Science Friday

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A Reptile’s Baffling Backfin And The Math Of Dashing Dinos Jul 30, 2025

Show notes

Paleontologists have identified an ancient reptile with a towering crest made not of skin, or scales, or feathers, or antler—but something else entirely. It’s some kind of integumentary outerwear we’ve never seen before. The small creature sporting the curious crest was named Mirasaura grauvogeli, and it lived during the Middle Triassic period, about 247 million years ago, just before dinosaurs evolved.

Host Flora Lichtman talks to evolutionary biologist Richard Prum about this dramatic dorsal mystery and what it tells us about the evolution of dinosaurs, birds, and feathers.

Plus, how fast did dinosaurs run? It turns out that the equation scientists have been using for five decades to estimate dinosaur speeds is not completely accurate. To understand what this could mean for velociraptor velocities, T. rex tempos, and spinosaurus speeds, Flora talks with paleobiologist Peter Falkingham.

Guests: Dr. Richard Prum is a professor of ecology and evolutionary biology and head curator of ornithology at the Peabody Museum of Natural History at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. He previously chaired Yale’s Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology.
Dr. Peter Falkingham is a professor of paleobiology at Liverpool John Moores University in England.

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

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NASA Employees Protest Cuts In Formal Dissent Letter Jul 29, 2025

Show notes

The Trump administration has proposed cutting NASA’s budget by almost 25% and shutting down 19 currently operating science missions. On July 21, several hundred current and former employees of the space agency released an official letter of dissent, titled “The Voyager Declaration,” arguing against “rapid and wasteful changes which have undermined our mission.” Retired NASA astronaut Cady Coleman joins Host Flora Lichtman to explain why she felt compelled to add her signature to the letter of dissent.

Guest:
Dr. Cady Coleman is a retired NASA astronaut and the author of Sharing Space: An Astronaut’s Guide to Mission, Wonder, and Making Change. She’s based in Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts.

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

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Where Are We On The Science Of Menopause? Jul 28, 2025

Show notes

Menopause is having a moment. Celebrities like Halle Berry, Naomi Watts, and Michelle Obama have recently shared their personal menopause experiences. Menopause and perimenopause are showing up across social media and even in popular books. All this to say, menopause has finally gone mainstream.

But, it wasn’t until about three decades ago that menopause research really kicked into gear. Since then, scientists have made a lot of progress in understanding the basic biological process as well as treatments like hormone therapy and the importance of separating symptoms of menopause from those of aging.

Host Flora Lichtman talks with two menopause researchers, ob-gyn Monica Christmas and epidemiologist Carrie Karvonen-Gutierrez, about what we’ve learned so far—and what misconceptions bug them most.

Guests: Dr. Monica Christmas is an associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Chicago and director of the menopause program at UChicago Medicine.
Dr. Carrie Karvonen-Gutierrez is an associate professor of epidemiology and the director of the Center for Midlife Science at the University of Michigan.

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

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EPA To Shut Down Scientific Research Arm Jul 26, 2025

Show notes

The EPA recently announced that it’s going to shut down its scientific research arm, called the Office of Research and Development. Since the agency was founded nearly 55 years ago, it’s had in-house scientists researching things like pollutants in our air and water, and the risks posed by toxic chemicals. That research informs the EPA’s guidelines and standards.

Host Flora Lichtman talks with Jennifer Orme-Zavaleta, who spent 40 years working at the EPA, about the importance of the Office’s research and what losing it means for public health and the environment.

Guest: Dr. Jennifer Orme-Zavaleta spent 40 years working at the Environmental Protection Agency. She was the principal deputy assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Research and Development.

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

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Parker Solar Probe Captures Closest-Ever Images Of The Sun Jul 25, 2025

Show notes

In December, the Parker Solar Probe made history when it made the closest-ever approach to the sun by a spacecraft. As it whizzed by, a camera recorded incredibly detailed images, which show the sun’s surface, the flow of solar winds, and eruptions of magnetized balls of gas. Seeing this activity in such detail could help scientists understand solar weather.

