It?s likely you have at least one ?guilty pleasure.? Maybe it?s romance novels. Or reality TV? Playing video games? or getting swept into obscure corners of TikTok. Neuroscientists say the pleasure response helps us survive as a species. So why do we feel embarrassed by some of the things we love the most? Even if you don't have these negative emotions, experiencing ? and studying ? pleasure is not as straightforward as it might seem. For a long time, neuroscientists thought the concept of "pleasure" referred to a singular system in the brain. But as research into the subject grew, scientists realized that pleasure is really a cycle of "wanting" and "liking" ? each with separate neural mechanisms. Today on the show, producer Rachel Carlson explores this cycle with researchers, who weigh in on the science of pleasure. Even the kind that makes us feel guilty. 

Read more of Rachel?s story on guilty pleasures. 

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When producer Berly McCoy was out on her local frozen lake, she saw something she'd never seen before. There were dark spidery, star-shaped patterns in the ice and they freaked her out. So, we called an expert to find out more about them. In today?s episode, geophysicist Victor Tsai tells us about lake stars and how he became the first person to scientifically prove how they form. Plus, he explains how knowing more about lake stars can potentially give us clues about the presence of water on Europa, one of Jupiter?s icy moons.

Read Victor Tsai?s full paper on lake stars here.

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In 1999 hundreds of gray whales washed up along the west coast of North America. More in 2000. They lost an estimated 25% of their population. But then the whale population recovered and people moved on. Until it happened again in 2019. And 2020, and 2021. It?s still happening today. Host Regina G. Barber dives into this mystery with marine ecologist Joshua Stewart, who explains how scientists like himself solved it ? and the tough questions that came up along the way. 

Check out our Sea Camp series and our limited run Sea Camp newsletter, featuring deep dives into research, cute critters and games!

Interested in more ocean mysteries? Email us your question at [email protected].

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Today, guest host Selena Simmons-Duffin is exploring a detail very personal to her: How the number of older brothers a person has can influence their sexuality.

Scientific research on sexuality has a dark history, with long-lasting harmful effects on queer communities. Much of the early research has also been debunked over time. But not this "fraternal birth order effect." The fact that a person's likelihood of being gay increases with each older brother has been found all over the world ? from Turkey to North America, Brazil, the Netherlands and beyond. Today, Selena gets into all the details: What this effect is, how it's been studied and what it can (and can't) explain about sexuality.


Interested in the science of our closest relatives? Check out more stories in NPR's series on the Science of Siblings.

Email us at [email protected] ? we'd love to hear from you.

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Paleontologists have often determined how old a dinosaur was by counting the growth rings in its bones. Just like with trees, it was thought that each ring corresponded to a single year of age. But researchers who studied crocodiles at an outdoor recreation center near Cape Town appear to have poked a hole in that approach. In the crocodiles, which are some of the closest living relatives of dinosaurs, there was more than one growth ring laid down per year. The results contribute to a growing debate over the best way to age animals.

Read more of freelance science reporter Ari Daniel?s story here.

Interested in more on the future of science? Email us your question at [email protected].

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Teens aren?t getting enough sleep! And a two-decade study suggests it?s getting worse. Scientists found that the number of high schoolers getting insufficient sleep ? less than seven hours a night ? has increased from 69% to 77%. The throughline? There wasn?t one. Teens had bad sleep habits across most demographics, including race, gender and grade level. The findings were published this week in the journal JAMA.

Interested in more science behind recent headlines? Email us your question at [email protected].

For more about earthquake science ? and the Cascadia Fault in particular ? check out our recent episode on the Pacific Northwest?s Big One.

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In his role as secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is changing how the United States approaches vaccines. But those changes aren?t limited to the United States. NPR global health correspondent Gabrielle Emanuel joins Short Wave to talk about two examples of how the global public health landscape may be shifting. First, the United States? ultimatum to an international vaccine group. Second, the uncertain fate of a vaccine trial. Some researchers are calling the trial a ?unique? opportunity, and others are calling it ?unethical.? 


