Best KQED Science Podcasts (2024)

1
Bay Area Cities Push to Legally Validate Polyamorous Families

2d ago

—

Oakland voted to legitimize diverse family structures, and Berkeley is on tap to do the same. Advocates see the legal protections as a significant step to reduce stigma.By Lesley McClurg

1
All Gassed Up, Part 3: The Sugar Daddy of LNG 41:24

9d ago41:24

41:24

Japan was the world’s largest importer of LNG for half a century. In the final episode of “All Gassed Up,” we travel to Asia to learn how the global gas industry is expanding — how the need for LNG continues to be sold. Right now, LNG is in its golden age – times are good, profits are high. And Japan’s big bet is that these good times will keep rol…

1
A Bay Area Lawmaker Pushes to Expand Access to Methadone

16d ago

—

A new proposal would increase flexibility and accessibility to methadone. Assemblymember Matt Haney thinks this will address the state's opioid crisis.By Lesley McClurg

1
All Gassed Up, Part 2: The German Connection 41:32

27d ago41:32

41:32

Until the Ukraine War, Russia was Europe’s biggest supplier of natural gas. After the invasion, political leaders wanted off Russian gas, and fast. So, they turned to the U.S. In part two, we follow American gas all the way to Germany — Europe’s biggest energy consumer, where the energy crisis hit hardest. US LNG provided a lifeline for Germany. Bu…

1
Toxic Dust Threatens California Salmon Population, Lawmaker Seeks Solution

25d ago

—

California salmon are in decline, but lawmakers believe they have a solution to the part of the problem: cleaning toxic tire dust from storm runoff that kills fish.By Ezra David Romero

1
Systemic Neglect: How Staffing Shortages In Nursing Homes Leave Patients Trapped in Hospitals

1M ago

—

One woman with Huntington's disease was left in limbo at Kaiser’s emergency department in Richmond for more than 4 months as she waited for space in a nursing home.By Lesley McClurg

1
Don’t Think Heat Pumps Are Sexy? Time to Listen to This Slow Jam

1M ago

—

Heat pumps are heroes in the fight against climate change. But the appliances have a publicity problem. So 2 Berkeley musicians wrote them a sultry slow jam.By Laura Klivans

1
All Gassed Up, Part 1: The Carbon Coast 39:13

1M ago39:13

39:13

Right now in the US, there is a GAS BOOM. A liquified natural gas boom — or LNG. The US produces the most LNG in the world. And the epicenter of this massive expansion? It’s here on the Gulf Coast. For the last year, we’ve traversed Louisiana trying to uncover what this growing LNG industry means for the state. But, after talking with everyone – fr…

1
Introducing Season 2 2:16

2M ago2:16

2:16

Sea Change is back with a brand new season. And this time, the stakes are even higher. We launch new investigations, travel around the world, and look at how a sea change is underway to solve some of our biggest problems. Come with us to investigate and celebrate life on our changing coasts. Every two weeks, we bring you stories that illuminate, in…

1
Presenting: The Anti-Dread Climate Podcast 10:53

3M ago10:53

10:53

Sea Change is taking a short break before Season 2 launches in March, and we plan to start the season off with a bang. Last fall, we traveled all over the world to report a series about a massive expansion of fossil fuels on the Gulf Coast and what it could mean for the planet. We are very excited to share it with you soon, but in the meantime, we …

1
A World of Hope 34:55

4M ago34:55

34:55

Sometimes, it can be hard to find the bright spots amid feelings of uncertainty about the future of our planet. But they're there. Today on Sea Change, we're focusing entirely on solutions. Stories about the good. We hear about a landscape architect in China who's pushing his city to become spongier as part of the global push for cities to rip up t…

1
The American Whale 26:31

5M ago26:31

26:31

There are only around 51 Rice’s whales left in the world. And they’re the only whale that stays in one country’s territory: they live exclusively in the Gulf of Mexico…in US waters. A uniquely American whale. This also means the responsibility to protect these whales lies with the United States, but are we protecting them? That’s a question NPR Inv…

