Episodios

  • The Future Of Immune Health Might Be Here

    The Future Of Immune Health Might Be Here
    Nov 12 2025

    David Ewing Duncan has spent the last 25 years being poked and prodded in the name of science. He’s signed up for hundreds of tests because, as a journalist, he writes about emerging health breakthroughs. He says one recent test contains more useful data than anything he’s seen to date. He talks to host Emily Kwong about his score on the Immune Health Metric, which was developed by immunologist John Tsang. Together, David and John explain why immune health is so central to overall health and how a simple blood test could one day predict disease before it starts.

    Learn more about the Human Immunome Project.

    Read David’s full article about his experience with the Immune Health Metric. The piece is a collaboration between MIT Technology Review and Aventine, a non-profit research foundation that creates and supports content about how technology and science are changing the way we live.

    Interested in more health science? Email us your question at shortwave@npr.org.

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    12 m
  • What Space Dust Reveals About Earth's Ice Age

    What Space Dust Reveals About Earth's Ice Age
    Nov 11 2025
    Cosmic dust can tell scientists about how ice covered Earth during the last ice age. This dust is leftover debris from asteroids and comets colliding in space and this dust constantly rains down on our planet. Researcher Frankie Pavia from the University of Washington recently used a brand new method for estimating climate conditions 30,000 years ago, by looking at the cosmic dust amounts in ancient arctic ocean soil. He and a team found new clues to what melted arctic ice at the end of the ice age. These results may be able to better inform ice melt in the future.


    Interested in more space science? Email us your question at shortwave@npr.org.


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    14 m
  • Do Birth Control Side Effects Make It Worth Skipping?

    Do Birth Control Side Effects Make It Worth Skipping?
    Nov 10 2025
    Recently, health influencers on Instagram and TikTok have been vocal about the side effects of hormonal birth control. Check out the most popular videos on the subject, and you’ll hear horror stories about sex drive and skin texture, depression and weight fluctuation. But doctors say that while some side effects are possible, the most extreme stories are often the rarest cases. And one of the most common side effects of not taking birth control … is unplanned pregnancy.

    Interested in more health science? Email us your question at shortwave@npr.org.

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    12 m
  • Fall foliage is still a mystery: Why do some leaves turn red?

    Fall foliage is still a mystery: Why do some leaves turn red?
    Nov 7 2025
    Scientists know why leaves turn yellow in the fall: Chlorophyll breaks down, revealing the yellow pigment that was there all along. But red? Red is a different story altogether. Leaves have to make a new pigment to turn red. Why would a dying leaf do that? Scientists don’t really know. NPR science correspondent Nell Greenfieldboyce reports on the leading hypotheses out there.

    Read more of Nell's reporting on this topic.

    Interested in more seasonal science? Email us your ideas at shortwave@npr.org.

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    14 m
  • Why Some Species Survive Mass Extinctions

    Why Some Species Survive Mass Extinctions
    Nov 5 2025
    Around 250 million years ago, one of Earth’s largest known volcanic events set off The Great Dying: the planet’s worst mass extinction event. The eruptions spewed large amounts of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, temperatures rose globally and oxygen in the oceans dropped.

    And while the vast majority of species went extinct, some survived. Scientists like paleophysiology graduate student Kemi Ashing-Giwa want to know why, because lessons about the survivors of The Great Dying could inform today’s scientists on how to curb extinctions today.

    Interested in more Earth science? Email us your question at shortwave@npr.org.

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    12 m
  • The Secrets Everyday Rocks Keep

    The Secrets Everyday Rocks Keep
    Nov 4 2025
    Why does the New York City skyline look the way it does? In part, because of what happened there 500 million years ago, says geologist Anjana Khatwa, author of the new book Whispers of Rocks. In it, she traces how geology has had profound effects on human life, from magnetism of the ocean floor to voter trends in the Southern U.S.


    Interested in more geology episodes? Email us your question at shortwave@npr.org.


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    13 m
  • Elections: A Big Math Problem

    Elections: A Big Math Problem
    Nov 3 2025
    Ahead of Election Day tomorrow, millions of ballots are being cast in statewide, local and special elections. So, today, we're revisiting an episode asking: What would happen if the rules of our electoral system were changed? Producer Hannah Chinn reported on that very question, and today, with host Emily Kwong, they dive into three voting methods that are representative of alternative voting systems. They look at where these systems have been implemented, how they work and what they may mean for future elections.

    Want to hear more about how math could change our lives? Email us at shortwave@npr.org and we might cover your idea on a future episode!

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    16 m
  • This Week In Science: Spiders, TV Pixels And Storytelling

    This Week In Science: Spiders, TV Pixels And Storytelling
    Oct 31 2025
    Happy Halloween, Short Wavers! In today’s news round-up, we’ve got only treats. Hosts Regina Barber and Emily Kwong fill in NPR’s Ailsa Chang on a debate in spider web architecture, how the details shared in storytelling affect how you form memories and why more pixels may not translate to a better TV viewing experience.


    Have a science question? Email us your question at shortwave@npr.org.


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    11 m