Unexplainable
Unexplainable takes listeners right up to the edge of what we know…and then keeps on going. The Unexplainable team — Noam Hassenfeld, Julia Longoria, Byrd Pinkerton, and Meradith Hoddinott — tackles scientific mysteries, unanswered questions, and everything we learn diving into the unknown. New episodes Mondays and Wednesdays. From Vox and the Vox Media Podcast Network.
Episodes
July 29, 2026 • 44 mins
This global weather phenomenon could help make 2027 the hottest year on record. Our friends at The Gray Area explore what the upcoming El Niño season could reveal about the future of our climate.
Guests: Sean Illing, host of The Gray Area; David Wallace-Wells, New York Times climate writer
For show transcripts, go to vox.com/unxtranscripts
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July 27, 2026 • 30 mins
It can be hard to know how to interact with the sun. Some people have swung to opposite ends of the spectrum — either over-tanning or avoiding the sun entirely. But what would a middle ground look like?
Guest: Rowan Jacobsen, author of In Defense of Sunlight
For show transcripts, go to vox.com/unxtranscriptsFor more, go to vox.com/unexplainableAnd please email us! une...
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July 22, 2026 • 25 mins
The Late Bronze Age, when the Trojan War supposedly took place, was way more modern than Homer made it seem. But around 1177 BCE, a vast network of interconnected societies suddenly collapsed. What caused arguably the greatest societal collapse in the history of the world? Hint: It's a lot more complicated than the "Sea Peoples."
Guest: Eric Cline, professor at George Washington University and author of 1177 B.C.: The Year Civil...
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July 20, 2026 • 31 mins
How do we know what we know about dinosaurs? Riley Black takes us back to the Mesozoic Era and explains how paleontologists piece together the lives of dinosaurs from often fragmentary clues.
Guest: Riley Black, science writer, amateur paleontologist, and consultant for the Jurassic World franchise.
For show transcripts, go to vox.com/unxtranscriptsFor more, go to vox.com/unexplainable...
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July 15, 2026 • 32 mins
A 2015 review found that most people in the US will experience a diagnostic error in their lifetime. Some of those errors are less devastating than others, but how can we help people get better answers about their health? One family's search for answers with a mystifying illness highlights a different approach to diagnosis.Guest: Alexandra Sifferlin, author of The Elusive Body: Patients, Doctors, and the Diagnosis Crisis and deputy...
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July 13, 2026 • 32 mins
When people listen to songs, why do some people pay more attention to the music, and some people pay more attention to the lyrics? The answer goes way deeper than you might think — to the heart of what it means to hear anything at all.
To watch this episode on video, find us on Netflix!
Guests: Charlie Harding, host of the Switched on Pop podcast; Dominique Vuvan, professor at Skidmore CollegeFor show transcripts, go to ...
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July 9, 2026 • 3 mins
Unexplainable is coming to Netflix! Starting Monday, July 13.
For show transcripts, go to vox.com/unxtranscriptsFor more, go to vox.com/unexplainableAnd please email us! unexplainable@vox.comWe read every email.Support Unexplainable (and get ad-free episodes) by becoming a Vox Member today: vox.com/membersThank you!
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July 6, 2026 • 25 mins
It’s possible that the entire observable universe is inside a black hole. All we need to do in order to find out is … build a gigantic particle collider around the moon. (Originally aired in 2024)
Guest: James Beacham, particle physicist at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN
For show transcripts, go to vox.com/unxtranscriptsFor more, go to vox.com/unexplainableAnd please email us! unexplainable@vox.comWe read every ...
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June 29, 2026 • 29 mins
As the world gets warmer and storms get worse, insurance companies are jacking up rates or refusing to cover homeowners altogether. Is the future uninsurable? (Originally aired in 2024).
Guests: Umair Irfan, climate reporter; Karen Clark, co-founder and CEO of Karen Clark & Company; Joe Skuba, VP at The Gray Insurance Company; and Carolyn Kousky, Associate VP at Environmental Defense Fund
For show transcripts, go to vox.com...
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June 24, 2026 • 19 mins
Periods and menstrual fluid have long been overlooked by scientists. Now, researchers are starting to suspect they might be sources of medical treasure. (Originally aired in 2024)
Guest: Jemma Evans, biologist
For show transcripts, go to vox.com/unxtranscripts
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June 22, 2026 • 27 mins
Two mysteries we can't stop thinking about: Is lightning actually caused by cosmic rays? And why don't birds play chess?
Articles featured: “What Causes Lightning?” by Charlie Wood (also featured on The Quanta Podcast) and “Empire of flight” by Antone Martinho-Truswell.
For show transcripts, go to vox.com/unxtranscripts
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June 17, 2026 • 32 mins
When an invasive bug landed on the East Coast, people embraced the order to squish it to death. But what has all that squishing done to us?
Guests: Julie Urban, professor in the entomology department at Penn State; Chelsea Batavia, community engagement coordinator with a PhD in forestry
For show transcripts, go to vox.com/unxtranscripts
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June 15, 2026 • 31 mins
Sean Rameswaram, co-host of Today, Explained, recently went on a dairy adventure. Noam talks to Sean about what he learned, and about why raw milk is gaining popularity, even though there are significant health risks.
Guest: Sean Rameswaram, co-host of Today, Explained
For show transcripts, go to vox.com/unxtranscripts
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June 10, 2026 • 26 mins
Around 90% of life on Earth is unknown. Can Benji find a new species in his backyard?
Guests: Benji Jones, Vox senior correspondent, and the NYC species project.
For show transcripts, go to vox.com/unxtranscripts
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And please email us! unexplainable@vox.com
We read every email.
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June 8, 2026 • 60 mins
Climate change is making hurricanes, floods, and wildfires harder to prepare for just as confidence in the government’s disaster response is collapsing. Our friends at On the Media explore how FEMA became a target of conspiracy theories, political attacks, and a growing crisis of trust.
Guests: Eloise Blondiau, senior producer at On The Media; Micah Loewinger, co-host of On the Media
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June 3, 2026 • 38 mins
Vijay Sikand is a family doctor in the Connecticut town that gave Lyme disease its name. When a pharmaceutical company came to town to test a vaccine, he built a career and a community around the trial. Then the Lyme vaccine became a cautionary tale.
Guest: Vijay Sikand, MD, family medicine and pediatrics
For show transcripts, go to vox.com/unxtranscripts
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June 1, 2026 • 36 mins
Fetuses leave cells behind in their parents' bodies, where they braid themselves into tissues, and remain, for years. What are they doing in there? (Originally aired in 2023)
Guests: Amy Boddy, Associate Professor of Anthropology at the University of California, Santa Barbara; Lee Nelson, Professor Emeritus at the Fred Hutch Cancer Center
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May 20, 2026 • 16 mins
Paul Ehrlich was famous for predicting a population explosion that would destroy the planet, but he didn't count on human ingenuity.
Guest: Bryan Walsh, Vox senior editorial director
This episode was made in partnership with Vox’s Future Perfect team.
For show transcripts, go to vox.com/unxtranscripts
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May 18, 2026 • 41 mins
What would life look like after a global nuclear war? Would underground bunkers work? What would we do for food? What about radioactive snow?! In this episode of Are We Doomed?, reporter Ben Bradford tries to find out.
Guest: Ben Bradford, host of Are We Doomed?
For show transcripts, go to vox.com/unxtranscripts
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May 13, 2026 • 32 mins
What happens when researchers reexamine some of the basic facts about the Black Death? They start rewriting history and rethinking blame.
Guests: Hannah Barker, professor at Arizona State University; Ulf Büntgen, professor at the University of Cambridge; Martin Bauch, historian at the Leibniz Institute for the History and Culture of Eastern Europe
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