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Short Wave New discoveries, everyday mysteries, and the science behind the headlines — in just under 15 minutes. It's science for everyone, using a lot of creativity and a little humor. Join hosts Emily Kwong and Regina Barber for science on a different wavelength.

If you're hooked, try Short Wave Plus. Your subscription supports the show and unlocks a sponsor-free feed. Learn more at plus.npr.org/shortwave
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New discoveries, everyday mysteries, and the science behind the headlines — in just under 15 minutes. It's science for everyone, using a lot of creativity and a little humor. Join hosts Emily Kwong and Regina Barber for science on a different wavelength.

If you're hooked, try Short Wave Plus. Your subscription supports the show and unlocks a sponsor-free feed. Learn more at plus.npr.org/shortwave

Most Recent Episodes

Body Electric: How AI is changing our relationships
Daniel Hertzberg

Body Electric: How AI is changing our relationships

Hey, Short Wavers! Today, we have a special present for all of you: An episode from our good friends at NPR's Body Electric podcast all a bout artificial intimacy! Thanks to advances in AI, chatbots can act as personalized therapists, companions and romantic partners. The apps offering these services have been downloaded millions of times. If these relationships relieve stress and make us feel better, does it matter that they're not "real"? On this episode of Body Electric, host Manoush Zomorodi talks to MIT sociologist and psychologist Sherry Turkle about her new research into what she calls "artificial intimacy" and its impact on our mental and physical health.

Body Electric: How AI is changing our relationships

Listen · 26:45
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How to get a haircut in space

Aboard the International Space Station, astronauts cut their hair using a pair of electrical sheers connected to a vacuum. NASA astronaut Frank Rubio says, "It's not a pretty haircut, for sure." Getty Images hide caption

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Getty Images

How to get a haircut in space

Hey, Short Wavers! Today we're sharing an excerpt of the new NPR podcast How To Do Everything.

How to get a haircut in space

Listen · 5:48
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Ghost particles are blasting through you. Can they solve an antimatter mystery?

Matter and its weird, opposite antimatter annihilate each other "in a blaze of glory," says Jessica Esquivel, an experimental particle physicist at Fermilab. PeteDraper/Getty Images hide caption

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PeteDraper/Getty Images

Ghost particles are blasting through you. Can they solve an antimatter mystery?

At the beginning of the universe, annihilation reigned supreme. Equal amounts of matter and antimatter collided. There should have been nothing left. And, yet, here we all are. Matter won out. The question is: why? Scientists are probing the mysteries of a ghostly subatomic particle for answers. To do it, they'll need to shoot a beam of them 800 miles underground.

Ghost particles are blasting through you. Can they solve an antimatter mystery?

Listen · 12:18
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It's Short Wave's 5th birthday! Here are science questions 5-year-olds asked us

It's Short Wave's 5th birthday! To celebrate, we answer our 5-year-old listeners' science questions. NickS/Getty Images hide caption

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NickS/Getty Images

It's Short Wave's 5th birthday! Here are science questions 5-year-olds asked us

In honor of our show turning 5 (!!) today...

It's Short Wave's 5th birthday! Here are science questions 5-year-olds asked us

Listen · 17:55
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Why are so many Coho salmon dying? The answer might be in your tires

Coho salmon spawn in freshwater, strike off for the open seas, trek back to the place of their birth – but researchers noticed that over the years, some would die before they could spawn. Arctic-Images/Getty Images hide caption

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Arctic-Images/Getty Images

Why are so many Coho salmon dying? The answer might be in your tires

For decades, Coho salmon were turning up dead in urban streams the Pacific Northwest. The salmon would stop swimming straight, and then die before they had a chance to spawn. Researchers worried that unless they figured out the cause, the species would eventually go extinct. Enter a formidable crew of biologists, modelers, community scientists, environmental chemists. After eventually ruling out the obvious suspects — things like temperature, oxygen levels and known toxins — researchers eventually zeroed in on a prime suspect: chemicals in tires. But the question remained: Which one?

