WNYC

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Channel • 21 Shows

Life Sciences

Life Sciences

Updated daily
Daily News

Daily News

Updated daily
Documentary

Documentary

Updated weekly
Visual Arts

Visual Arts

Updated 09/08/2017
History

History

Series
Politics

Politics

Updated 13/10/2023
History

History

Series

2 DAYS AGO

Why Worry About My Data If I Have Nothing To Hide?

As ICE cracks down in Minneapolis and across the country, reporters and privacy advocates have drawn attention to how the agency is using technology: scanning people’s faces without consent, using private health records to make arrests, tracking people’s location in real time with phone data. So how does all this work? How does the United States’ data ecosystem make it possible for not just ICE, but any number of government agencies and businesses to buy our private data? And what actually happens after we send that DM or open up Instagram at a protest to post a picture? To learn more, Host Flora Lichtman sits down with law professor and tech policy expert Laura Moy. She’s testified in Congress about privacy laws and how data brokers profit off of personal data. Guest: Laura Moy is an associate professor of law at Georgetown Law, based in Washington, D.C. Transcripts for each episode are available within 1-3 days at sciencefriday.com. Subscribe to this podcast. Plus, to stay updated on all things science, sign up for Science Friday's newsletters.

2 days ago

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16 min
4 DAYS AGO

The Growing Experiment Of Putting Solar Panels On Farmland

In an effort to make their farms more environmentally and economically sustainable, some farmers are experimenting with agrivoltaics: growing crops underneath solar panels. This dual harvest is working for some, but what will it take for agrivoltaics to work on a larger, more industrial scale? Joining Host Ira Flatow are journalist Jana Rose Schleis and environmental economics expert Madhu Khanna. Guests: Jana Rose Schleis is a news producer at KBIA in Columbia, Missouri. Her podcast series, “The Next Harvest,” is available on podcast platforms. Dr. Madhu Khanna is a professor of environmental economics and director of the Institute for Sustainability, Energy, and Environment at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Transcripts for each episode are available within 1-3 days at sciencefriday.com. Subscribe to this podcast. Plus, to stay updated on all things science, sign up for Science Friday's newsletters.

4 days ago

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23 min
30 JAN

Untangling The History Of Dog Domestication

All the pups we love—from chihuahuas to great danes—are descendants of the mighty gray wolf. But how did we end up with so many breeds? The story that's often told is that dog diversity really took off with the Victorians in the 1800s, but new research is unleashing a different tale. Host Flora Lichtman talks with bioarchaeologist Carly Ameen about the diversification of dogs. Plus, a long-running experiment to tame silver foxes is cluing us into how domestication happens. Canine researcher Erin Hecht gives us a glimpse into the experiment and what it tells us about domesticated brains. Guests: Dr. Carly Ameen is a bioarcheologist and lecturer at the University of Exeter in England. Dr. Erin Hecht is an evolutionary biologist at Harvard in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Transcripts for each episode are available within 1-3 days at sciencefriday.com. Subscribe to this podcast. Plus, to stay updated on all things science, sign up for Science Friday's newsletters.

30 Jan

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18 min
2 DAYS AGO

The Case Against Masking ICE Agents

One of the Senate Democrats' demands for resuming DHS funding is a ban on the use of masks by ICE agents. On Today's Show: Atlantic staff writer Adam Serwer talks about his essay, "The Real Reason ICE Agents Wear Masks" in which he argues that masking is dangerous "because people who are assured that they won’t face consequences for abusing power almost inevitably do so."

2 days ago

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23 min
19 JAN

What’s Happening On The Slippery Surface Of Ice?

It’s a wintertime question that you may have had as you struggled down a frozen sidewalk, or strapped on some ice skates: Just why is ice slippery, anyway? It turns out the answer is somewhat complicated. Mechanical engineer Robert Carpick studies tribology, the science of surface interactions, from friction to wear to lubrication. He joins Host Ira Flatow to wrangle some new ideas about the slippery science of ice. Guest: Dr. Robert Carpick is the John Henry Towne Professor in the department of mechanical engineering and applied mechanics at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. The transcript for this episode is available at sciencefriday.com. Subscribe to this podcast. Plus, to stay updated on all things science, sign up for Science Friday's newsletters.

