Brain fun for curious people.
What does the word “meme” have to do with evolutionary biology? And why do we call it “Spanish flu” when it was never Spanish? Science Diction is a podcast about words—and the science stories within them. If you like your language with a side of science, Science Diction has you covered. Brought to you by Science Friday and WNYC Studios.
Science, technology, and other cool stuff from public radio's Science Friday. It's brain fun, for curious people. From WNYC Studios.
A podcast about the left turns, missteps, and lucky breaks that make science happen.
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SciFri


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As Case Numbers Rise, Efficacy Of COVID Vaccines Lessens In Kids
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But experts still say it’s important to protect as many people as possible.By SciFri
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SciFri


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There’s A Black Hole In The Milky Way. Now We Can See It.
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A global collaboration of 300 scientists unveils the second-ever picture of a black hole, the Milky Way’s own supermassive Sagittarius A*.By SciFri
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SciFri


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What Was It Like To Witness The End Of The Dinosaurs?
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A new book chronicles what happened in the minutes, days, weeks, and years after the infamous asteroid hit the Earth.By SciFri
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SciFri


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The Role of Medication Abortion In Roe v. Wade Reversal
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In 2020, over half of American abortions were medication abortions. What will happen to access to these pills if Roe v. Wade is overturned?By SciFri
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SciFri


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How One Alaskan Island Is Working To Restore Its Ecosystem From Invasive Rats
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For millions of years, birds in the Aleutians lived without predators. Then rats arrived.By SciFri
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SciFri


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Campsites At National Parks ‘Harder Than Getting Beyonce Tickets’
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Campsites At National Parks ‘Harder Than Getting Beyonce Tickets’ by SciFriBy SciFri
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Abortion Medication, Rat Island, Access To Parks, Climate And Seafood. May 13, 2022, Part 2
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Abortion Pills Are Used For Most U.S. Abortions. What Are They? The draft Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade means abortion access is once again in jeopardy. Nearly half of U.S. states will immediately ban abortion upon a Roe v. Wade overturn. Medication abortion, or abortion by pill, is currently the most common method of abortion in t…
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Science Friday


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Second Black Hole Image, Last Days Of The Dinosaurs, Rising COVID Cases. May 13, 2022, Part 1
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As COVID Cases Rises, Effectiveness Of Vaccines Lessens In Kids As parts of the country continue to see waves of infection from the omicron variant of COVID-19, parents of children over age five have taken heart at the availability of vaccines—while parents of kids five and under have continued to wait for an approved dose. But even as the case num…
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SciFri


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How Restaurant Menus Mirror Our Warming Ocean
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Like it or not, our plates are showing the changes in ocean ecosystems.By SciFri
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Revisiting The Titanic, STEM Drag Performers As Science Ambassadors. May 6, 2022, Part 2
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The Seafaring Life Of ‘Modern-Day Captain Nemo,’ Robert Ballard In 1985, oceanographer Robert Ballard was sent on a secret deep-sea search operative with a very specific mission: to seek two sunken nuclear submarines. Ballard, who by then had explored the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and helped design deep-sea research submersibles, was assigned by the U.S. …
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How The Brain Deals With Grief, Listening To Noisy Fish Sounds. May 6, 2022, Part 1
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How Grief Rewires The Brain Being a human can be a wonderful thing. We’re social creatures, craving strong bonds with family and friends. Those relationships can be the most rewarding parts of life. But having strong relationships also means the possibility of experiencing loss. Grief is one of the hardest things people go through in life. Those wh…
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SciFri


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What’s Up With The Spike In Hepatitis Among Young Kids?
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Plus, more info about the holdup in COVID-19 vaccines for children under five.By SciFri
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SciFri


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When Divorced Parents Disagree About COVID-19 Health Care For Their Kids, A Judge May Get Involved
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Judges are seeing skyrocketing numbers of separated parents arguing over whether to vaccinate their children.By SciFri
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SciFri


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Why Sharing Viruses Is Good … For Science
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COVID-19 spurred global scientific collaboration, but sharing virus specimens remains complicated. Plus, the role of global politics in monitoring disease.By SciFri
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SciFri


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Bulldog, Boxer or Beagle: Why Breed Isn’t Destiny
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Though some types of dogs come with a reputation, new genetic analysis finds that breed is a poor predictor of behavior.By SciFri
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SciFri


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Life At The Poles Is Changing. What Do These Frozen Regions Forecast?
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The Arctic and Antarctic are the two fastest-warming regions on Earth. Here’s how climate change is altering our poles.By SciFri
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SciFri


