(Encore episode.) Archival records may help researchers figure out how fast the sea level is rising in certain places. Millions of people in coastal cities are vulnerable to rising sea levels and knowing exactly how fast the water is rising is really important. But it's a tough scientific question. NPR climate correspondent Lauren Sommer explains how scientists are looking to historical records to help get at the answer. If you'd like to help transcribe old tidal data, you can get started here ....
Apr 16, 2021•13 min•Transcript available on Metacast (Encore episode.) Earlier this year, the Supreme Court heard arguments in a case brought by the city of Baltimore against more than a dozen major oil and gas companies including BP, ExxonMobil and Shell. In the lawsuit, BP P.L.C. v. Mayor and City Council of Baltimore , the city government argued that the fossil fuel giants must help pay for the costs of climate change because they knew that their products cause potentially catastrophic global warming. NPR climate reporter Rebecca Hersher has be...
Apr 15, 2021•15 min•Transcript available on Metacast (Encore episode.) Global Witness documented that 212 environmental and land activists were murdered in 2019. Over half of those documented murders took place in Colombia and the Philippines, countries where intensive mining and agribusiness has transformed the environment. NPR Short Wave reporter Emily Kwong speaks with three activists about the intersection between natural resource extraction and violence, and what keeps them going in their work.
Apr 14, 2021•15 min•Transcript available on Metacast (Encore episode.) As sea levels rise from climate change, coastal communities face a greater risk of chronic flooding. Climate scientist Astrid Caldas and her colleagues have looked at where it's happening now and where it could happen in the future as the tides keep getting higher. Follow host Maddie Sofia on Twitter @maddie_sofia . Email the show at shortwave@npr.org ....
Apr 13, 2021•11 min•Transcript available on Metacast Humans have changed the Earth in such profound ways that scientists say we have entered a new geological period: the Anthropocene Epoch.
Apr 12, 2021•13 min•Transcript available on Metacast Psychedelics like ketamine and psilocybin are getting a second look as a way to treat psychiatric problems like depression, anxiety, substance use disorders, even PTSD. NPR neuroscience correspondent Jon Hamilton explains how these drugs are helping brain scientists understand what causes mental illness and find new ways to treat it. Email the show at shortwave@npr.org .
Apr 09, 2021•13 min•Transcript available on Metacast A curious symptom of COVID-19 that can stick with patients for a long time is loss of smell. Researchers don't know exactly how prevalent the loss of smell ism and while most people recover from it, some will not. This has given new life to a very specific treatment: smell training. Emily Kwong talks to the Atlantic's science reporter Sarah Zhang about how practicing how to smell might help those who've lost their sense of smell. For more on smell training, read Sarah's piece in The Atlantic . Y...
Apr 08, 2021•13 min•Transcript available on Metacast "Dialects" is one of those words tossed around a lot when talking about human language. They indicate where a speaker is from. But dialects aren't exclusive to humans; scientists have known for a while that whales and songbirds also show these variations in language. Today, NPR science correspondent Nell Greenfieldboyce explains research that expands that list to include naked mole rats. Yearning for more episodes about communication between animals? Or wish we would cover something else entirel...
Apr 07, 2021•11 min•Transcript available on Metacast More than 61 million people in the U.S. are fully vaccinated against COVID-19. We're also now averaging over 3 million shots per day. But at the same time, in at least 20 states, reported cases are on the rise again. So today, NPR health correspondent Allison Aubrey rounds up some of the latest coronavirus news – on vaccines, CDC guidance on travel, the possibility of a fourth wave, and more. Have questions or concerns around the pandemic? Email us at shortwave@npr.org ....
Apr 06, 2021•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast Currently, suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the US. But research shows that suicide is preventable. Host Emily Kwong talks with NPR health correspondent Rhitu Chatterjee about the signs that someone you know may be thinking about dying, the ways you can support them, and how to possibly prevent suicide. To read more of the story, find Rhitu's reporting here . You can email us at ShortWave@npr.org ....
Apr 05, 2021•14 min•Transcript available on Metacast We ask allergy expert Dr. Juanita Mora if seasonal allergies are getting worse. Plus, some quick tips for managing those pesky allergy symptoms. Email the show at shortwave@npr.org .
Apr 02, 2021•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast Many skin conditions, from rashes to Lyme disease to various cancers, present differently on dark skin. Yet medical literature and textbooks don't often include those images, pointing to a bigger problem in dermatology. Today on the show, we take a close look at how the science of skincare has evolved to better serve patients of color, but still has a long way to go.
Apr 01, 2021•13 min•Transcript available on Metacast When lightning strikes the ground, it can leave behind a root-like rock called a fulgurite. Host Maddie Sofia talks with NPR science correspondent Nell Greenfieldboyce about what lightning and its funky rock creation can reveal about the origins of life. To read more of the story, check out Nell's reporting here . You can email us at ShortWave@npr.org ....
Mar 31, 2021•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast Our colleagues at the TED Radio Hour introduce us to wildlife filmmaker Ariel Waldman. She says the coldest continent is brimming with invisible life that can only be seen through microscopes, including tardigrades (one of Maddie's favorite critters). Listen to the full TED Radio Hour episode, Through The Looking Glass , here .
Mar 30, 2021•13 min•Transcript available on Metacast NPR science correspondent Geoff Brumfiel takes us to IonQ, one of the companies betting on a quantum computing future. Along the way, Geoff explains what little researchers know about how we might actually use this technology. There are hints though quantum computing could change everything from discovering new drugs to developing advanced materials. Want us to cover another promising, complicated technology? Email us — we're at shortwave@npr.org ....