1
Pardon the Intrusion 37:12

5M ago37:12

37:12

Today, we are exploring a growing threat to our freshwater supplies in coastal regions all over the country. With climate change, we are experiencing sea-level rise and more frequent droughts, both of which make it easier for saltwater to creep into places we don’t want it. First, we go to Plaquemines Parish, an area that’s been dealing with the ef…

1
Designing With Nature 34:28

6M ago34:28

34:28

As we experience worsening impacts from climate change, we’re wondering: How can we rethink engineering? Instead of trying to control nature, can we design with nature? There are more than a thousand miles of levees and floodgates lining each side of the Mississippi River and its tributaries. Thousands of dams also hold back water and sediment thro…

1
Presenting: KQED’s Sold Out: Rethinking Housing in America 28:07

6M ago28:07

28:07

Today on Sea Change, we are bringing you an episode from our friends at KQED. The story you’re about to hear is from the third season of their podcast called Sold Out: Rethinking Housing in America. Climate change is intensifying wet periods across California, untaming waterways humans corralled with dirt and concrete. In this episode, “Searching f…

1
Flood By Flood 41:05

7M ago41:05

41:05

As natural disasters worsen and extreme weather grows more frequent, it’s led to more people being displaced across the planet. Sometimes, we call those people climate migrants. The U.S. Census Bureau estimates that in the last year alone, around 3 million Americans were displaced by natural disasters. But for some climate migrants, displacement is…

1
Riddle of the Ridley 31:53

7M ago31:53

31:53

Kemp's Ridleys are the most endangered sea turtle on the planet...can they lose their nickname of the "heartbreak turtle"? Today, we go on a journey to the remote Chandeleur islands to try to find the mysterious Kemp’s Ridley turtles, who, after 75 years, have been discovered on the shores of Louisiana. It’s a story of loss and restoration, of hope…

1
Abandoned in (Plant)ation Country 31:17

8M ago31:17

31:17

Earlier this year, we told the story of how a change in the White House had the potential to turn the tide for Black communities fighting against environmental pollution in Louisiana's industrial corridor nicknamed Cancer Alley — one of the country's largest hotspots for toxic air. The Environmental Protection Agency's new leader pledged to use all…

1
Presenting: Outside/In "Windfall" 28:37

8M ago28:37

28:37

Today marks the beginning of a whole new industry here in the Gulf of Mexico: offshore wind energy. The Biden administration opened the first-ever wind lease sale in the Gulf, and 300,000 acres of the Gulf will be auctioned off. Companies will now bid for the rights to put giant wind turbines off the coast of southwest Louisiana and east Texas. It’…

1
Expand Your Blue Mind 45:11

9M ago45:11

45:11

It's summertime. Most of us hope to spend time on the beach, or by a river, or a pool, and we thought we'd try to understand why? Why do we want to be by water, and why does it make us feel so good? And it’s not just us. Understanding how the power of water makes us healthier and happier is actually a growing field of research. Today, we're diving …

1
The Craft of Climate Writing 34:59

9M ago34:59

34:59

Humans have always used stories to make sense of the world…that’s just how our brains work. And, so it makes sense that we need stories to help us understand the enormity of climate change. Today, we talk with Jeff Goodell, Katharine Wilkinson, and Nathaniel Rich—three authors who write books that people want to read…maybe can’t put down…about the …

1
I'd Like My Life Back 43:49

10M ago43:49

43:49

On April 20th, 2010, out in the Gulf of Mexico, the Deepwater Horizon oil drilling rig exploded. The oil spill that followed is still considered the largest environmental disaster in the history of the United States. Today, we are looking at the impacts of the BP Deepwater Horizon disaster 13 years later. We hear about the ongoing health effects on…

1
We Could All Use A Little Creativity 34:58

10M ago34:58

34:58

We know that everyone has a role in tackling the climate crisis, so what about artists? We talk with Atlanta-based artist Heather Bird Harris, who has begun making her own paint out of the earth to talk about environmental crises in Louisiana. And we sit down with ecologist Ashley Booth and historian Jeffery Darensbourg to hear how art can combine …

