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ahmad
Jan 11, 2023
Interesting topics and well researched. My problem is with way it is curated. The frequent shift of interlocutors back and forth makes it hard to follow at times.
George Datseris
Dec 8, 2022
An exceptionally good scientific podcast. As a researcher of 7+ years, I am astonished about the accessible presentation yet highly accurate scientific content. The podcast quality is also very high, with audio and interviews.
2bepainted
Nov 20, 2022
Very good!
Apr 20, 2022
Amy
Jan 2, 2022
excellent science podcast
Episode | Date |
---|---|
Expecting: Weed and pregnancy
1846
Many states have extremely punitive policies around cannabis and pregnancy. But researchers don't actually have great data on cannabis's harms.
For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable
It’s a great place to view show transcripts and read more about the topics on our show.
Also, email us! unexplainable@vox.com
We read every email.
Support Unexplainable by making a financial contribution to Vox! bit.ly/givepodcasts
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
|
May 24, 2023 |
Expecting: Baby brain
1675
Caring for a child seems to change parents’ brains. But what does that actually mean for how parents think and experience the world?
For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable
It’s a great place to view show transcripts and read more about the topics on our show.
Also, email us! unexplainable@vox.com
We read every email.
Support Unexplainable by making a financial contribution to Vox! bit.ly/givepodcasts
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
|
May 17, 2023 |
Expecting: Pregnancy souvenirs
2204
Fetuses leave cells behind in their parents' bodies, where they braid themselves into tissues, and remain, for years. What are they doing in there?
For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable
It’s a great place to view show transcripts and read more about the topics on our show.
Also, email us! unexplainable@vox.com
We read every email.
Support Unexplainable by making a financial contribution to Vox! bit.ly/givepodcasts
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
|
May 10, 2023 |
The tornado problem
1494
2023 has been a record-setting year for tornadoes, and these storms came with barely any warning. So to better understand tornadoes, scientists might need to confront more of these storms head-on.
For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable
It’s a great place to view show transcripts and read more about the topics on our show.
Also, email us! unexplainable@vox.com
We read every email.
Support Unexplainable by making a financial contribution to Vox! bit.ly/givepodcasts
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
|
May 03, 2023 |
How to resurrect a mammoth
1954
Scientists are hard at work trying to bring back woolly mammoths (and dodos). But should they? And what would they actually be bringing back?
For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable
It’s a great place to view show transcripts and read more about the topics on our show.
Also, email us! unexplainable@vox.com
We read every email.
Support Unexplainable by making a financial contribution to Vox! bit.ly/givepodcasts
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|
Apr 26, 2023 |
Live show, dead dinosaurs
2228
We did a live show! We talked about how one of our favorite episodes came together and how we went about creating (somewhat) accurate dinosaur sounds.
For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable
It’s a great place to view show transcripts and read more about the topics on our show.
Also, email us! unexplainable@vox.com
We read every email.
Support Unexplainable by making a financial contribution to Vox! bit.ly/givepodcasts
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
|
Apr 19, 2023 |
Talking trees
1384
Studies suggesting trees communicate through an elaborate underground fungal network have captured imaginations. It’s a beautiful idea, but the fantasy may have gotten ahead of the science.
For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable
It’s a great place to view show transcripts and read more about the topics on our show.
Also, email us! unexplainable@vox.com
We read every email.
Help keep this show and all of Vox's journalism free by making a gift to Vox today: bit.ly/givepodcasts
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
|
Apr 12, 2023 |
Your questions, unexplained
1708
This week, we tackle three listener questions — on sleepwalking, deja vu, and Earth’s magnetic field. Next time, we could be (not) answering yours. Email us at unexplainable@vox.com, or fill out this form.
For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable
It’s a great place to view show transcripts and read more about the topics on our show.
Also, email us! unexplainable@vox.com
We read every email.
Help keep this show and all of Vox's journalism free by making a gift to Vox today: bit.ly/givepodcasts
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
|
Apr 05, 2023 |
What's so funny?
1218
Scientists are digging into what makes something funny. We compare their notes with comedians — including Atsuko Okatsuka, Josh Johnson, Dulcé Sloan, and Chris Fleming.
For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable
It’s a great place to view show transcripts and read more about the topics on our show.
Also, email us! unexplainable@vox.com
We read every email.
Support Unexplainable by making a financial contribution to Vox! bit.ly/givepodcasts
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
|
Mar 22, 2023 |
Origins: The meaning of “life”
1605
For every definition of life, there’s a creature that sends us right back to the drawing board.
This is the third episode in our three-part series, Origins, about the beginnings and boundaries of life on Earth.
For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable
It’s a great place to view show transcripts and read more about the topics on our show.
Also, email us! unexplainable@vox.com
We read every email.
Support Unexplainable by making a financial contribution to Vox! bit.ly/givepodcasts
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
|
Mar 15, 2023 |
Origins: The first living thing
1766
How did life on Earth start? To help answer that, researchers are trying to create some life for themselves.
This is the second episode in our three-part series, Origins, about the beginnings and boundaries of life on Earth.
For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable
It’s a great place to view show transcripts and read more about the topics on our show.
Also, email us! unexplainable@vox.com
We read every email.