Read more of global health correspondent Gabrielle Emanuel?s work here.


Interested in more global health? Email us your question at [email protected].


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If you?ve been on the internet in the past few weeks, chances are you?ve seen him: a tiny gray-brown monkey dragging a big, stuffed orangutan around Japan?s Ichikawa Zoo. His name? Punch-kun, or Punch for short. His story? Early abandonment by his mother, careful treatment from local zookeepers and instant social media fame. But are all the (human) primates jumping to Punch?s defense justified? And what?s normal for Japanese macaque society, anyway? To find out, NPR?s Katia Riddle chats with psychology professor and animal expert Lauren Robinson.

Interested in more animal science? Email us your question at [email protected].

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Lakes are freezing later, thawing earlier and experiencing dramatic temperature swings in between. And all that throws off the delicate balance of life below the surface. And that has a major impact on the roughly 1.7 million ice fishers in the U.S. who spend millions of dollars buying equipment and guide services each year. Producer Berly McCoy explains how scientists are tracking those ecological changes by getting out on the ice ? to fish. 


Interested in more freshwater science? Email us your question at [email protected].


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Over half a billion people live by lakes that freeze over in the winter. But as the climate warms, those lakes are losing whole days of ice cover. Winters are also getting weirder, with more intense temperature swings that lead to multiple freezes and thaws. Those fluctuations make the ice less safe, and more likely for people to fall through as they walk. So, today, producer Berly McCoy gets into how these changes are altering culture, community and safety on the ice ? plus, how firefighters train for rescues. 

This is the first in a two-part series on how lake ice is changing. Check out Monday?s episode for part two!

Check out photos from Berly?s reporting trip to Madison, Wisconsin.

Interested in more winter science? Email us your question at [email protected].

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Folks over 65 are putting in a lot of screen time. In 2019, the Pew Research Center found that people 60 years and older spend more than half their daily leisure time in front of screens, mostly watching TV or videos. Since the pandemic, that screen time has increased. Is addiction on the rise? And what?s the best use of screen time for any of us? We?re parsing out all the questions with Ipsit Vahia, the Chief of Geriatric Psychiatry at McLean Hospital. 


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Helicopters. Cargo containers. Old washing machines. For years, fishermen dumped this waste into the Gulf of Mexico. But they weren?t just trying to get rid of junk; they were trying to create artificial reefs that would help attract fish. For this month?s Nature Quest, WWNO coastal reporter Eva Tesfaye takes a (metaphorical) dive into the gulf to find out if Alabama?s ocean junkyard is an economic ? and environmental ? solution.

Want to learn more about artificial reefs? Check out WWNO's podcast Sea Change for more reporting from Eva and her colleagues.

This episode is part of Nature Quest, our monthly segment that brings you a question from a Short Waver who is noticing a change in the world around them.
Send a voice memo to [email protected] telling us your name, location and a question about a change you're seeing in nature ? it could be our next Nature Quest episode!

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Bring up aliens and a lot of people will scoff. But not everyone is laughing. Around the turn of the century, 3.8 million people banded together in a real-time search for aliens ? with screensavers. It was a big moment in a century-long concerted search for extraterrestrial intelligence. So far, alien life hasn't been found. But for scientists like astronomer James Davenport, that doesn't mean the hunt is worthless. It doesn't mean we should give up. No, according to Davenport, the search is only getting more exciting as new technology opens up a whole new landscape of possibilities. So, today, we're revisiting our episode on the evolving hunt for alien life. 


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Almost 15% of adults suffer from a persistent, often intolerable sound... that is literally just in their heads. Why does the brain do this to us? We help one of our listeners get some answers.

