Science Quickly

Latest Episodes:

Is AI making the creativity crisis worse? Aug 19, 2026

Show notes

Astrophysicist, folklorist and author Moiya McTier joins Science Quickly to discuss her new book Mothers of Invention, a sweeping look at the history of human creativity. From the Greek muses and the invention of writing to the rise of generative artificial intelligence, McTier explores how people create, innovate and tell stories and what today’s “creativity crisis” might mean for the future of art and originality.

Recommended Reading:

Mothers of Invention. Moiya McTier. Grand Central Publishing, 2026

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E-mail us at sciencequickly@sciam.com if you have any questions, comments or ideas for stories we should cover!

Discover something new everyday: subscribe to Scientific American and sign up for Today in Science, our daily newsletter.

Science Quickly is produced by Rachel Feltman, Fonda Mwangi and Jeff DelViscio. This episode was edited by Alex Sugiura, with fact-checking by Marielle Issa and Aaron Shattuck. Our theme music was composed by Dominic Smith.

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A stunning solar eclipse, a vaccine shake-up and coffee’s big win Aug 17, 2026

Show notes

In this episode of Science Quickly, we explore the awe of a rare total solar eclipse, examine renewed controversy around childhood vaccines, look at the aftermath of Colombia’s major earthquake and unpack the latest evidence on coffee’s health benefits.

Recommended Reading:

The 2026 Solar Eclipse

Colombia rocked by 7.4 magnitude earthquake—its largest in the past decade

Trump issues executive order aimed at rewriting childhood vaccine schedule

RFK, Jr., Is Wrong about Cause of Rising Autism Rates, Scientists Say

Science may finally have made up its mind about coffee’s health benefits

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E-mail us at sciencequickly@sciam.com if you have any questions, comments or ideas for stories we should cover!

Discover something new everyday: subscribe to Scientific American and sign up for Today in Science, our daily newsletter.

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How AI helped a nonspeaking opera star find his voice Aug 14, 2026

Show notes

In this episode of Science Quickly, we meet Jakob Jordan, an autistic performer with apraxia, who stars in the groundbreaking opera Sensorium Ex. Host Rachel Feltman talks with Jordan, composer Paola Prestini and New York University researcher Luke DuBois about the custom artificial intelligence voice technology that helped Jordan express himself in a way traditional speech devices can’t. Together, they explore how AI can enhance, rather than replace, human creativity and communication.

Recommended Reading:

More about Sensorium Ex

Join our Summer Reading Challenge

E-mail us at sciencequickly@sciam.com if you have any questions, comments or ideas for stories we should cover!

Discover something new everyday: subscribe to Scientific American and sign up for Today in Science, our daily newsletter.

Science Quickly is produced by Rachel Feltman, Fonda Mwangi, Sushmita Pathak and Jeff DelViscio. This episode was edited by Alex Sugiura, with fact-checking by Marielle Issa and Aaron Shattuck. Our theme music was composed by Dominic Smith.

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Could humans learn to speak in music? Aug 12, 2026

Show notes

What would it take to create a language made entirely of music? In this episode of Science Quickly, Scientific American’s Allison Parshall explores the science and linguistics behind musical languages, from real-world constructed languages to the intricate note-based communication system created for the alien Rocky in Project Hail Mary. Learn how linguists transformed rhythm and pitch into a fully functional language and what these imaginative experiments reveal about the nature of communication itself.

Recommended Reading:

Andy Weir on Ryan Gosling, alien contact and the wild science of Project Hail Mary

Ryan Gosling says Project Hail Mary is ‘a reminder of what we’re capable of’

How did humans evolve language? It may be far more ancient than scientists realized

Join our Summer Reading Challenge

E-mail us at sciencequickly@sciam.com if you have any questions, comments or ideas for stories we should cover!

Discover something new everyday: subscribe to Scientific American and sign up for Today in Science, our daily newsletter.

Science Quickly is produced by Rachel Feltman, Fonda Mwangi and Jeff DelViscio. This episode was reported by Allison Parshall and edited by Alex Sugiura, with fact-checking by Marielle Issa and Aaron Shattuck. Our theme music was composed by Dominic Smith.

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A moon crash, water hacks and a new mRNA flu shot Aug 10, 2026

Show notes

A wayward SpaceX rocket crashes into the moon, offering scientists a rare chance to study a lunar impact, while cyberattacks targeting U.S. water utilities raise concerns about critical infrastructure security. We also unpack the record-breaking Cyclospora outbreak driving shoppers to farmers markets and explore the Food and Drug Administration’s approval of the first mRNA-based flu vaccine.

