Science Friday

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Who uses Farmers’ Almanacs? + Zebra finch home design Mar 16, 2026

Show notes

Farmers’ Almanacs have been around for hundreds of years, offering detailed advice about things like the best time to plant certain crops, and when to wean your calves. But do farmers actually use them? Host Flora Lichtman discusses their place in modern life with astronomer and Farmers’ Almanac contributor Dean Regas, and Missouri farmer Liz Graznak.

Plus, zebra finches build their nests with a keen eye for color. But is their style easily swayed by feathered peer pressure? Zebra finch expert Lauren Guillette fills us in.

Guests:

Dean Regas is an astronomer and former Farmers’ Almanac contributor based in Cincinnati.

Liz Graznak is an organic farmer and owner of Happy Hollow Farm based in Columbia, Missouri.

Lauren Guillette is an Associate Professor of Cognitive Ecology at the University of Alberta.

Transcripts for each episode are available within 1-3 days at sciencefriday.com.

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Slow Breaking News: A Giant Tortoise Revival Mar 13, 2026

Show notes

In February, conservationists released 158 young tortoises onto Floreana Island in the Galapagos. The Floreana tortoise subspecies had long been thought extinct, but the discovery of close relatives on another island made a captive breeding effort possible.

SciFri turtle correspondent Charles Bergquist talks with conservationist Penny Becker about the science behind the reintroduction, and what it was like to return the species to an island that had not seen them since the 1850s. Plus, the latest on sea turtle nesting season, and an ancient sea turtle stampede.

Guest:
Dr. Penny Becker is CEO of the nonprofit Island Conservation.

Transcripts for each episode are available within 1-3 days at sciencefriday.com.

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How Is AI Being Used In The Iran War? Mar 12, 2026

Show notes

The military use of AI is capturing headlines this month. After a dustup with the Pentagon, the AI company Anthropic is out, and OpenAI is in. Meanwhile, in the US war with Iran, AI is being deployed in ways we’ve never seen.

To make sense of it all, Host Flora Lichtman talks with journalist Karen Hao, who covers AI and is the author of the book Empire of AI: Dreams and Nightmares in Sam Altman's OpenAI.

Guest:
Karen Hao is a tech journalist and author of the book Empire of AI: Dreams and Nightmares in Sam Altman's OpenAI.

Transcripts for each episode are available within 1-3 days at sciencefriday.com.

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Is There Science Behind The ‘Nervous System Reset’? Mar 11, 2026

Show notes

On social media, the vagus nerve often gets billed as the gateway to nervous system nirvana: It’s your ticket to better rest, relaxation, and health if you “stimulate” it correctly. Where did this idea come from, and what does the research say?

Host Flora Lichtman talks with neurosurgeon Kevin Tracey, a pioneer of a field called bioelectronic medicine, which uses techniques to stimulate the nervous system with electricity. Back in the 1990s, he was the first to discover that the vagus nerve regulates the immune system and inflammation.

Guest:

Dr. Kevin Tracey is a neurosurgeon, and president and CEO of the Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research at Northwell Health. He is the author of The Great Nerve.

Transcripts for each episode are available within 1-3 days at sciencefriday.com.

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AI Music Is On The Charts. Where Does It Go From Here? Mar 10, 2026

Show notes

In recent months, AI music has moved from novelty act into the realm of listenable music. For the first time, AI-generated songs from AI-generated artists are on the Billboard top 100 charts, and more musicians are coming out saying they use AI in their songwriting process.

Is this just another tech upgrade to the music-making process or does it signal something bigger in the industry? To investigate, SciFri producer and musician Dee Peterschmidt talks to journalist Kristin Robinson, who covers AI in the music industry, and Laurie Spiegel, an electronic and algorithmic music pioneer.

Guests:
Kristin Robinson is a senior writer for Billboard, based in Los Angeles, CA.
Laurie Spiegel is a composer and programmer based in New York, NY

Transcripts for each episode are available within 1-3 days at sciencefriday.com.