Support Unexplainable by making a financial contribution to Vox! bit.ly/givepodcasts
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
|
Mar 08, 2023 |
Origins: How did Earth get its water?
1624
Life as we know it needs water, but scientists can’t figure out where Earth’s water came from. Answering that question is just one piece of an even bigger mystery: “Why are we here?”
This is the first episode in our new three-part series, Origins, about the beginnings and boundaries of life on Earth.
For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable
It’s a great place to view show transcripts and read more about the topics on our show.
Also, email us! unexplainable@vox.com We read every email.
Support Unexplainable by making a financial contribution to Vox! bit.ly/givepodcasts
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
|
Mar 01, 2023 |
What is love?
2055
Can science help us predict whether a relationship will succeed? Or is it all just chaos?
This episode originally ran on February 9, 2022.
For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable
It’s a great place to view show transcripts and read more about the topics on our show.
Also, email us! unexplainable@vox.com
We read every email.
Support Unexplainable by making a financial contribution to Vox! bit.ly/givepodcasts
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
|
Feb 15, 2023 |
Why we hiccup
1781
Listeners told us that eating baby carrots or telling lies can bring on the hiccups. Burping or kissing can make them stop. Um, what?
For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable
It’s a great place to view show transcripts and read more about the topics on our show.
Also, email us! unexplainable@vox.com
We read every email.
Support Unexplainable by making a financial contribution to Vox! bit.ly/givepodcasts
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
|
Feb 08, 2023 |
We booped an asteroid
1344
Last fall, a NASA spacecraft slammed into an asteroid to test a way to avert a disaster on Earth. So are we safe now?
For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable
It’s a great place to view show transcripts and read more about the topics on our show.
Also, email us! unexplainable@vox.com
We read every email.
Support Unexplainable by making a financial contribution to Vox! bit.ly/givepodcasts
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
|
Feb 01, 2023 |
Your creepy, crawly roommates
1653
Our houses are homes to hidden worlds of bugs. And the more ecologists explore those worlds, the more they realize that some of our tiny roommates actually have a lot to teach us.
For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable
It’s a great place to view show transcripts and read more about the topics on our show.
Also, email us! unexplainable@vox.com
We read every email.
Support Unexplainable by making a financial contribution to Vox! bit.ly/givepodcasts
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
|
Jan 25, 2023 |
Henrietta Leavitt and the end of the universe
1960
In the early 1900s, Henrietta Leavitt made one of the most important discoveries in the history of astronomy: a yardstick to measure distances to faraway stars. Using this tool, scientists eventually transformed our understanding of the universe. They realized space was expanding, that this expansion was accelerating, and that ultimately, everything will end.
This episode originally ran on June 30, 2021.
For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable
It’s a great place to view show transcripts and read more about the topics on our show.
Also, email us! unexplainable@vox.com
We read every email.
Support Unexplainable by making a financial contribution to Vox! bit.ly/givepodcasts
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
|
Jan 18, 2023 |
Plants with eyes?
1692
In the temperate rainforests of Chile, there is a vine that can shapeshift to copy the look of other plants. But how? Can it... see them? Or is something weirder happening?
For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable
It’s a great place to view show transcripts and read more about the topics on our show.
Also, email us! unexplainable@vox.com
We read every email.
Support Unexplainable by making a financial contribution to Vox! bit.ly/givepodcasts
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
|
Jan 11, 2023 |
Unexplainable or Not: Bikes, planes, ice skates
1843
Our game show is back! This week, Avery Trufelman, host of the Articles of Interest podcast, tries to guess which of these three mysteries of movement have been solved and which are still unexplainable.
For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable
It’s a great place to view show transcripts and read more about the topics on our show.
Also, email us! unexplainable@vox.com
We read every email.
Support Unexplainable by making a financial contribution to Vox! bit.ly/givepodcasts
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
|
Jan 04, 2023 |
Your gut's feelings
1686
How we feel emotionally may be influenced by unseen troves of microbial life that live inside us. Is it possible to harness this gut power?
For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable
It’s a great place to view show transcripts and read more about the topics on our show.
Also, email us! unexplainable@vox.com
We read every email.
Support Unexplainable by making a financial contribution to Vox! bit.ly/givepodcasts
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
|
Dec 21, 2022 |
Nuclear fusion breaks through
1852
Back in January, we spoke to a scientist at the National Ignition Facility about how close they were to achieving what’s been called “one of the most impressive scientific feats of the 21st century.” This week, they announced they’ve finally done it.
A version of this episode originally ran on January 5, 2022.
For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable
It’s a great place to view show transcripts and read more about the topics on our show.
Also, email us! unexplainable@vox.com
We read every email.
Support Unexplainable by making a financial contribution to Vox! bit.ly/givepodcasts
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
|
Dec 14, 2022 |
Basic instinct
1712
How do animals know how to do things like spin a web or build a dam? A neuroscientist argues it's not “instinct.” Something bigger is going on.
For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable
It’s a great place to view show transcripts and read more about the topics on our show.
Also, email us! unexplainable@vox.com
We read every email.