Recommended Reading:

A SpaceX rocket is about to crash into the moon—scientists will be watching

Elon Musk reveals SpaceX plans to build satellite factories on the moon

In a first, U.S. approves powerful new mRNA vaccine for flu

Cyclospora outbreak tied to two deaths as parasite-borne illness continues to rage

Join our Summer Reading Challenge

E-mail us at sciencequickly@sciam.com if you have any questions, comments or ideas for stories we should cover!

Discover something new everyday: subscribe to Scientific American and sign up for Today in Science, our daily newsletter.

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Is Gen Z making smoking cool again? Aug 07, 2026

Show notes

In this episode of Science Quickly, Scientific American’sAdam Kovac joins host Rachel Feltman to explore why some experts worry cigarettes may be making a comeback among Generation Z. They discuss how social media, celebrity influence and growing anxiety among young people may have roles in the possible trend and why public health researchers are watching it closely.

Recommended Reading:

Is Gen Z actually smoking more? An investigation

Antinicotine advocates and lawmakers criticize the FDA’s decision to approve flavored vapes

A smoking ban for people born after 2008 may be on the cusp of becoming law in the U.K. Here’s what to know

Join our Summer Reading Challenge

E-mail us at sciencequickly@sciam.com if you have any questions, comments or ideas for stories we should cover!

Discover something new everyday: subscribe to Scientific American and sign up for Today in Science, our daily newsletter.

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Getting to YouTube science stardom by building $#!%ty robots Aug 05, 2026

Show notes

In this episode of Science Quickly, we talk with Simone Giertz, YouTube maker extraordinaire, about her life in science and the influencer spotlight. She started making, in her words, “shitty robots” and has evolved into a maker and product designer. But while she makes things to solve ordinary problems, her designs are anything but. Simone’s ethos is all about questioning why we use certain objects the way we do—and realizing that anyone can make up a new thing to make their lives a little better.

Recommended Watching:

Simone Giertz’s YouTube

Join our Summer Reading Challenge

http://sciam.com/readingchallenge

E-mail us at sciencequickly@sciam.com if you have any questions, comments or ideas for stories we should cover!

Discover something new everyday: subscribe to Scientific American and sign up for Today in Science, our daily newsletter.

Science Quickly is produced by Rachel Feltman, Fonda Mwangi, Sushmita Pathak and Jeff DelViscio. This episode was edited by Jeff DelViscio, with fact-checking by Marielle Issa and Aaron Shattuck. Our theme music was composed by Dominic Smith.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Explosive diarrhea, ‘protein maxxing’ and the science of burnout Aug 03, 2026

Show notes

In this episode of Science Quickly, we unpack a major outbreak of Cyclospora infections linked to contaminated produce, explore new research that suggests that “protein maxxing” may do more harm than good and examine mental exhaustion’s effects on the decisions we make. Plus, Europe faces another devastating wildfire season, with one blaze having become so intense that it created its own weather.

Recommended Reading:

Is buying lettuce off the table all summer?

How mental exhaustion changes the choices you make

Eating less protein could help you live longer

Inside the race to spot wildfires before they spiral out of control

Join our Summer Reading Challenge

E-mail us at sciencequickly@sciam.com if you have any questions, comments or ideas for stories we should cover!

Discover something new everyday: subscribe to Scientific American and sign up for Today in Science, our daily newsletter.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Lewis, Clark and America’s first great science mission Jul 31, 2026

Show notes

In this episode of Science Quickly, Scientific American’s books and culture lead Bri Kane talks with historian Craig Fehrman about This Vast Enterprise, his fresh take on the Lewis and Clark expedition. Rather than focusing solely on the famous explorers, Fehrman highlights the often overlooked people who made the journey possible, including Sacagawea, York and the expedition’s enlisted men. The conversation explores how science, survival, politics and personal stories shaped the expedition while challenging some of the myths many of us learned in school and revealing a much richer, more human history.

Recommended Reading:

This Vast Enterprise: A New History of Lewis & Clark. Craig Fehrman. Avid Reader Press/Simon & Schuster, 2026

Join our Summer Reading Challenge

E-mail us at sciencequickly@sciam.com if you have any questions, comments or ideas for stories we should cover!

Discover something new everyday: subscribe to Scientific American and sign up for Today in Science, our daily newsletter.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How to beat rogue antibodies at their own game [Sponsored] Jul 30, 2026

Show notes

Almost all of us know someone who suffers from an autoimmune disease. Or maybe you do yourself. Autoimmune diseases are common: only cancer and cardiovascular diseases are more prevalent. So how do you fight a body that is fighting against itself? argenx, an immunology innovation company that develops antibody-based therapies, is developing a new toolkit of molecules that can tamp down the rebelling part of the immune system.

Scientific American Custom Media recently talked to argenx’s new CEO, Karen Massey about what's in the toolkit -- and how it's helping patients.

This podcast was produced for argenx by Scientific American Custom Media, a division separate from the magazine's board of editors.

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