This is the second episode of a five-part series called The Sound Barrier from our friends at Vox's Unexplainable podcast.Guests: Stéphane Maison, director of the tinnitus clinic at Mass Eye and Ear and Dan Polley, tinnitus researcher at Mass Eye and Ear


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From TikTok and Instagram influencers to celebrities like Hugh Jackman and Kourtney Kardashian, intermittent fasting has gotten a lot of hype. The diet restricts what time you eat rather than what or how much you eat. The idea is that short periods of fasting cause your body to burn through stored fat reserves. But is that conventional wisdom true? And can it really contribute to weight loss? Regina G. Barber and Rachel Carlson tackle those questions ? plus why some researchers are rethinking how to protect people's mental health when talking to chatbots and how ultra-endurance running changes the human body.


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The 2026 Winter Olympics are unfolding in Milan and Cortina, and we can?t look away: We?re watching athletes fly down mountains on skis and glide ? sometimes slipping and falling ? on the ice. Vikram Chib studies performance and how the brain responds to rewards at Johns Hopkins University. And he says rewards aren?t just for Olympians; they?re baked into basically everything humans do. But those rewards and the pressure that comes with them can come at a cost to people?s brains. And even Olympians are human. Sometimes, we crack. So, today, Vikram dives into the science behind choking under pressure. 


Interested in more Olympics science? Email us your question at [email protected] ? we may cover it in a future episode!


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Picture this: You?re at a pretend tea party, but instead of sitting across from toddlers in tiaras, you?re clinking cups with Kanzi?an ape with the incredible ability to communicate with humans. NPR science correspondent Nate Rott talked to some scientists who did exactly that. But these scientists weren?t just having pretend tea parties with Kanzi for fun, they were trying to test the limits of his imagination ? because humans? ability to play out ?pretend? scenarios in our heads and guess at the potential consequences of our actions is key to how we live our lives. And we might not be the only animals to do it!

For more of Nate?s reporting, plus videos of Kanzi, check out the full story on NPR here. Chris Krupenye?s study can be found here.


If you liked this episode, you might also like our episode on bonobos and the evolution of niceness, and what insights monkeys offer us for the evolution of human speech. 


Interested in more science about our brains and their abilities? Email us your question at [email protected].


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Early last year, a hundred researchers, clinicians and other experts on HIV discussed the development of an innovative vaccine that could prevent the disease. But just as the meeting was about to wrap up, the mood darkened. A new executive order signed by President Trump on Inauguration day had frozen all foreign aid, pending a review. Soon, DOGE would begin its decimation of USAID ? and with it, this vaccine trial. That is ? until the South African researchers came up with a new plan. 

Read more of freelance science reporter Ari Daniel?s story here.

This story was supported by a grant from the Pulitzer Center.

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The evolutionary purpose of kissing has long eluded scientists. Smooching is risky, given things like pointy teeth, and inherently gross, given an estimated 80 million bacteria are transferred in a 10 second kiss. And yet, from polar bears to humans, albatrosses and prairie dogs, many animals kiss. So, what gives? Evolutionary biologist Matilda Brindle tells us the sordid details driving this behavior, what distinguishes different kinds of kissing and whether culture has anything to do with why people kiss.

Interested in more of the science behind love and connection? Email us your question at [email protected].


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It seems like artificial intelligence is everywhere in our virtual lives. It's in our search results and our phones. But what happens when AI moves out of the chat and into the real world? NPR science editor and correspondent Geoff Brumfiel took a trip to the Intelligence through Robotic Interaction at Scale Lab at Stanford University to see how scientists are using AI to power robots and the large hurtles that exist for them to perform even simple tasks. (encore)

Read Geoff's full story.Interested in more AI stories? Email us your ideas at [email protected].Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave.

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Watching a ski jumper fly through the air might get you wondering, ?How do they do that?? The answer is ? physics!

That?s why this episode, we have two physicists ? Amy Pope, a physicist from Clemson University and host Regina G. Barber ? break down the science at play across some of the sports at the 2026 Winter Olympics. Because what?s a sport without a little friction, lift and conservation of energy? They also get into the new sport this year, ski mountaineering - or ?skimo? as many call it - and the recent scandal involving the men?s ski jump suits. 