Support Unexplainable by making a financial contribution to Vox! bit.ly/givepodcasts
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
|
Dec 07, 2022 |
Why we cry
1493
Humans seem to be the only animals that cry from emotion. What makes our tears so special?
For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable
It’s a great place to view show transcripts and read more about the topics on our show.
Also, email us! unexplainable@vox.com
We read every email.
Support Unexplainable by making a financial contribution to Vox! bit.ly/givepodcasts
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
|
Nov 30, 2022 |
Can we live in space?
1883
NASA just launched the Artemis program, a series of missions that will eventually take humans back to the moon, and beyond. But can humans actually survive in space long-term?
For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable
It’s a great place to view show transcripts and read more about the topics on our show.
Also, email us! unexplainable@vox.com
We read every email.
Support Unexplainable by making a financial contribution to Vox! bit.ly/givepodcasts
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
|
Nov 16, 2022 |
Holding on to power
1894
A mountain, a tower, a thermos full of molten salt: These are the batteries that could power our renewable future.
For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable
It’s a great place to view show transcripts and read more about the topics on our show.
Also, email us! unexplainable@vox.com
We read every email.
Support Unexplainable by making a financial contribution to Vox! bit.ly/givepodcasts
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
|
Nov 09, 2022 |
Redefining death
2065
Death used to be fairly self-evident, but new technologies have forced us to ask: When is someone actually dead? And now, new research is raising a further question: Could death someday be reversible?
For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable
It’s a great place to view show transcripts and read more about the topics on our show.
Also, email us! unexplainable@vox.com
We read every email.
Support Unexplainable by making a financial contribution to Vox! bit.ly/givepodcasts
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
|
Nov 02, 2022 |
Talking to ghosts
1867
Why do so many people think they can see and hear ghosts, and what does that say about our conscious experience of the world? This episode originally ran on October 27, 2021.
For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable
It’s a great place to view show transcripts and read more about the topics on our show.
Also, email us! unexplainable@vox.com
We read every email.
Support Unexplainable by making a financial contribution to Vox! bit.ly/givepodcasts
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
|
Oct 26, 2022 |
Why is everyone getting food allergies?
1593
In the past few decades, the rate of food allergies in both children and adults has dramatically increased. What’s causing this rise, and what can we do about it?
For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable
It’s a great place to view show transcripts and read more about the topics on our show.
Also, email us! unexplainable@vox.com
We read every email.
Support Unexplainable by making a financial contribution to Vox! bit.ly/givepodcasts
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
|
Oct 19, 2022 |
Introducing The Gray Area
3254
On the first episode of Vox’s new podcast, The Gray Area, host Sean Illing talks with Neil deGrasse Tyson about the limits of both politics and science.
Listen and follow on Apple Podcasts: https://bit.ly/3Cxl1KD
Listen and follow on Spotify: https://bit.ly/3er7Mn2
Listen and follow elsewhere: https://bit.ly/3yFt5b8
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|
Oct 15, 2022 |
Let’s play Unexplainable or Not
1845
For the first time, we get some answers.
For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable
It’s a great place to view show transcripts and read more about the topics on our show.
Also, email us! unexplainable@vox.com
We read every email.
Support Unexplainable by making a financial contribution to Vox! bit.ly/givepodcasts
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|
Oct 05, 2022 |
The math problem that could break the internet
2329
Today's internet is built on a series of locks and keys that protect your private information as it travels through cyberspace. But could all these locks be broken?
For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable
It’s a great place to view show transcripts and read more about the topics on our show.
Also, email us! unexplainable@vox.com
We read every email.
Support Unexplainable by making a financial contribution to Vox! bit.ly/givepodcasts
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
|
Sep 28, 2022 |
Jumping the gun
2038
At the 2022 World Athletics Championships, sprinter TyNia Gaither was disqualified for false starting ... after the gun went off. Officials said she started faster than humanly possible. How can that be?
For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable
It’s a great place to view show transcripts and read more about the topics on our show.
Also, email us! unexplainable@vox.com
We read every email.
Support Unexplainable by making a financial contribution to Vox! bit.ly/givepodcasts
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|
Sep 21, 2022 |
An Alzheimer's uproar
2260
This past July, a bombshell report in Science magazine suggested that a key Alzheimer’s study might have contained manipulated evidence. What does this mean for over a decade's worth of research? And where does the field go from here?
For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable
It’s a great place to view show transcripts and read more about the topics on our show.
Also, email us! unexplainable@vox.com
We read every email.
Support Unexplainable by making a financial contribution to Vox! bit.ly/givepodcasts
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
|
Sep 14, 2022 |
Salamander search party
1699
One of the world’s most biodiverse aquifers is full of strange, blind creatures that have evolved in isolation for millions of years. But one is missing.
This episode was reported by Benji Jones and Mandy Nguyen, who produced the episode. Editing from Meradith Hoddinott, Katherine Wells, Brian Resnick, and Noam Hassenfeld, who scored the episode. Mixing and sound design from Cristian Ayala. Fact-checking from Richard Sima.
For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable
It’s a great place to view show transcripts and read more about the topics on our show.
Also, email us! unexplainable@vox.com
We read every email.