1
Rescuing our Past 33:20

11M ago33:20

33:20

What does it mean to keep a history alive when the place itself is disappearing? As climate change causes worsening storms and sea level rise, it’s not just people’s homes and businesses that are at risk of vanishing but also the places that hold our past. We travel across Louisiana's coast, meeting people who are working to prevent histories from …

1
Presenting: Parched "The Boldest Idea of All" 27:48

11M ago27:48

27:48

Today we are bringing you an episode from a new podcast from our friends at Colorado Public Radio. The podcast is called Parched, and it’s about how the multi-decade drought in the West is impacting the Colorado River. It’s about people who rely on the river that shaped the West—and have ideas to save it. For those of us living here in the Mississi…

1
If I Get Called "Resilient" One More Time... 49:25

11M ago49:25

49:25

When we talk about climate change, we hear one word all the time: resilient. We use it to talk about everything from our houses, to our power grid, to ourselves. Earlier this spring, we asked our listeners to tell us how you feel about this word. And you blew up our voicemail box. In this episode of Sea Change, we hear your responses. And we ask: h…

1
Salty Chefs 38:24

12M ago38:24

38:24

Food connects us to our past, to our memories, to each other, and to the world around us. It’s powerful. But food systems–from how we grow or catch things to how we transport them –are also incredibly complex. As climate change increasingly impacts the world, we are seeing some of the first effects of that through our food. So we’ve been wondering……

1
The Goodbye Show 50:10

1y ago50:10

50:10

In their final episode, Invisibilia searches for the right way to say goodbye.

1
(Plant)ation Country 48:12

1y ago48:12

48:12

Louisiana is home to the country's largest hotspot for toxic air — an industrial corridor nicknamed “Cancer Alley.” More than 150 petrochemical plants line the Mississippi River between New Orleans and Baton Rouge. Amid the boom, many Black communities live with a disproportionate amount of pollution. But years of protest have begun to bear fruit. …

1
Music Fights Back 41:37

1y ago41:37

41:37

We talk with people working at the intersection of music and the environment and ask how one can influence the other. Grammy-award-winning Cajun punk musician Louis Michot of the Lost Bayou Ramblers and Rev. Lennox Yearwood, who leads the national environmental advocacy group, the Hip Hop Caucus, tell us about how they use music to inspire action o…

1
Shrimp on the Line 37:01

1y ago37:01

37:01

We love shrimp in the United States. As a country, we eat over 2 billion pounds a year, making it the most consumed seafood in the country. So times should be really good for shrimpers, right? But shrimpers say things have never been worse and that their whole industry here in the United States is on the brink of extinction. This narrative episode …

1
Trailer 1:54

1y ago1:54

1:54

Living on the coast means living on the front lines of a rapidly changing planet. And as climate change transforms our coasts, that will transform our world. Every two weeks, we bring you stories that illuminate, inspire, and sometimes enrage, as we dive deep into the environmental issues facing coastal communities on the Gulf Coast and beyond. We …

1
Revisiting Love and Lapses: A Conversation with Code Switch host B.A. Parker 32:44

1+ y ago32:44

32:44

Sometimes the holidays are filled with the people you love. Other times, they're marked by an absence. In this special holiday episode, new Code Switch co-host and former Invisibilia producer B.A. Parker tells a story about family, loss and preserving memories before it's too late. Then Parker joins Kia and Yowei to reflect on the making of this st…

1
Power Tools 34:58

1+ y ago34:58

34:58

Bad bosses. Obnoxious coworkers. Unfair compensation. There are so many reasons people feel disempowered in the workplace. But how can our feelings about power enable or disrupt the larger dynamics we hate at work? This week, Yowei Shaw seeks answers from a power researcher and a union organizer.By NPR

1
Freedom Diving 32:48

1+ y ago32:48

32:48

After months of working from home and retreating from the world, Kia Miakka Natisse is stuck - in her house, and in her head. In an attempt to break out of the funk, she's searching for wisdom at the bottom of the ocean with South Africa's first Black freediving instructor, Zandile Ndhlovu.By NPR

1
Therapy Ghostbusters 47:38

1+ y ago47:38

47:38

In San Jose, California, a community clinic was stumped as to why their clients were seeing ghosts. This week, a story about grappling with ghosts of our past and one clinic's attempt to heal intergenerational trauma.By NPR

