Science Friday
@scifri.bsky.social
Entertaining & educational conversations about science, tech, + more. Hosted by Ira Flatow and Flora Lichtman. From WNYCStudios.
We have a special Valentine’s Day bonus episode! 🎙️ 💝
Are dating apps making it harder to find true love? Sex researcher Justin Garcia talks about how we're dating and connecting—or not—in the digital age. buff.ly/ZLBwiQA
Are dating apps making it harder to find true love? Sex researcher Justin Garcia talks about how we're dating and connecting—or not—in the digital age. buff.ly/ZLBwiQA
Mating, Marriage, And Monogamy In The Age Of Apps
An evolutionary biologist weighs in on mating and dating in the age of apps. Is pair bonding passé? Is single the new married?
www.sciencefriday.com
February 14, 2026 at 2:32 PM
We have a special Valentine’s Day bonus episode! 🎙️ 💝
Are dating apps making it harder to find true love? Sex researcher Justin Garcia talks about how we're dating and connecting—or not—in the digital age. buff.ly/ZLBwiQA
Are dating apps making it harder to find true love? Sex researcher Justin Garcia talks about how we're dating and connecting—or not—in the digital age. buff.ly/ZLBwiQA
Happy Science Friday! Here’s what we’re covering today on the show. Listen on your local public radio station, 2-4 p.m. ET. 👃 🫖 🧑🔬
Learn more here: buff.ly/0eAOWBR
Learn more here: buff.ly/0eAOWBR
February 13, 2026 at 6:00 PM
Happy Science Friday! Here’s what we’re covering today on the show. Listen on your local public radio station, 2-4 p.m. ET. 👃 🫖 🧑🔬
Learn more here: buff.ly/0eAOWBR
Learn more here: buff.ly/0eAOWBR
An ape having pretend tea parties with scientists suggests humans may not be the only species capable of imagining.🐵 ☕️ buff.ly/pxMBoIX
What A Tea Party With A Bonobo Taught Us About Imagination
Is the capacity to imagine unique to humans? Scientists thought so—until a bonobo named Kanzi was invited to a pretend tea party.
www.sciencefriday.com
February 13, 2026 at 2:39 PM
An ape having pretend tea parties with scientists suggests humans may not be the only species capable of imagining.🐵 ☕️ buff.ly/pxMBoIX
Is being an iPad kid bad for the brain? Researchers are linking increased screen time to brain and behavioral changes in children. buff.ly/13J1iR4
How Is Screen Time Affecting My Kid?
Researchers have correlated brain and behavioral changes in kids to increased time on phones and other screen devices.
www.sciencefriday.com
February 12, 2026 at 6:17 PM
Is being an iPad kid bad for the brain? Researchers are linking increased screen time to brain and behavioral changes in children. buff.ly/13J1iR4
Instead of stopping to smell the roses, try an embalmed Egyptian mummy. Chemists and perfumers are bringing ancient scents back to life, giving us a new whiff of history.
Who Wants To Smell An Ancient Embalmed Mummy?
Chemists and perfumers are using new techniques to bring ancient scents back to life, from mummies to a 5,000-year-old incense burner.
buff.ly
February 11, 2026 at 6:05 PM
Instead of stopping to smell the roses, try an embalmed Egyptian mummy. Chemists and perfumers are bringing ancient scents back to life, giving us a new whiff of history.
Feel like the world is on fire and not sure how to get through it? Take some inspo from Cyanobacteria. 🦠 These 3.5 billion-year-old organisms have lived through literal hell-on-earth conditions and continue to persevere.
Stressed About The World? Take A Cue From Cyanobacteria
In turbulent times, it helps to hear stories of resilience. What can we learn from 3.5 billion-year-old bacteria that eat light?
buff.ly
February 10, 2026 at 6:18 PM
Feel like the world is on fire and not sure how to get through it? Take some inspo from Cyanobacteria. 🦠 These 3.5 billion-year-old organisms have lived through literal hell-on-earth conditions and continue to persevere.
The largest particle collider in the US has powered down, after more than 25 years of colliding gold ions at near-light speed. What did scientists learn, and what’s next for particle physics?
The Largest US Particle Collider Stops Its Collisions
The Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider, or RHIC, has ceased operation. What’s next for particle physics?
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February 9, 2026 at 6:11 PM
The largest particle collider in the US has powered down, after more than 25 years of colliding gold ions at near-light speed. What did scientists learn, and what’s next for particle physics?
