Science, Spoken

Latest Episodes:

Why Massive Saharan Dust Plumes Are Blowing Into the US Jun 29, 2020

Show notes

Every summer, an atmospheric event propels desert dust thousands of miles across the Atlantic. This year is particularly bad, and timed terribly with Covid-19.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Why NASA Designed a New $23 Million Space Toilet Jun 26, 2020

Show notes

Later this year, astronauts on the American module of the ISS will be able to test out the toilet before NASA puts it on crewed vehicles for deep-space missions.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Trouble With Counting Aliens Jun 25, 2020

Show notes

A new study estimates that there might only be 36 communicating extraterrestrial civilizations in our galaxy. But that number doesn’t tell the whole story.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Design and Science of Patio Dining During a Pandemic Jun 24, 2020

Show notes

Public health experts think Covid-19 risk is lower outside, and restaurateurs want to fill tables. It’s an easy solution—except for all the hard parts.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Covid-19 Is Bad. But It May Not Be the ‘Big One’ Jun 23, 2020

Show notes

Health experts want a 9/11 Commission-style report on the US pandemic response. They say we must forecast and prepare for outbreaks as we do for wars or weather.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The FDA Revokes Its Emergency Use Authorization for Hydroxychloroquine Jun 22, 2020

Show notes

So far, no studies have shown that the anti-malarial drug can fight Covid-19, and agency officials say its potential benefits do not outweigh its risks.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You Can Now Buy Spot the Robot Dog—If You’ve Got $74,500 Jun 19, 2020

Show notes

Boston Dynamics is finally making its mechanical canine available for businesses and developers. But know that this puppy ain't for everyone.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In Alaska, Summer's Getting Too Hot for the Salmon Run Jun 18, 2020

Show notes

Bristol Bay is heating up, killing fish as they try to swim upriver to spawn. It's a harbinger of climate change and hard times for fisheries.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Astronomers Track a Fast Radio Burst to Its Source—a Magnetar Jun 17, 2020

Show notes

The origin of these explosions of radio waves has long been an astrophysics mystery. Now one has been traced to an ultra-dense spinning magnetized stellar core.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Covid-19 Economic Slump Is Closing Down Coal Plants Jun 16, 2020

Show notes

This year, coal usage has dropped in the US, and renewables now generate more electricity. To some experts, the financial crisis is a clean energy opportunity.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected