Short Wave

Short Wave

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

Episodes

Like Being Scared? Here’s Why

October 29, 2025 • 14 mins
Like haunted houses? Scientists do! That’s because they’re an excellent place to study how humans respond to – and even actively seek out – fear. In an immersive threat setting, as opposed to a carefully controlled lab, researchers can learn a lot about what scares people, why and how additional factors (like the presence of friends) might affect our experiences.

So what have they learned? What determines a good scare vers...
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Nature Quest: Rebuild Or Relocate Post-Disaster?

October 28, 2025 • 14 mins
In the face of floods, wildfires and other natural disasters, when should a community relocate to avoid potential harm? Listener Molly Magid asks that very question. Molly wanted to know how other communities have chosen the path of “managed retreat.” That’s the purposeful and coordinated movement of people and assets out of harm’s way. In today’s episode, Short Wave's Emily Kwong and Hannah Chinn explore cases from New York to Ill...
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What Works – And Doesn’t – For Hair Loss?

October 27, 2025 • 11 mins
People may think of hair loss as a guy thing. But by some estimates, half of all women experience hair loss in their lifetime. And when your social media algorithm gets a whiff? Good. Luck. There are some solutions out there based in science, but not every remedy works for every person — or every type of hair loss. (Yes, there are different types. And the type you have matters!) So today, pharmaceuticals correspondent Sydney Lupkin...
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Parasites Have Haunted Us For Millions Of Years

October 24, 2025 • 15 mins
Parasites have roamed the Earth for a long time. They were here before the dinosaurs: The oldest fossils are more than 500 million years old. Today on the show, Regina G. Barber speaks with paleontologists Karma Nanglu and Danielle de Carle about a mysterious fossil called the “Riddler,” and the oldest-ever leech fossil. They share stories of the enduring power of parasitism through the ages and why the clues to prehistoric mysteri...
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Migrating Birds Have a Big, Clear Problem

October 22, 2025 • 15 mins
Around this time of year, every night, a quiet exodus is occurring. Hundreds of millions of birds are migrating thousands of miles south for the winter. One of the biggest dangers for these tiny travelers? Glass. 

Researchers estimate that every year in the U. S., collisions with glass windows take out at least a billion birds. Even if the birds initially fly away, these collisions can cause concussions, broken bone...

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We Have the Cure. Why is Tuberculosis Still Around?

October 21, 2025 • 15 mins
Tuberculosis – the world’s deadliest infectious disease – could be dormant in your system for years before you realize you have it. In the U.S., it’s relatively rare; provisional data shows that there were just over 10,000 cases in 2024. But in other parts of the world, especially lower-income countries, the disease is spreading much more actively. Worldwide, more than 10 million people are diagnosed with an active tuberculosis inf...
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Should Scientists Genetically Engineer Wild Species?

October 20, 2025 • 13 mins
Some scientists looking to preserve vulnerable species have turned to a controversial technique: synthetic biology. This catchall term often means genetic engineering – introducing new genes to an organism. And a recent narrow vote by the International Union for Conservation of Nature on using the technology shows how divided scientists are on the issue of releasing genetically altered species. Science correspondent Nate Rott wades...
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Science Says Quitting Smoking At Any Age Is Good For The Brain

October 17, 2025 • 8 mins
The rate of smoking cigarettes has steadily declined since the 1960s – when Congress required warnings on cigarette boxes. Research shows that people are more likely to try to quit smoking when they’re under 40. But a new study in the journal The Lancet Healthy Longevity shows that quitting later in life can still be beneficial – and could possibly lower your risk for dementia. For this and more news from the science journals, Shor...
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What Happens When You're Under Anesthesia?

October 15, 2025 • 14 mins

It's World Anesthesia Day tomorrow! So, we invite you to take a deep breathe. Picture a relaxing scene. Maybe a beach in Tahiti, your toes in the sand, a cold drink in hand. Now imagine your favorite music playing in the background. If Dr. Alopi Patel were your anesthesiologist, that's exactly what she'd have you do while you waited for surgery. Before she puts patients under the sway of anesthesia, she likes to explai...

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Why Legal Weed Isn’t Always Safe

October 14, 2025 • 14 mins
Marijuana is decriminalized or legal in some form in multiple states. But, because it’s illegal on the federal level, states have had to build their own regulatory infrastructure. Without a centralized body to guide them, regulations in one state can look vastly different from those in another. For more on the scope of the issue, Short Wave host Regina G. Barber talks to independent science journalist Teresa Carr and NPR pharmaceut...
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Synthetic Cells: The Next Bioengineering Frontier

October 13, 2025 • 14 mins
There are more human cells in your body than there are stars in the Milky Way galaxy! Cells are the fundamental building blocks of life but that doesn’t mean they are simple – biology still doesn’t have a full picture of how exactly a living cell works. Host Regina G. Barber talks with bioengineers Kate Adamala and Drew Endy about why scientists are trying to build a cell from scratch, piece by piece. They dive into what it would l...
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Why The Tropics Have A Weather Forecasting Problem

October 10, 2025 • 14 mins
Weather in the tropics is decidedly different than it is in the middle latitudes. It turns out, so are the weather systems – the factors that create things like the daily temperature and humidity! Historically, most weather forecasting models have been based on data from high-income countries in the northern hemisphere. But different factors drive weather and climate near the equator – meaning that these weather forecast models are...
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Doing Science at the Edge of the Earth

October 8, 2025 • 13 mins
Some scientific discoveries take place in a lab. Others are made deep in the rainforest, along the ocean floor or on the dark side of the moon. And still others are made squelching through mud and ice on the northernmost island on Earth… at least, if you’re NPR climate correspondent Alejandra Borunda. Two summers ago, Alejandra followed an expedition of scientists to Greenland’s Inuit Qeqertaat, or Kaffeeklubben (“Coffee Club”) Isl...
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Solved: The Potato Origin Mystery

October 7, 2025 • 12 mins
Usually, when two different species mate, it’s a disaster. At least, that’s what scientists had generally thought about hybrids, the offspring of these unions. But some researchers are starting to change their view as they learn of more beneficial hybrid events. The Atlantic science journalist Katie Wu details two of these hybridization examples: one in desert frogs and one in two ancient plants that <> led to the mod...
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The Science Of Fear And Horror Movies

October 6, 2025 • 13 mins
Creepy crawly season is upon us, Short Wavers! We're welcoming fall with a contemplation of fear and anxiety. In human history, fear kept us safe. It helped us flee from predators. Anxiety made us wary of potential dangers — like venturing into a known lion-infested area. But what happens when these feelings get out of hand in humans today? And why do some of us crave that feeling from scary movies or haunted houses?

For a...
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What Are Flies Doing In The Middle Of The Ocean?

October 3, 2025 • 8 mins
In the North Sea — between the United Kingdom, Norway and Denmark — thousands of flies swarmed an oil rig. Engineer Craig Hannah noticed they’d stay still on the rig for hours, suddenly taking off all at once. He was seeing hoverflies. Often confused with bees, they’re unsung pollinators. And they migrate, often hundreds of miles – including, it seems, to the middle of the ocean.


Today on the show: The mystery of why ...
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Why Animal Scavengers Protect Your Health

October 1, 2025 • 9 mins
Worldwide, populations of scavenging animals that feed on rotting carcasses are declining. Scientists are finding that this can seriously hurt human health. NPR science reporter Jonathan Lambert has been looking into how human health is intertwined with scavenging animals and why these animals’ decline could lead to more human disease. Today, he brings all he learned, including how conservation could help, to your earholes.
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Nature Quest: How High Will Sea Levels Rise?

September 30, 2025 • 12 mins
How high will the ocean rise under climate change? By 2050, scientists have a pretty good idea. But why does it matter where you live? And what can humans do to slow it down? 
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. Our question comes from Peter Lansdale in Santa Cruz, Calif. 

To see what future sea levels ...
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Why Do Some Hurricane Survivors Thrive After Disaster?

September 29, 2025 • 13 mins
You’ve probably heard of PTSD, post-traumatic stress disorder. But what about its counterpart, post-traumatic growth?
The term was coined in the 90s to describe the positive psychological growth that researchers documented in people who had been through traumatic or highly stressful life events. Psychologists and sociologists conducting long-range studies on survivors of Hurricane Katrina – which hit 20 years ago and remains one...
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A Surprising Cause Of Endometriosis Could Lead To Cure

September 26, 2025 • 13 mins
Since the age of nine or ten, Katie Burns has had debilitating pain from endometriosis, a condition where tissue resembling the uterine lining grows outside the uterus. For years, Katie was in the dark about what was causing her pain. Even after a diagnosis at age 20 it was hard to find relief, or even answers about her condition. Her search for better care is part of what led her to a career studying the disease, which affects ten...
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