Shows / Science Friday
Science Friday
Science Friday, as heard on PRI, is a weekly discussion of the latest news in science, technology, health, and the environment hosted by Ira Flatow. Ira interviews scientists, authors, and policymakers, and listeners can call in and ask questions as well.
Episodes
Science Friday1194: ‘Prehistoric Planet’ Defrosts Strange Animals Of The Ice Age
Koalas with the bodies of lions. Elephants the size of your dog. Gigantic, 8-foot-tall sloths. These aren’t creatures found in science fiction: They walked our…
Science Friday1193: How Did Vaccine Policies Actually Change In 2025?
Since 1955, when Congress passed the Polio Vaccination Assistance Act, the federal government has been in the business of expanding access to vaccines. That…
Science Friday1192: Why Astronomers Are Excited About Comet 3I/Atlas’ Close Approach
This year, comet 3I/Atlas broke into our solar system, but also the zeitgeist. This dirty snowball is a visitor from another solar system, and it’s only the…
Science Friday1191: ‘Fire Amoeba’ Likes It Hot, And A Faraway Lava Planet
While on a sampling trip in California’s Lassen Volcanic National Park, researchers stopped to sample a rather boring stream on their hike to Boiling Springs…
Science Friday1190: What’s The Reality Behind The Humanoid Robot Hype?
Videos of humanoid robots dancing, doing cartwheels, putting clothes in a washing machine, and serving drinks are all over social media. And tech CEOs are…
Science Friday1189: 'Just' A Blue Jay? Don't Overlook These Magnificent Common Birds
It’s that time of year: the Christmas Bird Count, when birders go out in flocks to record all the birds they see in a single day. The data collected during…
Science Friday1188: Can We Just Throw Our Plastic Garbage Into A Volcano?
It’s winter, and the SciFri team is already dreaming of warmer weather. How about a mind vacation to one of the hottest places on earth, an erupting volcano?…
Science Friday1187: How Did Ancient Humans Use The Acoustics Of Spaces Like Caves?
The sound of a choir performing in a cathedral is iconic for a reason. It’s this beautiful human experience: being side-by-side with other people, feeling the…
Science Friday1186: What The Sounds Of Melting Glaciers Can Tell Us
As the planet warms, the world’s glaciers are melting faster than snow can replenish the ice. That has implications for sea level rise, ocean currents, and…
Science Friday1185: How A Fringe Idea Led To Lifesaving Cancer Treatments
In cancer research, the “seed and soil” hypothesis posits that the tumor is like a seed of misbehaving cells taking root in the body. Whether it grows—and…
Science Friday1184: Why Is Bubonic Plague Still With Us?
For many people, bubonic plague is an illness that seems squarely situated in medieval times. But each year, a handful of human cases pop up in the western…
Science Friday1183: Don’t Let Their Name Fool You—Sea Slugs Are Awesome
Today we’re spotlighting an underappreciated group of marine creatures: sea slugs. Don’t let their humble name fool you. They come in vivid neon colors, with…
Science Friday1182: As Companies Build Data Centers For AI, Communities Push Back
There’s an enormous buildout of data centers underway across the country to fuel the AI boom. Hundreds of billions of dollars have already been spent on data…
Science Friday1181: A Toast To Bats That Pollinate Agave, And Tracking Monarchs
You might think about bats as flitting around in the dark and hunting insects, but some species feed on fruits or flowers—and play an important role as…
Science Friday1180: A Startling Plan To Save Spotted Owls—From Barred Owls
The spotted owl has been a conservation flashpoint for more than 30 years. While habitat loss has been their historic foe, their most recent threat comes from…
Science Friday1179: Can A Microbe Conservation Movement Take Off?
A team of scientists is trying to jumpstart a global conservation movement, on par with efforts to save the rainforests or protect the oceans. But it might be…
Science Friday1178: How To Tap Into The Hidden Histories Of Rocks
When we try to commune with nature, many of us turn toward the living: a walk in the woods among swaying trees, chirping birds, blooming flowers. But earth…
Science Friday1174: Fingernails And Indigestion At The 2025 Ig Nobel Prizes
Each year, the Ig Nobel Prizes recognize scientific research that first makes you laugh, then makes you think. For instance, researchers who investigated the…
Science Friday1177: Why Is Working Out Good For Your Mental Health?
