Science, Quickly

Science Has New Ideas about 'Oumuamua's Weirdness

April 05, 2023 06:00 - 6 minutes

Our first known interstellar visitor is now long gone, but new research has some ideas about why it moved the way it did while it was in our cosmic neighborhood. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Open Offices Aren't Working, so How Do We Design an Office That Does?

April 03, 2023 06:00 - 12 minutes

Insights from Deaf and autistic communities could finally make office spaces better for everyone. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Cosmos, Quickly: Remembering the Genius of Vera Rubin

March 31, 2023 06:00 - 11 minutes

Vera Rubin went from a teenager with a cardboard telescope to the “mother of dark matter.” Some of her colleagues and mentees weigh in on her fascinating life and how she was a champion for women in astronomy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Long COVID's Roots in the Brain: Your Health, Quickly, Episode 3

March 29, 2023 06:00 - 12 minutes

Post-COVID symptoms can linger for months or years, and more and more evidence points to problems with the nervous system. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If AI Starts Making Music on Its Own, What Happens to Musicians?

March 27, 2023 06:00 - 16 minutes

Music made with artificial intelligence could upend the music industry. Here’s what that might look like. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Music-Making Artificial Intelligence Is Getting Scary Good

March 24, 2023 06:00 - 16 minutes

Google’s new AI model can generate entirely new music from text prompts. Here’s what they sound like. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Artificial Intelligence Helped Make the Coolest Song You've Heard This Week

March 22, 2023 06:00 - 14 minutes

Machine-learning algorithms are getting so good that they can translate Western instruments into Thai ones with ease. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Space Force Humor, Laser Dazzlers, and the Havoc a War in Space Would Actually Wreak

March 20, 2023 06:00 - 15 minutes

In the inaugural episode of Cosmos, Quickly, we blast off with Lt. Gen. Nina Armagno of the Space Force, who is charged with protecting our space in space, particularly from Russia and China. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Squeak Squeak, Buzz Buzz: How Researchers Are Using AI to Talk to Animals

March 17, 2023 06:00 - 11 minutes

The burgeoning field of “digital bioacoustics” is helping us understand animals like never before. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

RSV Vaccines Are Coming At Last: Your Health, Quickly, Episode 2

March 15, 2023 06:00 - 10 minutes

A vaccine pioneer tells us that shots to protect against RSV—a dangerous virus for babies and older people—are finally nearing approval. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If the Mathematical Constant Pi Was a Song, What Would It Sound Like?

March 14, 2023 06:00 - 10 minutes

Every year on Pi Day, we have a reason to celebrate one of math’s most famous symbols. But this year we speak to someone who has captured it in song. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How To Stop a (Potentially Killer) Asteroid

March 10, 2023 06:00 - 9 minutes

We slammed a $330-million spaceship the size of a dairy cow into an asteroid the size of the Great Pyramid of Giza. Here’s what we’re learning about how our first step in planetary defense could save us in the future. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Scientific Secret to Soothing Fussy Babies

March 08, 2023 06:00 - 6 minutes

Some animals’ babies physically relax when their parents whisk them away from danger. The same thing works for tiny, wailing humans. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How Helper Sharks Discovered the World's Largest Seagrass Ecosystem

March 06, 2023 06:00 - 6 minutes

Scientists partnered with tiger sharks to map seagrass—the unsung hero of ocean conservation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How the Woolly Bear Caterpillar Turns into a Popsicle to Survive the Winter

March 03, 2023 06:00 - 7 minutes

Some caterpillars have evolved with antifreeze in their body cavity, allowing them to become cater-Popsicles to survive cold winters. But climate change could threaten that. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Pandemic's Mental Toll, and Does Telehealth Work? Your Health, Quickly, Episode 1

March 01, 2023 06:00 - 11 minutes

Hosts Josh Fischman and Tanya Lewis explore the pandemic’s mental health toll on teens and young adults. They also delve into the effectiveness of telehealth, which has been booming since the start of the pandemic. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Does Not Being Able to Picture Something in Your Mind Affect Your Creativity?

February 27, 2023 08:30 - 7 minutes

Researchers who study aphantasia, or the inability to visualize something in your “mind’s eye,” are starting to get a sense of how to accurately measure the condition and what it may mean for those who have it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sorry, UFO Hunters--You Might Just Be Looking at a Spy Balloon

February 24, 2023 06:00 - 8 minutes

From space aliens to foreign surveillance, we spoke to experts to find out what’s really going on with the balloon brouhaha. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Building Resilience in the Face of Climate Change [Sponsored]

February 23, 2023 15:00 - 7 minutes

Successfully mitigating the impacts of climate change will rely heavily on innovation in science and technology. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How Do We Find Aliens? Maybe Unlearn What We Know About 'Life' First

February 22, 2023 06:00 - 9 minutes

Science might be redefining what “life out there” really means. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Love and the Brain: Do Partnerships Really Make Us Happy? Here's What the Science Says

February 20, 2023 07:00 - 16 minutes

How romance affects our well-being is a lot more complicated than “they lived happily ever after.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Love and the Brain: The Animal Matchmaker and the Panda Romeo and Juliet

February 17, 2023 06:00 - 12 minutes

In fair zoo-ona, a pair of star-cross’d pandas take their life. And we learn about whether or not animals can fall in love. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Love and the Brain: How Attached Are We to Attachment Styles?

