Stay ConnectedUnexplainable takes listeners right up to the edge of what we know…and then keeps on going. The Unexplainable team — Noam Hassenfeld, Julia Longoria, Byrd Pinkerton, and Meradith Hoddinott — tackles scientific mysteries, unanswered questions, and everything we learn diving into the unknown. New episodes Mondays and Wednesdays.
From Vox and the Vox Media Podcast Network.
Copyright: © 2021 Vox Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved
In 2017, researchers published an explosive finding: Sperm counts may be declining in some countries around the world. Media outlets began worrying about a potential Spermageddon, but other researchers have pumped the brakes. Because scientists know surprisingly little about sperm.
Also, Noam created a list on the Hark podcast app where he talked about some of his favorite bitesize moments of the show so far. And it’s easy to share with friends! https://bit.ly/3tib6pd
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Scientists are closer than ever to harnessing fusion power — the same process that powers the sun — by essentially making a small star here on Earth. Fusion could give humanity its best shot at solving the climate crisis, but the technology has yet to be perfected and would require billions more in investments. Is it worth the bet?
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Noam wrote an end-of-year song with Today, Explained host Sean Rameswaram, so we thought to drop it here as a little end-of-year surprise.
Lyrics:
2021, it was gonna be fun
Get a couple shots and then you’re done
Then the second the year’d begun
We had an insurrection
2021, it was gonna be fun
Get a couple shots and then you’re done
Then the second the year’d begun
We had an insurrection
Yeah it wasn’t just what we hoped to see
We might have started too optimistically
So if we keep our expectations low
Maybe the world won’t seem so terrible
Yeah it wasn’t just what we hoped to see
We might have started too optimistically
So if we keep our expectations low
Maybe the world won’t seem so terrible
Dial back to when the year had begun
We were looking forward to the end of hibernation
But it didn’t even last a week
No it didn’t even last a week, mm-hmm
On the sixth day of 2021
Vanilla Isis tried to flip the election
But looking back we can’t agree
On the facts, no, we can’t agree, mm-mm
Pretty soon we were signing up for shots (shots!)
Talking about shots (shots!)
Shots shots shots (shots!)
Everyone was a pharma fan
With the Pfizer fam, the Moderna clan (J&J)
But we should have known Delta would happen
Most of humanity not getting vaxxed and
Fourth wave — fifth wave, in rhythm
That’s one more wave than feminism!
2021, it was gonna be fun
Get a couple shots and then you’re done
But according to Joe Ro-gun
You should take Ivermectin
Yeah it wasn’t just what we hoped to see
We might have started too optimistically
But if we keep our expectations low
Maybe the world won’t seem so terrible
A booster, I’m not sure I need it.
Dune on the IMAX, I seen it.
Back to the good life, I dreamed it. (Arrakis)
Wake up, reality, don’t fit.
Hope you don’t need a house or a condo (a condo)
Hope you don’t need a trip to Toronto (Toronto)
Hope you don’t need some gas for your Durango (Durango)
Hope you don’t need a can of dried mangos (dried mangos)
Everyone is feeling frustration
Quitting jobs — the Great Resignation
Blaming Biden for rising inflation
While billionaires shoot off to space, racing
Did we fix the grid in Texas? (yes)
Figure out how wide the Suez is? (yes)
Don’t ask me
All I see on TV
It's just fights on Critical Race Theory
2021, it was gonna be fun
Get a couple shots and then you’re done
Moving onto issue number one:
Whether to allow abortions!
Yeah it wasn’t just what we hoped to see
We might have started too optimistically
But if we keep our expectations low
Maybe the world won’t seem so terrible
I just want to be free
Of thinking about Covid-19
I just want to see
Something done about global warming
And I still don’t get NFT’s
Can’t understand crypto currency and
And we can’t agree on anything
But at least we got together to free Britney
(Oh baby baby)
2021, it was gonna be fun
Get a couple shots and then you’re done
Then the second as the year’d begun
We had an insurrection
And people lied about the last election
And made it harder to vote in elections
At least we don’t have another election
Wait, I think there’s another election...
2021, it was gonna be fun
Get a couple shots and then you’re done
Then the second we thought we’d won
We’re learning how to say "Omicron"
Guess you never know what’s gonna come through
Making plans for things you’ll never do
But take it from a brown guy (and a Jew)
There’s always 2022.
This song was written and performed by Sean Rameswaram and Noam Hassenfeld, produced by Noam, engineered by Efim Shapiro, and features additional vocals from Christina Animashaun.
For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable
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Most of the matter in the universe is dark matter, an invisible, untouchable, mysterious substance. Scientists don’t know what exactly dark matter is, despite decades of searching. But recently, they got a new clue in the form of an extremely tiny dancer.
This episode is a remix of two prior episodes of Unexplainable, which has been airing on broadcast radio through a partnership with American Public Media.
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How can we solve the problem of ocean plastic if we don’t know where most of the plastic is?
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Until 1993, many researchers excluded women from clinical drug trials, leaving doctors in the dark about how new treatments work in more than half the population. This is the story of why that happened, the women who fought to change it, and what we still don’t know about how sex and gender affect health.
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Venus is the hottest, scariest planet in the solar system, but billions of years ago it may have been a lot like Earth, complete with an ocean of water. So, what killed Venus? And could Earth be next?
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Will scientists ever fully understand the human brain? In their quest for knowledge, they’ve tried knives, magnets, computers, blood, and even a good metaphor.
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Slime molds can navigate mazes, control robots, and make complicated decisions, all without a central nervous system. If this weird gooey blob can think, does that mean scientists are thinking about intelligence all wrong?
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Every year, thousands of marine mammals end up trapped on beaches, but it’s often hard to figure out why. It’s even harder to figure out how much humans are to blame.
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