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The Surprising Science Of Why Sneakers Squeak Mar 09, 2026

Show notes

March Madness is almost upon us, which means basketball arenas across the country will be filled with the thunderous roar of fans and the surprisingly loud squeaks of basketball shoes. At his first NBA game, physicist Adel Djellouli was surprised by the constant noise from the court and wondered, why do basketball shoes squeak? Turns out, the physics of a squeak involves lightning bolts and earthquakes.

Host Flora Lichtman talks with Djellouli about his research and the joy of investigating seemingly simple questions.

Guest: Dr. Adel Djellouli is an experimental physicist at Harvard University.

Transcripts for each episode are available within 1-3 days at sciencefriday.com.

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Can ‘Suggestion-Box Science’ Make Public Health More Useful? Mar 07, 2026

Show notes

Skepticism around public health policy, experts and institutions has left some researchers asking basic questions about their role and relationship with the public. Can public health be done better?

Epidemiologist Erica Walker has a perspective on just that. She started off studying noise pollution, found her science wasn’t serving people as she hoped, and pivoted her approach in an effort to be more useful. Flora sits down with Walker to hear the story.

Guest: Dr. Erica Walker is an assistant professor of epidemiology and director of the Community Noise Lab at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island.

Transcripts for each episode are available within 1-3 days at sciencefriday.com.

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Fixing Society's Toughest Problems? ‘It’s On You’ Mar 06, 2026

Show notes

Ever heard an alcohol ad that tells you to “please drink responsibly”? Or a gambling ad that warns, "when the fun stops, stop”? Or been urged to reduce your carbon footprint?

The message is basically the same: These products and activities have risks. But mitigating them, well, that’s on you. How did we get this idea that it's our personal responsibility to make a dent in big problems like climate change—and not the job of the government to impose regulations? That’s the focus of the new book It’s on You.

Host Flora Lichtman talks with behavioral scientist and It’s on You coauthor Nick Chater, about how he and his colleagues played a role in shaping a narrative of individual responsibility, and how to change it.

Guest:
Dr. Nick Chater is a professor of behavioural science at Warwick University and coauthor of It's on You: How Corporations and Behavioral Scientists Have Convinced Us That We’re to Blame for Society's Deepest Problems.

Transcripts for each episode are available within 1-3 days at sciencefriday.com.

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3D Images Of Galaxies Will Rock You (Ft. Queen) Mar 05, 2026

Show notes

"Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy? Caught in a landslide, no escape from reality. Open your eyes, look up to the skies and see."

There’s something about space that captures the imagination of scientists and artists alike. Just ask astrophysicist Derek Ward-Thompson and astronomer Brian May (yes, THAT Brian May, guitarist of Queen). In their new book Islands in Infinity: Galaxies 3-D, they turn flat images of the galaxies to three dimensional spacescapes that leap off the page.

Host Flora Lichtman talks with Ward-Thompson and May about the enchanting nature of space and the collision of art and astronomy. And yes, they get into the music.

Guests:
Dr. Brian May is an astronomer and the guitarist of Queen.
Dr. Derek Ward-Thompson is an astrophysicist at the University of Lancashire in England.

Transcripts for each episode are available within 1-3 days at sciencefriday.com.

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Slow Release Of Federal Science Funds Holds Up Research Mar 04, 2026

Show notes

Earlier this year, Congress pushed back on the Trump administration’s attempts to slash funding for many science research programs, and restored that money to the budget. But despite the funds existing in the budget, they have not yet been released to some researchers.

Science journalist Alexandra Witze joins Host Ira Flatow to walk through the details of the government funding process, and her recent report in Nature about the funding slowdown.

Guest: Alexandra Witze is a correspondent for the journal Nature. She's based in Boulder, Colorado.

Transcripts for each episode are available within 1-3 days at sciencefriday.com.

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