A good workout can make you feel triumphant. And even if that isn’t your relationship with exercise, you’ve probably heard that working out can lift your mood…
Science Friday1176: Everything You Never Knew About Squash And Pumpkins
It’s a wonderful time of the year: squash, pumpkin, and gourd season. But how do those giant, award-winning pumpkins grow so big? And what’s the difference…
Science Friday1173: ‘A Multi-Headed Beast’: Telling The Story Of Cancer
Twenty years ago, a young oncologist started journaling to process his experience treating cancer patients. That cathartic act became the Pulitzer…
Science Friday1172: African Grey Parrots Are Popular—And It’s Fueling Illegal Trade
African grey parrots are internet stars. It’s easy to see why—the charismatic birds sing, tell jokes, and sling profanities. But how do the endangered birds…
Science Friday1171: Attention, Trivia Nerds! It’s A Food Science Fact Feast
After years of getting your emails and phone calls, we know that SciFri listeners are in the 99th percentile when it comes to nerdy knowledge. We’re putting…
Science Friday1170: Can Animal Super-Agers Teach Us Their Secrets?
Some animals have a very different relationship to aging than we do: They don’t get cancer, they never go through menopause, and they live absurdly long lives…
Science Friday1169: How Alphafold Has Changed Biology Research, 5 Years On
Proteins are crucial for life. They're made of amino acids that “fold” into millions of different shapes. And depending on their structure, they do radically…
Science Friday1168: How A Woodpecker Pecks Wood, And How Ants Crown A Queen
If you’ve heard the hammering of a woodpecker in the woods, you might have wondered how the birds can be so forceful. What does it take to whack your head…
Science Friday1167: Memories Change. But Can We Change Them On Purpose?
Our memories make us who we are—just ask Barbra Streisand. But despite the lyrics in many popular songs, memories aren’t frozen in time. When we call them up…
Science Friday1166: Bearded Vulture Nests Hold Trove Of Centuries-Old Artifacts
Bearded vultures build giant, elaborate nests that are passed down from generation to generation. And according to a new study, some of these scavengers have…
Science Friday1165: Why The Bassist From Phish Is Funding Research Into ‘Flow State’
The band Phish has toured for over 40 years. One of the draws of their legendary live shows—which can go on for 8 hours—is finding moments of “flow,” when the…
Science Friday1164: Even Nobel Prize Winners Deal With Imposter Syndrome
Around 25 years ago, Ardem Patapoutian set out to investigate the fundamental biology behind our sense of touch. Through a long process of gene elimination, he…
Science Friday1163: Study Finds COVID mRNA Vaccines Boost Cancer Treatment
Over the last five years, billions of people have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 mRNA vaccine. New research has found an unanticipated result of…
Science Friday1162: Were Dinos On Their Way Out Before The Asteroid Hit? Maybe Not
One of the biggest debates in the dinosaur world is what was happening right before they went extinct. Were they already declining, or would they have thrived…
Science Friday1161: Is There Such A Thing As Too Much Resolution On A TV?
As Black Friday approaches, you’re probably being inundated with ads for bigger, better televisions. But just how good is good enough? Are there limits to what…
Science Friday1160: Can A Billion-Dollar Barricade Keep Carp Out Of The Great Lakes?
Decades ago, non-native carp were brought onto fish farms on the Mississippi River to control algae and parasites. They escaped, thrived, and eventually…
Science Friday1159: Inside The Race To Save Wild Axolotls
Axolotls are one of the most charismatic and beloved amphibians out there. But did you know that there’s only one place in the whole world where you can find…
Science Friday1158: Endometriosis Is Common. Why Is Getting Diagnosed So Hard?
Endometriosis is a painful disease that occurs when endometrium-like tissue grows outside of the uterus. It’s extremely common—if you have a uterus, you have a…
Science Friday1157: Why Hasn’t Wave Energy Gotten Its Sea Legs Yet?
We've figured out how to harness renewable energy from many natural systems, like solar, wind, and geothermal power. But what about the ocean’s waves? It might…
Science Friday1156: A Halloween Monster Mashup, And A Spooky Lakes Tour
For Halloween, we bring you an ode to three quintessentially creepy creatures: bats, arachnids, and snakes. First, bat researcher Elena Tena joins Host Flora…
Science Friday1155: What Happens To Your Digital Presence After You Die?
