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Science Friday
30 episodes
What can moments of lucidity teach us about Alzheimer’s?
Ep 1370 · Aug 18, 2026 · 18 min
Watching a loved one with Alzheimer's or dementia slowly lose their cognitive abilities can be heartbreaking. While the person you once knew seems to be slipping away, sometimes people with Alzheimer's briefly seem like their old selves again. They may remember a long-forgotten name or suddenly regain the ability to have a fluid conversation. What do these moments of lucidity really mean for the progression of the disease? And what implications do they have for those living with the disease, and…
Colorado’s snow drought deals a major blow to recreation
Ep 1369 · Aug 17, 2026 · 12 min
Winter in Colorado looked very different this year. Many parts of the state experienced record-high temperatures and record-low snowpack, which had downstream effects on farming, sports, tourism, and more. For those economies and livelihoods that rely on snow, what happens when snow becomes unreliable? And can we prepare for it? Producer Kathleen Davis speaks with Halle Zander, news director at Aspen Public Radio, about how this is playing out in Aspen. Then, environmental historian Mike Childer…
How do you find a ‘lost’ species?
Ep 1368 · Aug 14, 2026 · 18 min
The earth is facing a biodiversity crisis, and there’s a lot of attention on species that are threatened, or at risk of dying out completely. But, there’s another critter category that’s a little more mysterious: species that are “lost to science.” This means scientists aren’t quite sure how many of them there are out there—or if there are any left at all. Producer Kathleen Davis talks to biologist Matt Forister, who is so dedicated to finding more information about these lost species that he cr…
What we get wrong about vaccine hesitancy
Ep 1367 · Aug 13, 2026 · 12 min
President Trump has signed an executive order calling for a change to the childhood vaccination schedule. Specifically, he wants to separate the MMR vaccine, which protects against measles, mumps, and rubella, into three separate shots. There’s no scientific research to indicate that these changes would be beneficial, and the order has sparked backlash from medical associations and drug manufacturers. Meanwhile, over 2,400 people have contracted measles in the United States so far this year, top…
Why this lab studies the speed of bug pee and other curiosities
Ep 1366 · Aug 12, 2026 · 18 min
In a lab in the Rocky Mountains, a group of scientists is hard at work trying to find answers across biology, physics, and engineering: They’re looking into things like the hydrodynamics of insect pee and the physics of sheepdog herding, and working to designing robots that resemble squid and hearing aids that only cost a dollar. These endeavors may seem unrelated, but they’re glued together by bioengineer Saad Bhamla’s philosophy of science driven by curiosity, and how to make the most of the l…
Some primates undergo even more extreme childbirth than humans
Ep 1365 · Aug 11, 2026 · 12 min
Human childbirth is often difficult and incredibly painful—just ask anyone who’s been through it. And for a long time, childbirth seemed to be uniquely difficult for humans. But a new study suggests that we aren’t alone: Some small primates birth offspring whose heads are nearly twice the size of the mother’s pelvic area. So how do those primates go through difficult childbirths? Why didn’t evolution make ours any easier? And what can this tell us about humankind? Flora explores these questions…
Deb Haaland is a politician, and proud of it
Ep 1364 · Aug 10, 2026 · 17 min
