• 1 hour 3 minutes
    23 Weeks 6 Days

    When Kelley Benham and her husband Tom French finally got pregnant, after many attempts and a good deal of technological help, everything was perfect. Until it wasn't. Their story raises questions that, until recently, no parent had to face… and that are still nearly impossible to answer.

    This hour, which we first released in 2013, we spend the entire episode on the story of Kelley and Tom, whose daughter was born at 23 weeks and 6 days, roughly halfway to full term. Their story contains an entire universe of questions about the lines between life and death, reflex and will, and the confusing tug of war between two basic moral touchstones: doing no harm...and doing everything in our power to help. Kelley has written about her experience in a brilliant series of articles in the Tampa Bay Times. 

    If you want to know more about what we talk about in the update tacked onto the end of this episode, check out the links below: 

    Check out the book that Tom and Kelley wrote about Juniper here:

    And when you're done listening to the episode, be sure to check out the video below--but be warned, it does contain spoilers. 

    EPISODE CREDITS:
    Reported by Jad Abumrad
    Produced by Matt Kielty and Jad Abumrad
    Update produced by Pat Walters and Anisa Vietze
    with mixing help from Jeremy Bloom
     

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    11 September 2026, 2:00 pm
  • 58 minutes 25 seconds
    60 Words

    We’re coming up on the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, and it had us thinking about an episode we produced in 2014. It’s the story of one sentence, written in the hours after September 11th, 2001, that has led to the longest war in U.S. history. We examine how just 60 words of legal language have blurred the line between war and peace. 

    In the hours after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, a lawyer sat down in front of a computer and started writing a legal justification for taking action against those responsible. The language that he drafted and that President George W. Bush signed into law—called the Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF)—has at its heart one single sentence, 60 words long. Over the last decade, those 60 words have become the legal foundation for the "war on terror." In this collaboration with BuzzFeed, reporter Gregory Johnsen tells us the story of how this has come to be one of the most important, confusing, troubling sentences of the last two decades. We go into the meetings that took place in the chaotic days just after 9/11, speak with Congresswoman Barbara Lee and former Congressman Ron Dellums about the vote on the AUMF. We hear from former White House and State Department lawyers John Bellinger & Harold Koh. We learn how this legal language unleashed Guantanamo, Navy Seal raids and drone strikes. And we speak with journalist Daniel Klaidman, legal expert Benjamin Wittes and Virginia Senator Tim Kaine about how these words came to be interpreted, and what they mean for the future of war and peace. 

    LATERAL CUTS -
    Really anything from our sister show, More Perfect

    EPISODE CREDITS: 
    Reported by - Kelsey Padgett
    with help from - Matt Kielty
    Produced by - Matt Kielty
    with help from - Kelsey Padgett

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    Follow our show on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook @radiolab, and share your thoughts with us by emailing [email protected].

    Leadership support for Radiolab’s science programming is provided by the Simons Foundation and the John Templeton Foundation. Foundational support for Radiolab was provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.




     


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    4 September 2026, 2:00 pm
  • 1 hour 4 minutes
    Dolly Parton's America: Sad Ass Songs

    The world lost a legend recently, and we wanted in some small way to pay tribute to the great Dolly Parton. So we’re playing you an episode from a series we had a small part in back in 2017, Dolly Parton’s America. 

    The series kicked off with a simple question: How did the queen of the boob joke become a feminist icon? Helen Morales, author of “Pilgrimage to Dollywood,” gave us a stern directive – look at the lyrics! So we dive into Dolly’s discography, starting with the early period of what Dolly calls “sad ass songs” to find remarkably prescient words of female pain, slut-shaming, domestic violence, and women being locked away in asylums by cheating husbands. We explore how Dolly took the centuries-old tradition of the Appalachian “murder ballad”—an oral tradition of men singing songs about brutally killing women—and flipped the script, singing from the woman’s point of view. And as her career progresses, the songs expand beyond the pain to tell tales of leaving abuse behind.

    How can such pro-woman lyrics come from someone who despises the word feminism? Best to let Dolly tell you herself. 

    EPISODE CREDITS: 
    Reported by - Jad Abumrad and Shima Oliaee
    Produced by - Jad Abumrad
    with help from - W. Harry Fortuna
    Original music from - Alex Overington
    Sound design contributed by - Alex Overington
    and Edited by  - Suzie Lechtenberg

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    28 August 2026, 2:00 pm
  • 51 minutes 33 seconds
    Patient Zero

    The greatest mysteries have a shadowy figure at the center—someone who sets things in motion and holds the key to how the story unfolds. In epidemiology, this central character is known as Patient Zero—the case at the heart of an outbreak. This hour, Radiolab digs up an episode we first produced in 2011 and hunts for Patient Zeroes from all over the map. We start with the story of perhaps the most iconic Patient Zero of all time: Typhoid Mary. Then, we dive into a molecular detective story to pinpoint the beginning of the AIDS, and we re-imagine the moment the virus that caused the global pandemic sprang to life. After that, we're left wondering if you can trace the spread of an idea the way you can trace the spread of a disease. In the end, we find ourselves faced with a choice between competing claims about the origin of the high five. 