Interested in more science behind Olympic sports? Check out our episodes on how extreme G-forces affect Olympic bobsledders, the physics of figure skating and the science behind Simone Biles' Olympic gold. 


Also, we?d love to know what science questions have you stumped. Email us your questions at [email protected] ? we may solve it for you on a future episode!


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In 1928, a chance contaminant in Scottish physician Alexander Fleming?s lab experiment led to a discovery that would change the field of medicine forever: penicillin. Since then, penicillin and other antibiotics have saved millions of lives. With one problem: the growing threat of antibiotic resistance. Today on Short Wave, host Regina G. Barber talks to biophysicist Nathalie Balaban from Hebrew University about the conundrum ? and a discovery her lab has made in bacteria that could turn the tides.


Check out our episodes on extreme bacteria in Yellowstone and the last universal common ancestor. 


Interested in more science behind our medicines? Email us your question at [email protected].


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This episode was produced by Berly McCoy, edited by our showrunner Rebecca Ramirez and fact checked by Tyler Jones. Jimmy Keeley was the audio engineer.

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Rhythm is everywhere. Even if you don?t think you have it, it?s fundamental to humans? biological systems. Our heartbeat is rhythmic. Speech is rhythmic. Even as babies, humans can track basic rhythm. Researchers wanted to find out if there were more layers to this: Could babies also track melody and more complicated rhythms? So they played Bach for a bunch of sleeping newborns and monitored the babies? brains to see if they could predict the next note. What they found offers clues about whether melody and rhythm are hard-wired in the human brain or learned over time. We also get into what powers the eating habits of some snakes and chameleons, and insights into the role of sleep in problem-solving.


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This episode was produced by Jordan-Marie Smith and Rachel Carlson. It was edited by Rebecca Ramirez and Christopher Intagliata. Tyler Jones checked the facts. The audio engineers were Jimmy Keeley and Hannah Gluvna. 

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Olympic sliding sports ? bobsled, luge and skeleton ? are known for their speed. Athletes chase medals down a track of ice at up to 80 or 90 mph. With this thrill comes the risk of ?sled head.? Athletes use the term to explain the dizziness, nausea, exhaustion and even blackouts that can follow a brain-rattling run. Untreated, this can turn into concussions and subconcussions. But there?s still a lot more to learn about this condition. So today, host Emily Kwong speaks with two experts about the medical research into sled head ? and how the sport would need to change to protect athletes? brain health.

Check out more of NPR?s Olympics coverage.

Interested in more Olympic science? Email us your question at [email protected].

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Autism has a long history of misinformation that continues to today. The Trump administration has perpetuated some of this misinformation in the last year. Among other things, officials have claimed certain groups of people don?t get the condition and that taking Tylenol while pregnant causes autism to later develop in children. Today, NPR Science Correspondent Jon Hamilton sets the record straight with host Emily Kwong on what scientists do and don?t know about autism. 


If you liked this episode, check out our episodes on an Autism researcher?s take on Trump?s claims about Tylenol and a Fragile X treatment that may be on the horizon.


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This episode was produced by Berly McCoy. It was edited by Rebecca Ramirez. Tyler Jones checked the facts. The audio engineer was Damian Herring.

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PFAS make pans nonstick, clothes waterproof and furniture stain resistant. They're so ubiquitous, they're even inside of us. Now, researchers are looking for more insights in firefighters' blood.

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On Jan. 28, 1986, NASA?s 25th space shuttle mission, Challenger, left the launchpad in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Seventy-three seconds into flight, Challenger exploded over the Atlantic Ocean as millions of people watched. All seven people on board died. Now, forty years later, journalist Adam Higginbotham chronicles what went wrong. His book Challenger: A True Story of Heroism and Disaster on the Edge of Space pieces together stories from key officials, engineers and the families of those killed in the explosion ? and details how its legacy still haunts spaceflight today. 


Consider checking out our episode speaking to an astronaut while she?s in space.


