Best Microbe Minded Podcasts (2025)

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A Photographer Captures Nature In Mind-Boggling Detail 18:26

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9h ago18:26

18:26

If you’ve flipped through an issue of National Geographic or scrolled through their social media, and caught a stunningly detailed photo of a tiny creature—like one where you can make out the hairs on a honeybee’s eyeballs, or the exact contours of a hummingbird’s forked tongue—you have probably seen the work of Anand Varma. He’s an award-winning s…

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1118: A Photographer Captures Nature In Mind-Boggling Detail 18:55

7h ago18:55

18:55

If you’ve flipped through an issue of National Geographic or scrolled through their social media, and caught a stunningly detailed photo of a tiny creature—like one where you can make out the hairs on a honeybee’s eyeballs, or the exact contours of a hummingbird’s forked tongue—you have probably seen the work of Anand Varma. He’s an award-winning s…

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How Shoddy Science Is Driving A Supplement Boom 19:02

1d ago19:02

19:02

Dietary supplements are big business, with one recent estimate showing the industry is worth almost $64 billion in the United States alone. Take a casual scroll through your social media and you’ll find influencers hawking all kinds of supplements. But how effective are they? How are they regulated? And why are these “natural” remedies so appealing…

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1115: How Shoddy Science Is Driving A Supplement Boom 19:31

3h ago19:31

19:31

Dietary supplements are big business, with one recent estimate showing the industry is worth almost $64 billion in the United States alone. Take a casual scroll through your social media and you’ll find influencers hawking all kinds of supplements. But how effective are they? How are they regulated? And why are these “natural” remedies so appealing…

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Octopuses Use Suckers To ‘Taste’ Harmful Microbes 19:20

2d ago19:20

19:20

Put on your party hat and wet suit because it is Cephalopod Week, Science Friday’s annual celebration of all things, octopuses, squid, and cuttlefish. To kick things off, we’re bringing you an ode to the octopus arm. You may have heard that octopuses can use their arms to “taste” their surroundings, which they use for finding food. Now, researchers…

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1117: Octopuses Use Suckers To ‘Taste’ Harmful Microbes 19:50

20h ago19:50

19:50

Put on your party hat and wet suit because it is Cephalopod Week, Science Friday’s annual celebration of all things, octopuses, squid, and cuttlefish. To kick things off, we’re bringing you an ode to the octopus arm. You may have heard that octopuses can use their arms to “taste” their surroundings, which they use for finding food. Now, researchers…

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After CDC Director Is Ousted, More Senior Officials Resign 13:46

5d ago13:46

13:46

On August 27, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and the White House fired CDC director Susan Monarez after only a month on the job. Right after she was ousted, other senior leaders resigned from the agency, including Demetre Daskalakis, an infectious disease physician and former director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory …

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1116: After CDC Director Is Ousted, More Senior Officials Resign 13:46

4d ago13:46

13:46

On August 27, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and the White House fired CDC director Susan Monarez after only a month on the job. Right after she was ousted, other senior leaders resigned from the agency, including Demetre Daskalakis, an infectious disease physician and former director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory …

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Meet 3I/Atlas, An Object From Another Solar System 18:30

6d ago18:30

18:30

Earlier this summer, astronomers discovered something strange whizzing past Jupiter: an interstellar object. Scientists named it 3I/ATLAS. It’s only the third interstellar object ever observed, and it’s due to leave the solar system by the end of the year, so the race is on to learn as much as we can about it. Host Flora Lichtman talks with astroch…

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1114: Meet 3I/Atlas, An Object From Another Solar System 19:00

5d ago19:00

19:00

Earlier this summer, astronomers discovered something strange whizzing past Jupiter: an interstellar object. Scientists named it 3I/ATLAS. It’s only the third interstellar object ever observed, and it’s due to leave the solar system by the end of the year, so the race is on to learn as much as we can about it. Host Flora Lichtman talks with astroch…

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GOING MENOPOSTAL: What You (and Your Doctor) Need to Know About the Real Science of Menopause and Perimenopause

5d ago

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My guest today is Amy Alkon, an award-winning investigative science writer who specializes in “science-help.” She does a deep dive into the research, critically evaluating it and then translating it into everyday language, allowing us to make scientifically informed decisions for the best of our health and well-being. Alkon’s new book, her fifth, o…

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1113: How Common Household Products Pollute Our Indoor Air 13:17

6d ago13:17

13:17

You have probably given some thought to outdoor air pollution, whether it’s wildfire smoke or smog from traffic. You may even check AQI measurements on your phone. But what about the air inside your home? Host Flora Lichtman talks to civil and environmental engineer Nusrat Jung, who studies indoor air pollution, about how we create toxic air withou…

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How Common Household Products Pollute Our Indoor Air 13:17

7d ago13:17

13:17

You have probably given some thought to outdoor air pollution, whether it’s wildfire smoke or smog from traffic. You may even check AQI measurements on your phone. But what about the air inside your home? Host Flora Lichtman talks to civil and environmental engineer Nusrat Jung, who studies indoor air pollution, about how we create toxic air withou…

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The Shape-Shifting Science Of Sand Dunes 17:48

