WNYC

•

Channel • 21 Shows

Life Sciences

Life Sciences

Updated daily
Documentary

Documentary

Every two months
History

History

Series
Daily News

Daily News

Updated daily
Documentary

Documentary

Updated weekly
Visual Arts

Visual Arts

Updated 09/08/2017
Politics

Politics

Updated 13/10/2023

5 DAYS AGO

Are Ultramarathoners Just Built Different?

‘Tis the season for exercise resolutions. For a select few, an ultramarathon—a race of 50, 100, or even more miles—may be on the table for 2026. But is there a limit to what our bodies can endure? And what makes ultramarathoners capable of these tremendous feats? Joining Host Flora Lichtman are sports medicine expert Brandee Waite and biological anthropologist Andrew Best. Guests: Dr. Brandee Waite is the director of UC Davis Health Sports Medicine in Sacramento, California. Dr. Andrew Best is an assistant professor of biology at the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts. 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.

5 days ago

•

18 min
SEASON 4 BONUS

The Harvard Plan

Reporter Ilya Marritz—a longtime fan of More Perfect—drops in to share a new series he’s made with The Boston Globe and WNYC’s On the Media. The Harvard Plan investigates how the Trump administration’s pressure campaign is reshaping American universities through memorable characters, thorny moral and ethical questions, and high stakes. Preview the first episode here. The whole series is available to listen at https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/harvard-plan

Season 4 Bonus

•

47 min
2 DAYS AGO

Can The Rise In Solar Power Balance Out Clean Energy Cuts?

Since President Trump returned to office, his administration has been aggressive in rolling back clean energy initiatives. Trump’s “big beautiful bill” ended tax credits for solar panels and electric vehicles. And the EPA is moving to cancel $7 billion dollars in federal grants that were intended to help low- and middle-income families install solar on their homes. But that isn’t the whole story. Texas, California, and other states are bringing so much solar and battery power online that in March, fossil fuels generated less than half the electricity in the US for the first time ever. And internationally, solar has gotten so cheap to build and install that it’s fundamentally transforming many countries’ power grids. So where exactly does solar adoption stand in the US and across the world right now? In August, climate activist Bill McKibben joined Host Ira Flatow to talk about the recent wins and future challenges that sun-powered energy faces, which he writes about in his new book Here Comes The Sun: A Last Chance for the Climate and a Fresh Chance for Civilization. Read an excerpt from Here Comes The Sun. Guest: Bill McKibben is a climate activist and founder of Third Act. He’s based in Middlebury, Vermont. 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.

2 days ago

•

17 min
5 DAYS AGO

Best of 2025: What Makes a Strip Club?

In November, Bodega Paradise, an X rated bar in East Harlem, had its liquor license revoked and was forced to shut down. WNYC producer Iru Ekpunobi walks us through what happened, based on reporting by Charles Lane, and explains how New York City defines adult entertainment and enforces those rules.

5 days ago

•

11 min
29/12/2025

What The Sigma Is Algospeak?

Gen Alpha slang can seem unintelligible to adults, but linguist and TikToker Adam Aleksic argues language development in the internet age is worth legitimate study. In a conversation from July, Adam talks to Host Flora Lichtman about how algorithms and social media are changing the way we speak, and discusses his new book, Algospeak: How Social Media is Transforming the Future of Language. Guest: Adam Aleksic is a linguist and content creator posting educational videos as the “Etymology Nerd” to an audience of more than three million. He is the author of Algospeak: How Social Media is Transforming the Future of Language. Transcript is available on sciencefriday.com. Subscribe to this podcast. Plus, to stay updated on all things science, sign up for Science Friday's newsletters.

