Sep 20, 2023•31 min•Transcript available on Metacast Can researchers decipher what people are thinking about just by looking at brain scans? With AI, they're getting closer. How far can they go, and what does it mean for privacy? To buy tickets to our upcoming live show in New York, go to http://vox.com/unexplainablelive For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable It’s a great place to view show transcripts and read more about the topics on our show. Also, email us! unexplainable@vox.com We read every email. Support Unexplainable by making a fina...
Sep 13, 2023•32 min•Transcript available on Metacast Something about modern life is leading to higher rates of nearsightedness across the world. What is it? To buy tickets to our upcoming live show in New York, go to http://vox.com/unexplainablelive For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable It’s a great place to view show transcripts and read more about the topics on our show. Also, email us! unexplainable@vox.com We read every email. Support Unexplainable by making a financial contribution to Vox! bit.ly/givepodcasts Learn more about your ad c...
Aug 30, 2023•21 min•Transcript available on Metacast At last year’s World Athletics Championships, sprinter TyNia Gaither was disqualified for false starting... after the gun went off. Officials said she started faster than humanly possible. How can that be? This episode originally ran on June 15, 2022. For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable It’s a great place to view show transcripts and read more about the topics on our show. Also, email us! unexplainable@vox.com We read every email. Support Unexplainable by making a financial contribution...
Aug 23, 2023•34 min•Transcript available on Metacast Two scientists explain how AI might help us translate animal communication, and what we might learn from their squawks, chirps, songs, and chatter. This episode was recorded live at the Aspen Ideas Festival. For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable It’s a great place to view show transcripts and read more about the topics on our show. Also, email us! unexplainable@vox.com We read every email. Support Unexplainable by making a financial contribution to Vox! bit.ly/givepodcasts Learn more abou...
Aug 16, 2023•34 min•Transcript available on Metacast Sam Sanders, host of Vulture’s Into It podcast, is in the hot seat for a new episode of our game show. Can he guess which sandy mystery has been solved and which ones are still unexplainable? For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable It’s a great place to view show transcripts and read more about the topics on our show. Also, email us! unexplainable@vox.com We read every email. Support Unexplainable by making a financial contribution to Vox! bit.ly/givepodcasts Learn more about your ad choice...
Aug 09, 2023•30 min•Transcript available on Metacast Dogs were the first domesticated animal in history, emerging from wolves some 20,000 years ago. But how did wolves become dogs? To find the answer, scientists have to play with a lot of puppies. For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable It’s a great place to view show transcripts and read more about the topics on our show. Also, email us! unexplainable@vox.com We read every email. Support Unexplainable by making a financial contribution to Vox! bit.ly/givepodcasts Learn more about your ad cho...
Aug 02, 2023•25 min•Transcript available on Metacast In all our searching of the universe, we’ve never seen another moon like ours. It's big, it's weird, and it has played a huge role in shaping our planet. But how did we get it? Every possible story points to cataclysm. This episode originally ran on June 15, 2022. It is part of our Lost Worlds series exploring scientific mysteries buried in the deep past. For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable It’s a great place to view show transcripts and read more about the topics on our show. Also, ema...
Jul 26, 2023•27 min•Transcript available on Metacast AI can often solve problems in unexpected, undesirable ways. So how can we make sure it does what we want, the way we want? And what happens if we can’t? This is the second episode of our new two-part series, The Black Box. For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable It’s a great place to view show transcripts and read more about the topics on our show. Also, email us! unexplainable@vox.com We read every email. Support Unexplainable by making a financial contribution to Vox! bit.ly/givepodcasts...
Jul 19, 2023•31 min•Transcript available on Metacast AI has the potential to impact our society in dramatic ways, but researchers can’t explain precisely how it works or how it might evolve. Will they ever understand it? This is the first episode of our new two-part series, The Black Box. For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable It’s a great place to view show transcripts and read more about the topics on our show. Also, email us! unexplainable@vox.com We read every email. Support Unexplainable by making a financial contribution to Vox! bit.ly...
Jul 12, 2023•35 min•Transcript available on Metacast A dog on its owner’s grave. A killer whale carrying around its dead calf. A goose that isolates when its mate dies. These behaviors in animals may look like human mourning, but should scientists call them "grief?" For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable It’s a great place to view show transcripts and read more about the topics on our show. Also, email us! unexplainable@vox.com We read every email. Jennifer Vonk's research study on pet cats reactions to the death of companion animals can be ...
Jun 28, 2023•27 min•Transcript available on Metacast Dreams are weird, but can they be a scientific tool? Can they teach us anything about humanity? About ourselves? This episode originally ran on April 12, 2022. For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable It’s a great place to view show transcripts and read more about the topics on our show. Also, email us! unexplainable@vox.com We read every email. Support Unexplainable by making a financial contribution to Vox! bit.ly/givepodcasts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adch...
Jun 21, 2023•23 min•Transcript available on Metacast The Indus Valley civilization was one of the largest, most advanced civilizations in the ancient world. But we barely know anything about them, in large part because we haven’t been able to decipher the cryptic symbols they left behind. For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable It’s a great place to view show transcripts and read more about the topics on our show. Also, email us! unexplainable@vox.com We read every email. Support Unexplainable by making a financial contribution to Vox! bit.ly...
Jun 14, 2023•24 min•Transcript available on Metacast Awe is what takes our breath away when we face a sky full of stars or listen to a moving piece of music. But scientists are still trying to pin down why we feel such a powerful emotion, and whether it’s possible to cultivate more of it in our lives. For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable It’s a great place to view show transcripts and read more about the topics on our show. Also, email us! unexplainable@vox.com We read every email. Support Unexplainable by making a financial contribution t...
Jun 07, 2023•25 min•Transcript available on Metacast Many states have extremely punitive policies around cannabis and pregnancy. But researchers don't actually have great data on cannabis's harms. For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable It’s a great place to view show transcripts and read more about the topics on our show. Also, email us! unexplainable@vox.com We read every email. Support Unexplainable by making a financial contribution to Vox! bit.ly/givepodcasts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
May 24, 2023•31 min•Transcript available on Metacast Caring for a child seems to change parents’ brains. But what does that actually mean for how parents think and experience the world? For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable It’s a great place to view show transcripts and read more about the topics on our show. Also, email us! unexplainable@vox.com We read every email. Support Unexplainable by making a financial contribution to Vox! bit.ly/givepodcasts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
May 17, 2023•28 min•Transcript available on Metacast Fetuses leave cells behind in their parents' bodies, where they braid themselves into tissues, and remain, for years. What are they doing in there? For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable It’s a great place to view show transcripts and read more about the topics on our show. Also, email us! unexplainable@vox.com We read every email. Support Unexplainable by making a financial contribution to Vox! bit.ly/givepodcasts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
May 10, 2023•37 min•Transcript available on Metacast 2023 has been a record-setting year for tornadoes, and these storms came with barely any warning. So to better understand tornadoes, scientists might need to confront more of these storms head-on. This episode originally ran on July 12, 2021. For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable It’s a great place to view show transcripts and read more about the topics on our show. Also, email us! unexplainable@vox.com We read every email. Support Unexplainable by making a financial contribution to Vox! ...
May 03, 2023•25 min•Transcript available on Metacast Scientists are hard at work trying to bring back woolly mammoths (and dodos). But should they? And what would they actually be bringing back? For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable It’s a great place to view show transcripts and read more about the topics on our show. Also, email us! unexplainable@vox.com We read every email. Support Unexplainable by making a financial contribution to Vox! bit.ly/givepodcasts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Apr 26, 2023•33 min•Transcript available on Metacast We did a live show! We talked about how one of our favorite episodes came together and how we went about creating (somewhat) accurate dinosaur sounds. For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable It’s a great place to view show transcripts and read more about the topics on our show. Also, email us! unexplainable@vox.com We read every email. Support Unexplainable by making a financial contribution to Vox! bit.ly/givepodcasts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Apr 19, 2023•37 min•Transcript available on Metacast Studies suggesting trees communicate through an elaborate underground fungal network have captured imaginations. It’s a beautiful idea, but the fantasy may have gotten ahead of the science. For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable It’s a great place to view show transcripts and read more about the topics on our show. Also, email us! unexplainable@vox.com We read every email. Help keep this show and all of Vox's journalism free by making a gift to Vox today: bit.ly/givepodcasts Learn more abo...
Apr 12, 2023•23 min•Transcript available on Metacast This week, we tackle three listener questions — on sleepwalking, deja vu, and Earth’s magnetic field. Next time, we could be (not) answering yours. Email us at unexplainable@vox.com, or fill out this form. For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable It’s a great place to view show transcripts and read more about the topics on our show. Also, email us! unexplainable@vox.com We read every email. Help keep this show and all of Vox's journalism free by making a gift to Vox today: bit.ly/givepodcast...
Apr 05, 2023•28 min•Transcript available on Metacast Scientists are digging into what makes something funny. We compare their notes with comedians — including Atsuko Okatsuka, Josh Johnson, Dulcé Sloan, and Chris Fleming. For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable It’s a great place to view show transcripts and read more about the topics on our show. Also, email us! unexplainable@vox.com We read every email. Support Unexplainable by making a financial contribution to Vox! bit.ly/givepodcasts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices...
Mar 22, 2023•20 min•Transcript available on Metacast For every definition of life, there’s a creature that sends us right back to the drawing board. This is the third episode in our three-part series, Origins, about the beginnings and boundaries of life on Earth. For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable It’s a great place to view show transcripts and read more about the topics on our show. Also, email us! unexplainable@vox.com We read every email. Support Unexplainable by making a financial contribution to Vox! bit.ly/givepodcasts Learn more a...
Mar 15, 2023•27 min•Transcript available on Metacast How did life on Earth start? To help answer that, researchers are trying to create some life for themselves. This is the second episode in our three-part series, Origins, about the beginnings and boundaries of life on Earth. For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable It’s a great place to view show transcripts and read more about the topics on our show. Also, email us! unexplainable@vox.com We read every email. Support Unexplainable by making a financial contribution to Vox! bit.ly/givepodcast...
Mar 08, 2023•29 min•Transcript available on Metacast Life as we know it needs water, but scientists can’t figure out where Earth’s water came from. Answering that question is just one piece of an even bigger mystery: “Why are we here?” This is the first episode in our new three-part series, Origins, about the beginnings and boundaries of life on Earth. For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable It’s a great place to view show transcripts and read more about the topics on our show. Also, email us! unexplainable@vox.com We read every email. Suppor...
Mar 01, 2023•27 min•Transcript available on Metacast 