Happy Science Friday! Here’s what we’re covering today on the show. Listen on your local public radio station, 2-4 p.m. ET. ⛷️ 🐐 ⭐️ 🧑💻
📸 : Kevin White
Learn more here: buff.ly/8RIIRNG
📸 : Kevin White
Learn more here: buff.ly/8RIIRNG
February 6, 2026 at 5:30 PM
Happy Science Friday! Here’s what we’re covering today on the show. Listen on your local public radio station, 2-4 p.m. ET. ⛷️ 🐐 ⭐️ 🧑💻
📸 : Kevin White
Learn more here: buff.ly/8RIIRNG
📸 : Kevin White
Learn more here: buff.ly/8RIIRNG
Are goats the GOAT of mountaineering?🏔️🐐
Host Flora Lichtman learns about climbing snowy mountains as “skimo,” aka ski mountaineering, ⛷️ makes its debut as a Winter Olympic event. Plus, a wildlife ecologist talks about the gravity-defying skills of mountain goats. buff.ly/4QwuKnV
Host Flora Lichtman learns about climbing snowy mountains as “skimo,” aka ski mountaineering, ⛷️ makes its debut as a Winter Olympic event. Plus, a wildlife ecologist talks about the gravity-defying skills of mountain goats. buff.ly/4QwuKnV
Olympic Ski Mountaineering, And Mountain Goat Climbing Feats
The mountaineering history behind "skimo," a new Winter Olympic event. Plus, research into a true alpine champion, the mountain goat.
www.sciencefriday.com
February 6, 2026 at 3:08 PM
Are goats the GOAT of mountaineering?🏔️🐐
Host Flora Lichtman learns about climbing snowy mountains as “skimo,” aka ski mountaineering, ⛷️ makes its debut as a Winter Olympic event. Plus, a wildlife ecologist talks about the gravity-defying skills of mountain goats. buff.ly/4QwuKnV
Host Flora Lichtman learns about climbing snowy mountains as “skimo,” aka ski mountaineering, ⛷️ makes its debut as a Winter Olympic event. Plus, a wildlife ecologist talks about the gravity-defying skills of mountain goats. buff.ly/4QwuKnV
People want to keep their private info just that—private. But personal data can be collected by businesses, advertisers, and gov agencies like ICE. Flora Lichtman talks with tech policy expert Laura Moy about how advances in data analysis makes buying personal data easier than ever.
In The Age Of ICE, How Is Our Personal Data Getting Used?
It's easier than ever for companies to collect your personal data and compile it into a profile for advertisers, ICE, and other agencies.
buff.ly
February 5, 2026 at 5:16 PM
People want to keep their private info just that—private. But personal data can be collected by businesses, advertisers, and gov agencies like ICE. Flora Lichtman talks with tech policy expert Laura Moy about how advances in data analysis makes buying personal data easier than ever.
🦠 This #PictureOfTheWeek is spirulina alga, a type of cyanobacteria. They've been around for 3.5 billion years, survived countless world changes, and helped oxygenate the planet through photosynthesis. Listen to our last broadcast to find out what they can teach us about resilience. buff.ly/NoEML3k
February 5, 2026 at 12:04 AM
🦠 This #PictureOfTheWeek is spirulina alga, a type of cyanobacteria. They've been around for 3.5 billion years, survived countless world changes, and helped oxygenate the planet through photosynthesis. Listen to our last broadcast to find out what they can teach us about resilience. buff.ly/NoEML3k
The suggestion to “eat real food” may be easier said than done. Estimates say that 60% of the American diet is ultraprocessed foods. We talk about the new dietary guidelines, how highly processed foods affect our health, and what policymakers could do to change what’s on our plates.
Should Ultraprocessed Foods Be Off The Menu?
New USDA dietary guidelines tell us to “eat real food.” Should policymakers get highly processed foods out of our stores and school lunches?
buff.ly
February 4, 2026 at 5:57 PM
The suggestion to “eat real food” may be easier said than done. Estimates say that 60% of the American diet is ultraprocessed foods. We talk about the new dietary guidelines, how highly processed foods affect our health, and what policymakers could do to change what’s on our plates.
We’re working on a story about how children’s immune systems and microbiomes develop and we want to hear from you. Have you let your kids eat food that was dropped on the ground? 🍭 Argued with grandparents about cleanliness? 🧼 Saw your child do something incredibly gross? 🤢 Call us at 877 4 SCIFRI.
