podcast

Short Wave

by NPR

Babies got beat: Why rhythm might be innate

06.02.2026 • 00:08:17

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 rhythm...

How do extreme G-forces affect Olympic bobsledders?

04.02.2026 • 00:13:54

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...

Autism: debunking Trump claims, and what scientists still don't know

03.02.2026 • 00:13:10

Autism has a long history of misinformation that continues to today. The Trump administration has perpetuated some of this misinformation in the last ...

Why research into ‘forever chemicals’ includes firefighters

02.02.2026 • 00:11:01

PFAS make pans nonstick, clothes waterproof and furniture stain resistant. They're so ubiquitous, they're even inside of us. Now, researchers are look...

Lessons and failures from the Challenger space shuttle explosion

30.01.2026 • 00:13:55

On Jan. 28, 1986, NASA’s 25th space shuttle mission, Challenger, left the launchpad in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Seventy-three seconds into flight, Cha...

How scientists predict big winter storms

28.01.2026 • 00:10:24

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 pre...

What drives animals to your yard? It's complicated

27.01.2026 • 00:13:44

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 ar...

Iran offline: How a government can turn off the internet

26.01.2026 • 00:13:17

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 risi...

The plight of penguins in Antarctica

23.01.2026 • 00:08:32

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...

A failed galaxy could solve the dark matter mystery

21.01.2026 • 00:12:47

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 my...