8d ago17:48

17:48

In some places, sand dunes protect shorelines from the onslaught of ocean waves. In other places, the dunes themselves are on the move, and threaten human structures. Host Flora Lichtman talks with mechanical engineer Nathalie Vriend, who studies the structure of sand dunes, about what makes a heap of sand a dune, and what scientists still hope to …

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1112: The Shape-Shifting Science Of Sand Dunes 17:48

7d ago17:48

17:48

In some places, sand dunes protect shorelines from the onslaught of ocean waves. In other places, the dunes themselves are on the move, and threaten human structures. Host Flora Lichtman talks with mechanical engineer Nathalie Vriend, who studies the structure of sand dunes, about what makes a heap of sand a dune, and what scientists still hope to …

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1111: Food Science Experts On Perfecting At-Home Ice Cream 18:49

8d ago18:49

18:49

Summer may be winding down, but we’re not quite ready to let go of beach days, backyard cookouts, or ice cream cones. We love ice cream here at SciFri, so we’re pulling a few of our favorite ice cream science stories out of the freezer this week. Back in 2015, ice cream expert Maya Warren sat down with Host Ira Flatow to help us understand a scienc…

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Food Science Experts On Perfecting At-Home Ice Cream 18:19

9d ago18:19

18:19

Summer may be winding down, but we’re not quite ready to let go of beach days, backyard cookouts, or ice cream cones. We love ice cream here at SciFri, so we’re pulling a few of our favorite ice cream science stories out of the freezer this week. Back in 2015, ice cream expert Maya Warren sat down with Host Ira Flatow to help us understand a scienc…

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Empowering You To Forage For Fall Mushrooms With Ryan Maione From Microbe Monastery 32:27

10d ago32:27

32:27

Subscribe to our Patreon to listen to the full-length episode https://www.patreon.com/thegrowguide Find full episode show notes with links and images to everything we discussed over on our website https://www.thegrowguidepodcast.com/By The Grow Guide

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An ER Doctor Reflects On Hurricane Katrina, 20 Years Later 25:17

12d ago25:17

25:17

Twenty years ago, Hurricane Katrina made landfall in Louisiana, and the levees designed to protect New Orleans failed. Huge swaths of the city flooded, and 1,600 people were trapped inside Charity Hospital. Physician Erica Fisher was working in Charity’s emergency room at the time, and she and her colleagues fought for days to keep their patients a…

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1110: An ER Doctor Reflects On Hurricane Katrina, 20 Years Later 25:27

11d ago25:27

25:27

Twenty years ago, Hurricane Katrina made landfall in Louisiana, and the levees designed to protect New Orleans failed. Huge swaths of the city flooded, and 1,600 people were trapped inside Charity Hospital. Physician Erica Fisher was working in Charity’s emergency room at the time, and she and her colleagues fought for days to keep their patients a…

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An Archaeologist And A Tattoo Artist Decipher Ancient Ink 18:52

13d ago18:52

18:52

Researchers recently used near-infrared photography to get a detailed look at ancient artwork showing scenes of wild animals tangled in a fight. But these weren’t paintings on a cave wall. They were tattoos on the arms of a Siberian woman who lived 2,300 years ago. What can ancient ink tell us about our ancestors? Sticking and poking their way into…

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1109: An Archaeologist And A Tattoo Artist Decipher Ancient Ink 19:01

12d ago19:01

19:01

Researchers recently used near-infrared photography to get a detailed look at ancient artwork showing scenes of wild animals tangled in a fight. But these weren’t paintings on a cave wall. They were tattoos on the arms of a Siberian woman who lived 2,300 years ago. What can ancient ink tell us about our ancestors? Sticking and poking their way into…

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MTalks—An Accessible Hometown 1:13:48

14d ago1:13:48

1:13:48

This in-depth discussion is a collaboration between the social enterprise consultancy Amplifier Collective and Travellers Aid, experts in delivering services to people who face travel-related challenges. The panel discussion centres around accessibility in the city and the deeper dialogue around the real challenges many in our community face naviga…

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What Lies Beneath The Outer Layers Of A Star? 12:52

14d ago12:52

12:52

You might think of a star as a mass of incandescent gas, a gigantic nuclear furnace where hydrogen is turned into helium at a temperature of millions of degrees. But researchers recently reported that they’d observed some of what lies beneath all that hydrogen and helium, at least inside one unusual supernova. The star, named supernova 2021yfj, had…

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1108: What Lies Beneath The Outer Layers Of A Star? 12:52

13d ago12:52

12:52

You might think of a star as a mass of incandescent gas, a gigantic nuclear furnace where hydrogen is turned into helium at a temperature of millions of degrees. But researchers recently reported that they’d observed some of what lies beneath all that hydrogen and helium, at least inside one unusual supernova. The star, named supernova 2021yfj, had…

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How Have Gray Wolves Fared 30 Years After Reintroduction? 12:38

15d ago12:38

12:38

Gray wolves are native to the Rocky Mountains, but decades of hunting nearly eradicated them from the western United States by the 1940s. In 1995, wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone National Park, and it’s been a conservation success story, but not a straight path out of the woods. Host Flora Lichtman digs into the last 30 years of wolves in t…