Science Friday
Episodes
What will our reaction be when we discover aliens?
Science Friday hosts Dr.
Beautiful botflies, luscious leeches, and the wonder of parasites
Science Friday host Flora Lichtman interviews entomologist Dr.
China's booming biotech, from a brain implant to drug discovery
Science Friday explores China’s approval of the Neo brain-computer interface, with Wired’s Emily Mullen discussing its potential for paralysis patients and comparison to US rivals like Neuralink.
Reconnecting with the night sky and reining in light pollution
Host Ira Flatow discusses light pollution with author Craig Childs, who recounts his bicycle journey from Las Vegas to dark desert skies to document the transition.
Amid shifting politics, can we build stable global health systems?
Flora Lichtman interviews Dr.
How does the gut-brain connection work?
Host Flora Lichtman interviews Dr.
Investigating ‘flow state’ with the bassist from Phish
Phish bassist Mike Gordon and neuroscientist Dr.
How the US patent system keeps drug prices high
Science Friday host Flora Lichtman interviews Tahir Amin, author of *Pharma Monopoly*, about how the US patent system drives high drug prices.
What was science like in America 250 years ago?
Host Ira Flatow and historian Dr.
An artificial cell eats, grows, and reproduces. Is it alive?
Science Friday hosts Dr.
Growing lunar potatoes + Dealing with razor-sharp moon dust
Host Flora Lichtman explores challenges for NASA’s Artemis lunar base with Dr.
Even Nobel Prize winners deal with imposter syndrome
Flora Lichtman interviews Nobel laureate Dr.
Squirrel poop drops Ice Age clues + The neuroscience of laughter
Dr.
Promising new treatments for pancreatic cancer and ALS
This episode highlights two major medical breakthroughs.
That chlorine smell at the pool? It’s pee
Science Friday host Flora Lixman interviews Purdue University professor Dr.
Under proposed rule, science funding must pass political review
Science Friday host Ira Flatow interviews Holden Thorpe, editor-in-chief of the Science Family of Journals, about a proposed OMB rule that would insert political review into federal grant funding.
Can you learn to love the scorpion?
This episode explores scorpions through two lenses: paleontology and modern biology.
FDA approves a well-known sunscreen ingredient—finally
Science Friday discusses the FDA’s approval of Bematrizinol, the first new U.
Why do sports announcers talk like that?
Sociolinguist Dr.
Swords, cannibalism, poison: inside the world of killer microbes
Science Friday explores microbial warfare with Dr.
When music transports you to a different place
Host Flora Lichtman interviews Dr.
A vast whale graveyard + Zombie sea cucumbers
This Science Friday episode explores two marine discoveries.
Should we bring mountain lions back to the Northeast?
Science Friday host Jane Lindholm interviews Dr.
Blue Origin explosion hits NASA timeline + Artemis III crew
Science Friday examines how Blue Origin’s New Glenn explosion impacts NASA’s Artemis timeline and the upcoming Artemis 3 mission.
Why can I handle tequila but not rum?
Science Friday explores the chemistry and health impacts of alcohol with Dr.
AI + turfgrass science in the most high-tech World Cup yet
Host Jane Lindholm explores the 2026 World Cup’s integration of AI and turf science.
How extreme athletes like Alex Honnold keep their cool
Science Friday explores the mental side of sports with Dr.
Parenting tips from the animal kingdom
Science journalist Elizabeth Preston discusses her book, *The Creature's Guide to Caring*, exploring how animal parenting strategies offer insights into human child-rearing.
Wait, is my washing machine playing Schubert?
Science Friday host Flora Lichtman apologizes for previously mocking a washing machine melody, which listeners identified as Schubert’s “The Trout.
A virus hunter in Nigeria has thoughts on the Ebola outbreak
Dr.
How did Neanderthals deal with illness and injuries?
Science Friday explores the origins of prehistoric medicine with Dr.
Looking for life in the clouds of Venus
MIT astrophysicist Dr.
Meet the drug developer taking on wildlife diseases
Dr.
Can the shingles vaccine stave off dementia?
Science Friday explores vaccines' unintended health benefits, featuring Dr.
Inside the Nebraska quarantine facility responding to hantavirus
Science Friday explores the National Quarantine Unit in Omaha, Nebraska, currently housing 18 Hantavirus-exposed cruise ship passengers.
Surveying wildlife along Lewis and Clark's route, 220 years later
Dr.
Pope Leo's encyclical on AI, and the Vatican science advisors
Science Friday explores Pope Leo’s new encyclical on AI, which urges safeguarding human dignity amid technological advancement.
Bizarre exoplanet clouds + Counting insects with weather radar
Flora Lichtman interviews Dr.
A trailblazing geneticist reflects on her life and work
Science Friday host Flora Lichtman interviews geneticist Dr.
Is that spooky old house full of ghosts, or just infrasound?
Dr.
How do clinical trials work, and who can participate?
Science Friday explores clinical trial eligibility and FDA drug approval standards with bioethicist Dr.
Use of herbicide linked to Parkinson's is on the rise in the US
Environmental reporter Delaney Nolan discusses a Mississippi plant leaking massive amounts of the toxic herbicide paraquat into the air, coinciding with high local Parkinson’s rates.
Why does fashion repeat in 20-year cycles? Math has the answer
Princeton mathematician Dr.
Earth's ancient hydrogen, and fossilized vomit
Planetary scientist Dr.
How yawning might help clear dirty fluid from the brain
Biomechanical engineer Dr.
The new frontier of cancer research is in space
Dr.
Who's composing music for my washing machine?
Science Friday explores the rise of sonic branding in appliances with composers Audrey Arbini and Joel Beckerman.
How El Niño shapes the world’s weather trends
Science Friday explores the potential for a "super El Niño" this year with NOAA research scientist Dr.
Planning your photo ops for a trip around the moon
Flora Lichtman interviews Dr.
Understanding the gynecological health crisis facing Black women
Dr.