19 Jan

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13 min
1 DAY AGO

Paul Krugman on the “Sell America” Trend

How have President Trump's policies shaped the nation's economic outlook after the first year of his second term? On Today's Show: Paul Krugman, Nobel laureate in economics, former New York Times columnist now on Substack, distinguished professor at the City University of New York Graduate Center, and the author of Arguing with Zombies: Economics, Politics, and the Fight for a Better Future (W. W. Norton & Company, 2020), talks about how President Trump's economic policies are affecting investors, and what that could mean for the overall economy.

1 day ago

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22 min
28 JAN

How China Is Driving Down Electricity Costs With Renewables

In a speech last week in a speech at the World Economic Forum, President Trump said China was making a lot of wind turbines, but not using much wind power in their own country. Is that right? China studies professor Jeremy Wallace joins Host Ira Flatow to talk about the renewable energy landscape in China. They’ll dig into how China is flooding the world with affordable solar technology, making it the cheapest form of electricity in history. Plus, what energy tech China is manufacturing, what it's using domestically, and what it's exporting. Guest: Dr. Jeremy Wallace is the A. Doak Barnett Professor of China Studies at Johns Hopkins University Transcripts for each episode are available within 1-3 days at sciencefriday.com. Subscribe to this podcast. Plus, to stay updated on all things science, sign up for Science Friday's newsletters.

28 Jan

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13 min
31 JAN · BONUS

The Middle + SciFri: How Can Trust In Science Be Restored?

We’re bringing you a special bonus episode from our friends at the live call-in show “The Middle with Jeremy Hobson.” Jeremy is joined by Science Friday Host Flora Lichtman and theoretical astrophysicist Priya Natarajan to talk about how trust in science can be restored. It took a hit with the COVID-19 pandemic, and the Trump Administration has now elevated science skeptics to positions of power and proposed giant cuts in scientific research. Subscribe to this podcast. Plus, to stay updated on all things science, sign up for Science Friday's newsletters.

31 Jan · Bonus

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20 min
3 DAYS AGO

Should Ultraprocessed Foods Be Off The Menu?

The new dietary guidelines from the USDA call for Americans to “eat real food” and consume less “highly processed” food. But how? By some estimates, ultraprocessed foods make up nearly 60% of the average American adult diet, and they’re all over school lunch menus. Health policy expert Laura Schmidt and nutrition policy researcher Alyssa Moran join Host Flora Lichtman to talk about ultraprocessed foods and our food supply. What might they be doing to our health, and what steps could policymakers take to help Americans eat less of them? Guests: Dr. Laura Schmidt is a professor at the Institute for Health Policy Studies at the University of California, San Francisco. Dr. Alyssa Moran is deputy director of the Center for Food and Nutrition Policy at the University of Pennsylvania Transcripts for each episode are available within 1-3 days at sciencefriday.com. Subscribe to this podcast. Plus, to stay updated on all things science, sign up for Science Friday's newsletters.

3 days ago

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30 min
29 JAN

A Science Historian Tackles Ghostwriting In Scientific Papers

We keep hearing that these are unprecedented times for science: scientific skeptics running federal agencies, growing mistrust of vaccines, and messaging from the highest levels of government that scientists are in the pocket of industry. To understand how unique this time really is, we’re talking to Naomi Oreskes, a science historian who has spent her career studying skepticism in science. She joins Host Flora Lichtman to discuss our current moment, and how ghostwriting in scientific papers is harming public trust in science. Guest: Naomi Oreskes is a professor of the history of science at Harvard University, based in Cambridge, MA. Transcripts for each episode are available within 1-3 days at sciencefriday.com. Subscribe to this podcast. Plus, to stay updated on all things science, sign up for Science Friday's newsletters.

29 Jan

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20 min

WNYC is New York's public radio podcast home, producing award-winning shows like Radiolab, On the Media, The New Yorker Radio Hour, Science Friday, and more. Our podcasts bring groundbreaking journalism, unforgettable storytelling, and essential conversations to millions of listeners across the city and around the world.

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