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This past weekend, Winter Storm Fern struck the States. Sleet, snow and ice battered Americans all the way from New Mexico to New York. Scientists predicted its arrival in mid-January, and in anticipation of the storm, more than 20 state governors issued emergency declarations. But how did scientists know so much, so early, about the approaching storm? NPR climate reporter Rebecca Hersher says it has to do with our weather models? and the data we put into them. Which begs the question: Will we continue to invest in them?

Interested in more science behind the weather? Check out our episodes on better storm prediction in the tropics and how the Santa Ana winds impact the fire season this time of year. 


Have a question we haven?t covered? Email us at [email protected]. We?d love to consider it for a future episode! 


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This episode was produced by Hannah Chinn. It was edited by our showrunner Rebecca Ramirez. Tyler Jones and Rebecca Hersher checked the facts. The audio engineer was Robert Rodriguez. 

News clips were from CBS Boston, Fox Weather, Fox 4 Dallas-Fort Worth, and PBS Newshour.

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Listener Shabnam Khan has a problem: Every time she works in her garden, she?s visited by lizards and frogs. Shabnam has lived in the metro Atlanta area for decades, and she says this number of scaly, clammy visitors has exploded over the past few years. Frogs croak at night; lizards sun on the cement. And she wants to know, where did all of these animals come from? It turns out, there are a number of potential answers ? from small-scale environmental changes like natural plants and new water sources to large-scale shifts like urbanization and development displacing local wildlife. On this month?s Nature Quest, host Emily Kwong and producer Hannah Chinn discuss the possibilities ? and impacts ? of these changes.

If you live in the Atlanta area and are interested in volunteering with MAAMP (the Metro Atlanta Amphibian Monitoring Program), you can sign up for training here.

This episode is part of Nature Quest, our monthly segment that brings you a question from a fellow listener who is noticing a change in the world around them.

Send a voice memo to [email protected] telling us your name, location and a question about a change you?re seeing in nature ? it could be our next Nature Quest episode!

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There?s an ongoing, near-total blackout of the internet in Iran. The shutdown is part of a response by the government to ongoing protests against rising inflation and the value of the nation?s currency plummeting. Since protests began more than two weeks ago, only an estimated 3% of Iranians have stayed online through the satellite internet system Starlink. Doing so is a crime. So, today on the show: Iran offline. We get into how the internet works, how a government can shut it down and how scientists are monitoring the nation?s connectivity from afar.

Check out more of NPR's coverage of Iran: 

- Iran Protests Explained

- There's an internet blackout in Iran. How are videos and images getting out?

- Iran blocked the internet amid deadly protests. Some voices are still getting through

Interested in more science behind the headlines? Email us your question at [email protected] ? we may tackle it in a future episode!

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A new study shows penguins are breeding earlier than ever in the Antarctic Peninsula. This region is one of the fastest-warming areas of the world due to climate change, and penguins time their breeding period to environmental conditions. That?s everything from the temperature outside and whether there?s ice on the ground to what food is available. Changes in those conditions could contribute to mating changes. Plus, answers to a debate about how ice melts and how dirty diapers train parents in the art of disgust. 


Have a scientific question you want us to answer? Email us at [email protected].


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This episode was produced by Jason Fuller and Rachel Carlson. It was edited by Rebecca Ramirez and Christopher Intagliata. Tyler Jones checked the facts. The audio engineers were Kwesi Lee and Hannah Gluvna.

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Cloud 9 is a failed galaxy. It?s a clump of dark matter, called a dark matter halo, that never formed stars. But this failure could be the key to a mystery almost as old as the universe itself: dark matter. Scientists don?t know what dark matter is, but Cloud 9 could offer new clues. Three researchers weigh in on this new discovery and why it could be a missing piece to the story on how the universe formed.


Check out our episode with astrophysicist Jorge Moreno on the mysterious Great Attractor and our summer series on space. 


