Undiscovered

Science Friday and WNYC Studios

4.7 (751)
SCIENCE

A podcast about the left turns, missteps, and lucky breaks that make science happen.

08/07/2023

New Show: Universe of Art

Science Friday’s new podcast about science-inspired art is out now!

2 min
03/08/2020

New Show: Science Diction

Hello Undiscovered fans! We're here to tell you about a new show we've been working on at Science Friday. Science Diction is a podcast about words—and the science stories behind them. Hosted by SciFri producer and self-proclaimed word nerd Johanna Mayer, each episode of Science Diction digs into the origin of a single word or phrase, and, with the help of historians, authors, etymologists, and scientists, reveals a surprising science connection. Here's a sneak peek!

2 min
12/11/2019

Spontaneous Generation

These days, biologists believe all living things come from other living things. But for a long time, people believed that life would, from time to time, spontaneously pop into existence more often—and not just that one time at the base of the evolutionary tree. Even the likes of Aristotle believed in the “spontaneous generation” of life until Louis Pasteur debunked the theory—or so the story goes.

20 min
12/04/2019

Into The Ether

In 1880, scientist Albert Michelson set out to build a device to measure something every 19th century physicist knew just had to be there. The “luminiferous ether” was invisible and pervaded all of space. It helped explain how light traveled, and how electromagnetic waves waved. Ether theory even underpinned Maxwell’s famous equations! One problem: When Alfred Michaelson ran his machine, the ether wasn’t there. Science historian David Kaiser walks Annie and Science Friday host Ira Flatow through Michaelson’s famous experiment, and explains how a wrong idea led to some very real scientific breakthroughs. This story first aired on Science Friday. GUEST David Kaiser, Germeshausen Professor of the History of Science, Professor of Physics, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology FOOTNOTES Find out more about the Michelson-Morley experiment on APS Physics. Read an archival article from the New York Times about the physicists’ experimental “failure.” CREDITS This episode of Undiscovered was produced by Annie Minoff and Christopher Intagliata. Our theme music is by I Am Robot And Proud.

18 min
11/27/2019

Planet Of The Killer Apes

In Apartheid-era South Africa, a scientist uncovered a cracked, proto-human jawbone. That humble fossil would go on to inspire one of the most blood-spattered theories in all of paleontology: the “Killer Ape” theory. According to the Killer Ape theory, humans are killers—unique among the apes for our capacity for bloodthirsty murder and violence. And at a particularly violent moment in U.S. history, the idea stuck! It even made its way into one of the most iconic scenes in film history. Until a female chimp named Passion showed the world that we might not be so special after all.

24 min
11/20/2019

Like Jerry Springer For Bluebirds

“Do men need to cheat on their women?” a Playboy headline asked in the summer of 1978. Their not-so-surprising conclusion: Yes! Science says so! The idea that men are promiscuous by nature, while women are chaste and monogamous, is an old and tenacious one. As far back as Darwin, scientists were churning out theory and evidence that backed this up. In this episode, Annie and Elah go back to the 1970s and 1980s, when feminism and science come face to face, and it becomes clear that a lot of animals—humans and bluebirds included—are not playing by the rules.

26 min
03/28/2019

Mini: The Undercover Botanist

In 1767, a young French servant sailed around the world, collecting plants previously unknown to Western science. The ship’s crew knew the servant as “Jean,” the scrappy aide to the expedition’s botanist. But “Jean” had a secret. She was actually Jeanne Baret, a woman disguised as a man—and she was about to make botanical history. Annie and Elah told this story for a live audience at On Air Fest a few weeks ago.

16 min
12/17/2018

Mini: Cats, Villains At Heart

Undiscovered is back between seasons with a listener question: What saved the cats? If you rewind to the Middle Ages, cats and humans were on bad terms. Cat roundups, cat torture, and even cat murder were common occurrences throughout Europe. But a series of historic events steadily delivered the tiny felines into public favor. In a story that spans centuries and continents, the Catholic Church and the Rosetta Stone, Elah and Annie investigate how the cat’s reputation shifted from devil’s minion to adored companion.

11 min

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TRAILER

Undiscovered Is Back For Season 2

Annie and Elah are back with tales of dinosaurs, robots, and more!

09/04/2018

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2 min

4.7

out of 5

751 Ratings

But…

11/21/2022

reviewflower

Hey podcasters, note that vitamin B12 is not lacking from the diets of millions of vegan Indians, not to speak of those vegans who eat a varied diet including traditional components. B12 is actually produced by fermentation. Pickle, being a common indigenous food where food preservation by refrigeration isn’t a universal given, provides B12
Such a Wonderful Podcast

03/26/2021

scamdestroyer

I would love to know why it seems like many women seem to talk with a gruffy voice thats sounds terribly like they needed to clear their throat (yesterday)! I find it so annoying to listen to that many times I stop listening. This episode today was a good example. The Eagles portion was the most irritating.
Just Wanna Say Somethin’

11/27/2020

camdenM1561

Oki... I like this podcast. My dad listens to this at work, and on a night where I couldn’t sleep, (I can never sleep.) he put on an episode: I, Robovie. It didn't help me sleep, just gave me something to listen to while I try to sleep. It is extremely boring to lie in bed for hours, as you may know if you have the same problem. edit: hello
iCry

01/29/2020

Clash of kings version 2.0

Just recently found your show, fell in love, then figured out the show is ending. I cry now.