1
A Little Bit Pregnant 27:50

1+ y ago27:50

27:50

This week on Invisibilia, could the rebrand of a familiar pill open up a new way to control fertility in a post-Roe America?By NPR

1
The P-Word 41:44

1+ y ago41:44

41:44

Alex is a comic who feels perfectly comfortable commanding a packed, rowdy audience, but consistently submits to what other people want in everyday life. This week, a look at how uncomfortable feelings about power can backfire on ourselves and the people we love. We get the help of a power expert - a dominatrix - to untangle Alex's power dynamics, …

1
Invisibilia Takes Control 1:40

1+ y ago1:40

1:40

2022 feels like walking a tightrope. We're grappling with control of our bodies, our time, the direction of our country - while trying to not spin out and just doomscroll. So this season, Invisibilia takes on control. The narratives we have about what's in or out of our control. Invisible tools of control. The crutches we use to FEEL in control but…

1
Therapy, with Friends 39:08

2+ y ago39:08

39:08

Would you ever consider going to therapy with a friend?Two best friends who call themselves brothers were drifting apart, so they asked psychotherapist Esther Perel to help — and we listened in. This episode was recorded in collaboration with Where Should We Begin? with Esther Perel and a companion episode can be heard on her podcast.…

1
Poop Friends 44:42

2+ y ago44:42

44:42

Sh*t happens. So why is it so hard to talk about? This week, the ways that poop divides and binds us in our friendships.By NPR

1
Friends with Benefits 50:14

2+ y ago50:14

50:14

A lot of us think that it's a bad idea to get physical with friends. We worry it'll get messy, maybe even ruin the friendship. But if physical intimacy between friends weren't so taboo, what could our friendships look like? In this episode, we explore the gray zone of sex and friendship, following a man who deliberately kept his friendships with wo…

1
International Friend of Mystery 35:32

2+ y ago35:32

35:32

You know the old saying--keep your friends close and your enemies closer. But what if you can't tell the difference? In this episode, the story of two friends who got caught up in a Top Secret operation that tested their assumptions about trust, betrayal, loyalty, and power.By NPR

1
Nun of Us Are Friends 44:41

2+ y ago44:41

44:41

It's a basic tenet of friendship that you get to choose your friends. We look at two institutions that took away that choice: convents circa the 1960s and a summer program with unusual rules. What do we lose and what do we gain when we give up our preferences and try to make friends with everyone equally?…

1
A Friendly Ghost Story 48:34

2+ y ago48:34

48:34

It's one of the most common and infuriating friend mysteries out there - a friend disappears into thin air. But where do these ghosts go? And why are we so haunted by them? If you or someone you know may be considering suicide, contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 or the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741.…

1
The Friendship Season 1:35

2+ y ago1:35

1:35

Friendship gets the Invisibilia treatment.By NPR

1
American Slow Radio 41:21

3y ago41:21

41:21

Let's get slow. Producer Abby Wendle picks up the gauntlet that was thrown down in the last episode "The Great Narrative Escape." Sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride.By NPR

1
The Great Narrative Escape 55:59

3y ago55:59

55:59

Imagine a TV show with no plot, no characters, no tension... and yet, it went viral! In this episode, we have a story that questions storytelling as we know it. Plus, co-hosts Kia Miakka Natisse and Yowei Shaw take a spectacularly unspectacular train ride.By NPR

1
The Chaos Machine: A Looping Revolt 46:46

3y ago46:46

46:46

Is 209 Times helping or hurting the community it claims to serve? What does the site mean for the future of local news in America? And what can be done about it? In the final installment of "The Chaos Machine" series , Yowei finds herself in the middle of a long-standing tug of war over who owns the truth.…

1
The Chaos Machine: Wrathful Lord 49:08

3y ago49:08

49:08

The man behind 209 Times is not who you'd expect. In Part 2, co-host Yowei Shaw discovers the website's surprising origin story, and ends up at the frontlines of a revolt against the mainstream media and a fight over who gets to own the truth.By NPR

Podcasts Worth a Listen

KQED Science Podcasts

Podcasts Worth a Listen

Quick Reference Guide