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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299 episodes
Updated Wednesday

Episodes299

Newest first

February 2 · 29 min
Cloud atlas
It’s surprisingly hard to predict how clouds form, move, and change, but it’s essential to try.
January 28 · 26 min
What's good sound?
Every hand-crafted instrument from violin maker Michael Doran holds its own unexplainable questions.
January 26 · 23 min
No data, just vibes
There's been a real rollback of one of the US government's most fundamental tasks: gathering data.
January 14 · 25 min
It's not all bad
Things in the news have been feeling kind of…bleak, so we called in some reinforcements.
January 12 · 25 min
Superbabies?
Parents are supposed to provide the best life possible for their kids, right?
January 7 · 26 min
The G-word
Is geoengineering the answer to the climate crisis?
January 5 · 23 min
Who's afraid of big, bad Yellowstone?
Yellowstone can be a deadly place... but not for the reasons you might think.
Dec 17, 2025 · 32 min
Vitamin C and the common cold
A two-time Nobel Prize-winning scientist changed chemistry, biology, and the politics of science.
Dec 15, 2025 · 31 min
Your moments of silence (The Sound Barrier #5)
This episode is a follow-up to ⁠The Sound Barrier⁠ series, which explores our brain's relationship to sound. In our third episode of the series, we asked listeners to try to experience silence and record what they heard.
Dec 10, 2025 · 27 min
Diary of a teenage brain, part 2
As our brains develop throughout our childhood and teens, they form connections and then prune back the ones that aren't used. What can we learn from them?
Dec 8, 2025 · 28 min
Diary of a teenage brain
What's going on in teens' heads?
Dec 3, 2025 · 26 min
The trees of death
Way back when forests first evolved on Earth... they might have triggered one of the biggest mass extinctions in the history of the planet.
Dec 1, 2025 · 21 min
That's no moon...
It's a quasi-moon.
Nov 19, 2025 · 35 min
Lost on the road to enlightenment
So many of us have been told that meditation can make us less stressed, more productive, and happier. But for a small group of people, it has a dark side.
Nov 17, 2025 · 26 min
Is animal grief real?
These behaviors in animals may look like human mourning, but should scientists call them "grief"?
Nov 12, 2025 · 37 min
The Sound Barrier #4: Listen to the universe
When Wanda Diáz-Merced lost her sight as a college student, she thought her dreams of becoming an astronomer were over — until she learned to listen to space instead.
Nov 10, 2025 · 31 min
The Sound Barrier #3: What does silence sound like?
A scientist asked people to sit in a silent room for 15 minutes.
Nov 5, 2025 · 33 min
The Sound Barrier #2: The noise that isn't there
Almost 15% of adults suffer from a persistent, often intolerable sound... that is literally just in their heads. Why does the brain do this to us?
Nov 3, 2025 · 40 min
The Sound Barrier #1: The myth of hearing
Just like optical illusions trick our eyes, audio illusions can trick our ears.
Oct 29, 2025 · 37 min
Solve me a river
This week on Unexplainable or Not, Sally Helm, the newest member of our team, tries to figure out what's killing mussels, why rivers suddenly change course, and what the longest river in the world is.

Unexplainable

Cloud atlas

What's good sound?

No data, just vibes

It's not all bad

Superbabies?

The G-word

Who's afraid of big, bad Yellowstone?

Vitamin C and the common cold

Your moments of silence (The Sound Barrier #5)

Diary of a teenage brain, part 2

Diary of a teenage brain

The trees of death

That's no moon...

Lost on the road to enlightenment

Is animal grief real?

The Sound Barrier #4: Listen to the universe

The Sound Barrier #3: What does silence sound like?

The Sound Barrier #2: The noise that isn't there

The Sound Barrier #1: The myth of hearing

Solve me a river