A lot of us were taught that conception happens with a survivor-style sperm race — the fastest and strongest sperm fight to make it to the egg first. In this Back To School episode, we revisit this misleading narrative and learn just how active the egg and reproductive tract are in this process. You can find Ariela @arielazebede , Lisa @CampoEngelstein , and Kristin @kristin_hook on Twitter. Email us at shortwave@npr.org . Editorial Note - The introduction of this episode has been updated to ref...
Mar 05, 2021•13 min•Transcript available on Metacast A growing number of cities are looking at restricting the use of gas in new buildings to reduce climate emissions. But some states are considering laws to block those efforts, with backing from the natural gas industry. Email the show at shortwave@npr.org .
Mar 04, 2021•14 min•Transcript available on Metacast The coronavirus has disrupted all of our lives, and that's especially true for healthcare workers. We hear reflections from Dr. Jamila Goldsmith and Mariah Clark, two emergency room workers. They tell us what the first year of the pandemic has been like for them, how their lives have changed, and what's around the corner as more people become vaccinated. Are you a healthcare worker who would be willing to share your experience with the Short Wave team? Email us at s hortwave@npr.org ....
Mar 03, 2021•13 min•Transcript available on Metacast The Biden Administration has prioritized speed in its COVID-19 vaccine rollout. Also, a priority...distributing those doses to the populations most impacted by the coronavirus. Host Maddie Sofia talks with NPR science reporter Pien Huang about the challenges underserved communities face in getting the vaccine and the Biden Administration's plans to address vaccine equity in the pandemic. For more reporting on the COVID-19 vaccine, follow Pien on Twitter at @Pien_Huang . You can email the show at...
Mar 02, 2021•13 min•Transcript available on Metacast Today, we present a special episode from our colleagues at Code Switch, NPR's podcast about race and identity. As the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines unfolds, one big challenge for public health officials has been the skepticism many Black people have toward the vaccine. One notorious medical study — the Tuskegee experiment — has been cited as a reason. But should it be? Email the show at shortwave@npr.org.
Mar 01, 2021•25 min•Transcript available on Metacast There are lots of misconceptions around urine. Can urine cure athlete's foot? Or really treat a jellyfish sting? Today on the show — we'll talk about what it actually is, debunk some common myths, and share some urine facts. Plus, we dive into some listener mail — which you can send to us by emailing shortwave@npr.org .
Feb 26, 2021•10 min•Transcript available on Metacast Descendants of trauma victims seem to have worse health outcomes. Could epigenetics help explain why? Bianca Jones Marlin and Brian Dias walk us through the field of epigenetics and its potential implications in trauma inheritance. You can follow Ariela Zebede on twitter @arielazebede . Email us at shortwave@npr.org .
Feb 25, 2021•11 min•Transcript available on Metacast It's likely there's a magnet wherever you're looking right now. In fact, the device you're using to listen to this episode? Also uses a magnet. Which is why today, NPR science correspondent Geoff Brumfiel is taking us "back to school," explaining how magnetism works and why magnets deserve more respect. If you're secretly hoping we cover a basic science concept near and dear to your heart, spill the tea! We'd love to know and can be reached via email at shortwave@npr.org ....
Feb 24, 2021•12 min•Transcript available on Metacast James West has been a curious tinkerer since he was a child, always wondering how things worked. Throughout his long career in STEM, he's also been an advocate for diversity and inclusion — from co-founding the Association for Black Laboratory Employees in 1970 to his work today with The Ingenuity Project , a non-profit that cultivates math and science skills in middle and high school students in Baltimore public schools. Host Maddie Sofia talks to him about his life, career, and about how a dev...
Feb 23, 2021•13 min•Transcript available on Metacast Can people who are vaccinated still carry and transmit the coronavirus to other people? How effective are the vaccines against coronavirus variants? And what's the deal with side effects? In this episode, an excerpt of Maddie's appearance on another NPR podcast, It's Been a Minute with Sam Sanders, where she answered those questions and more. Listen to 'It's Been A Minute with Sam Sanders' on Apple Podcasts or Spotify . Email us at shortwave@npr.org ....
Feb 22, 2021•16 min•Transcript available on Metacast To round out our celebration of Black History Month, we're bringing you a special episode featuring acclaimed science fiction writer Octavia Butler from our friends at NPR's history podcast Throughline . Octavia Butler's alternate realities and 'speculative fiction' reveal striking, and often devastating parallels to the world we live in today. She was a deep observer of the human condition, perplexed and inspired by our propensity towards self-destruction. Butler was also fascinated by the cycl...
Feb 20, 2021•1 hr 7 min•Transcript available on Metacast Today, what happens in your brain when you notice a semantic or grammatical mistake, according to neuroscience. Sarah Phillips , a neurolinguist, tells us all about the N400 and the P600 responses. Plus, we dive into some listener mail — which you can send to us by emailing shortwave@npr.org . (Encore episode)
Feb 19, 2021•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast In June 2020, Amazon, Microsoft and IBM announced that they were limiting some uses of their facial recognition technology. In this encore episode, Maddie and Emily talk to AI policy analyst Mutale Nkonde about algorithmic bias — how facial recognition software can discriminate and reflect the biases of society and the current debate about policing has brought up the issue about how law enforcement should use this technology.
Feb 18, 2021•14 min•Transcript available on Metacast Some of the most prestigious scientists in history advanced racist and eugenicist views, but that is rarely mentioned in textbooks. Maddie and Emily speak with science educators about how to broaden science education--including how they tap into kids' sense of justice by incorporating ethics into experiments and how they share contributions of scientists who may be less famous than the big names. (Encore episode)
Feb 17, 2021•13 min•Transcript available on Metacast Author and neuroscientist Theanne Griffith talks with Maddie about her children's book series , The Magnificent Makers , which follows two intrepid third graders as they race to complete science-based adventures. (Encore episode) Follow host Maddie Sofia on Twitter @maddie_sofia . Email the show at shortwave@npr.org ....