Support Unexplainable by making a financial contribution to Vox! bit.ly/givepodcasts
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|
Aug 31, 2022 |
What did dinosaurs sound like?
2388
They probably didn’t roar like lions. Their real voices were likely much, much weirder. We asked scientists to help us recreate these strange, extinct sounds.
For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable
It’s a great place to view show transcripts and read more about the topics on our show.
Also, email us! unexplainable@vox.com
We read every email.
Support Unexplainable by making a financial contribution to Vox! bit.ly/givepodcasts
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
|
Aug 24, 2022 |
Can ovaries make new eggs?
1786
There's an old story scientists tell about human ovaries: that they are ticking clocks that only lose eggs, never gain them. Now that story might be changing, opening the door to new treatments for infertility and menopause.
For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable
It’s a great place to view show transcripts and read more about the topics on our show.
Also, email us! unexplainable@vox.com
We read every email.
Support Unexplainable by making a financial contribution to Vox! bit.ly/givepodcasts
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
|
Aug 17, 2022 |
Will the eel (slim, shady) please have sex?
2869
Where eels come from is a surprisingly difficult question to answer, in large part because scientists have never actually seen them reproduce in the wild. Gastropod explains why eels are somehow still so mysterious.
For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable
It’s a great place to view show transcripts and read more about the topics on our show.
Also, email us! unexplainable@vox.com
We read every email.
Support Unexplainable by making a financial contribution to Vox! bit.ly/givepodcasts
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|
Aug 10, 2022 |
Yawn baby yawn
2300
People yawn when they’re bored, right? So then why do athletes yawn before races? And why do so many animals yawn? … And why does reading this paragraph make you more likely to yawn?
For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable
It’s a great place to view show transcripts and read more about the topics on our show.
Also, email us! unexplainable@vox.com
We read every email.
Support Unexplainable by making a financial contribution to Vox! bit.ly/givepodcasts
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
|
Jul 27, 2022 |
What’s the James Webb telescope searching for?
2993
A lava planet, life on other worlds, the very first starlight in the universe — the most powerful space telescope ever built is ready to reveal many mysteries of the cosmos.
For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable
It’s a great place to view show transcripts and read more about the topics on our show.
Also, email us! unexplainable@vox.com
We read every email.
Support Unexplainable by making a financial contribution to Vox! bit.ly/givepodcasts
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
|
Jul 20, 2022 |
Vitamin X
2100
Millions of Americans take dietary supplements — everything from vitamins and minerals to weight loss pills and probiotics. But because supplements are loosely regulated in the US, their makers don't have to prove that they work, or even that they are safe.
For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable
It’s a great place to view show transcripts and read more about the topics on our show.
Also, email us! unexplainable@vox.com
We read every email.
Support Unexplainable by making a financial contribution to Vox! bit.ly/givepodcasts
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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|
Jul 13, 2022 |
Lost Worlds: What killed Venus?
1750
Venus is the hottest, scariest planet in the solar system, but billions of years ago it may have been a lot like Earth, complete with an ocean of water. So, how did Venus go to hell? And could Earth be next?
This is the final episode of our four-part series, Lost Worlds, and it originally ran on December 1, 2021.
For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable
It’s a great place to view show transcripts and read more about the topics on our show.
Also, email us! unexplainable@vox.com
We read every email.
Support Unexplainable by making a financial contribution to Vox! bit.ly/givepodcasts
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
|
Jun 29, 2022 |
Lost Worlds: Life on Mars?
1882
Mars was once a very different planet, with rivers, lakes, and — potentially — life. NASA’s latest Mars rover is on a mission to find traces of past life. What happens if it does?
This is the third episode of our new four-part series, Lost Worlds.
For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable
It’s a great place to view show transcripts and read more about the topics on our show.
Also, email us! unexplainable@vox.com
We read every email.
Support Unexplainable by making a financial contribution to Vox! bit.ly/givepodcasts
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
|
Jun 22, 2022 |
Lost Worlds: Why do we have a moon?
1670
In all our searching of the universe, we’ve never seen another moon like ours. It's big, it's weird, it's played a huge role in shaping our planet. But how did we get it? Every possible story points to cataclysm.
This is the second episode of our new four-part series, Lost Worlds.
For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable
It’s a great place to view show transcripts and read more about the topics on our show.
Also, email us! unexplainable@vox.com
We read every email.
Support Unexplainable by making a financial contribution to Vox! bit.ly/givepodcasts
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
|
Jun 15, 2022 |
Lost Worlds: Aliens from Earth?
1673
Was there a technologically advanced species living on Earth long before humans? And if one had existed, how would we know?
This is the first episode of our new four-part series, Lost Worlds.
For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable
It’s a great place to view show transcripts and read more about the topics on our show.
Also, email us! unexplainable@vox.com
We read every email.
Support Unexplainable by making a financial contribution to Vox! bit.ly/givepodcasts
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
|
Jun 08, 2022 |
Dropping like flies
1667
Insect populations are shrinking all over the world, and entomologists are buzzing with questions: Why is this happening? How quickly? And, most concerningly, what does it mean for food supplies or even life as we know it?
For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable
It’s a great place to view show transcripts and read more about the topics on our show.
Also, email us! unexplainable@vox.com
We read every email.