Why are so many Coho salmon dying? The answer might be in your tires

Listen · 11:57
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Here's the science of jet lag — and how to avoid it during the holidays

Traveling across multiple time zones can cause jet lag, a temporary sleep problem that happens when the body's circadian rhythm hasn't caught up to the destination time zone. Simon Marcus Taplin hide caption

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Simon Marcus Taplin

Here's the science of jet lag — and how to avoid it during the holidays

Getting enough sleep regularly can be tough — and even harder when you're traveling for the holidays. "We need sleep like we need water," says Jade Wu, a behavioral sleep medicine psychologist and author of the book Hello Sleep. She and host Regina G. Barber discuss what's happening to our bodies when we get jet lag and the clocks in our body get out of whack. They also get into the science of the circadian rhythm and how to prepare for a long flight across time zones.

Here's the science of jet lag — and how to avoid it during the holidays

Listen · 13:41
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Here are science-backed tips on how to navigate holiday arguments

A 2022 study from the Pew Research Center found that a growing number of Republicans and Democrats view the other party as dishonest, immoral and close-minded. Jackie Lay/NPR hide caption

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Jackie Lay/NPR

Here are science-backed tips on how to navigate holiday arguments

Many people are gearing up for holiday conversations with loved ones who may disagree with them — on everything from politics to religion and lifestyle choices. As the conversations unfold, these divisions are visible in our brains too. These conversations can get personal and come to a halt fast. But today on the show we get into research in neuroscience and psychology showing that as much as we disagree, there are ways to bridge these divides – and people who are actively using these strategies in their daily lives.

Here are science-backed tips on how to navigate holiday arguments

Listen · 14:40
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Scientists unveil decades-long research about the deep-diving 'mystery mollusc'

The mysterious Bathydevius caudactylus was observed by MBARI's remotely operated vehicle Tiburon in the outer Monterey Canyon off the coast of California, at a depth of approximately 1,900 meters. 2002 MBARI hide caption

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2002 MBARI

Scientists unveil decades-long research about the deep-diving 'mystery mollusc'

This critter lurks in the ocean's midnight zone, has a voluminous hood, is completely see through and is bioluminescent. It's unlike any nudibranchs deep sea experts have ever seen before — and now, the researchers who spent twenty years studying them have finally published their findings.

Scientists unveil decades-long research about the deep-diving 'mystery mollusc'

Listen · 8:55
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Humans on Mars? Here's why you shouldn't plan a space move anytime soon

Artistic renditions of a future Mars settlement often feature structures above ground, as seen above. But after extensive research, authors Kelly and Zach Weinersmith found that any potential settlement would have to be below ground. janiecbros/Getty Images hide caption

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janiecbros/Getty Images

Humans on Mars? Here's why you shouldn't plan a space move anytime soon

As global warming continues and space technology improves, there is more and more talk about the growing possibility of a sci-fi future in which humans become a multiplanetary species. Specifically, that we could live on Mars. Biologist Kelly Weinersmith and cartoonist Zach Weinersmith have spent the last four years researching what this would look like if we did this anytime soon. In their new book A City On Mars, they get into all sorts of questions: How would we have babies in space? How would we have enough food? They join host Regina G. Barber and explain why it might be best to stay on Earth.

Humans on Mars? Here's why you shouldn't plan a space move anytime soon

Listen · 14:14
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Fermentation is behind a lot of the food you eat

Sauerkraut, kimchi, pickles — all of these delightful delicacies are made via fermentation, the transformation of one food into another with the help of microbes. Yulia Naumenko/Yulia Naumenko | Getty Images hide caption

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Yulia Naumenko/Yulia Naumenko | Getty Images

Fermentation is behind a lot of the food you eat

In this episode, you're invited to the fermentation party! Join us as we learn about the funk-filled process behind making sauerkraut, sourdough and sour beer. Plus, no fermentation episode is complete without a lil history of our boy, yeast.

Fermentation is behind a lot of the food you eat

Listen · 12:37
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