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Medical drama The Pitt is winning Golden Globes? and health care workers? hearts. Medical experts say the show, which chronicles a fictional Pittsburgh hospital emergency department, is perhaps the most medically accurate show that?s ever been created. But what about The Pitt makes it so accurate? and does the second season hold up as well as the first? Stanford Global Health Media Fellow (and fourth-year medical school student) Michal Ruprecht joins Short Wave to discuss.

Have a question about YOUR favorite show and whether science supports it? Email us at [email protected].


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This episode was produced by Hannah Chinn. It was edited by Rebecca Ramirez. Tyler Jones checked the facts. The audio engineer was Maggie Luthar.

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In today's episode, host Emily Kwong leads us on a night hike in Patuxent River State Park in Maryland. Alongside a group of naturalists led by Serenella Linares, we'll meet a variety of species with unique survival quirks and wintertime adaptations. We'll search out lichen that change color under UV light and flip over a wet log to track a salamander keeping warm under wet leaves. Emily may even meet the bioluminescent mushrooms of her dreams. Plus, we talk about community events to get outside, such as the City Nature Challenge and Great American Campout.

Do you have a question about changes in your local environment? Email a recording of your question to [email protected] ? we may investigate it as part of an upcoming Nature Quest segment!

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Wanna know where tech is headed this year? MIT Technology Review has answers. They compile an annual list called "10 Breakthrough Technologies". Today, host Regina G. Barber speaks with executive editor Amy Nordrum about the list, and they get into everything from commercial space stations and base-edited babies to batteries that could make electric vehicles even more green. We also do a lightning round of honorable mentions you won't want to miss out on!


Check out the full list from MIT Technology Review.

Interested in more science? Check out our episode on last year?s top 10 technologies to watch and our episode on building structures in space.

Email us your questions at [email protected].

Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave.

This episode was produced by Berly McCoy. It was edited and fact-checked by Rebecca Ramirez. The audio engineer was Robert Rodriguez.

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There?s this idea that something happens in the human brain when we turn 25. Suddenly, we can rent a car without fees. Make rational decisions. We may even regret some of our past? indiscretions. All because we?re developed?right? Well, a recent paper in the journal Nature suggests that may not be the case. Neuroscientists found four distinct turning points in brain development across the human lifespan ? and that the brain may be in its ?adolescent? phase until about the age of 32. 


Interested in more of the science inside your brain? Email us your question at [email protected].


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This episode was produced by Rachel Carlson. It was edited by Rebecca Ramirez. Tyler Jones checked the facts. The audio engineer was Kwesi Lee.

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In the mid-1980s, scientists published a startling finding?a giant hole in the ozone layer over Antarctica. That?s the protective shield that blocks large amounts of harmful UV radiation. And without it, the rate of cancer, cataracts and crop failure would skyrocket. Today on the show, we dive into ozone science and examine how scientists successfully sounded the alarm and solved an Antarctic mystery.

Check out our episode on an Antarctic plankton mystery. And, listen to our monthly series Nature Quest.

Interested in more atmospheric science? Email us your question at [email protected].

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This episode was produced by Berly McCoy. It was edited by Rebecca Ramirez. Tyler Jones checked the facts. The audio engineer was Becky Brown.

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Microbes are little alchemists that perform all manner of chemical reactions. A team of microbiologists co-founded a non-profit to try to harness those abilities to solve some of the world?s big problems ? from carbon capture to helping coral reefs to cleaning up waste. Recently, the team turned their attention to the microbes living in people?s homes ? on and in shower heads, drip pans, and hot water heaters. These rather extreme environments may have pressured microorganisms into surviving in ways that could be advantageous to humans. Science reporter Ari Daniel takes us on a treasure hunt in miniature.

This episode was produced by Hannah Chinn. It was edited by Rebecca Ramirez. Tyler Jones checked the facts. The audio engineer was Robert Rodriguez.


Interested in learning more about the weird and wonderful world of microbes? Email us your question at [email protected].


