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by Science Friday and WNYC Studios
Covering the outer reaches of space to the tiniest microbes in our bodies, Science Friday is the source for entertaining and educational stories about science, technology, and other cool stuff.
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- Today17 min
Why is brain cancer so hard to treat?
Brain cancers are rare, but devastating. Patients face short life expectancies after diagnosis. Brain tumors are often impossible to remove completely. And radiation and chemotherapy don’t always stop them from spreading. It’s a daunting class of disease to study, but that didn’t dissuade Michelle Monje from trying. She has spent two decades studying how brain tumors form and interact with healthy brain cells, and pioneered the field of cancer neuroscience. Guest: Dr. Michelle Monje is a professor of pediatric neuro-oncology at Stanford Medicine. Other episodes you may enjoy: Promising new treatments for pancreatic cancer and ALS The new frontier of cancer research is in space Transcripts for each episode are available within 1-3 days at sciencefriday.com. Subscribe to this podcast. Follow our show on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and Bluesky @scifri and sign up for our newsletters. Got a science question that’s keeping you up at night? Call us: 877-472-4374 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
- Yesterday17 min
How can astronaut food be better?
Astronaut food is not known as a frontier of culinary imagination, unless you count rehydrated shrimp cocktail. As NASA prepares for longer trips to the moon and Mars, is space cuisine ready for an overhaul? Flora speaks with retired astronaut Clayton Anderson, who spent 167 days in space, and chef David Skinner, who has advised NASA on how to make food for astronauts better. Guests: Clayton Anderson spent 15 years as a NASA astronaut, with stints on the International Space Station in 2007 and 2010. He’s currently based in Nebraska. David Skinner is the executive chef and owner of Eculent and Ishtia, two Houston restaurants. He’s advised NASA on how to make food for astronauts better. Other episodes you may enjoy: Mission Orbital Eats: Engineer Foods For Extreme Environments Making A Meal Fit For An Astronaut Transcripts for each episode are available within 1-3 days at sciencefriday.com. Subscribe to this podcast. Follow our show on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and Bluesky @scifri and sign up for our newsletters. Got a science question that’s keeping you up at night? Call us: 877-472-4374 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
- 2 days ago14 min
The reality of living with extreme heat in India
At one point this year, the 50 hottest cities on the planet were all in one country: India. The average peak temperature in those cities was 112 F. India is one of the most climate vulnerable countries in the world, and weather disasters, such as heat waves, have become more extreme and more common in recent years. So how is this extreme heat affecting people in India? And what needs to change to keep people safe? Flora speaks with Gulrez Azhar, a physician and researcher who has spent much of his career studying the health impacts of heat waves in India. Guest: Dr. Gulrez Azhar is a physician and researcher studying the health impacts of heat waves in India. Other episodes you may enjoy: The Alarming Impacts Of Extreme Heat Extreme Heat Is Making Learning—And Teaching—More Difficult Transcripts for each episode are available within 1-3 days at sciencefriday.com. Subscribe to this podcast. Follow our show on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and Bluesky @scifri and sign up for our newsletters. Got a science question that’s keeping you up at night? Call us: 877-472-4374 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
- 3 days ago18 min
Tracking shark populations, one shark at a time
About 130 days a year, a research vessel leaves Miami and sets out to catch, measure, sample, tag, and release sharks in Florida’s coastal waters. Over the course of a year, they’ll encounter about 600 animals in a process called “fisheries independent monitoring,” an effort to gather data on sea creatures that isn’t skewed by changes in fishing procedures, equipment, or regulations. Marine conservation biologist Catherine Macdonald leads the lab behind that effort. She joins Host Flora Lichtman to talk about shark conservation, share stories from her research, and spread shark joy. Guest: Dr. Catherine Macdonald is a marine conservation biologist and director of the Shark Research and Conservation Program, part of the Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science at the University of Miami. Other episodes you may enjoy: What Greenland Sharks Are Teaching Us About Aging Eyes Fishing For—And Saving—Sharks off the Jersey Shore Transcripts for each episode are available within 1-3 days at sciencefriday.com. Subscribe to this podcast. Follow our show on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and Bluesky @scifri and sign up for our newsletters. Got a science question that’s keeping you up at night? Call us: 877-472-4374 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
