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How Did Ancient Humans Use The Acoustics Of Spaces Like Caves? Dec 12, 2025

Show notes

The sound of a choir performing in a cathedral is iconic for a reason. It’s this beautiful human experience: being side-by-side with other people, feeling the sound vibrate through you, reverberating around the space.

But how long has that been a part of our culture? And what role did sound play in the lives of people who lived during the Ice Age or the Stone Age? That’s the focus of a growing field of archaeology called archaeoacoustics, where researchers use the scientific tools of today to investigate the role of sound and music in the past.

To learn more, Host Flora Lichtman is joined by Margarita Díaz-Andreu, principal investigator of the Art Soundscapes project, and Rupert Till, head of the department of humanities at the University of Huddersfield in the UK.

Guests: Dr. Margarita Díaz-Andreu is an ICREA professor at the University of Barcelona in Spain and principal investigator of the Art Soundscapes project.
Dr. Rupert Till is a professor of music and head of the department humanities at the University of Huddersfield in the UK.

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

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What The Sounds Of Melting Glaciers Can Tell Us Dec 11, 2025

Show notes

As the planet warms, the world’s glaciers are melting faster than snow can replenish the ice. That has implications for sea level rise, ocean currents, and global weather patterns. But collecting data at the edge of a melting glacier can be risky.

Glaciologist Erin Pettit and her colleagues are listening to the sounds melting glaciers make—from the sizzling of trapped air bubbles bursting, to the deep rumbles of underwater calving of icebergs. She joins Host Flora Lichtman to share some glacial sounds, and describe the multi-stage robot tools she uses to monitor melting ice.

Guest: Dr. Erin Pettit is a professor of geophysics and glaciology at Oregon State University.

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

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How A Fringe Idea Led To Lifesaving Cancer Treatments Dec 10, 2025

Show notes

In cancer research, the “seed and soil” hypothesis posits that the tumor is like a seed of misbehaving cells taking root in the body. Whether it grows—and where it grows—depends on the conditions, or soil. Since this hypothesis was proposed more than 100 years ago, most research and treatments have focused on the seed, or tumor.

For nearly 50 years, Rakesh Jain has been studying the soil. But in a seed-focused field, his work was seen as wasteful and radical. Now, that very same research has led to seven FDA-approved treatments for diseases including lung and liver cancer, and earned him a National Medal of Science in 2016. Host Flora Lichtman talks with Jain about how his fringe idea led to lifesaving cancer treatments.

Guest: Dr. Rakesh K. Jain studies the biology of tumors at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital as a professor of radiation oncology.

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

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Why Is Bubonic Plague Still With Us? Dec 09, 2025

Show notes

For many people, bubonic plague is an illness that seems squarely situated in medieval times. But each year, a handful of human cases pop up in the western United States. Plague can be treated successfully with modern medicine. But why does it still exist, and how should we think about it both locally and globally?

Plague researcher Viveka Vadyvaloo joins Host Flora Lichtman to talk all things spread and containment.

Guest: Dr. Viveka Vadyvaloo is a plague researcher and director of the Allen School for Global Health at Washington State University.

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

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Don’t Let Their Name Fool You—Sea Slugs Are Awesome Dec 08, 2025

Show notes

Today we’re spotlighting an underappreciated group of marine creatures: sea slugs. Don’t let their humble name fool you. They come in vivid neon colors, with patterns that rival the most beautiful butterflies and feather-like external gills and tentacles.

There are an estimated 10,000 species of sea slugs and they are incredibly diverse. Some are smaller than a quarter. And one species can weigh more than a terrier, up to 30 pounds. Not to mention their contributions to brain research—understanding their neural networks was the basis for a Nobel Prize in 2000.

Marine biologist Patrick Krug joins Host Ira Flatow to dive into the slimy science of sea slugs.

Guest: Dr. Patrick Krug is a sea slug researcher and professor of biological sciences at Cal State LA.