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    Follow our show on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook @radiolab, and share your thoughts with us by emailing [email protected].
    Leadership support for Radiolab’s science programming is provided by the Simons Foundation and the John Templeton Foundation. Foundational support for Radiolab was provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.


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    21 August 2026, 2:00 pm
  • 25 minutes 54 seconds
    Nigel and the Real Gannet

    In 2016, Chris Bell, a ranger with New Zealand’s Department of Conservation, was the sole human inhabitant of a small island off the west coast of the country, called Mana Island. He was there to take care of the island’s fragile and recovering ecosystem, including a colony of Australasian Gannets at the top of a high cliff overlooking the sea. But there was one catch. All but one of these striking seabirds were fake, made of concrete and paint. 

    This week on Radiolab, producer Annie McEwen tells us a love story about a rogue bird and what happens when the things we want for animals clash with what they seem to choose for themselves. 

    Special thanks to Melody Thomas and Kirsten Johnstone from Popsock Media, the New Zealand-based podcast company. Thanks also to Mathias Kom and Ariel Sharratt from The Burning Hell and Steven Lambke at You’ve Changed Records. 

    Visit Friends of Mana Island at https://manaisland.org.nz/ to learn more about conservation efforts on Mana Island.

    EPISODE CREDITS:
    Reported by - Annie McEwen
    Produced by - Annie McEwen
    with mixing help from - Jeremy Bloom
    Fact-checking by - Diane A. Kelly
    and Edited by - Alex Neason

    EPISODE CITATIONS:

    Videos - 

    There are many Nigel-inspired songs, poems, and plays find links to a few of them below:

    Literature - 

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    Follow our show on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook @radiolab, and share your thoughts with us by emailing [email protected].


    Leadership support for Radiolab’s science programming is provided by the Simons Foundation and the John Templeton Foundation. Foundational support for Radiolab was provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.


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    14 August 2026, 2:00 pm
  • 36 minutes 4 seconds
    Red Herring

    It was the early '80s, the height of the Cold War, when something strange began happening off the coast of Sweden. The navy reported a mysterious sound deep below the surface of the ocean. Again, and again, and again they would hear it near their secret military bases, in their harbors, and up and down the Swedish coastline. After thorough analysis the navy was certain. The sound was an invasion into their waters, an act of war, the opening salvos of a possible nuclear annihilation. Or was it? Today, Annie McEwen pulls us down into a deep-sea mystery, one of international intrigue that asks you to consider the possibility that maybe, just maybe, your deepest beliefs could be as solid as...air.

    Special thanks to Ben Wilson, Ola Tunander, Hans Gordon, Andreas Timmelstad, Klaus Helmersen, and Meg Bolz.

    LATERAL CUTS -

    EPISODE CREDITS:
    Reported by - Annie McEwin
    with help from - Magnus Ormstadt
    Produced by - Annie McEwin, Matt Kielty, Sarah Qari
    Original music and sound design contributed by - Jeremy Bloom

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    Follow our show on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook @radiolab, and share your thoughts with us by emailing [email protected].


    Leadership support for Radiolab’s science programming is provided by the Simons Foundation and the John Templeton Foundation. Foundational support for Radiolab was provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.


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    7 August 2026, 2:00 pm
  • 1 hour 17 minutes
    The Shoe Thrower

    When no one seems to be listening, how far do you go to be heard?

    In December 2008, George W. Bush made a surprise visit to Baghdad for a press conference. And at the very end of his remarks, a shoe came flying past his head. 

    It was “the shoe heard around the world,” and countless jokes and memes ensued. 

    But in the pandemonium, many missed the story of the man at the center: Muntadhar Al-Zaidi, a weary journalist trying to get the world to see the Iraq War in a different light. Even fewer people know what happened to him after. 

    Nearly two decades later, Radiolab reporter Sarah Qari tracked Al-Zaidi down to learn the story of his life. What she found was a story about grief, anger, and the line where journalism ends and protest begins.

    Special thanks to Azmat Khan and Mustafa Salim.