February 15, 2023 07:00 - 12 minutes

Are you “anxious,” “avoidant” or “disorganized?” So-called attachment styles have taken the Internet by storm. But it turns out there’s a lot more to unpack than people think. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Love and the Brain, Part 1: The 36 Questions, Revisited

February 13, 2023 06:00 - 13 minutes

Host Shayla Love dives into the true story behind the now infamous 36 questions that lead to love. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Coming Soon to Your Podcast Feed: Science, Quickly

February 06, 2023 10:00 - 5 minutes

A new era in Scientific American audio history is about to drop starting next week. Get ready for a science variety show guaranteed to quench your curiosity in under 10 minutes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The 60-Second Podcast Takes a Short Break--But Wait, There's More

December 21, 2022 15:00 - 4 minutes

Scientific American’s short-form podcast has been going for 16 years, three months and seven days, counting today. But it’s time for us to evolve. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Is Your Phone Actually Draining Your Brain?

December 20, 2022 05:30 - 8 minutes

A new study puts the “brain drain hypothesis”—the idea that just having a phone next to you impacts your cognition—to the test to see if the science passes muster. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Why Your Dog Might Think You're a Bonehead

December 16, 2022 10:00 - 4 minutes

The verdict is in: female dogs actively evaluate human competence. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Alaska's Protective Sea Ice Wall Is Crumbling because of the Climate Crisis

December 14, 2022 15:00 - 8 minutes

A massive storm slammed into Alaska’s western coast, and there was no ice to stop it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's the Bass That Makes Us Boogie

December 09, 2022 12:00 - 6 minutes

Concertgoers danced more when music was supplemented with low-frequency bass tones. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How Vaccines Saved Money and Lives and China's Zero-COVID Protests: COVID, Quickly Podcast, Episode 44

December 06, 2022 05:45 - 8 minutes

Vaccines saved New York City billions of dollars, and China faces public fury over its strict virus-control policies. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

'Chatty Turtles' Flip the Script on the Evolutionary Origins of Vocalization in Animals

December 02, 2022 18:00 - 7 minutes

Recordings of more than 50 species of turtles and other animals help scientists reassess the origins of acoustic communication in vertebrates. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tardigrades, an Unlikely Sleeping Beauty

November 30, 2022 06:00 - 7 minutes

Researchers put this ancient critter through a subzero gauntlet to learn more about what happens to their internal clock while surviving the extreme. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A Burned Redwood Forest Tells a Story of Climate Change, Past, Present and Future

November 23, 2022 05:30 - 8 minutes

From the ashes of the giants of Big Basin Redwoods State Park arise a history of fire suppression and real questions about what happens to the forests in a drought-stricken West Coast going forward. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Antivirals Could Reduce Long COVID Risk and How Well the New Boosters Work: COVID, Quickly Podcast, Episode 43

November 22, 2022 05:30 - 6 minutes

In this new episode of our coronavirus podcast, we discuss a study that looked at the effects of Paxlovid on long COVID symptoms, and we also talk new bivalent boosters and immunity. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A Honeybee Swarm Has as Much Electric Charge as a Thundercloud

November 15, 2022 08:00 - 6 minutes

New research shows that bees “buzz” in more than the way you might think. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

These Punk Rock Penguins Have a Bizarre Breeding Strategy

November 11, 2022 15:30 - 3 minutes

New Zealand’s erect-crested penguin lays two eggs but rejects the first one—the opposite of how most birds prioritize their offspring. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Viral Triple Threat and Why You Need a Booster: COVID, Quickly, Episode 42

November 08, 2022 05:30 - 7 minutes

COVID, flu and RSV are surging. Here’s what you need to know to protect yourself. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What You Need to Know about Iran's Surveillance Tech

November 04, 2022 15:00 - 6 minutes

Scientific American technology editor Sophie Bushwick explains how Iran is using surveillance tech against vulnerable citizens. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Delivering Equitable Lung Cancer Care [Sponsored]

October 28, 2022 15:00 - 7 minutes

As recent advances improve the prospects of detecting and catching lung cancer early, a new challenge arises: how to ensure people worldwide, regardless of their socioeconomic circumstances, benefit from new clinical tools. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

New Halloween 'Scariant' Variants and Boosting Your Immunity: COVID, Quickly, Episode 41

October 25, 2022 05:30 - 8 minutes

In a new episode of the COVID, Quickly podcast, we talk about the variants that are likely to be around this winter and how boosters help even if you’ve already had the disease. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

These Hawks Have Figured Out How to See the Bat in the Swarm

October 21, 2022 15:00 - 5 minutes

New research shows that birds of prey attempting to grab a bat from a roiling mass of the flying mammals have developed a way to cope with the confusion. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Naps Not Needed to Make New Memories

October 14, 2022 14:00 - 6 minutes

Rats kept awake after exploring novel objects remembered the original items but not where they’d seen those objects, raising interesting questions about human sleep. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How the Pandemic Shortened Life Expectancy and New Drugs on the Horizon: COVID, Quickly, Episode 40

October 11, 2022 06:00 - 8 minutes

In this episode of the COVID, Quickly podcast, we talk about why we’ve had years shaved off our average collective life since 2020. Also, we talk about “mabs” and why you might want to know what they are. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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