Support Unexplainable by making a financial contribution to Vox! bit.ly/givepodcasts
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
|
May 25, 2022 |
Is telepathy real?
1601
A groundbreaking study claims to have found a way for a fully paralyzed person to communicate entirely via thought. Today, Explained breaks down the science and asks: Is it too good to be true?
For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable
It’s a great place to view show transcripts and read more about the topics on our show.
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May 18, 2022 |
Why do we dream?
1465
Dreams are weird, but can they be a scientific tool? Can they teach us anything about humanity? About ourselves?
For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable
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May 11, 2022 |
Should I take a DNA ancestry test?
1749
What are the scientific, family, and privacy implications?
For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable
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May 04, 2022 |
My octopus friend?
1476
Octopuses are largely solitary animals, but there have been rare times — notably in the movie My Octopus Teacher — where they seem to have become comfortable around humans. But is it really possible to be friends with an octopus?
For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable
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Apr 27, 2022 |
Glow in the dark ocean
1830
Most deep-water creatures are bioluminescent. Marine biologist Edie Widder has spent the last 40 years trying to figure out why.
For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable
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Apr 20, 2022 |
When reality broke
1598
In the 1920s, the scientist Werner Heisenberg came up with a wild idea that broke reality as Western science knew it. And it's still unsettling to think about. Benjamin Labatut's recent book, When We Cease to Understand the World, makes readers feel the aftershocks of the revelation, asking, "What's real?"
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Apr 13, 2022 |
Making Sense: The sixth sense
1650
Why stop at five senses? Just how much of the world can we perceive? And how much is out there that’s still out of reach, hiding in the dark?
This is the sixth and final episode of our six-part series, Making Sense.
For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable
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Apr 06, 2022 |
Making Sense: Sight unseen
1547
Close your eyes and try to imagine an apple. Can you see anything? Aphantasia is the inability to see with your mind’s eye. Since it was discovered, scientists have been asking the question: What is the mind’s eye even for?
This is the fifth episode of our six-part series, Making Sense.
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Mar 30, 2022 |
Making Sense: The Umami Mama
2281
For thousands of years, there have been four basic tastes recognized across cultures. But thanks to Kumiko Ninomiya (a.k.a. the Umami Mama), scientists finally accepted a fifth. So could there be even more?
This is the fourth episode of our six-part series, Making Sense.
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Mar 23, 2022 |
Making Sense: No one nose
1815
Dogs can smell cancer, Covid-19, and many other health problems in humans. Now, scientists are trying to duplicate these powers in robotic sniffers. But there’s a big challenge here: Scientists don’t really understand how smell works. This is the third episode of our six-part series, Making Sense, and it originally ran on March 10, 2021.
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Mar 16, 2022 |
Making Sense: The healing power of touch
1750
Doctors can save the lives of premature infants, but the process is often painful. Luckily, a solution might be as simple as a parent’s loving touch.
This is the second episode of our new six-part series, Making Sense.
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Mar 09, 2022 |
Making Sense: How sound becomes hearing
2474
In the same way optical illusions trick our eyes, audio illusions can trick our ears. This raises a fundamental question: What is hearing, and how much of it is made up by our brains?
This is the first episode of our new six-part series, Making Sense.
You can find more of Diana Deutsch’s auditory illusions at https://bit.ly/3Mdh6H4, Matthew Winn's research at http://www.mattwinn.com/Research.html, and Mike Chorost's writing at https://michaelchorost.com
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Mar 02, 2022 |
The methane hunters
1431
Methane traps more than 80 times as much heat as CO2 over the short term. So we could make a real difference on climate change this decade if we could stop leaking so much methane into the atmosphere. But before researchers and regulators can figure out how to do that, the methane hunters need to find the leaks.
For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable
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|
Feb 16, 2022 |
What is love?
2022
Can science help us predict whether a relationship will succeed? Or is it all just chaos?
For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable
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Feb 09, 2022 |
A sonic tour of the solar system
1379
What does it sound like on Mars? On Jupiter? Titan? This collaboration between the podcast Twenty Thousand Hertz and the composer Melodysheep imagines the soundscapes of other worlds.
For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable
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Feb 02, 2022 |
Finding asteroids before they find us
1892
Scientists are constantly searching for asteroids that could crash into Earth. But if they find one, will they be able to do anything about it? NASA has launched a spaceship that will slam into an asteroid to find out.
For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable
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Jan 26, 2022 |
Skeleton Lake
1754
When scientists examined the DNA of ancient bones found near a Himalayan lake, they were forced to confront a seemingly impossible conclusion. This episode originally ran on March 24, 2021.
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Jan 19, 2022 |
Are humans running out of sperm?
1711
In 2017, researchers published an explosive finding: Sperm counts may be declining in some countries around the world. Media outlets began worrying about a potential Spermageddon, but other researchers have pumped the brakes. Because scientists know surprisingly little about sperm.
Also, Noam created a list on the Hark podcast app where he talked about some of his favorite bitesize moments of the show so far. And it’s easy to share with friends! https://bit.ly/3tib6pd
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Jan 12, 2022 |
The quest to build a star
1749
Scientists are closer than ever to harnessing fusion power — the same process that powers the sun — by essentially making a small star here on Earth. Fusion could give humanity its best shot at solving the climate crisis, but the technology has yet to be perfected and would require billions more in investments. Is it worth the bet?
