Science Friday

Science Friday, as heard on PRI, is a weekly discussion of the latest news in science, technology, health, and the environment hosted by Ira Flatow. Ira interviews scientists, authors, and policymakers, and listeners can call in and ask questions as well.

Play

Open in

30 episodes
daily
Avg 16 min
English

Episodes 30

Newest Oldest Longest

All20 Unplayed20 In progress0 Played0

Counted on this page — what you have heard stays on this device, so it is not something the list can be paged by.

#1418
Today · 12 min
1418: Ayana Elizabeth Johnson on making climate action cool
Ayana Elizabeth Johnson is one of the most prominent voices in the climate movement. She’s a marine biologist by training, but as she saw the effects of the climate crisis intensify, she took on more public-facing advocacy work.Her work is expansive:...
#1417
Friday · 18 min
1417: Could a whale swallow a human, “Whalefall” style?
In the new movie https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dw-5ZGapGTQ a scuba diver (Austin Abrams) gets accidentally swallowed by a sperm whale. What follows is a tense battle against time and the whale’s digestive system, to escape before his air supply runs...
#1416
Thursday · 18 min
1416: Why do politicians talk like that?
With the midterms approaching, politicians are out in full force to convince voters to elect them. And that means that we’re hearing a lot of “politician speak.” You know it when you hear it: those folksy turns of phrase, the vague promises. But what...
#1415
Wednesday · 12 min
1415: Sargassum superblooms are choking coastlines around the Atlantic
An unwelcome visitor is arriving on beaches from West Africa to the Caribbean, and Brazil to Florida. It’s brown, it’s stinky, and it’s more abundant than ever: sargassum. This free-floating seaweed has become a major problem for coastal ecosystems,...
#1414
Tuesday · 17 min
1414: Celebrating Ada Lovelace Day and the women who made the internet
This year, October 13 marks https://www.sciencefriday.com/segments/ada-lovelace-day/, an observance that calls attention to the role of women in computing and technology. In this...
#1413
October 12 · 17 min
1413: Are attachment styles more than a social media trend?
In the past few years, the idea of attachment styles has taken off, both online and in therapy offices. It’s gone from a niche psychological concept to a shorthand to describe how we show up in relationships. Here’s a crash course: Anxious attachment...
#1412
October 10 · 12 min
1412: The science and politics of the new mRNA flu vaccine
A new mRNA flu vaccine made by Moderna was approved by the FDA in August, and is currently available for people aged 50 and over. The promise of an https://www.sciencefriday.com/segments/mrna-flu-vaccine-science/ is that it can be spun up more quickly...
#1411
October 9 · 12 min
1411: What is the Kelvin wave on the West Coast?
A Kelvin wave has reached California and is creeping up the West Coast, raising both sea levels and concerns from government officials. This kind of massive internal wave begins in the western Pacific Ocean and then travels eastward to the Americas...
#1410
October 8 · 18 min
1410: The punk rock life of cephalopods
Cephalopods https://www.sciencefriday.com/segments/punk-rock-life-of-cephalopods/ for being smart and majestic. And while that may be true, the life of a cephalopod can also be dark and gritty. Have you heard of octopus death spirals? How about...
#1409
October 7 · 13 min
1409: The Nobel winner searching for deep-space neutrinos in Antarctica
It’s Nobel Prize week, and this year's https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/physics/2026/press-release/ went to Francis Halzen “for decisive contributions to the IceCube Neutrino Observatory and the discovery of high-energy neutrinos of astrophysical...
#1408
October 6 · 15 min
1408: How important ideas get reawakened, with David Byrne
On Science Friday, we love to talk about ideas, especially ideas that have the power to shape the future. But there are plenty of https://www.sciencefriday.com/segments/how-important-ideas-get-reawakened-with-david-byrne/ that almost don’t make it out...
October 5 · 15 min
The History of Concrete with John Wilson
John Wilson’s new documentary, “The History of Concrete,” has a subject matter that to most people may seem gray, drab, and boring. The https://www.sciencefriday.com/segments/the-history-of-concrete-with-john-wilson/. Alongside facts about concrete’s...
#1406
October 2 · 12 min
1406: The tilcayo is the new wild cat on the block
Big news for tiny cats: an itty-bitty three-pound https://www.sciencefriday.com/segments/the-tilcayo-is-the-new-wild-cat-on-the-block/—called the tilcayo—is the first new wild cat species described in more than a hundred years. Tilcayo pics have been...
#1405
October 1 · 17 min
1405: Are natural history museums going extinct?
Leaders of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University say they can’t afford to keep the museum open to visitors. And there are rumors that https://www.sciencefriday.com/segments/are-natural-history-museums-going-extinct, in Hays, Kansas, may...
#1404
September 30 · 18 min
1404: Examining a new lunar crater + searching for signs of alien technology
In 2024, scientists using instruments on board the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft spotted a new large impact crater on the surface of the moon. Tyler Powell joins host Flora Lichtman to describe what they found, and what scientists are...
#1404
September 29 · 21 min
1404: Did the COVID pandemic stunt kids’ development?
It’s a conversation at playgrounds and in classrooms: parents and teachers worry that kids who spent formative years at home during the COVID-19 pandemic are set back, emotionally, socially or academically. But...
#1403
September 28 · 18 min
1403: How do concussions affect the brain?
Football season is upon us and a new study is making headlines. Researchers found that roughly 1 in 4 NFL players will develop CTE, a neurodegenerative disease, in their lifetime. While most of us are not professional athletes, concussions are still a...
#1402
September 25 · 11 min
1402: Are new treatments for celiac disease on the horizon?
For celiac disease sufferers, avoiding gluten is the only way to avoid symptoms. But that’s not always easy to do. Researchers are working on https://www.sciencefriday.com/segments/are-new-treatments-for-celiac-disease-on-the-horizon/, including one...
#1401
September 24 · 22 min
1401: Everyone is calling for safer AI. So what does that mean?
AI safety has dominated the news cycle for weeks, precipitated in part by an AI attack where a bunch of OpenAI’s agents teamed up and hacked another AI platform, Hugging Face, without humans knowing. Since then, multiple AI researchers have come...
#1400
September 23 · 18 min
1400: Underwater archeology reveals clues about Ice Age humans
During the last ice age, America’s coastlines and waterways looked much different than they do today. When glaciers melted, coasts and shorelines were inundated, burying early human settlements underwater. This is where underwater archeology comes in....

Showing 1–20 of 30 episodes