Science Friday podcast

Science Friday

Covering the outer reaches of space to the tiniest microbes in our bodies, Science Friday is the source for entertaining and educational stories about science, technology, and other cool stuff.

Covering the outer reaches of space to the tiniest microbes in our bodies, Science Friday is the source for entertaining and educational stories about science, technology, and other cool stuff.

 

#150

As Disasters Escalate, What’s The Future Of FEMA?

President Trump has said that he wants to [phase out FEMA] (https://www.sciencefriday.com/... more

Yesterday

19 MINS

19:19

Yesterday


#149

Spaghetti Science And Mouth Taping Myths

Most pasta is made from just two ingredients—flour and water. For decades this humble food... more

10 Jul 2025

18 MINS

18:23

10 Jul 2025


#148

The Goo In Your Home Could Help Science Address Climate Change

We live in a world filled with microbes—they’re inside our bodies, in soil, in deep sea hy... more

09 Jul 2025

17 MINS

17:58

09 Jul 2025


#147

How Do GLP-1 Drugs Override Our Biology?

GLP-1 medications like Ozempic have dominated headlines over the past couple of years. Whe... more

08 Jul 2025

18 MINS

18:43

08 Jul 2025


#146

The Leap: Everything Else Is Boring

In both her life and her work, researcher Karmella Haynes has never followed the pack. Kar... more

07 Jul 2025

25 MINS

25:38

07 Jul 2025


#145

The Seafaring Life Of ‘Modern-Day Captain Nemo,’ Robert Ballard

In excerpts of two conversations from the Science Friday archives (originally recorded in ... more

04 Jul 2025

30 MINS

30:08

04 Jul 2025


#144

Understanding Sunscreen Ingredients And Which Ones You Need

Summer is here, which means it’s the season for soaking up the sun. But it’s important to ... more

03 Jul 2025

18 MINS

18:38

03 Jul 2025


#143

In ‘Jurassic World Rebirth,’ Paleontology Is Still The Star

The latest Jurassic World movie, [“Jurassic World Rebirth,”] (https://www.sciencefriday.co... more

02 Jul 2025

13 MINS

13:55

02 Jul 2025


#142

What Does It Mean To Have A Chatbot Companion?

AI is not just for automating tasks or coming up with new recipe ideas. Increasingly, peop... more

01 Jul 2025

19 MINS

19:36

01 Jul 2025


#141

The Leap: Mars? It Was A Miracle We Got To Florida

Geologist Steve Squyres risked his career and millions of dollars to get two rovers roamin... more

30 Jun 2025

23 MINS

23:43

30 Jun 2025


#140

After Her Grants Got Cut, This Researcher Is Suing The NIH

Since January, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has made sweeping cuts to science. ... more

27 Jun 2025

13 MINS

13:07

27 Jun 2025


#139

New Telescope Captures The Cosmos In Groundbreaking Detail

The [first images] (https://www.sciencefriday.com/segments/vera-rubin-space-telescope-imag... more

26 Jun 2025

12 MINS

12:38

26 Jun 2025


#138

How Scientists Made The First Gene-Editing Treatment For A Baby

Last month, scientists reported a historic first: they gave the first personalized [gene-e... more

25 Jun 2025

18 MINS

18:56

25 Jun 2025


#137

Ancient Bone Proteins May Offer Insight On Megafauna Extinction

Australia is known for its unusual animal life, from koalas to kangaroos. But once upon a ... more

24 Jun 2025

19 MINS

19:23

24 Jun 2025


#136

The Leap: You Do Realize… That’s Impossible

As a grad student, Suchitra Sebastian wasn’t sure she wanted to be a physicist. But when o... more

23 Jun 2025

23 MINS

23:47

23 Jun 2025


#135

What We’re Learning From The James Webb Space Telescope

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) started collecting data nearly three years ago, and ... more

20 Jun 2025

17 MINS

17:47

20 Jun 2025


#134

How ‘Super Agers’ Stay Sharp And Active Longer Than Their Peers

Ever noticed how some people get to their 80s and 90s and continue to be healthy and activ... more

19 Jun 2025

30 MINS

30:49

19 Jun 2025


#133

A Dino’s Last Dinner And Eavesdropping Birds

While there are a lot of dinosaur fossils, and a lot of plant fossils, the precise connect... more

18 Jun 2025

20 MINS

20:46

18 Jun 2025


#132

What Are The Best Practices For Prostate Cancer Screening?

Last month, former President Joe Biden announced that he had been diagnosed with an aggres... more

17 Jun 2025

18 MINS

18:46

17 Jun 2025


#131

The Leap: Garbage In, Garbage Out

Biochemist Virginia Man-Yee Lee has spent a lifetime in the lab, figuring out what happens... more

16 Jun 2025

29 MINS

29:38

16 Jun 2025


#130

RFK Jr. Reshuffles CDC Vaccine Panel With Vaccine Skeptics

On Monday, US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. [ fired all 17 members] (https://www.... more

13 Jun 2025

25 MINS

25:26

13 Jun 2025


#129

What’s Next For China’s Space Program?

This week, China’s Tianwen-2 spacecraft sent back its [first image] (https://www.sciencefr... more

12 Jun 2025

19 MINS

19:24

12 Jun 2025


#128

The Ruin And Redemption Of The American Prairie

The prairie might just be the most underappreciated landscape in the United States. Beginn... more

11 Jun 2025

18 MINS

18:31

11 Jun 2025


#127

Bedbugs Have Been Bugging Us Since Before Beds

Bedbug infestations are not just a modern problem—these pests have been with early human a... more

10 Jun 2025

18 MINS

18:48

10 Jun 2025


#126

The Leap: A Scientist’s Quest To See Every Organism On Earth

Manu Prakash is many things—biologist, engineer, inventor, philosopher—but what he isn’t i... more

09 Jun 2025

25 MINS

25:55

09 Jun 2025


#125

Are We Prepared To Fight ‘The New Polio’?

A mysterious disease called acute flaccid myelitis (AFM) has been appearing in emergency r... more

06 Jun 2025

25 MINS

25:17

06 Jun 2025


#124

How Science Communication Can Step Up Amid Federal Cuts

It’s a precarious time for science in the United States. Federal funding is being slashed,... more

05 Jun 2025

18 MINS

18:21

05 Jun 2025


#123

How Cannibalistic Tadpoles Could Curb Invasive Cane Toads

South American cane toads were brought to Australia in 1935 to help eradicate native beetl... more

04 Jun 2025

18 MINS

18:49

04 Jun 2025


#122

Turning The Binoculars On Birders

Birding is a hobby that attracts a very particular group of people: the kind who get up at... more

03 Jun 2025

18 MINS

18:24

03 Jun 2025


#121

The Leap: Be Bold Or Just Don't Do It

As a young plant scientist, Joanne Chory shook up the research establishment with her unco... more

02 Jun 2025

26 MINS

26:22

02 Jun 2025