Former Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, a member of the Laguna Pueblo tribe, was the first Native person to hold a cabinet position. Now she’s running to be governor of New Mexico. Haaland joins Host Flora Lichtman to talk about her new memoir, “A Voice Like Mine,” her time at the Interior Department, and why she thinks lawsuits are a good thing when it comes to the environment. Read an excerpt from “A Voice Like Mine.” Guest: Deb Haaland served as Secretary of the Interior under President Biden.…
Sitting all day is terrible for us. Moving a little can help
Ep 1363 · Aug 7, 2026 · 19 min
Keeping your butt in a seat for hours a day increases the risk of heart attacks, diabetes, psychiatric conditions, and more. But in our tech-filled world, many of us lead sedentary lives, whether because of school, work, or leisure. Researchers set up an experiment to see how much movement would make a difference for people who spend their days at a desk—and 23,000 people signed up. Joining Flora to tell us what they found is tech journalist Manoush Zomorodi, author of “Body Electric: The Hidden…
A Nagasaki survivor and physician recounts his life's work
Ep 1362 · Aug 6, 2026 · 18 min
Dr. Masao Tomonaga was only 2 years old when the United States bombed his home city of Nagasaki. He survived, and grew up to become a physician for other survivors, known as hibakusha. He also studied hematology, and his research on leukemia and myelodysplastic syndromes was foundational for understanding how radiation affects the body. In August 2025, the 80th anniversary of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, he spoke with Host Ira Flatow about his life’s work, how hibakusha lived with the…
What do people eat? Plant and animal DNA in sewage provide clues
Ep 1361 · Aug 5, 2026 · 13 min
Imagine you wanted to get a general idea of what people are eating in a given community. You could look at grocery store sales, or do surveys, but neither can capture a complete picture. Microbiome researcher Lawrence David and his lab look to another source of data: genetic material in sewage water. It turns out that detectable DNA signatures of individual plant and animal species remain behind even after they’ve been eaten, digested, excreted, and flushed down the toilet. He joins Host Flora L…
3D images of galaxies will rock you (ft. Queen)
Ep 1360 · Aug 4, 2026 · 23 min
"Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy? Caught in a landslide, no escape from reality. Open your eyes, look up to the skies and see." There’s something about space that captures the imagination of scientists and artists alike. Just ask astrophysicist Derek Ward-Thompson and astronomer Brian May (yes, THAT Brian May, guitarist of Queen). In their book "Islands in Infinity: Galaxies 3-D," they turn flat images of the galaxies to three dimensional spacescapes that leap off the page. In March,…
The evolution of an enzyme engineer who changed chemistry
Ep 1359 · Aug 3, 2026 · 30 min
In nature, enzymes are the catalysts that make much of biology work. They jumpstart chemical reactions that either wouldn’t happen, or would happen super slowly. They break down food, build other molecules, extract energy, and more. What if we could harness evolution to engineer designer enzymes that do other specific jobs that benefit us? Putting that idea into practice changed the game for chemistry, and earned Frances Arnold the Nobel Prize prize in 2018. She called it “directed evolution.” T…
Why is brain cancer so hard to treat?
Ep 1358 · Jul 31, 2026 · 18 min
Brain cancers are rare, but devastating. Patients face short life expectancies after diagnosis. Brain tumors are often impossible to remove completely. And radiation and chemotherapy don’t always stop them from spreading. It’s a daunting class of disease to study, but that didn’t dissuade physician-researcher Michelle Monje from trying. She has spent two decades studying how brain tumors form and interact with healthy brain cells, and pioneered the field of cancer neuroscience. Guest: Dr. Michel…
How can astronaut food be better?
