Best Science Friday and WNYC Studios Podcasts (2025)

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As Companies Build Data Centers For AI, Communities Push Back 11:48

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11h ago11:48

11:48

There’s an enormous buildout of data centers underway across the country to fuel the AI boom. Hundreds of billions of dollars have already been spent on data centers, with talk of spending trillions more. And these data centers use a lot of power: According to the Times Picuayune, Meta’s new data center under construction in Louisiana will require …

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A Toast To Bats That Pollinate Agave, And Tracking Monarchs 18:28

1d ago18:28

18:28

You might think about bats as flitting around in the dark and hunting insects, but some species feed on fruits or flowers—and play an important role as pollinators. One place that role is crucial is in the relationship between bats and agave plants. Bat conservationist Kristen Lear joins Host Ira Flatow to describe efforts to restore agaves in the …

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A Startling Plan To Save Spotted Owls—From Barred Owls 16:10

2d ago16:10

16:10

The spotted owl has been a conservation flashpoint for more than 30 years. While habitat loss has been their historic foe, their most recent threat comes from within the owl family tree: the barred owl. Barred owls have expanded into the Pacific Northwest and are now outcompeting spotted owls for food and habitat. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service…

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Can A Microbe Conservation Movement Take Off? 12:34

3d ago12:34

12:34

A team of scientists is trying to jumpstart a global conservation movement, on par with efforts to save the rainforests or protect the oceans. But it might be even more ambitious because the target of their quest is invisible, everywhere, and mostly something we try to hand-sanitize away: microbes. So how do you conserve something that is everywher…

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How To Tap Into The Hidden Histories Of Rocks 19:12

4d ago19:12

19:12

When we try to commune with nature, many of us turn toward the living: a walk in the woods among swaying trees, chirping birds, blooming flowers. But earth scientist Anjana Khatwa says not to overlook the inanimate—don’t sleep on rocks. She joins Host Flora Lichtman to talk about her love for rocks beyond the scientific and her new book, The Whispe…

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Fingernails And Indigestion At The 2025 Ig Nobel Prizes 47:56

7d ago47:56

47:56

Each year, the Ig Nobel Prizes recognize scientific research that first makes you laugh, then makes you think. For instance, researchers who investigated the pizza preferences of lizards on the island of Togo. Or a man who kept track of his fingernail growth for 35 years. As is Thanksgiving tradition, we’re sharing highlights from this year’s Ig No…

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Why Is Working Out Good For Your Mental Health? 17:27

8d ago17:27

17:27

A good workout can make you feel triumphant. And even if that isn’t your relationship with exercise, you’ve probably heard that working out can lift your mood, fight depression, and make you more resilient when life knocks back. But why exactly does exercise improve mental health? Is it all about those endorphins? Does the type or duration of a wor…

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Everything You Never Knew About Squash And Pumpkins 12:11

9d ago12:11

12:11

It’s a wonderful time of the year: squash, pumpkin, and gourd season. But how do those giant, award-winning pumpkins grow so big? And what’s the difference between a gourd and a squash? In a conversation from 2023, Ira talks with Dr. Chris Hernandez, director of the University of New Hampshire’s squash, pumpkin, and melon breeding program to explor…

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Where Does Plastic And Other Trash Go After We Throw It Away? 18:29

10d ago18:29

18:29

Have you ever gotten to the end of, say, a jar of peanut butter and wondered if it should go in trash or recycling? If it’s worth rinsing out? And where will it actually end up? Journalist Alexander Clapp had those same questions, and went to great lengths to answer them—visiting five continents to chronicle how our trash travels. Along the way, he…

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‘A Many-Headed Beast’: Telling The Story Of Cancer 18:43

11d ago18:43

18:43

Twenty years ago, a young oncologist started journaling to process his experience treating cancer patients. That cathartic act became the Pulitzer Prize-winning book The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer. Fifteen years after the book was published, how has our understanding of preventing and treating cancer changed? Host Flora Lichtman…

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African Grey Parrots Are Popular—And It’s Fueling Illegal Trade 13:45