For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable
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|
Jan 05, 2022 |
BONUS: The 2021 song
312
Noam wrote an end-of-year song with Today, Explained host Sean Rameswaram, so we thought to drop it here as a little end-of-year surprise.
Lyrics:
2021, it was gonna be fun
Get a couple shots and then you’re done
Then the second the year’d begun
We had an insurrection
2021, it was gonna be fun
Get a couple shots and then you’re done
Then the second the year’d begun
We had an insurrection
Yeah it wasn’t just what we hoped to see
We might have started too optimistically
So if we keep our expectations low
Maybe the world won’t seem so terrible
Yeah it wasn’t just what we hoped to see
We might have started too optimistically
So if we keep our expectations low
Maybe the world won’t seem so terrible
Dial back to when the year had begun
We were looking forward to the end of hibernation
But it didn’t even last a week
No it didn’t even last a week, mm-hmm
On the sixth day of 2021
Vanilla Isis tried to flip the election
But looking back we can’t agree
On the facts, no, we can’t agree, mm-mm
Pretty soon we were signing up for shots (shots!)
Talking about shots (shots!)
Shots shots shots (shots!)
Everyone was a pharma fan
With the Pfizer fam, the Moderna clan (J&J)
But we should have known Delta would happen
Most of humanity not getting vaxxed and
Fourth wave — fifth wave, in rhythm
That’s one more wave than feminism!
2021, it was gonna be fun
Get a couple shots and then you’re done
But according to Joe Ro-gun
You should take Ivermectin
Yeah it wasn’t just what we hoped to see
We might have started too optimistically
But if we keep our expectations low
Maybe the world won’t seem so terrible
A booster, I’m not sure I need it.
Dune on the IMAX, I seen it.
Back to the good life, I dreamed it. (Arrakis)
Wake up, reality, don’t fit.
Hope you don’t need a house or a condo (a condo)
Hope you don’t need a trip to Toronto (Toronto)
Hope you don’t need some gas for your Durango (Durango)
Hope you don’t need a can of dried mangos (dried mangos)
Everyone is feeling frustration
Quitting jobs — the Great Resignation
Blaming Biden for rising inflation
While billionaires shoot off to space, racing
Did we fix the grid in Texas? (yes)
Figure out how wide the Suez is? (yes)
Don’t ask me
All I see on TV
It's just fights on Critical Race Theory
2021, it was gonna be fun
Get a couple shots and then you’re done
Moving onto issue number one:
Whether to allow abortions!
Yeah it wasn’t just what we hoped to see
We might have started too optimistically
But if we keep our expectations low
Maybe the world won’t seem so terrible
I just want to be free
Of thinking about Covid-19
I just want to see
Something done about global warming
And I still don’t get NFT’s
Can’t understand crypto currency and
And we can’t agree on anything
But at least we got together to free Britney
(Oh baby baby)
2021, it was gonna be fun
Get a couple shots and then you’re done
Then the second as the year’d begun
We had an insurrection
And people lied about the last election
And made it harder to vote in elections
At least we don’t have another election
Wait, I think there’s another election...
2021, it was gonna be fun
Get a couple shots and then you’re done
Then the second we thought we’d won
We’re learning how to say "Omicron"
Guess you never know what’s gonna come through
Making plans for things you’ll never do
But take it from a brown guy (and a Jew)
There’s always 2022.
This song was written and performed by Sean Rameswaram and Noam Hassenfeld, produced by Noam, engineered by Efim Shapiro, and features additional vocals from Christina Animashaun.
For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable
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|
Dec 31, 2021 |
The building blocks of the universe
3294
Most of the matter in the universe is dark matter, an invisible, untouchable, mysterious substance. Scientists don’t know what exactly dark matter is, despite decades of searching. But recently, they got a new clue in the form of an extremely tiny dancer.
This episode is a remix of two prior episodes of Unexplainable, which has been airing on broadcast radio through a partnership with American Public Media.
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Dec 22, 2021 |
99% of ocean plastic is missing
1854
How can we solve the problem of ocean plastic if we don’t know where most of the plastic is?
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Dec 15, 2021 |
How medicine mansplained women’s health
1597
Until 1993, many researchers excluded women from clinical drug trials, leaving doctors in the dark about how new treatments work in more than half the population. This is the story of why that happened, the women who fought to change it, and what we still don’t know about how sex and gender affect health.
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Dec 08, 2021 |
How Venus went to hell
1709
Venus is the hottest, scariest planet in the solar system, but billions of years ago it may have been a lot like Earth, complete with an ocean of water. So, what killed Venus? And could Earth be next?
For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable
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Dec 01, 2021 |
Mind readers
1990
Will scientists ever fully understand the human brain? In their quest for knowledge, they’ve tried knives, magnets, computers, blood, and even a good metaphor.
For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable
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Nov 17, 2021 |
A brainless yellow goo that does math
1573
Slime molds can navigate mazes, control robots, and make complicated decisions, all without a central nervous system. If this weird gooey blob can think, does that mean scientists are thinking about intelligence all wrong?