Feb 16, 2021•11 min•Transcript available on Metacast In honor of Black History Month, Short Wave is focusing on Black scientists and educators — people doing incredible work and pushing for a world where science serves everyone. Enjoy! Follow Maddie and Emily on Twitter, @maddie_sofia and @emilykwong1234 . Email the show at ShortWave@npr.org .
Feb 15, 2021•50 sec•Transcript available on Metacast Happy Valentine's Day from Short Wave! We've got something special for the holiday, Maddie and Emily exchange the gift of science facts - from the process of farming and fermenting cacao to the courtship rituals of scorpions and loggerhead shrikes. Email the show at shortwave@npr.org .
Feb 12, 2021•14 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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. For more of Lauren's reporting, follow her on Twitter @lesommer . Email us at ShortWave@npr.o...
Feb 11, 2021•13 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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.
Feb 10, 2021•15 min•Transcript available on Metacast Why is it so hard to feel the difference between 400,000 and 500,000 COVID-19 deaths—and how might that impact our decision making during the pandemic? Psychologist Paul Slovic explains the concept of psychic numbing and how humans can often use emotion, rather than statistics to make decisions about risk. Email the show at shortwave@npr.org .
Feb 09, 2021•11 min•Transcript available on Metacast Three in 10 people in America have a tattoo, and those in the 18 - 34 age bracket, it's almost 40 percent. But what's in those inks, exactly? NPR science correspondent Nell Greenfieldboyce talks about what researchers currently know about tattoo inks. It's not a lot, and researchers are trying to find out more. Email the show at ShortWave@npr.org .
Feb 08, 2021•14 min•Transcript available on Metacast We're going "Back To School" today, revisiting a classic at-home experiment that turns lemons into batteries — powerful enough to turn on a clock or a small lightbulb. But how does the science driving that process show up in household batteries we use daily? Emily Kwong and Maddie Sofia talk battery 101 with environmental engineer Jenelle Fortunato.
Feb 05, 2021•10 min•Transcript available on Metacast People of color experience more air and water pollution than white people and suffer the health impacts. The federal government helped create the problem, and has largely failed to fix it. NPR climate reporter Rebecca Hersher talks about the history of environmental racism in the United States, and what Biden's administration can do to avoid the mistakes of the past. Read Rebecca's reporting on how Biden hopes to address the environmental impacts of systemic racism. Email the show at shortwave@n...
Feb 04, 2021•13 min•Transcript available on Metacast Drug overdose deaths are on the rise all around the country, including in Chicago, Illinois. ProPublica Illinois reporter Duaa Eldeib explains how the coronavirus pandemic has exacerbated the opioid epidemic, and the challenges that public health officials are facing as they work to reduce opioid-related deaths.
Feb 03, 2021•13 min•Transcript available on Metacast With a lot of us stuck at home, trying to physically distance from each other, one part of daily life has largely disappeared: bumping into strangers. On today's show, Maddie talks with Yowei Shaw, co-host of NPR's Invisibilia, about the surprising benefits of stranger interactions. And Short Wave tries out QuarantineChat, a workaround to our current strangerless existence. (Encore episode) Follow Maddie Sofia @maddie_sofia and Yowei Shaw @yowei_shaw on Twitter. Email the show at shortwave@npr.o...
Feb 02, 2021•12 min•Transcript available on Metacast The year 2020 saw a record-breaking wildfire season. With those wildfires came many destroyed homes. Rebuilding with fire-resistant materials reduces the risk of future fires burning down a house, but as NPR science correspondent Lauren Sommer explains, only three Western states require building with fire-resistant materials. Without such improvements, communities face increased risks with the next fire. Read Lauren's reporting on rebuilding after a wildfire. Email the show at shortwave@npr.org ...
Feb 01, 2021•12 min•Transcript available on Metacast With the help of spider scientist Sebastian Echeverri , Maddie presents the case for why spiders are the best and coolest animal. Spoiler alert: some travel thousands of kilometers by "ballooning," while others live part time underwater. Are you a scientist who thinks Sebastian is wrong and that the animal you study is superior? Let us know! You can email us at shortwave@npr.org . We'd love to hear the case for your critter....
Jan 29, 2021•11 min•Transcript available on Metacast How did humans evolve some key cooperative behaviors like sharing? NPR Science Correspondent Jon Hamilton reports back from a bonobo sanctuary in the Democratic Republic of the Congo where scientists are trying to answer that very question. Follow host Maddie Sofia and correspondent Jon Hamilton on Twitter, and email the show at shortwave@npr.org .
Jan 28, 2021•13 min•Transcript available on Metacast Different versions of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus are emerging. Some are spreading quickly around the world, others more slowly — but several have the public health community and researchers worried because they are behaving differently than the older version of the coronavirus. Maddie talks with NPR science correspondent Michaeleen Doucleff about the coronavirus variant first identified in the UK in late 2020 — they discuss how big of a deal it is, how vaccines may be affected, and what needs to...
Jan 27, 2021•16 min•Transcript available on Metacast Washing your hands. It's one of the easiest and most effective things you can do to protect yourself from the coronavirus, the flu, and other respiratory illnesses. But there was a time when that wasn't so obvious. Dana Tulodziecki, a professor at Purdue University, tells the story of Ignaz Semmelweis, the scientist who's credited with discovering the importance of handwashing. We'll hear how he figured it out and why there's more to the story. (Encore episode)
Jan 26, 2021•11 min•Transcript available on Metacast 