Ep 1357 · Jul 30, 2026 · 18 min
Astronaut food is not known as a frontier of culinary imagination, unless you count rehydrated shrimp cocktail. As NASA prepares for longer trips to the moon and Mars, is space cuisine ready for an overhaul? Flora speaks with retired astronaut Clayton Anderson, who spent 167 days in space, and chef David Skinner, who has advised NASA on how to make food for astronauts better. Guests: Clayton Anderson spent 15 years as a NASA astronaut, with stints on the International Space Station in 2007 and 2…
The reality of living with extreme heat in India
Ep 1356 · Jul 29, 2026 · 15 min
At one point this year, the 50 hottest cities on the planet were all in one country: India. The average peak temperature in those cities was 112 F. India is one of the most climate vulnerable countries in the world, and weather disasters, such as heat waves, have become more extreme and more common in recent years. So how is this extreme heat affecting people in India? And what needs to change to keep people safe? Flora speaks with Gulrez Azhar, a physician and researcher who has spent much of h…
Tracking shark populations, one shark at a time
Ep 1355 · Jul 28, 2026 · 18 min
About 130 days a year, a research vessel leaves Miami and sets out to catch, measure, sample, tag, and release sharks in Florida’s coastal waters. Over the course of a year, they’ll encounter about 600 animals in a process called “fisheries independent monitoring,” an effort to gather data on sea creatures that isn’t skewed by changes in fishing procedures, equipment, or regulations. Marine conservation biologist Catherine Macdonald leads the lab behind that effort. She joins Host Flora Lichtman…
The Black women codebreakers of the Cold War
Ep 1354 · Jul 27, 2026 · 13 min
During the early Cold War era, the United States Army and later the NSA began recruiting and training codebreakers and intelligence officers to decipher intercepted Soviet messages. Among those recruits were a group of highly skilled Black women who were employed as cryptologists to decode these messages. But their role in Cold War intelligence operations has been largely overlooked, until now. Host Flora Lichtman talks with historian Sarah Valentine about her book, “Decoding the Devil: Black Wo…
Asha de Vos’ journey from deck hand to marine science leader
Ep 1353 · Jul 24, 2026 · 18 min
The tropical waters of Sri Lanka, an island off the coast of India, are home to a population of blue whales unlike any other. These whales stay put, while every other known population migrates. That discovery was made by budding scientist Asha de Vos more than 20 years ago—it made a splash, and so did she. She later became the first Sri Lankan to earn a PhD studying marine mammals, charting a new scientific path in her country. De Vos joined Host Flora Lichtman in 2025 to discuss her path into s…
Why worry about my data If I have nothing to hide?
Ep 1352 · Jul 23, 2026 · 16 min
In the last couple months, Vermont, Alabama, and Oklahoma have passed data privacy laws. Massachusetts is negotiating its own version. Meanwhile, congressional lawmakers have introduced national privacy bills that would preempt these state laws. In light of all this legislation, we’re revisiting an interview from February about how the United States’ data ecosystem makes it possible for any number of government agencies and businesses to buy our private data, from facial scans to health records…
Peering through dust clouds to the center of the galaxy
Ep 1351 · Jul 22, 2026 · 30 min
In 2020, Andrea Ghez shared the Nobel Prize for her observations of a supermassive compact object at the center of the Milky Way galaxy—an object that has all the hallmarks of a supermassive black hole. Ghez had developed techniques that allowed her to peer through galactic dust clouds with the Keck telescopes and observe the movements of stars orbiting the galactic center. Measuring their velocity and orbits provided information about the galactic core. She joins Host Flora Lichtman to talk abo…
Why a paper about relocating coastal communities hit a nerve
Ep 1350 · Jul 21, 2026 · 12 min
Back in May, a paper published in Nature Sustainability reignited a decades-old debate about coastal Louisiana: Should people leave? Climate researchers wrote that due to rising sea levels, coastal Louisiana has crossed the point of no return and that governments should be making plans now for places like New Orleans to relocate. Jessica Dandridge-Smith, who runs The Water Collaborative in New Orleans, speaks with Flora about why this paper sparked such a strong reaction, and how she thinks abou…
How do you piece together what life was like in Pompeii?