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Can Hydrogen-Fuel Cells Drive The Car Market?
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Hydrogen fuel cells have some advantages over battery-powered electrics, but infrastructure challenges remain.By SciFri
Global shipping giant Maersk has ordered a dozen cargo ships that run on methanol. Can it make a difference?By SciFri
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Covid Court Cases, Sharing Viruses for Research, Hepatitis Spike. April 29, 2022, Part 1
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What’s Up With The Spike In Hepatitis Among Young Kids? This spring, there’s been a strange spike in hepatitis cases among young children. Hepatitis can leave kids with stomach pain, jaundice, and a generally icky feeling. 169 cases have been recorded globally, and one death. A majority of these cases have been found in the United Kingdom, with the…
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Dog Breeds And Dog Behavior, Polar Science Update, Decarbonizing Transportation. April 29, 2022, Part 2
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Your Dog’s Breed Doesn’t Always Determine How They’ll Behave The dog world abounds with stereotypes about the personalities of different breeds. The American Kennel Club describes chihuahuas as “sassy,” and malamutes as “loyal,” while breed-specific legislation in many cities target breeds like pit bulls as stereotypically aggressive. But do these …
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Celebrating Earth Day With Sustainable Action
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While climate change is a global challenge, there are still many things you can personally do to make a small difference.By SciFri
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Do IPCC Report Recommendations Make Good Policy?
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We examine how effective the IPCC Report can be at generating climate policy. Plus, a look at promising climate solutions in development.By SciFri
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How Big Of A Role Should Carbon Removal Play In Curbing Emissions?
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A new carbon removal industry is booming, but how much should we rely on it—and invest in it—to reach our climate goals?By SciFri
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Building The World’s Largest Animal Crossing Outside of LA
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An engineering feat will soon reconnect habitats cut off from each other by Highway 101 for 75 years.By SciFri
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SciFri


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Life Has Found A Way On The Great Pacific Garbage Patch
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Researchers have found marine life colonizing the giant, swirling patch of trash in the Pacific Ocean.By SciFri
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Using The Earth’s Smallest Processes To Fix One of Humanity’s Biggest Problems: Plastic Pollution
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Breaking PET down to its building blocks with enzymes could give it a better chance for a second (or third) life.By SciFri
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A Bottom-Up Approach To Environmental Science
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Indigenous scientist and author Jessica Hernandez on what it might mean to heal—rather than conserve—endangered landscapes.By SciFri
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Science Friday


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Plastics And Ocean Life, Building An Animal Crossing, Indigenous Restoration. April 22, 2022, Part 2
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Building The World’s Largest Animal Crossing Outside of LA There’s a spot on Highway 101 in Agoura Hills, it’s pretty inconspicuous. There’s brown and green rolling hills on either side of the highway. Homes are sprinkled here and there. And then a small metal gate that leads off on a hiking trail. You probably wouldn’t know it, but soon this spot …
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Carbon Removal Technology, IPCC And Policy, Sustainability News, Listening To A River. April 22, 2022, Part 1
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Celebrating Earth Day With Sustainable Action Today is Earth Day, when many people around the world are taking time to think about their relationship with the planet and to focus on activities helping to mitigate the existential problems our environment faces. And we will be doing the same: devoting our program to Earth Day stories, ideas, and issu…
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Inaccurate COVID Case Numbers, Spending A Trillion Dollars To Solve Problems. April 15, 2022, Part 1
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FDA Approves First Breathalyzer COVID Test The FDA approved a new COVID breathalyzer test, which gives results in just three minutes. It’s the first test that identifies chemical compounds of coronavirus in breath. The testing unit is about the size of a piece of carry-on luggage and is intended to be used in medical offices and mobile testing site…
Scientists still know surprisingly little about the planet, which has only been visited by spacecraft once.By SciFri
A perfect storm of factors has resulted in COVID-19 case counts being so inaccurate they may be missing a current surge in cases.By SciFri
Where an infusion of cash might make the most progress toward fixing the planet’s problems.By SciFri
A classic film in the 1970s took on the collapse of civil society in 2022. Almost 50 years later, was it right?By SciFri
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The National Science Foundation Sets New Goals For ‘Use-Inspired’ Research
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NSF Director Sethuraman Panchanathan on a new directorate that he says will partner basic research with commercial applications.By SciFri
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The Colorado River Depends On A Diminishing Snowpack
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Ongoing drought makes it more important to understand data about snow and rivers.By SciFri
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SciFri


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FDA Approves First Breathalyzer COVID Test
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A new COVID breathalyzer test returns results in three minutes. Plus, a twisting tale about moon dust, and other recent science news.By SciFri
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NSF Director, Soylent Green In 2022, Colorado Snowpack, Springtime On Neptune. April 15, 2022, Part 2
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Did ‘Soylent Green’s’ Predictions About 2022 Hold Up? In the spring of 1973, the movie Soylent Green premiered. The film drops us into a New York City that’s overcrowded, polluted, and dealing with the effects of a climate catastrophe. Only the city’s elite can afford clean water and real foods, like strawberry jam. The rest of the population relie…
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FDA Convenes Panel On COVID Boosters And New Vaccines
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Scientists still lack data to determine best intervals for COVID-19 booster doses.By SciFri
Garden gurus and vegetable specialists give advice for planning, prepping, and planting your best garden yet.By SciFri