February 3, 2026 at 11:47 PM
We’re working on a story about how children’s immune systems and microbiomes develop and we want to hear from you. Have you let your kids eat food that was dropped on the ground? 🍭 Argued with grandparents about cleanliness? 🧼 Saw your child do something incredibly gross? 🤢 Call us at 877 4 SCIFRI.
Word of the day: Agrivoltaics. It means using land for both agriculture and solar panels. 🌱 ☀️ Sounds like a great idea, but could it work on a large, industrial scale? Join Host Ira Flatow, reporter Jana Rose Schleis, and environmental economics expert Madhu Khanna to find out.
The Growing Experiment Of Putting Solar Panels On Farmland
Agrivoltaics combines solar panels and agriculture on the same land. It’ll be an uphill battle for it to hit the mainstream.
buff.ly
February 3, 2026 at 6:03 PM
Word of the day: Agrivoltaics. It means using land for both agriculture and solar panels. 🌱 ☀️ Sounds like a great idea, but could it work on a large, industrial scale? Join Host Ira Flatow, reporter Jana Rose Schleis, and environmental economics expert Madhu Khanna to find out.
Anything can become a game, but are point systems a bad thing? Philosopher C. Thi Nguyen ( @add-hawk.bsky.social ), author of “The Score,” talks about what we lose when we constantly keep score and how we should live more playfully.
⭐Five stars podcast—worth a listen.
⭐Five stars podcast—worth a listen.
We’re All Being Played By Metrics
A new book explores what we lose when we’re always keeping score—at work, in life, even within ourselves. Can games help set us free?
buff.ly
February 2, 2026 at 6:04 PM
Anything can become a game, but are point systems a bad thing? Philosopher C. Thi Nguyen ( @add-hawk.bsky.social ), author of “The Score,” talks about what we lose when we constantly keep score and how we should live more playfully.
⭐Five stars podcast—worth a listen.
⭐Five stars podcast—worth a listen.
🎙️ Bonus podcast alert!
SciFri Host Flora Lichtman teamed up with our friends at “The Middle with Jeremy Hobson” for this special episode. With science skepticism growing post-pandemic and scientific research facing funding cuts, how can we rebuild public trust in science?
Listen now: buff.ly/vYQZ272
SciFri Host Flora Lichtman teamed up with our friends at “The Middle with Jeremy Hobson” for this special episode. With science skepticism growing post-pandemic and scientific research facing funding cuts, how can we rebuild public trust in science?
Listen now: buff.ly/vYQZ272
January 31, 2026 at 12:00 PM
🎙️ Bonus podcast alert!
SciFri Host Flora Lichtman teamed up with our friends at “The Middle with Jeremy Hobson” for this special episode. With science skepticism growing post-pandemic and scientific research facing funding cuts, how can we rebuild public trust in science?
Listen now: buff.ly/vYQZ272
SciFri Host Flora Lichtman teamed up with our friends at “The Middle with Jeremy Hobson” for this special episode. With science skepticism growing post-pandemic and scientific research facing funding cuts, how can we rebuild public trust in science?
Listen now: buff.ly/vYQZ272
Happy Science Friday! Here’s what we’re covering today on the show. Listen on your local public radio station, 2-4 p.m. ET. 🐩🧑🚀🦠
Learn more here: buff.ly/NoEML3k
Learn more here: buff.ly/NoEML3k
January 30, 2026 at 5:31 PM
Happy Science Friday! Here’s what we’re covering today on the show. Listen on your local public radio station, 2-4 p.m. ET. 🐩🧑🚀🦠
Learn more here: buff.ly/NoEML3k
Learn more here: buff.ly/NoEML3k
From wolves to chihuahuas 🐺➡️🐕, domestication can be weird and fascinating.
New research suggests dogs started diversifying thousands of years earlier than we thought. Plus, an experiment to tame wild silver foxes is giving scientists insight into how domestication begins.
New research suggests dogs started diversifying thousands of years earlier than we thought. Plus, an experiment to tame wild silver foxes is giving scientists insight into how domestication begins.
Untangling The History Of Dog Domestication
A new study suggests dogs began to diversify about 11,000 years earlier than we thought. Plus, a long-running experiment to domesticate foxes.
buff.ly
January 30, 2026 at 3:30 PM
From wolves to chihuahuas 🐺➡️🐕, domestication can be weird and fascinating.