Ep 1349 · Jul 20, 2026 · 22 min
Pompeii is known for its disastrous end with the eruption of Mount Vesuvius, but for archeologists, what came before is just as interesting. Researchers are using artifacts left behind in the remarkably well-preserved Roman city to piece together what life was like for the thousands of people who lived there 2,000 years ago. A new book and television show analyze some of these clues to tell the stories of the ordinary people who faced this extraordinary event. Flora speaks with archaeobotanist J…
Hold the lettuce: Updates on the 'explosive' cyclospora outbreak
Ep 1348 · Jul 17, 2026 · 12 min
An outbreak of the foodborne illness cyclosporiasis has sent thousands of people running to the bathroom this summer. Health officials have linked the outbreak to lettuce served at Taco Bell locations in five states, but there are still a lot of unanswered questions. Food safety expert Byron Chaves joins Flora to talk about the “explosive” nature of the illness and why pinpointing a source of the parasite has been so difficult. Guest: Dr. Byron Chaves is an associate extension specialist and pro…
A space telescope launch + Alvin submersible check-up
Ep 1347 · Jul 17, 2026 · 18 min
The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is scheduled for an early launch at the end of August. It will rest about a million miles from Earth at Lagrange point 2, where forces of gravity and motion balance out, allowing it to orbit the sun in sync with the Earth. The Roman Telescope is designed to collect masses of data that could inform questions about dark energy, dark matter, and exoplanets. Jackie Townsend, project manager for the mission, joins Host Flora Lichtman to discuss the telescope’s ba…
How does a tick bite cause a red meat allergy?
Ep 1346 · Jul 16, 2026 · 18 min
For two decades, a perplexing illness has been spreading: After a lone-star tick bite, people find themselves with a severe allergic reaction to red meat. The CDC estimates up to 450,000 people in the U.S. may be affected with alpha-gal syndrome, up from just a few dozen documented cases in 2009. New research finds that in some states, more than 30% of people are positive for alpha-gal antibodies—but not all of them have the syndrome. Flora speaks with allergist Scott Commins, who has studied al…
What will our reaction be when we discover aliens?
Ep 1345 · Jul 15, 2026 · 18 min
One of the most irresistible questions in sci-fi stories about aliens is what our reaction will be when we learn of their existence. Horror? Bewilderment? Relief? Euphoria? It’s a scenario we love to imagine again and again, like in Steven Spielberg’s recent movie, “Disclosure Day.” But how would humanity react if we learned of intelligent aliens? Can you actually study that? It turns out there’s a whole lab inside SETI, the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence, that is thinking about what t…
Beautiful botflies, luscious leeches, and the wonder of parasites
Ep 1344 · Jul 14, 2026 · 20 min
Dino Martins has plucked maggots out of a dead elephant, pulled botflies out of camel snot, and willingly let a horsefly feast on him. Why? Because he’s obsessed with parasites. Dino is an entomologist who grew up in rural Kenya, and he’s worked all over the world studying how insects keep this planet alive. And along the way, he met some of the world’s most iconic freeloaders, which he describes in his new book, “Hidden Creatures: Luscious Leeches, Bashful Botflies, and the Wondrous, History-Sh…
China's booming biotech, from a brain implant to drug discovery
Ep 1343 · Jul 13, 2026 · 18 min
In March, China became the first country to approve an invasive brain-computer interface beyond clinical trials. The implant, called NEO, is now available to some patients with limb paralysis due to a spinal cord injury. Ira talks with Wired staff writer Emily Mullin about the significance of this milestone. Plus, brain implants aren’t the only development: China’s entire biotech industry has skyrocketed in recent years. A decade ago, about 8% of new drug molecules were discovered in China. Now…
Reconnecting with the night sky and reining in light pollution
Ep 1342 · Jul 10, 2026 · 18 min
What happens when the skies are no longer dark at night? Writer Craig Childs biked from the brightest night sky, to the darkest, to find out what we lose when the lights don’t go out. He joins Host Ira Flatow to talk about his book “The Wild Dark,” our SciFri Book Club pick for July and August. Plus, astronomer John Barentine fills us in on DarkSky International’s latest report, “Artificial Light at Night: State of the Science 2026.” Read an excerpt from “The Wild Dark: Finding the Night Sky in…
Amid shifting politics, can we build stable global health systems?
Ep 1341 · Jul 9, 2026 · 18 min
The ongoing Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda has become the third-largest on record. And while the regional response is more robust than it was during the largest outbreak, in 2014-2016, the U.S. has now largely divested from global health initiatives under President Trump. So it raises the question: What role should the U.S. play in global health? And how do we build systems that protect our collective health even as political winds change? Flora speaks with John Nk…
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