Short Wave

Science discoveries and mysteries explained in 15-minute episodes AI summary

NPR Visit website › Science · EN · 1592 episodes · latest 2026-11-13

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What it is about

New discoveries, everyday mysteries, and the science behind the headlines — in just under 15 minutes. It's science for everyone, using a lot of creativity and a little humor. Join hosts Emily Kwong and Regina Barber for science on a different wavelength. Support public media by joining NPR+ at plus.npr.org. You’ll get perks for over 25 NPR podcasts, including sponsor-free listening for Short Wave.

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Latest episodes

AI could help hospitals diagnose PTSD in real time

2026-11-13 · 12 min

Every year, millions of people in the United States develop PTSD from a traumatic event—like a car crash, an assault or freak accident. A lot of those people end up in the ER answering the same question: “What brought…
Can scientists reverse your age?

2026-11-11 · 14 min

Reversing aging may sound like science fiction, but scientists have already found a way to do it—at least, theoretically. Based on a 2012 Nobel-prize winning discovery, researchers are testing whether they can revert…
How this year's record El Niño could hit your wallet

2026-11-10 · 10 min · Episode 1584

Peru’s anchovy industry, the largest single-species fishery in the world, is being rocked by the ongoing El Niño . It’s not the first time the fishery has been impacted by the natural weather phenomenon — El Niño gets…
An ‘Ozempic baby boom’? The GLP-1 pregnancy plot twist

2026-11-09 · 12 min

The explosion of GLP-1 drugs has created a gray zone for pregnancy. That recently prompted the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists to issue its first ever guidance on the topic. In a twist, the drugs may…
Predicting elections is getting harder. What did the midterms teach us?

2026-11-05 · 13 min

Famously, polls got the 2016 election wrong. And they’d been off for multiple elections since. So, Monday night, political scientist Jack Rametta nervously refreshed his Senate forecasting model for the final time.…
AI is changing mathematics -- but not how you think

2026-11-04 · 14 min

Math has created some of humanity's oldest intellectual challenges. And AI is completely changing the game. This year AI solved one of math’s most difficult problems. Since then, OpenAI published hundreds of new math…
OpenAI whistleblowers on the fight over AI safety | Machine Gods

2026-11-03 · 32 min

Check out NPR’s newest podcast, Machine Gods. It’s the official podcast of the singularity, meaning — the hypothetical future when machines will outpace our own intelligence…and our control. Whether you think that…
Could virtual reality speed up learning?

2026-11-02 · 10 min

Does swinging a lightsaber help us learn? New research from Florida Atlantic University and Brown University found that movement dramatically helps with certain kinds of complex learning. The research was published in…
Is your favorite crime show rooted in fake science?

2026-10-30 · 15 min · Episode 1578

If you’ve ever seen a crime show, you probably know how the plot unfolds: A victim is found, an investigation ensues and police conduct a high-stakes search for the culprit. Detectives and crime lab techs collect hair,…
MAHA’s midterm report card

2026-10-28 · 13 min

It’s been just over two years since the rise of Make America Healthy Again, or MAHA. The movement united a coalition of moms, wellness influencers and voters across the political spectrum over concerns about chronic…

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Publisher details

Oldest episode in feed: 10/2019 · over 7 years
Typical length: 13 min
Format: Episodic Newest first, episodes stand alone

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