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Most astronomers agree that young galaxy clusters should be relatively cool compared to older ones. But researchers recently found a very young cluster that?s hotter than the surface of the sun. More on why the finding is so shocking, plus elephant?s remarkable sniffing abilities and a new discovery about butterfly migration in this episode of Short Wave. 

Interested in more science news? Email us your question at [email protected].

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Healthy forests help combat climate change, provide humans with drinking water and even improve mental and physical health. But it?s hard to imagine an entire forest in the middle of a big city. That?s where micro-forests come into play ? public forests on a smaller scale, filled with native plants. They exist around the world, and producer Rachel Carlson went to visit the largest micro-forest in California. She joins host Emily Kwong to chat about what she saw. 

Interested in more of the science behind urban nature? Email us your question at [email protected].


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What happens behind the scenes of a dinosaur exhibit? Short Wave host Regina Barber got to find out ? by taking a trip to the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh. In the museum?s basement, she talked to a paleobiologist, checked out a farmland fossil find and even touched a 67 million-year-old bone. Because, as it turns out, there?s a lot of science that can be found in a museum basement.

Learn more about the Carnegie Museum of Natural History?s exhibit ?The Stories We Keep?.


Interested in more archaeology and dino-related science? Email us your question at [email protected].


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Choose your fighter for the origin of water on Earth! Was it always here or did it come to this planet from somewhere else in space? And, either way, what does this mean for other water worlds in our galaxy? To find out, we talk with Michael Wong, an astrobiologist and planetary scientist at Carnegie Science. He gets into scientists? strongest candidates for the ways water could have come to our planet many, many years ago ? including whether it could have been made here. Buckle up: This is a hot debate in astrobiology right now.

If you enjoyed this episode, check out our Space Camp series and our episode on whether life started on the ocean floor..

Interested in more space science and more unresolved hypotheses about how the universe came to be how it is today? Email us your question at [email protected].

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What better time to contemplate the conundrum that is zero than the start of a new year? Zero is a fairly new concept in human history and even more recent as a number. It wasn't until around the 7th century that zero was used as a number. That's when it showed up in the records of Indian mathematicians. Since then, zero has, at times, been met with some fear ? at one point the city of Florence, Italy banned the number.

Today, scientists seek to understand how much humans truly comprehend zero ? and why it seems to be different from other numbers. That's how we ended up talking to science writer Yasemin Saplakoglu in this encore episode about the neuroscience of this number that means nothing.


Read more of Yasemin's reporting on zero for Quanta Magazine. Plus, check out our episode on why big numbers break our brains.
Interested in more math episodes? Let us know what kind of stories you want to hear from us in 2026 by emailing [email protected]!
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Science in the United States took some big hits this year. The Trump Administration disrupted federal funding for all kinds of scientific pursuits. Administration officials say those changes were a step towards reinvigorating federal agencies like the National Institutes of Health. But many scientists disagree. NPR health and science correspondents Rob Stein and Katia Riddle chat with host Emily Kwong about what these cuts could mean for the future of science.

Interested in more stories on the future of science? Email us your question at [email protected].

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Gen Z and younger millennials are generally the most climate literate generations. As an age cohort that started learning about climate change in school, they're worried about how to plan for their future jobs, houses and, yes, kids. With climate-related disasters and global warming likely to worsen, climate anxiety is giving way to reproductive anxiety. So, what do experts say about how to navigate the kid question?

On this encore episode of Nature Quest, Short Wave speaks to Alessandra Ram, a journalist covering climate change, who just had a kid. We get into the future she sees for her newborn daughter and ask, how do we raise the next generation in a way that's good for the planet?

Here are the resources recommended by the experts we interviewed for this story:

Action Tools and Community Resources

The High-Impact Climate Action Guide by Kimberly A. NicholasThe Climate Mental Health Network and Climate Emotions WheelThe Climate Café® Hub - for finding a local groupBooks and Research Papers

Climate Anxiety and the Kid Question: Deciding Whether to Have Children in an Uncertain Future, by Jade S. SasserParenting in a Changing Climate: Tools for cultivating resilience, taking action, and practicing hope in the face of climate change, by Elizabeth BechardUnder the Sky We Make: How to Be Human in a Warming World, by Kimberly A. NicholasThe role of high-socioeconomic-status people in locking in or rapidly reducing energy-driven greenhouse gas emissions, Nielsen, K.S., Nicholas, K.A., Creutzig, F. et al. 

