Best Science Friday and WNYC Studios Podcasts (2025)

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The Human Obsession With Aliens Goes Way, Way Back 25:23

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2d ago25:23

25:23

A video shown on Capitol Hill on September 9 reportedly shows an American hellfire missile attacking and simply bouncing off a UAP (the military term for a UFO). When videos like this come out, speculation about aliens often follows. But our obsession with aliens isn’t new—and it didn’t begin with 1950s alien invasion movies like “The Day The Earth…

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A Delicious But Invasive Mushroom Could Affect Fungal Diversity 19:12

3d ago19:12

19:12

It all started harmlessly enough: People bought kits to grow mushrooms at home. But then, scientists in the upper Midwest noticed something strange. The golden oyster mushroom, which is not native to the United States, was thriving in local forests. Those homegrown mushrooms escaped our basements into the wild. Fungal ecologist Aishwarya Veerabahu …

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

4d 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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How Shoddy Science Is Driving A Supplement Boom 19:02

5d 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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Octopuses Use Suckers To ‘Taste’ Harmful Microbes 19:20

6d 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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After CDC Director Is Ousted, More Senior Officials Resign 13:46

9d 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

10d 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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How Common Household Products Pollute Our Indoor Air 13:17

11d 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

12d 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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Food Science Experts On Perfecting At-Home Ice Cream 18:19

13d 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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An ER Doctor Reflects On Hurricane Katrina, 20 Years Later 25:17

16d 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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An Archaeologist And A Tattoo Artist Decipher Ancient Ink 18:52

17d 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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What Lies Beneath The Outer Layers Of A Star? 12:52

18d 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

19d 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…

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Are Food Dyes Really Bad For You? 18:24

20d ago18:24

18:24

What do Flamin’ Hot Cheetos, lime Jell-O, and Kraft Creamy French Salad dressing have in common? They've all gotten a glow-up from artificial food dyes. Petroleum-based food dyes have become a target of RFK Jr.’s “Make America Healthy Again” agenda—but what does science say about their effects on health? Joining Host Flora Lichtman to discuss is As…

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mRNA Vaccine For Pancreatic Cancer Continues To Show Promise 18:15

23d ago18:15

18:15

This month, the Department of Health and Human Services terminated almost $500 million in mRNA vaccine development grants and contracts. While HHS has said that these cuts won't affect mRNA cancer research, some researchers have expressed concern about the impact on their ongoing work. In light of these developments, we’re revisiting a conversation…

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Can The Rise In Solar Power Balance Out Clean Energy Cuts? 18:44

24d ago18:44

18:44

Since President Trump returned to office, his administration has been aggressive in rolling back clean energy initiatives. But that isn’t the whole story. Texas, California, and other states are bringing so much solar and battery power online that in March, fossil fuels generated less than half the electricity in the US for the first time ever. And…

Science Friday And WNYC Studios Podcasts

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Science Friday

Science Friday and WNYC Studios

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Undiscovered

Science Friday and WNYC Studios

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SciFri

SciFri

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Universe of Art

Science Friday and WNYC Studios

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Science Diction

Science Friday and WNYC Studios

1
The Human Obsession With Aliens Goes Way, Way Back 25:23

1
A Delicious But Invasive Mushroom Could Affect Fungal Diversity 19:12

1
A Photographer Captures Nature In Mind-Boggling Detail 18:26

1
How Shoddy Science Is Driving A Supplement Boom 19:02

1
Octopuses Use Suckers To ‘Taste’ Harmful Microbes 19:20

1
After CDC Director Is Ousted, More Senior Officials Resign 13:46

1
Meet 3I/Atlas, An Object From Another Solar System 18:30

1
How Common Household Products Pollute Our Indoor Air 13:17

1
The Shape-Shifting Science Of Sand Dunes 17:48

1
Food Science Experts On Perfecting At-Home Ice Cream 18:19

1
An ER Doctor Reflects On Hurricane Katrina, 20 Years Later 25:17

1
An Archaeologist And A Tattoo Artist Decipher Ancient Ink 18:52

1
What Lies Beneath The Outer Layers Of A Star? 12:52

1
How Have Gray Wolves Fared 30 Years After Reintroduction? 12:38

1
Are Food Dyes Really Bad For You? 18:24

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mRNA Vaccine For Pancreatic Cancer Continues To Show Promise 18:15

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Can The Rise In Solar Power Balance Out Clean Energy Cuts? 18:44