    EPISODE CREDITS:
    Reported by Sarah Qari, with help from Mariam Dwedar
    Translation by Mais Al-Bayaa and Mariam Dwedar
    Produced by Sarah Qari
    Sound design contributed by  Sarah Qari 
    Mixed by Jeremy Bloom
    Editing help from Annie McEwen
    Fact-checking by Emily Krieger and Heba Elorbany

    LATERAL CUTS:
    If you liked this episode and want to hear more fascinating deep dives we’ve done on The War on Terror, check out our episode:

    • 60 Words (https://radiolab.org/podcast/60-words),
    • or our series The Other Latif (https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/other-latif)

    EPISODE CITATIONS:

    Collaborator’s Work - 

    Journal Articles _

    Films - 

    Inspired by the shoe throw - 

    If you want more fun facts that didn’t make it into the story, follow Sarah at @bysarahqari on Instagram, where she’ll be sharing more in the coming weeks.

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    Follow our show on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook @radiolab, and share your thoughts with us by emailing [email protected].

    Leadership support for Radiolab’s science programming is provided by the Simons Foundation and the John Templeton Foundation. Foundational support for Radiolab was provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.


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    31 July 2026, 2:00 pm
  • 55 minutes 47 seconds
    Return of Alpha Gal

    Several years ago, in 2016, we told a story about Amy Pearl. For as long as she could remember, Amy loved meat in all its glorious cuts and marbled flavors. And then one day, for seemingly no reason, her body wouldn’t tolerate it.  No steaks. No brisket. No weenies. It made no sense: why couldn’t she eat something that she had routinely enjoyed for decades? 

    It turned out Amy was not alone. And the answer to her mysterious allergy involved maps, a dancing lone star tick, and a very particular sugar called Alpha Gal. 

    In this update, we discover that our troubles with Alpha Gal go way beyond food. We go to NYU Langone Health hospital to see the second ever transplant of a kidney from a pig into a human, talk to some people at Revivicor, the company that bred the pig in question, and go back to Amy to find out what she thinks about this brave new world.

    The original episode was reported by Latif Nasser, and produced by Annie McEwen and Matt Kielty. Sound design and scoring from Dylan Keefe, Annie McEwen, and Matt Kielty. Mix by Dylan Keefe with Arianne Wack.

    The update was reported and produced by Sarah Qari. It was sound designed, scored, and mixed by Jeremy Bloom.

    LATERAL CUTS:

    Support Radiolab by becoming a member today at Radiolab.org/donate.   

    Sign up for our newsletter!! It includes short essays, recommendations, and details about other ways to interact with the show. Signup (https://radiolab.org/newsletter)!

    Radiolab is supported by listeners like you. Support Radiolab by becoming a member of The Lab (https://members.radiolab.org/) today.

    Follow our show on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook @radiolab, and share your thoughts with us by emailing [email protected].
    Leadership support for Radiolab’s science programming is provided by the Simons Foundation and the John Templeton Foundation. Foundational support for Radiolab was provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.


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    24 July 2026, 2:00 pm
  • 29 minutes 5 seconds
    Neither Confirm Nor Deny

    In an episode we first ran back in 2014, we explore how a sunken nuclear submarine, a crazy billionaire, and a mechanical claw gave birth to a phrase that has hounded journalists and lawyers for 40 years and embodies the tension between the public’s desire for transparency and the government’s need to keep secrets.  

    Whether it comes from government spokespeople or celebrity publicists, the phrase “can neither confirm nor deny” is the perfect non-denial denial. It’s such a perfect deflection that it seems like it’s been around forever, but reporter Julia Barton takes us back to the 1970s and the surprising origin story of what’s now known as a “Glomar Response.” With help from David Sharp and Walt Logan, we tell the story of a clandestine CIA operation to lift a sunken Soviet submarine from the ocean floor and the dilemma they faced when the world found out about it. It’s an episode we first released in 2014, but given some things in the news recently, it resonated with us again.

    In the 40 years since that operation, the Glomar Response has become boilerplate language from an array of government agencies. With help from ProPublica editor Jeff Larson and NPR’s Dina Temple-Raston, we explore the implications of this ultimate information dodge. ACLU lawyer Jameel Jaffer explains how it stymies oversight, and we learn that, even 40 years later, governmental secrecy can be emotionally painful.

    More information about Glomar:

    After 40 years, many of the details of Project Azorian are only now coming to light. The US government’s default position has been to keep as much of it classified as possible. It took three years for retired CIA employee David Sharp to get permission to publish his account of Project Azorian. And FOIA played an indirect role in that, as Cold War historians got the CIA to release, in redacted form, an internal history of the mission. After that and a threat of legal action, Sharp was finally able to publish his manuscript in 2012.