- 4 days ago12 min
The Black women codebreakers of the Cold War
During the early Cold War era, the United States Army and later the NSA began recruiting and training codebreakers and intelligence officers to decipher intercepted Soviet messages. Among those recruits were a group of highly skilled Black women who were employed as cryptologists to decode these messages. But their role in Cold War intelligence operations has been largely overlooked, until now. Host Flora Lichtman talks with historian Sarah Valentine about her book, “Decoding the Devil: Black Women Codebreakers and the Secret War Against Stalin’s Bomb.” Read an excerpt of “Decoding the Devil.” Guest: Dr. Sarah Valentine is the author of “Decoding the Devil: Black Women Codebreakers and the Secret War Against Stalin’s Bomb.” Transcripts for each episode are available within 1-3 days at sciencefriday.com. Subscribe to this podcast. Follow our show on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and Bluesky @scifri and sign up for our newsletters. Got a science question that’s keeping you up at night? Call us: 877-472-4374 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
- 1 weeks ago18 min
Asha de Vos’ journey from deck hand to marine science leader
The tropical waters of Sri Lanka, an island off the coast of India, are home to a population of blue whales unlike any other. These whales stay put, while every other known population migrates. That discovery was made by budding scientist Asha de Vos more than 20 years ago—it made a splash, and so did she. She later became the first Sri Lankan to earn a PhD studying marine mammals, charting a new scientific path in her country. De Vos joined Host Flora Lichtman in 2025 to discuss her path into science, what it means to be the first in her field, and how she built a marine biology program from the ground up. Guest: Dr. Asha de Vos is a marine biologist and the founder and executive director of the non-profit Oceanswell. She’s based in Sri Lanka. Transcripts for each episode are available within 1-3 days at sciencefriday.com. Subscribe to this podcast. Follow our show on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and Bluesky @scifri and sign up for our newsletters. Got a science question that’s keeping you up at night? Call us: 877-472-4374 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
- 1 weeks ago16 min
Why worry about my data If I have nothing to hide?
In the last couple months, Vermont, Alabama, and Oklahoma have passed data privacy laws. Massachusetts is negotiating its own version. Meanwhile, congressional lawmakers have introduced national privacy bills that would preempt these state laws. In light of all this legislation, we’re revisiting an interview from February about how the United States’ data ecosystem makes it possible for any number of government agencies and businesses to buy our private data, from facial scans to health records to location tracking. Host Flora Lichtman talks with law professor and tech policy expert Laura Moy, who has testified in Congress about privacy laws and how data brokers profit off of personal data. Guest: Laura Moy is an associate professor of law at Georgetown Law, based in Washington, D.C. Transcripts for each episode are available within 1-3 days at sciencefriday.com. Subscribe to this podcast. Follow our show on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and Bluesky @scifri and sign up for our newsletters. Got a science question that’s keeping you up at night? Call us: 877-472-4374 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
- 1 weeks ago30 min
Peering through dust clouds to the center of the galaxy
In 2020, Andrea Ghez shared the Nobel Prize for her observations of a supermassive compact object at the center of the Milky Way galaxy—an object that has all the hallmarks of a supermassive black hole. Ghez had developed techniques that allowed her to peer through galactic dust clouds with the Keck telescopes and observe the movements of stars orbiting the galactic center. Measuring their velocity and orbits provided information about the galactic core. She joins Host Flora Lichtman to talk about this game-changing discovery, what we’ve learned about the galactic center, and her own orbit in science. Guest: Dr. Andrea Ghez is a Nobel Laureate in Physics (2020) and a professor of physics & astronomy at UCLA. Other episodes you may enjoy: The Monster At The Heart Of The Milky Way A Mysterious Gas Is Discovered In The Milky Way Transcripts for each episode are available within 1-3 days at sciencefriday.com. Subscribe to this podcast. Follow our show on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and Bluesky @scifri and sign up for our newsletters. Got a science question that’s keeping you up at night? Call us: 877-472-4374 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
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About Science Friday
Covering the outer reaches of space to the tiniest microbes in our bodies, Science Friday is the source for entertaining and educational stories about science, technology, and other cool stuff.
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