29/12/2025

•

19 min
30/12/2025

How Death Metal Singers Make Their Extreme Vocalizations

Being able to belt out a tune like Adele or Pavarotti is not just about raw talent. The best singers in the world have to work on their technique—like how to control their breath and develop the stamina to hit note after note for a two-hour concert. But pop stars and opera singers aren’t the only vocalists who have figured out how to harness their voices for maximum impact. Death metal vocalists also train their voices to hit that unique guttural register. And those iconic screams are not as easy to master as they might seem. Vocal scientists at the University of Utah are now bringing death metal singers into the lab to try to understand how they make their extreme vocalizations. What they’re finding is not only insightful for metalheads, but might also help improve treatment for people with some types of vocal injuries. In a conversation from April, Host Flora Lichtman talks with speech pathologist Amanda Stark, and Mark Garrett, vocal coach and lead singer of the band Kardashev. Read the whole story at sciencefriday.com. Guests: Dr. Amanda Stark is a speech pathologist and vocology researcher at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, Utah. Mark Garett is a vocal coach and the lead singer of Kardashev. He’s based in Phoenix, Arizona. Transcript available at sciencefriday.com. Subscribe to this podcast. Plus, to stay updated on all things science, sign up for Science Friday's newsletters.

30/12/2025

•

14 min
26/12/2025

Tangling With Entanglement And Other Big Ideas In Physics

What have we learned in recent years about black holes? Can entangled quantum particles really communicate faster than light? What’s the story behind Schrödinger’s Cat? And, in this weird liminal space between the holidays, what even IS time, really? Physicist Sean Carroll and Host Ira Flatow tackled those big questions and more at a recent event at WNYC’s Greene Space in New York City. Carroll’s book The Biggest Ideas in the Universe: Space, Time, and Motion is the SciFri Book Club pick for December. Guest: Dr. Sean Carroll is the Homewood Professor of Natural Philosophy at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. 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.

26/12/2025

•

36 min
25/12/2025

The Science Of Thriving In Winter—By Embracing It

Health psychologist Dr. Kari Leibowitz traveled to some of the coldest, darkest places on earth to learn how people there don’t just survive, but thrive in winter. She says that one of the key ingredients is adopting a positive wintertime mindset by focusing on and celebrating the good parts of winter. In a conversation from January, Flora Lichtman talks with Dr. Kari Leibowitz, author of How to Winter: Harness Your Mindset to Thrive on Cold, Dark, or Difficult Days, about saunas, cold plunges, candles, and other small ways to make winter a season to look forward to rather than dread. Plus, she responds to some of our audience’s own tips to make the season enjoyable. Guest: Dr. Kari Leibowitz is a health psychologist and author of How to Winter: Harness Your Mindset to Thrive on Cold, Dark, or Difficult Days. She’s based in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Transcript is available at sciencefriday.com. Subscribe to this podcast. Plus, to stay updated on all things science, sign up for Science Friday's newsletters.

25/12/2025

•

18 min
15/10/2025

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 book, Replaceable You: Adventures in Human Anatomy, science writer Mary Roach chronicles the effort to fabricate human body parts—and where that effort sometimes breaks down. Host Flora Lichtman speaks with Roach about everything from hair transplants to 3D-printed hearts, and why our anatomy is so hard to replicate in the first place. Guest: Mary Roach is a science writer and the author of Replaceable You: Adventures in Human Anatomy. 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.

15/10/2025

•

19 min
23/12/2025

‘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 planet a million years ago, during the Ice Age. That’s the focus of the third season of the Apple TV series “Prehistoric Planet,” which uses the latest paleontology research and photorealistic CGI to reimagine the lives of ancient creatures. So far, the series has focused on dinosaurs, but now it’s taking that same approach to the huge and strange-looking animals that roamed the tundras and deserts of the Ice Age. Joining Host Ira Flatow to thaw out the new research featured in the show are two of its scientific consultants, paleontologist Darren Naish and La Brea Tar Pits curator Emily Lindsey. Guests: Dr. Darren Naish is a paleozoologist and author based in Southampton, U.K. Dr. Emily Lindsey is a paleoecologist, curator, and excavation site director at the La Brea Tar Pits and Museum in Los Angeles, California. Transcript available at sciencefriday.com. Subscribe to this podcast. Plus, to stay updated on all things science, sign up for Science Friday's newsletters.

23/12/2025

•

18 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.