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Scientists think the world's oldest ice is hiding somewhere in Antarctica. NPR science correspondent Nell Greenfieldboyce tells us how researchers plan to find it — and why.
For more, you can also read Nell's story, "Scientists Have Found Some Truly Ancient Ice, But Now They Want Ice That's Even Older."
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By day, Jess Wade is an experimental physicist at Imperial College London. But at night, she's a contributor to Wikipedia — where she writes entries about women and POC scientists. She chats with Emily Kwong about how Wikipedia can influence the direction of scientific research and why it's important to have entries about scientists from under-represented communities.
Here are the Wikipedia entries of the scientists mentioned in today's show: Sarah Gilbert, Kizzmekia Corbett, Gladys West, and of course, Jess Wade.
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2020 was a year like no other, especially for science. The pandemic has caused massive shifts in scientific research – how it's being done, what's being focused on, and who's doing it. Ed Yong of The Atlantic explains some of the ways, both good and bad, that COVID-19 has changed science.
Read Ed's full reporting on these changes here.
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For nearly forty years, the Guam Rail bird (locally known as the Ko'Ko') has been extinct in the wild — decimated by the invasive brown tree snake. But the Ko'Ko' has been successfully re-introduced. It is the second bird in history to recover from extinction in the wild. Wildlife biologist Suzanne Medina tells us the story of how the Guam Department of Agriculture brought the Ko'Ko' back, with a little matchmaking and a lot of patience. (Encore episode)
Follow host Maddie Sofia @maddie_sofia and reporter Emily Kwong @emilykwong1234 on Twitter. Email the show at shortwave@npr.org.
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To kick off the new year right, Maddie fills out a Short Wave mad lib crafted by Emily. It's a little tribute to you, our awesome listeners.
We're back with new episodes next week. Hope you had a safe and happy orbit around the sun!
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Today, something special...an episode of The NPR Politics Podcastwe think you might appreciate. Our colleagues take a look at Joe Biden's approach to climate and health policy.
His climate agenda will look very different than President Trump's and even President Obama's. And, on top of responding to the pandemic, the president-elect will also have to wrangle all of the other problems in the American healthcare system.
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Between the pandemic, protests, the recession — the list goes on — there was big space news in 2020. And there was a lot of it! To round it up, Maddie chats with NPR science correspondents Nell Greenfieldboyce and Geoff Brumfiel.
Check out our list of Nell and Geoff's reporting on all of the events they talk about.
For even more space and other science content, follow Nell and Geoff on Twitter at @nell_sci_npr and @gbrumfiel. Send terrestrial and extraterrestrial inquiries to the show at shortwave@npr.org.
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Maddie and Emily play a quick game of "Fact or Fiction?" with help from Ariela Zebede, our resident fact-checker. Plus, a little reminder that you can support the show by donating to your local public radio station at donate.npr.org/short. (If you're outside of the U.S., choose a lucky member station!)
Follow Maddie and Emily on Twitter, @maddie_sofia and @emilykwong1234. Email the show at shortwave@npr.org.
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It's a listener questions episode! Josh Smith wrote in to tell us that as a teenager, he was plagued by sleep paralysis. Now he's afraid his kid might be experiencing it too. Josh asks what the science says about this sleep disorder and what he can do to help his son. (Encore episode)
For more interesting science tidbits, follow Maddie and Emily on Twitter @maddie_sofia and @emilykwong1234. Email the show at shortwave@npr.org.
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