Mar 29, 2021•13 min•Transcript available on Metacast NPR climate correspondent Lauren Sommer explains how scientists are getting creative to deal with the hordes of urchins overtaking kelp forests in the Pacific Ocean — and why this kind of drastic ecological change may become more common as the climate gets hotter. Email the show at shortwave@npr.org .
Mar 26, 2021•13 min•Transcript available on Metacast The cicadas are coming! After 17 years, Brood X is emerging this spring to mate. If you're in the eastern part of the United States, get ready to be surrounded by these little critters! Host Maddie Sofia talks with entomologist Sammy Ramsey, aka Dr. Buggs, about what cicadas are, where they've been for the last 17 years, and — of course — why they're so loud. Email Short Wave at ShortWave@npr.org .
Mar 25, 2021•14 min•Transcript available on Metacast (Encore episode.) In 2006, while hiking around the Root Glacier in Alaska, glaciologist Tim Bartholomaus encountered something strange and unexpected on the ice — dozens of fuzzy, green moss balls. It turns out, other glaciologists had come across glacial moss balls before and lovingly called them "glacier mice." NPR science correspondent Nell Greenfieldboyce and Short Wave reporter Emily Kwong talk about glacial moss balls and delve into the mystery of how they seem to move as a herd. Read more...
Mar 24, 2021•11 min•Transcript available on Metacast NPR's international correspondent Lauren Frayer takes us on a tour of the factory of the world's largest vaccine maker: Serum Institute of India. The company aims to manufacture 100 million doses a month of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine and export them globally. Email the show at shortwave@npr.org .
Mar 23, 2021•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast In North Carolina, a rural electric cooperative is reliving its New Deal history, bringing technologies like fast Internet and clean, low-carbon heating to communities that some have abandoned.
Mar 22, 2021•14 min•Transcript available on Metacast (Encore episode.) The coronavirus is all over the headlines these days. Accompanying those headlines? Suspicion and harassment of Asians and Asian Americans. Our colleague Gene Demby , co-host of NPR's Code Switch podcast, explains that this is part of a longer history in the United States of camouflaging xenophobia and racism as public health and hygiene concerns. We hear from historian Erika Lee, author of "America For Americans: A History Of Xenophobia In The United States." LEARN MORE: Check...
Mar 19, 2021•13 min•Transcript available on Metacast It's been about a year since the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus a pandemic. The world has learned a lot in that time — about how the virus spreads, who is at heightened risk and how the disease progresses. Today, Maddie walks us through some of these big lessons. Reach the show by emailing shortwave@npr.org .
Mar 18, 2021•15 min•Transcript available on Metacast Submarines can descend thousands of feet below the surface of the ocean, but to do so, they have to deal with an enormous amount of pressure. In this episode, engineer and pilot Bruce Strickrott of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution explains some of the fundamental engineering principles that allow submarines to dive so deep without imploding under the pressure. Have any questions you'd like us to try answering? Send us an email, shortwave@npr.org ....
Mar 17, 2021•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast Encore episode. The surface of the Earth is constantly recycled through the motion of plate tectonics. So how do researchers study what it used to look like? Planetary scientist Roger Fu talks to host Maddie Sofia about hunting for rocks that can tell us what Earth looked like a few billion years ago, in the early days of the evolution of life. Email the show at shortwave@npr.org .
Mar 16, 2021•12 min•Transcript available on Metacast It's been about a year since the coronavirus pandemic started to take hold in the United States. Recently, NPR science correspondent Rob Stein has been talking to infectious disease experts, epidemiologists, public health officials, medical historians and for the first time, many are cautiously offering hope. They say the worst may be finally over — but factors like vaccination rates, changes to public health policy and variant resistance to vaccines could upend that recovery. Reach the show by ...
Mar 15, 2021•13 min•Transcript available on Metacast In the year since the pandemic began, the coronavirus has severely impacted inmates and staff in U.S. jails and prisons. According to The Marshall Project , in the last year, over 380,000 prisoners tested positive for the coronavirus. Of those, 2,400 died. The close quarters make social distancing nearly impossible, leaving the incarcerated population vulnerable. Josiah Bates, staff writer at TIME, reflects on how the pandemic has played out behind bars — in both jails and prisons. We also hear ...
Mar 12, 2021•13 min•Transcript available on Metacast Alzheimer's disease affects more than 6 million Americans and a disproportionate number are Black. NPR science correspondent Jon Hamilton explains why Black Americans may be at higher risk, and how diversifying Alzheimer's research could lead to a better understanding of the disease in Black Americans, and new treatments for everyone. Email the show at shortwave@npr.org .
Mar 11, 2021•13 min•Transcript available on Metacast The CDC released new guidance Monday, allowing people fully vaccinated against COVID-19 to resume some pre-pandemic activities, including gathering indoors with other vaccinated people without wearing masks. Health correspondent Allison Aubrey walks us through the new recommendations and what precautions fully vaccinated people still need to take. Read the CDC's guidance . Email the show your questions and concerns about the coronavirus at shortwave@npr.org . We might cover it in our ongoing cov...
Mar 10, 2021•10 min•Transcript available on Metacast Shark scientist Melissa Christina Marquez explains just how important sharks are to keeping the oceans healthy, including their role in mitigating climate change. Plus, there may be some talk about shark poop. Email the show at shortwave@npr.org .
Mar 09, 2021•11 min•Transcript available on Metacast More than 4 million U.S. homes face substantial risk of expensive flood damage, according to new research. On top of that, NPR climate reporter Rebecca Hersher found that communities where flood insurance is already unaffordable face potentially catastrophic damage — including to mental and physical health. Email the show at shortwave@npr.org .
Mar 08, 2021•15 min•Transcript available on Metacast 