Host Flora Lichtman talks with Parker Solar Probe project scientist Nour Rawafi about what these images show and how the probe could fundamentally change our understanding of the sun.

Guest:
Dr. Nour Rawafi is the Parker Solar Probe project scientist at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Maryland.

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

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Climate Change Is Upending The Home Insurance Market Jul 24, 2025

Show notes

You can’t get a mortgage without home insurance. But in some parts of the country, it’s becoming harder and harder to find a plan, as insurance companies drop homeowners and pull out of entire states, as flooding, wildfires, and storms become more frequent and intense. Host Flora Lichtman talks to reporters Jessica Meszaros and Rachel Cohen, who have been covering this issue in Florida and Colorado. Flora then speaks with Benjamin Keys, who studies the impact of climate change on the real estate market, about the future of home ownership in a world increasingly unsettled by climate change.

Guests:

Rachel Cohen is the Mountain West News Bureau reporter for KUNC.
Dr. Benjamin Keys studies the impact of climate change on the real estate market at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.
Jessica Meszaros is a climate change and environment reporter for WUSF in Tampa, Florida.

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

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What The Sigma Is Algospeak? Jul 23, 2025

Show notes

Gen Alpha slang can seem unintelligible to adults, but linguist and TikToker Adam Aleksic argues language development in the internet age is worth legitimate study. Adam talks to Host Flora Lichtman about how algorithms and social media are changing the way we speak, and discusses his new book, Algospeak: How Social Media is Transforming the Future of Language.

Guest:
Adam Aleksic is a linguist and content creator, and the author of Algospeak: How Social Media is Transforming the Future of Language.

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

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How Millions Of Flies Can Help Stop The New World Screwworm Jul 22, 2025

Show notes

The New World screwworm has cattle ranchers, entomologists, and the federal government on edge. The pest was successfully eradicated from the US decades ago, but has recently been moving north from South America into Central America and Mexico, with concerns that it may cross the border into Texas. It’s notorious for laying eggs in the wounds of animals and slowly eating them from the inside out. Host Flora Lichtman speaks with entomologist Sonja Swiger about past efforts to get rid of the New World screwworm, and why that process involves dropping millions of bugs out of airplanes.

Guest: Dr. Sonja Swiger is an entomologist and professor at Texas A&M in Stephenville, Texas.

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

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Why Is The Scopes Trial Still Relevant 100 Years Later? Jul 21, 2025

Show notes

In July 1925, the Scopes “Monkey” Trial captivated the nation. On its face, the case was relatively straightforward: A Tennessee biology teacher named John Scopes was accused of teaching human evolution to his students. At the time, that was against state law. Both sides enlisted the help of big name lawyers to represent them, and the case turned into a national spectacle. But, why has the legacy of the case persisted? And what can it help us understand about our current moment?

Host Ira Flatow talks with Brenda Wineapple, author of Keeping the Faith: God, Democracy, and the Trial that Riveted a Nation. Read an excerpt of the book at sciencefriday.com.

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

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Why Don’t We Have A Vaccine For Lyme Disease? Jul 18, 2025

Show notes

It’s shaping up to be one of the worst tick years yet, and concerns about Lyme disease—which is transmitted through the bites of some species—are high. Aside from a short-lived vaccine released in the late 1990s, people have not had the opportunity to get vaccinated against Lyme disease. But if our dogs can get vaccinated, why can’t we? Host Flora Lichtman speaks with immunologist and Lyme disease expert Linden Hu about the ongoing quest for a vaccine against Lyme disease, and our evolving understanding of the disease.

Guest: Dr. Linden Hu is a Professor of immunology at Tufts University School of Medicine.

Read an article from SciFri about the research towards finding an anti-tick vaccine.

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

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