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Nov 10, 2021 |
Why whales get beached
1356
Every year, thousands of marine mammals end up trapped on beaches, but it’s often hard to figure out why. It’s even harder to figure out how much humans are to blame.
For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable
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Nov 03, 2021 |
Talking to ghosts
1964
Why do so many people think they can see and hear ghosts, and what does that say about our conscious experience of the world?
For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable
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Oct 27, 2021 |
Honey, we shrunk the birds
1699
A recent study of tens of thousands of birds has shown that birds are growing smaller over time. It could be due to climate change, and if so, we ought to consider: How else might humans be altering the literal shape of life on Earth — now and in the future?
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Oct 20, 2021 |
Nobel Prize 2.0
1597
The Nobel Prize has rewarded some amazing discoveries. It’s also contributed to scientific tunnel vision. This week, how the Nobel impacted our understanding of an enormous cosmic mystery, and what a new and improved Nobel Prize could look like.
For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable
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Oct 06, 2021 |
The James Webb Time Machine
1770
To look into deep space is to look back in time. With the upcoming launch of the James Webb Space Telescope, scientists hope to see “cosmic dawn,” a period long ago when the first starlight transformed the universe. But what happened before cosmic dawn? The Webb can’t tell us, though future telescopes could.
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Sep 29, 2021 |
The James Webb Space Telescope
1648
After decades of planning, NASA is finally (finally!) set to launch the successor to the Hubble. The new Webb telescope will be a paradigm shift for astronomy, exploring places in the cosmos that have been completely invisible to us until now. But first, it has to safely reach a point nearly a million miles away from the Earth.
For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable
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Sep 22, 2021 |
What causes Alzheimer’s?
1870
For decades, Alzheimer’s researchers have been stubbornly pursuing a single theory, but they’re starting to wonder: is this narrow focus the reason we still don’t have a cure?
For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable
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Sep 15, 2021 |
Havana syndrome
1763
Several years after US diplomats in Cuba claimed they were attacked by an invisible weapon, similar incidents continue to be reported around the world. Scientists haven’t been able to determine a definitive cause, but the possibilities point toward something just as mysterious as the illness itself: the inner workings of the human brain.
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Sep 01, 2021 |
Getting to the bottom of butts
1612
Once upon a time, there were no anuses. These ingenious organs allowed our primordial ancestors to grow bigger and more complex, but scientists still don’t understand how they evolved. And they’re still grasping at a mystery that literally surrounds it: Why is the human butt so big?
For more go to http://vox.com/unexplainable
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Aug 25, 2021 |
The mysteries of endometriosis
1882
This common chronic condition — where tissue similar to what grows inside the uterus grows elsewhere in the body — is barely understood. So why is a condition so prevalent and painful still so unknown? It has a lot to do with who gets to ask research questions.
Correction, August 18: An earlier version of this episode implied that the tissue involved in endometriosis is the same as the endometrium, which lines the uterus. It is similar tissue, but not identical.
For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable
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Aug 18, 2021 |
A 150-year-old human
1845
Two scientists. A billion-dollar wager. One unanswered question: Is the first human who will live to 150 already alive? The technology to make that happen may already be in development. But if it works, there will be new, unsettling questions for humankind to answer.
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Aug 11, 2021 |
How low can you go?
1645
Earlier this year, Nicole Yamase explored the bottom of the Challenger Deep, the deepest place in the ocean, where few people have ever been. The rest of the seafloor is almost as mysterious — 80 percent remains unmapped — but the few glimpses scientists have gotten have completely revolutionized our understanding of the planet.
For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable
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Aug 04, 2021 |
The tornado problem
1518
8 minutes, 24 seconds. That’s the average amount of warning time people get before a tornado touches down. To do better, and to understand tornadoes, scientists need to confront more of these storms, head on.
For a clean version of this episode and more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable
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Jul 28, 2021 |
Moon poop
1515
Astronauts left something on the moon that could help unlock the origins of life itself.
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Jul 21, 2021 |
Hot pink flying squirrels
1839
An accidental discovery on a nighttime walk led one scientist and his team to wonder: How many mammals glow under ultraviolet light? The list keeps growing, but scientists still aren’t sure why these furry creatures glow.
For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable
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Jul 14, 2021 |
Henrietta Leavitt and the end of the universe
1940
In the early 1900s, Henrietta Leavitt made one of the most important discoveries in the history of astronomy: a yardstick to measure distances to faraway stars. Using this tool, scientists eventually transformed our understanding of the universe. They realized space was expanding, that this expansion was accelerating, and that ultimately, everything will end.
For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable
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Jun 30, 2021 |
How do animals know where to go?
1736
As part of a massive new global tracking project, scientists are monitoring animals from a receiver on the International Space Station, mapping the incredible, previously unknown journeys that animals undertake. They’re beginning to tackle questions like how far do animals actually move? And how in the world do they know where they’re going?
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Jun 23, 2021 |
Invasion of the jumping worms
1529
These worms are fast, they’re mysterious, and they’re quickly changing North American ecosystems. How worried should we be about global worming?