New research suggests dogs started diversifying thousands of years earlier than we thought. Plus, an experiment to tame wild silver foxes is giving scientists insight into how domestication begins.
New research suggests dogs started diversifying thousands of years earlier than we thought. Plus, an experiment to tame wild silver foxes is giving scientists insight into how domestication begins.
Is mistrust in science growing? Science historian Naomi Oreskes looks to the past to unpack current skepticism and explores how ghostwriting in scientific papers affects public trust.
Are These Unprecedented Times for Science, Really?
A science historian looks to the past to understand our current moment, and how ghostwriting in scientific papers is harming public trust.
buff.ly
January 29, 2026 at 6:23 PM
Is mistrust in science growing? Science historian Naomi Oreskes looks to the past to unpack current skepticism and explores how ghostwriting in scientific papers affects public trust.
Nasa’s Artemis ll SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft stand tall on on the launch pad in our #PictureOfTheWeek. Artemis ll’s test flight will take four astronauts around the Moon and back to Earth later this year. Former astronaut Jim Wetherbee shares his thoughts on managing the risks of spaceflight.
January 28, 2026 at 7:45 PM
Nasa’s Artemis ll SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft stand tall on on the launch pad in our #PictureOfTheWeek. Artemis ll’s test flight will take four astronauts around the Moon and back to Earth later this year. Former astronaut Jim Wetherbee shares his thoughts on managing the risks of spaceflight.
China, for the past couple of years, has deployed as many wind farms and solar panels as the rest of the world combined. It's also exporting its solar tech on a massive scale, bringing down the price of electricity across the globe. 🔋
How China Is Driving Down Electricity Costs With Renewables
China is reshaping its energy economy with renewables like wind and solar—and flooding the world with affordable solar technology.
buff.ly
January 28, 2026 at 6:26 PM
China, for the past couple of years, has deployed as many wind farms and solar panels as the rest of the world combined. It's also exporting its solar tech on a massive scale, bringing down the price of electricity across the globe. 🔋
With life-threatening diseases, what systems determine who gets medical care and who gets left behind? Join us for a free SciFri Book Club livestream with author Daisy Hernández, where we’ll discuss “The Kissing Bug” and her research into Chagas disease and medical ethics.
January 27, 2026 at 9:04 PM
With life-threatening diseases, what systems determine who gets medical care and who gets left behind? Join us for a free SciFri Book Club livestream with author Daisy Hernández, where we’ll discuss “The Kissing Bug” and her research into Chagas disease and medical ethics.
Do we have to accept the risks of space travel? We look back on the Challenger tragedy and look ahead to the Artemis II mission with former NASA astronaut Jim Wetherbee, who says we should try to control risks, rather than accepting them. 🚀
Managing The Risks Of Spaceflight, 40 Years After Challenger
As we enter a new age of space travel, a former NASA astronaut says that rather than accepting risk, we should try to control risks.
buff.ly
January 27, 2026 at 5:55 PM
Do we have to accept the risks of space travel? We look back on the Challenger tragedy and look ahead to the Artemis II mission with former NASA astronaut Jim Wetherbee, who says we should try to control risks, rather than accepting them. 🚀
If you’ve been sick with a terrible flu this year, you’ve likely encountered a variant called subclade K. An infectious disease specialist explains why it’s made this flu season so bad, and how the flu shot factors in.
How A Mutation Made This Year’s Flu Season So Bad
A flu variant called subclade K emerged too late to be fully covered by this year's vaccine. But the flu shot can still help protect you.
buff.ly
January 26, 2026 at 6:07 PM
If you’ve been sick with a terrible flu this year, you’ve likely encountered a variant called subclade K. An infectious disease specialist explains why it’s made this flu season so bad, and how the flu shot factors in.
Community-collected data can reveal the impacts of industry on everything from air quality to fisheries. But in Louisiana, a law sets strict limits on what kind of data can be used to enforce regulations. Journalist Elise Plunk reports on how environmental groups are responding: buff.ly/uQUxUQu
January 25, 2026 at 4:45 AM
Community-collected data can reveal the impacts of industry on everything from air quality to fisheries. But in Louisiana, a law sets strict limits on what kind of data can be used to enforce regulations. Journalist Elise Plunk reports on how environmental groups are responding: buff.ly/uQUxUQu