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Back in December, we brought you two episodes on the MOSAiC expedition. With hundreds of scientists from 20 countries, the German-led polar research mission is the largest in history. But the mission has also been marked by reports of gender discrimination and harassment.
So today, we're turning away from the research and talking to Chelsea Harvey, an E&E News reporter who joined MOSAiC for several weeks. We talk about her recent story and her own experiences on the expedition.
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Even though we've been living with the pandemic for months, there's still lots of confusion about coronavirus tests and what the results do — and don't — mean. NPR correspondent Rob Stein explains the types of tests, when they are most accurate and how to make sense of the results.
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In honor of Fat Bear Week coming to a close, Short Wave is revisiting our episode on black bear hibernation. (Fat Bear Week is the annual tournament celebrating some of the fattening bears of Katmai National Park.) On today's show, Rae Wynn-Grant, a large carnivore biologist, explains there's a lot more going on during hibernation than you might expect.
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From who historically wins the awards, to how they portray the process of science and collaboration, host Maddie Sofia and NPR science correspondent Nell Greenfieldboyce discuss the many problems with Nobel Prizes in science.
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Pomologist Juan Carlos Melgar explains two key factors to why some fruits ripen faster in a paper bag — and others don't.
Plus, a bit of listener mail from you! Which you can always send by emailing shortwave@npr.org.
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Some of the most prestigious scientists in history advanced racist and eugenicist views. But why is that rarely mentioned in textbooks? Today on the show, we speak with science educators building an anti-racist perspective into their curriculum and seeking to make the science classroom more inclusive.
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Fueled by climate change, hurricanes are becoming stronger and more frequent. Those storms have repeatedly led to spills and fires at chemical manufacturing plants along the Gulf Coast.
But can companies — and the people who work for them — be held responsible or even sent to prison for failing to adequately prepare for climate change?
NPR's Rebecca Hersher reported on that question, which is at the center of a recent lawsuit.
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