There’s an established playbook for getting one’s affairs in order before death—create a will, name legal guardians, and so on. But there’s also a newer…
Science Friday1154: Why Morbid Curiosity Is So Common—And So Fun
At first blush, the plots of many horror movies don’t seem particularly appealing. Take “The Shining”: A murderous psychopath tries to kill his family in a…
Science Friday1153: Peanut Allergies In Kids Are Finally On The Decline
For decades, peanut allergies were on the rise in the US. But a study released on October 20 found that peanut allergies in babies and young children are now…
Science Friday1152: How Do Bacteria Talk To Each Other?
Bacteria have been around for billions of years. Could they have come up with complex behaviors that we just don’t understand yet? Could they have their own…
Science Friday1151: A Lab-Grown Salmon Taste Test And More Foodie Innovations
After years of development, lab-grown fish is taste-test ready for the public. Four restaurants in the US are serving up cultivated salmon made by the company…
Science Friday1150: What Did It Feel Like To Be An Early Human?
Do science documentaries need a refresh? What if the goal wasn’t just teaching you something, but making you feel something? A new series from the BBC, airing…
Science Friday1149: TikTok Is Shaping How We Think About ADHD
TikTok and other social media sites are full of mental health content—often short, grabby, first-person videos detailing symptoms for conditions like ADHD and…
Science Friday1148: Footage Shows How Narwhals Use Tusks To Hunt And Play
We’re taking a polar plunge into the science of sea unicorns, also known as narwhals!Narwhals are mysterious arctic whales with long, twirly tusks protruding…
Science Friday1147: Have Astrophysicists Spotted Evidence For ‘Dark Stars’?
Astrophysicists may have spotted evidence for “dark stars,” an unusual type of star that could possibly have existed in the earliest days of the universe, in…
Science Friday1146: AI Was Supposed To Discover New Drugs. Where Are They?
AI is everywhere these days, and though there’s debate about how useful it is, one area where experts think it could be game-changing is scientific research…
Science Friday1145: How Math Helps Us Map The World
It’s easy to take maps for granted. After all, most of us have a pretty good map in our pockets at all times, ready to show us how to get anywhere on the…
Science Friday1144: The Science Of Replacing Body Parts, From Hair To Hearts
It seems like every week, there’s a new headline about some kind of sci-fi-esque organ transplant. Think eyeballs, 3D-printed kidneys, pig hearts.In her new…
Science Friday1143: It’s Not Just You—Bad Food Habits Are Hard to Shake
Remember “The Biggest Loser”—the show where people tried to lose as much weight as quickly as possible for a big cash prize? The premise of the show was that…
Science Friday1100: 100 Years Later, Quantum Science Is Still Weird
In July 1925, physicist Werner Heisenberg wrote a letter to Wolfgang Pauli sharing his new ideas about what would eventually become known as quantum theory. A…
Science Friday1142: An Off-The-Grid Nobel Win, And Antibiotics In Ancient Microbes
This year’s Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine went to three people whose combined discoveries outlined the role of the peripheral immune system—how the…
Science Friday1141: World Space Week And Promising Climate Tech Companies
It’s World Space Week, and we’re fueling up the rocket for a tour of some missions and projects that could provide insights into major space mysteries…
Science Friday1140: The Story Behind The Largest Dam Removal In U.S. History
The Klamath River, which runs from southern Oregon to California, used to be a top salmon run. But after a series of hydroelectric dams was installed along the…
Science Friday1139: How Archaeologists Try To Smell, Hear, And Taste The Past
Archeologists in movies have a reputation for being hands-on, like Indiana Jones unearthing hidden treasure, or Lara Croft running through a temple. Archeology…
Science Friday1138: Moth Survival Strategies And A Rodent Thumbnail Mystery
If you’re a moth trying to stay uneaten, there are competing strategies. Some moths rely on camouflage, trying to blend in. Other moths take the opposite…
Science Friday1136: As The CDC Falters, How Do We Fill Public Health Gaps?
Our country’s public health system is ailing. With layoffs and leadership changes at the CDC, changing vaccine guidelines, a government shutdown, and declining…
Science Friday1135: Anthropologists Have A Bone To Pick With New Skull Finding
There’s fresh drama in the field of human origins! A new analysis of an ancient hominid skull from China challenges what we thought we knew about our ancestral…
Science Friday1137: Remembering Primatologist Jane Goodall
Jane Goodall, renowned primatologist, conservationist, and humanitarian, died on October 1 at the age of 91. Goodall was born in London in 1934, and her…