Got a question about changes in your local environment? Send a voice memo to [email protected] with your name, where you live and your question. You might make it into our next Nature Quest episode!

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Kratom and 7-OH products are available in many smoke shops. But earlier this year, the FDA recommended certain 7-OH products be scheduled alongside opioids. This isn?t the first time kratom has come under scrutiny. Nearly a decade ago, the DEA wanted to make certain active ingredients in kratom controlled substances. Meaning products would go from being widely available to highly restricted. After a massive wave of protest, the DEA decided not to move forward. Producer Rachel Carlson joins host Emily Kwong to talk about what could happen this time around, and what scientists know ? and don?t know ? about kratom and 7-OH. 


Interested in more of the science behind drugs and supplements? Email us your question at [email protected].


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Scientists in the Arctic are catching the exhaled breaths of whales to better understand their health. How? Drones. Whales breathe through their blowholes, which are the equivalent of nostrils on their heads. By studying the microbes in exhaled whale breaths, scientists are piecing together how deadly diseases spread in whale populations. Host Emily Kwong and producer Berly McCoy talk to All Things Considered host Juana Summers about what scientists can do with this information, from reducing stress on whales and monitoring ocean health to warning people who could be in close proximity to whales carrying zoonotic diseases. 


Interested in more science on charismatic megafauna? Email us your question at [email protected].


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Ever gotten a scarlet, hot face after drinking alcohol or know someone who has? Many people felt it as they celebrate the holidays with loved ones, sipping mulled wine, cocktails or champagne. That's because this condition, commonly called "Asian flush" or "Asian glow," affects an estimated half a billion people, who can't break down aldehyde toxins that build up in their bodies. But what if there's a benefit to having Asian glow? Katie Wu, a staff writer for The Atlantic, has looked into the research as to why the condition might have been a powerful tool for some of our ancestors to survive disease. (encore episode)

Questions about other potential tradeoffs for our genetics? Email us at [email protected]. We've love to hear from you and we might cover it in a future episode!Read Katie's article to learn more.Questions about other potential tradeoffs for our genetics? Email us at [email protected]. We've love to hear from you and we might cover it in a future episode!Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave.This episode was produced by Rebecca Ramirez, edited by Berly McCoy and fact-checked by Brit Hanson. Gilly Moon was the audio engineer.

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Written by Jo Lambert, ?Hold The Hope? is now being used as suicide prevention training material by the UK?s National Health Service Mental Health Trust. Emily Kwong speaks with Rhitu Chatterjee about the inner strength of those who live with suicidality, how a song is opening up new conversations for mental health care, and how caregivers can help a person choose life, despite having persistent thoughts of death. 

If you or someone you know may be struggling with suicidal thoughts, contact the 988 National & Suicide Crisis Lifeline by calling or texting 988. 

Listen to the full version of the ?Hold The Hope? song here

Read more of Rhitu?s reporting on ?Hold the Hope? here

Listen to Rhitu and Emily?s previous conversation about practical ways to help someone at risk of suicide here

Interested in more stories about mental health care? Email us your question at [email protected].

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Dogs are man?s best friend. And it?s no secret that we at Short Wave love cats (Regina has four)! Both of these iconic pets have been domesticated ? evolved and adapted to live alongside humans ? for millennia. And a recent study suggests that the common raccoon may be on its first steps towards joining them.

So how do scientists look for signs of domestication and what do those signs mean? And could you have a litter box trained raccoon in your lifetime? We talk to the study?s lead author, Raffaela Lesch, to find out.

Interested in more animal science stories? Email us your question at [email protected].


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