14d ago13:45

13:45

African grey parrots are internet stars. It’s easy to see why—the charismatic birds sing, tell jokes, and sling profanities. But how do the endangered birds get from African forests to your feed? Wildlife crime reporter Rene Ebersole joins Host Flora Lichtman to describe her investigation into the global parrot trade, and the black market for wild …

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Attention, Trivia Nerds! It’s A Food Science Fact Feast 12:01

15d ago12:01

12:01

After years of getting your emails and phone calls, we know that SciFri listeners are in the 99th percentile when it comes to nerdy knowledge. We’re putting your fact retention skills to the test with the first ever Super Food Science Excellence Trivia Blowout (SFSETBO). Host Flora Lichtman teams up with trivia kingpin Mangesh Hattikudur, co-host o…

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Can Animal Super-Agers Teach Us Their Secrets? 18:40

16d ago18:40

18:40

Some animals have a very different relationship to aging than we do: They don’t get cancer, they never go through menopause, and they live absurdly long lives. For instance, one bat species can live for more than 40 years, which may not sound like very long but that’s about nine times longer than expected based on its size. For comparison, if we ag…

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How Alphafold Has Changed Biology Research, 5 Years On 18:08

17d ago18:08

18:08

Proteins are crucial for life. They're made of amino acids that “fold” into millions of different shapes. And depending on their structure, they do radically different things in our cells. For a long time, predicting those shapes for research was considered a grand biological challenge. But in 2020, Google’s AI lab DeepMind released Alphafold, a to…

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How A Woodpecker Pecks Wood, And How Ants Crown A Queen 18:32

18d ago18:32

18:32

If you’ve heard the hammering of a woodpecker in the woods, you might have wondered how the birds can be so forceful. What does it take to whack your head against a tree repeatedly, hard enough to drill a hole? A team of researchers wondered that too and set out to investigate, by putting tiny muscle monitors on eight downy woodpeckers and recordin…

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Memories Change. But Can We Change Them On Purpose? 18:39

21d ago18:39

18:39

Our memories make us who we are—just ask Barbra Streisand. But despite the lyrics in many popular songs, memories aren’t frozen in time. When we call them up, the details shift and change. And neuroscience research shows that we might be able to take that a step further—to manipulate our memories and even implant false ones. Neuroscientist Steve Ra…

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Bearded Vulture Nests Hold Trove Of Centuries-Old Artifacts 12:41

22d ago12:41

12:41

Bearded vultures build giant, elaborate nests that are passed down from generation to generation. And according to a new study, some of these scavengers have collected bits and bobs of human history over the course of centuries. Scientists picked apart 12 vulture nests preserved in Spain and discovered a museum collection’s worth of objects, includ…

Science Friday And WNYC Studios Podcasts

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Science Friday

Science Friday and WNYC Studios

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Undiscovered

Science Friday and WNYC Studios

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Universe of Art

Science Friday and WNYC Studios

1
SciFri

SciFri

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Science Diction

Science Friday and WNYC Studios

1
As Companies Build Data Centers For AI, Communities Push Back 11:48

1
A Toast To Bats That Pollinate Agave, And Tracking Monarchs 18:28

1
A Startling Plan To Save Spotted Owls—From Barred Owls 16:10

1
Can A Microbe Conservation Movement Take Off? 12:34

1
How To Tap Into The Hidden Histories Of Rocks 19:12

1
Fingernails And Indigestion At The 2025 Ig Nobel Prizes 47:56

1
Why Is Working Out Good For Your Mental Health? 17:27

1
Everything You Never Knew About Squash And Pumpkins 12:11

1
Where Does Plastic And Other Trash Go After We Throw It Away? 18:29

1
‘A Many-Headed Beast’: Telling The Story Of Cancer 18:43

1
African Grey Parrots Are Popular—And It’s Fueling Illegal Trade 13:45

1
Attention, Trivia Nerds! It’s A Food Science Fact Feast 12:01

1
Can Animal Super-Agers Teach Us Their Secrets? 18:40

1
How Alphafold Has Changed Biology Research, 5 Years On 18:08

1
How A Woodpecker Pecks Wood, And How Ants Crown A Queen 18:32

1
Memories Change. But Can We Change Them On Purpose? 18:39

1
Bearded Vulture Nests Hold Trove Of Centuries-Old Artifacts 12:41