    We mentioned conspiracy theories that have swirled around Project Azorian filling the void where official silence has reigned. One of them is promulgated in the 2005 book “Red Star Rogue” by Kenneth Sewell and Clint Richmond. They posit that the K-129 was taken over by rogue Stalinist KGB agents in order to start a nuclear conflict. But the conflict was to be between the US and China, as, according to the authors, the sub had powers to disguise its sonic signature as a Chinese Navy vessel.

    This book is the basis of the 2013 drama “Phantom,” which features Ed Harris and David Duchovny as Soviet military officers who sip vodka in a very un-Russian way.

    Russian Naval historians, like Nikolai Cherkashin, are not only insulted by this take on the cause of the K-129’s demise, they say the true cause is much easier to pinpoint: They say an American vessel, possibly the USS Swordfish, collided with the Soviet submarine.

    Despite the fact that the US government has turned over many documents about Project Azorian and what it found to the Russian government, many in the Russian Navy stand by their theory that it was far too easy for the US to locate the K-129 on the bottom of the Pacific, given the technology of the time. According to these theories, Project Azorian was nothing more than an elaborate cover-up disguised as ... an elaborate cover-up. We can neither confirm nor deny that we exactly understand how that would have worked in practice or execution.

    It’s one of the more solemn moments of the Cold War, and one that the Glomar Response helped keep a secret for a very long time.

    LATERAL CUTS:
    What Lies Beneath (https://radiolab.org/podcast/what-lies-beneath) 

    EPISODE CREDITS: 
    Reported by - Julia Barton

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    Leadership support for Radiolab’s science programming is provided by the Simons Foundation and the John Templeton Foundation. Foundational support for Radiolab was provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.


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    17 July 2026, 2:00 pm
  • 37 minutes 47 seconds
    The Holy Shiver

    Lauren Brown gets goosebumps. A lot. Sometimes several times a day. When her partner, writer Carmen Maria Machado, noticed it...she couldn't stop thinking about it. Why does she get them in so many different situations? What’s happening in her body and what does it mean? We take that question and run with it. We face chilly winds, sudden frights, and moments when the world seem to shift under your feet to figure out what the little bumps on our skin might be trying to tell us.  

    Special thanks to Rachel Gross, Gregory Rupik

    EPISODE CREDITS:
    Reported by Maria Paz Gutierrez
    Produced by Maria Paz Gutierrez, Sindhu Gnanasambandan
    Fact-checking by Angely Mercado

    EPISODE CITATIONS:

    Website - 

    Software -

    • Rewire website (https://rewire.bio) - Check out Felix and Nicco's Holy Shiver generator and signup for early access to their app.

    Videos - 

    Books -

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    Radiolab is supported by listeners like you. Support Radiolab by becoming a member of The Lab (https://members.radiolab.org/) today.

    Follow our show on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook @radiolab, and share your thoughts with us by emailing [email protected].


    Leadership support for Radiolab’s science programming is provided by the Simons Foundation and the John Templeton Foundation. Foundational support for Radiolab was provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.


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    10 July 2026, 2:00 pm
  • 40 minutes 48 seconds
    Atomic Artifacts

    Back in the 1950s, facing the threat of nuclear annihilation, federal officials sat down and pondered what American life would actually look like after an atomic attack. They faced a slew of practical questions like: Who would count the dead and where would they build the refugee camps? But they faced a more spiritual question as well. If Washington DC were hit, every object in the the National Archives would be eviscerated in a moment. Terrified by this reality, they set out to save some of America’s most precious stuff. Today, we look back at the items our Cold War era planners sought to save and we ask the question: what objects would we preserve now?

    We first released this episode back in 2020, but with our big fourth of July – 250 years! – just around the corner, we thought it was a strange but profound reflection on what this whole America thing that we’re celebrating… actually is.

    Special thanks to Luke Manon, Ben Irving, Bill Pretzer, Jason Spier, and Garrett Graff for all his reporting that made this episode possible.


    LATERAL CUTS -
    The Cataclysm Sentence (https://radiolab.org/podcast/cataclysm-sentence)

    EPISODE CREDITS: 
    Reported by - Simon Adler
    with help from - Tad Davis
    Produced by - Simon Adler
    Original music and sound design contributed by - SIMON ADLER
    and Edited by  - Pat Walters

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    Radiolab is supported by listeners like you. Support Radiolab by becoming a member of The Lab (https://members.radiolab.org/) today.

    Follow our show on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook @radiolab, and share your thoughts with us by emailing [email protected].


    Leadership support for Radiolab’s science programming is provided by the Simons Foundation and the John Templeton Foundation. Foundational support for Radiolab was provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.


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    3 July 2026, 2:00 pm
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