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

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As Companies Build Data Centers For AI, Communities Push Back Dec 05, 2025

Show notes

There’s an enormous buildout of data centers underway across the country to fuel the AI boom. Hundreds of billions of dollars have already been spent on data centers, with talk of spending trillions more. And these data centers use a lot of power: According to the Times Picuayune, Meta’s new data center under construction in Louisiana will require nearly three times the power that New Orleans uses in a year. Residents across the country have taken note, and rising utility rates have become an issue in some recent elections.

Casey Crownhart, senior climate reporter at MIT Technology Review, has been studying the costs and impacts of the data center boom. She joins Host Ira Flatow for an update on the latest.

Guest: Casey Crownhart is a senior climate reporter at MIT Technology Review, based in New York, NY.

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

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A Toast To Bats That Pollinate Agave, And Tracking Monarchs Dec 04, 2025

Show notes

You might think about bats as flitting around in the dark and hunting insects, but some species feed on fruits or flowers—and play an important role as pollinators. One place that role is crucial is in the relationship between bats and agave plants. Bat conservationist Kristen Lear joins Host Ira Flatow to describe efforts to restore agaves in the Southwest and Mexico, which has consequences for bats, for the ecosystems around the agave, and for your liquor cabinet, since agave is the source of drinks like tequila and mezcal.

Plus, journalist Dan Fagin joins Ira to discuss his recent New York Times article on a new technology that is letting researchers follow individual monarch butterflies over the course of a thousand-mile migration.

Guests:
Dr. Kristen Lear is director of the Agave Restoration Initiative at Bat Conservation International, based in Austin, Texas.
Dan Fagin is a science journalist and the director of the Science, Health & Environmental Reporting Program at New York University.

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

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A Startling Plan To Save Spotted Owls—From Barred Owls Dec 03, 2025

Show notes

The spotted owl has been a conservation flashpoint for more than 30 years. While habitat loss has been their historic foe, their most recent threat comes from within the owl family tree: the barred owl. Barred owls have expanded into the Pacific Northwest and are now outcompeting spotted owls for food and habitat. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has put forth a strategy that some experts say is the only way to save the spotted owl, and it could involve killing hundreds of thousands of barred owls.

Ecologist and spotted owl expert Rocky Gutierrez joins Host Flora Lichtman to break down the plan, and explain how we got to this point.

Guest: Dr. R.J. “Rocky” Gutierrez is an owl ecologist and professor emeritus at the University of Minnesota. He’s now based in Humboldt County, California.

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

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Can A Microbe Conservation Movement Take Off? Dec 02, 2025

Show notes

A team of scientists is trying to jumpstart a global conservation movement, on par with efforts to save the rainforests or protect the oceans. But it might be even more ambitious because the target of their quest is invisible, everywhere, and mostly something we try to hand-sanitize away: microbes.

So how do you conserve something that is everywhere and in everything? And why do microbes need protecting to begin with? Host Flora Lichtman digs into it with microbial ecologist Jack Gilbert, who is leading this charge. They chat about the thinking behind microbe conservation plans, and why some scientists are hesitant to jump onboard.

Guest: Dr. Jack Gilbert is a microbial ecologist at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography and co-chair of the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Species Survival Commission’s Microbial Conservation Specialist Group.

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

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How To Tap Into The Hidden Histories Of Rocks Dec 01, 2025

Show notes

When we try to commune with nature, many of us turn toward the living: a walk in the woods among swaying trees, chirping birds, blooming flowers.

But earth scientist Anjana Khatwa says not to overlook the inanimate—don’t sleep on rocks. She joins Host Flora Lichtman to talk about her love for rocks beyond the scientific and her new book, The Whispers of Rock.

Read an excerpt from The Whispers of Rock: The Stories That Stone Tells about Our World and Our Lives.

Guest: Dr. Anjana Khatwa is a geologist and author of The Whispers of Rock: The Stories That Stone Tells about Our World and Our Lives.

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

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