Unexplainable

Vox

Unexplainable takes listeners right up to the edge of what we know…and then keeps on going. The Unexplainable team — Noam Hassenfeld, Julia Longoria, Byrd Pinkerton, and Meradith Hoddinott — tackles scientific mysteries, unanswered questions, and everything we learn diving into the unknown. New episodes Mondays and Wednesdays.

From Vox and the Vox Media Podcast Network.

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20 episodes
Updated Wednesday

Episodes20

Newest first

Wednesday · 44 min
The Godzilla El Niño
This global weather phenomenon could help make 2027 the hottest year on record.
Monday · 30 min
An argument for the sun
It can be hard to know how to interact with the sun.
July 22 · 25 min
What the Odyssey is hiding
The Late Bronze Age, when the Trojan War supposedly took place, was way more modern than Homer made it seem.
July 20 · 31 min
Dinosaur mysteries with Riley Black
How do we know what we know about dinosaurs?
July 15 · 32 min
When doctors don't know what's wrong
A 2015 review found that most people in the US will experience a diagnostic error in their lifetime.
July 13 · 32 min
Are you a lyric person or a music person?
When people listen to songs, why do some people pay more attention to the music, and some people pay more attention to the lyrics?
July 9 · 3 min
Big news!
Unexplainable is coming to Netflix!
July 6 · 25 min
Are we all living in an enormous black hole?
It’s possible that the entire observable universe is inside a black hole.
June 29 · 29 min
Risky business
As the world gets warmer and storms get worse, insurance companies are jacking up rates or refusing to cover homeowners altogether.
June 24 · 19 min
A period piece
Periods and menstrual fluid have long been overlooked by scientists.
June 22 · 27 min
Bird people and deep space shrapnel
Two mysteries we can't stop thinking about: Is lightning actually caused by cosmic rays? And why don't birds play chess?
June 17 · 32 min
Should we really kill all the lanternflies?
When an invasive bug landed on the East Coast, people embraced the order to squish it to death.
June 15 · 31 min
Sean tries raw milk
Sean Rameswaram, co-host of⁠ Today, Explained⁠, recently went on a dairy adventure.
June 10 · 26 min
A new species in New York
Around 90% of life on Earth is unknown.
June 8 · 1 hr
The disaster problem
Climate change is making hurricanes, floods, and wildfires harder to prepare for just as confidence in the government’s disaster response is collapsing.
June 3 · 38 min
The lost Lyme vaccine
Vijay Sikand is a family doctor in the Connecticut town that gave Lyme disease its name.
June 1 · 36 min
The cells we share
Fetuses leave cells behind in their parents' bodies, where they braid themselves into tissues, and remain, for years.
May 20 · 16 min
The man who bet against humanity — and lost
Paul Ehrlich was famous for predicting a population explosion that would destroy the planet, but he didn't count on human ingenuity.
May 18 · 41 min
The aftermath
What would life look like after a global nuclear war?
May 13 · 32 min
A better Black Death story
What happens when researchers reexamine some of the basic facts about the Black Death?

Unexplainable

The Godzilla El Niño

An argument for the sun

What the Odyssey is hiding

Dinosaur mysteries with Riley Black

When doctors don't know what's wrong

Are you a lyric person or a music person?

Big news!

Are we all living in an enormous black hole?

Risky business

A period piece

Bird people and deep space shrapnel

Should we really kill all the lanternflies?

Sean tries raw milk

A new species in New York

The disaster problem

The lost Lyme vaccine

The cells we share

The man who bet against humanity — and lost

The aftermath

A better Black Death story