1,078 episodes
Short Wave Short Wave
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- Science
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4.7 • 5.8K Ratings
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New discoveries, everyday mysteries, and the science behind the headlines — in just under 15 minutes. It's science for everyone, using a lot of creativity and a little humor. Join hosts Emily Kwong and Regina Barber for science on a different wavelength.If you're hooked, try Short Wave Plus. Your subscription supports the show and unlocks a sponsor-free feed. Learn more at plus.npr.org/shortwave
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How Israel Is Using Facial Recognition In Gaza
After the Hamas attack of Oct. 7 triggered Israel's invasion of the Gaza Strip, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians began fleeing from the North of Gaza to the South. As they fled, many Palestinians reported passing through checkpoints with cameras. Israel had previously used facial recognition software in the West Bank, and some Palestinians reached out to The New York Times reporter Sheera Frenkel to investigate whether the same was happening in Gaza.
Science correspondent Geoff Brumfiel talks to Frenkel about how Israel launched this facial recognition system in Gaza late last year with the help of private companies and Google photos.
Read Frenkel's full article.
Want to hear us cover more stories about AI? Email us at shortwave@npr.org.
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Who's At Risk For Uterine Fibroids? Most Women
Fibroids are benign uterine tumors. So why does it matter that the majority of people with a uterus will have one before they are 50 years old? Physician Rachell Bervell, founder of the Black OBGYN Project, explains that when symptoms arise, they can be quite serious — from extreme menstrual bleeding to fertility problems. Plus, why they're very likely to affect you or a loved one.
Curious about other health issues? Email us at shortwave@npr.org.
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What are sperm whales saying? Researchers find a complex 'alphabet'
Scientists are testing the limits of artificial intelligence when it comes to language learning. One recent challenge? Learning ... whale! Researchers are using machine learning to analyze and decode whale sounds — and it's just as complicated as it seems.
Curious about other mysteries of nature? Email us at shortwave@npr.org.
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Scientists Reveal Mysterious Origin of Baobab Trees, Rafiki's Home in 'The Lion King'
Baobabs are sometimes called the "tree of life" with their thick trunks, crown of branches and flowers that only open at twilight. But theories about their geographic origin was divided among three places: the savannas of sub-Saharan Africa, the Kimberley region of western Australia and the dry forests of the island nation of Madagascar. To solve this mystery, a global research team led by scientists at the Wuhan Botanical Garden at the Chinese Academy of Sciences examined high-quality genomic data from all eight baobab species.
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Climate Change Is Coming For Your Chocolate
Chocolate may never be the same. The majority of chocolate is made in just two countries and erratic weather from climate change is decreasing cocoa production. A handful of extreme weather events—from drought to heavy rainfall—could have lasting effects on the chocolate industry. Yasmin Tayag, a food, health and science writer at The Atlantic, talks to host Emily Kwong about the cocoa shortage: What's causing it, how it's linked to poor farming conditions and potential solutions. Plus, they enjoy a chocolate alternative taste test.
Read Yasmin's full article.
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How AI Is Cracking The Biology Code
As artificial intelligence seeps into some realms of society, it rushes into others. One area it's making a big difference is protein science — as in the "building blocks of life," proteins! Producer Berly McCoy talks to host Emily Kwong about the newest advance in protein science: AlphaFold3, an AI program from Google DeepMind. Plus, they talk about the wider field of AI protein science and why researchers hope it will solve a range of problems, from disease to the climate.
Have other aspects of AI you want us to cover? Email us at shortwave@npr.org.
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Customer Reviews
Response to a reviewer
When was their ever easiest and sexiest comments I’ve been listening for several years now and have not heard one. Great podcast! Don’t listen to the negative reviews!
Terrible Ad To Content Ratio
I’ve been a member of my local public radio for decades, and the fact that this podcast has a significantly lower content-to-ad ratio than the for-profit podcasts I listen to is insulting. Why did I donate all these years to get more advertising in your podcast than anywhere rlse? And on top of it, it seems like every other week that subscription only episodes show up in my feed and stay there as if the non subscription version was forgotten. No, I’m not paying a monthly fee to individual shows as a public radio member. I gave you plenty of money already. I get times are tough but to hear NPR shilling for energy companies, reading their greenwashing messages and helping them blame the consumer is sickening. Or plugging for online therapy companies who got caught (and fined a pittance for) sharing patient data with advertisers. Sickening.
Strip away the ads (oops, “sponsor messages”) and fix the chronic “we forgot to release the non-subscription version” issues, and you have a somewhat decent podcast that has improved a bit lately by focusing a bit more on the science and a bit less on the storytelling without eliminating it. But I probably should just unsubscribe (and cancel my membership) and save the frustration.
Stop calling scientists “nerds”
The content is excellent, but the hosts sound like school teachers working hard to get a bunch of middle school kids excited about science. I really hate that researchers are always described as “nerds” about their subject. It sounds so juvenile. Are you going to call oncologists “cancer nerds”? Know your audience. If someone is listening to this podcast, they are likely already interested in science. You don’t have to work so hard to be enthusiastic.