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Jun 16, 2021 |
The many heights of Mount Everest
1772
How tall is the world’s tallest mountain? The answer is surprisingly tricky, which means that Everest’s official height is constantly changing. In fact, depending on the type of measurement scientists use, Everest may not be the tallest mountain in the world.
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Jun 09, 2021 |
Unexplainable Flying Objects
2008
UFOs are real, but that doesn’t mean they’re aliens. Today, Explained, Vox's daily news podcast, tells the story of America's longstanding relationship with UFOs and what we might learn from an upcoming government report.
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Jun 02, 2021 |
The hunt for a new Pluto
1939
Something strange is going on at the outer reaches of the solar system. One astronomer thinks it might be a Neptune-sized ninth planet, and he’s on a quest to find it.
That search is happening at an enormous telescope on the summit of Maunakea, a dormant Hawaiian volcano with a long astronomical and cultural history. But many Native Hawaiian scientists are asking: What’s lost in the pursuit of larger and larger telescopes?
For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable
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May 26, 2021 |
Cloudy with a chance of chaos
1756
It’s surprisingly hard to predict how clouds form, move, and change, but it’s essential to try. Because how clouds react to a warming world helps determine how hot our future will be.
For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable
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May 19, 2021 |
A new force of nature?
1552
Last month, physicists at Fermilab in Illinois found that tiny subatomic particles called muons were wobbling strangely. This small observation could transform the future of particle physics, potentially pointing toward undiscovered particles or maybe even a new force of nature.
For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable
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May 12, 2021 |
Placebos work. Why?
1590
For decades, scientists thought that placebos only worked if patients didn’t know they were taking them. Not anymore: You can give patients placebos, tell them they’re on sugar pills, and they still might feel better. No one is sure how this works, but it raises a question: Should doctors embrace placebos in mainstream medicine?
For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable
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May 05, 2021 |
A virus that could heal people
1473
In 2016, the UN declared antibiotic-resistant bacteria the “greatest and most urgent global risk.” Our best hope just might be phages, or viruses that attack bacteria. Phages’ potential is enormous, but so is everything we don’t know about them.
For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable
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Apr 28, 2021 |
The Twilight Zone of the ocean
1652
Every day, untold numbers of strange organisms rise from the middle of the ocean to its surface. They may be playing a crucial role in slowing climate change, so scientists are struggling to understand this migration ... before it’s too late.
For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable
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Apr 21, 2021 |
The viral ghosts of long Covid
1579
Scientists don’t understand why so many people suffer from Covid-19 symptoms for months, well after they stop testing positive. But that’s just the start of the mystery. There are other diseases that cast these long shadows, and they point to a major blind spot in medicine.
For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable
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Apr 14, 2021 |
Is a ton of psychology just ... wrong?
1842
A decade ago, psychologists realized much of their science was fatally flawed, calling untold numbers of studies into question. Now, some young psychologists are trying to rebuild the foundations of their field. Can they succeed?
For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable
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Apr 07, 2021 |
It’s ball lightning!
1646
For millennia, people have been reporting stories of mysterious spheres of light that glow, crackle, and hover eerily during thunderstorms. They’ve been spotted in people’s homes, and are even said to be able to pass through windows. No one knows how ball lightning forms — but that’s not stopping scientists from attempting to recreate it in their labs.
For further reading, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable
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Mar 31, 2021 |
Skeleton Lake
1641
When scientists examined the DNA of ancient bones found near a Himalayan lake, they were forced to confront a seemingly impossible conclusion.
*This episode has been updated. In the original version, we mixed up carbon isotopes with carbon isotope ratios.
For further reading, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable
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Mar 24, 2021 |
Journey Toward the Center of the Earth
1762
Sixty years ago, geologists tried to drill down through the Earth’s crust to pull up a piece of the Earth’s mantle. Their mission didn’t go exactly as planned. But it sowed the seeds for a new field of science that’s helped us rewrite not only the history of the planet, but, potentially, our definitions of life itself.
The documentaries featured in this episode are "The First Deep Ocean Drilling: Mohole, Phase 1" and "Project Mohole: Report No. 1."
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Mar 17, 2021 |
No one nose
1825
Believe it or not, scientists still don't know how the sense of smell works. But they're looking at how powerful it is - dogs can actually sniff out cancer and many other diseases - and they're trying to figure out how to reverse engineer it. In fact, one MIT scientist may have built a robot nose ... without completely understanding how his invention works.
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Show transcript and articles at: http://vox.com/unexplainable
Article on quantum nose theory: https://bit.ly/3clurfs
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Mar 10, 2021 |
Most of the universe is missing
2059
Scientists all over the world are searching for dark matter: an invisible, untouchable substance that holds our universe together. But they haven't found it. Are they chasing a ghost?
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Show transcript and articles (including one about why we made this show now): http://vox.com/unexplainable
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Mar 10, 2021 |
Introducing Unexplainable
152
Scientists don’t know what 95% of the universe is made of. They don’t know how a bike stays up. They don’t even really know how the nose works. Join us every Wednesday on Unexplainable for deep dives into the unknown, because what we don’t know is awesome. New episodes March 10th.
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Feb 19, 2021 |