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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.If you're hooked, try Short Wave Plus. Your subscription supports the show and unlocks a sponsor-free feed. Learn more at plus.npr.org/shortwave
- 11 minutes 18 secondsCould This Exoplanet Harbor Life?Want to be a top notch candidate for hosting alien life? Then there's a few key requirements you should be aware of: Ideally, you're a large object like a moon or a planet; scientists suspect you also have an atmosphere and water; plus, you should orbit your star from a nice mid-range distance — in the "Goldilocks Zone" of habitability. Until recently, you would be competing against TRAPPIST-1 e. It's a planet outside of our solar system. TRAPPIST-1 e is also only 40 light years away, rocky and the same size as Earth, which prompted researchers to investigate whether it also has an atmosphere — and the potential for alien life. A team of researchers has been investigating TRAPPIST-1 e to learn more about its potential. Their answers, recently published in the Astrophysical Journal Letters, say a lot not just about this exoplanet, but about how scientists should refocus their hunt for alien life.
Interested in more space science? Email us your question at [email protected].
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NPR Privacy Policy12 December 2025, 8:00 am - 12 minutes 55 secondsHow Replaceable Are You?In the 1970’s TV show called Six Million Dollar Man, a test pilot is in a horrible accident. The show’s famous line goes, “We can rebuild him. We have the technology.” Now, in the 2025 book, Replaceable You, science writer Mary Roach explores how people have collectively lived up to the task of rebuilding human bodies when they fail, as well as all the ways we may not quite be there yet. In this episode Regina G. Barber and Mary Roach discuss three chapters of the book, get into everything from iron lungs to private parts and try to answer the question, “How replaceable are you?”
Interested in more science behind the human body? Check out our episodes on synthetic cells and the first pig kidney transplant. Email us your question at [email protected].
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NPR Privacy Policy10 December 2025, 8:00 am - 15 minutes 3 secondsThe Closest Thing To A Cure For AllergiesMore than 100 million people in the U.S. have some allergy each year. That’s about every 1 in 3 adults. For many, the fix is a bandaid: over-the-counter allergy medications. But there’s another treatment that works to lessen these reactions rather than just manage people’s symptoms, allergy shots. The treatment has been around for over a century and is still popular today. Patients have to take the shots for a few years, and it’s the closest thing science has to a cure. Host Regina G. Barber speaks with Dr. Gina Dapul-Hidalgo about how this immunotherapy works and how certain guidelines to keep your child from developing common food allergies have changed.
Interested in more science behind allergies? Check out our other episodes:- Having a food allergy? And how your broken skin barrier might be the cause
- Spring Allergies and what to do about them
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NPR Privacy Policy9 December 2025, 8:00 am - 15 minutes 41 secondsControversy In Yellowstone
Thirty years ago, park rangers reintroduced grey wolves into Yellowstone National Park. They wanted to restore the ecosystem and get the elk population, which had decimated the plant community, in check. And it worked – or so the popular narrative suggests. But is it really so simple? Today on the show, we explore how the Yellowstone ecosystem has changed since wolves returned and whether those changes can really be pinned solely on wolves. Plus, how the narrative of the Yellowstone wolf legacy could affect wolf reintroduction elsewhere. (encore)
Curious about other science controversies? Email us at [email protected].
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NPR Privacy Policy8 December 2025, 8:00 am - 12 minutes 55 secondsAmericans Are Not Going To The Dentist EnoughAn estimated 5-10% of the U.S. population experiences a disorder with their TMJ, the joint that connects their jaw to their skull. The good news? Relief is possible. The secret? Go see your dentist. Today on the show, Emily talks with Justin Richer, an oral surgeon, about the diagnosis and treatment of TMJ disorders.
Got a question about your teeth or dentistry? Email us at [email protected].
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NPR Privacy Policy5 December 2025, 8:00 am - 13 minutes 47 secondsWhat Are AI Data Centers Doing To Your Electric Bill?Electricity bills are on track to rise an average of 8 percent nationwide by 2030 according to a June analysis from Carnegie Mellon University and North Carolina State University. The culprits? Data centers and cryptocurrency mining. Bills could rise as much as 25 percent in places like Virginia. Science writer Dan Charles explains why electric utilities are adding the cost of data center buildings to their customers’ bills while the data companies pay nothing upfront.
Read the full June analysis here.
To listen to more on the environmental impact of data centers, check out our two-part reported series:
- Why the true water footprint of AI is so elusive
- How tech companies could shrink AI's climate footprint
Interested in how technology affects everyday life? Email us your question at [email protected].
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NPR Privacy Policy3 December 2025, 8:00 am - 14 minutes 20 secondsWhy Experts Are Racing To Learn About This Interstellar CometThe comet 3I/ATLAS is taking a long holiday journey this year. It’s visiting from another solar system altogether. Those interstellar origins have the Internet rumor mill questioning whether 3I/ATLAS came from aliens. Co-hosts Emily Kwong and Regina G. Barber dive into that, plus what it and other interstellar comets can tell us about planets beyond our solar system.
Read more of NPR’s coverage of 3I/ATLAS. Also, if you liked this episode, check out our episodes on:
- the physics in the film Interstellar
- why Pluto is still helpful for learning how our solar system formed
Interested in more space science? Email us your question at [email protected].
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NPR Privacy Policy2 December 2025, 8:00 am - 14 minutes 22 secondsWho Should Track Their Blood Sugar?Prediabetes is common in the U.S. — around 1 in 3 people have it. And many people may not know they have it. But last year, the FDA approved the first over-the-counter continuous glucose monitor. Since then, more people without diabetes have started checking their blood glucose levels. Diabetologist and University of California, San Francisco professor of medicine Dr. Sarah Kim shares the science behind blood glucose with host Emily Kwong.
Check out more of NPR’s coverage about continuous glucose monitors.
Interested in more science of the human body? Email us your question at [email protected].
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NPR Privacy Policy1 December 2025, 8:00 am - 8 minutes 41 secondsWhat’s In A Kiss? 21 Million Years Of EvolutionHow far back in evolutionary history does kissing go? Through phylogenetic analysis, an international team of scientists found that kissing was likely present in the ancestor of all apes – which lived 21 million years ago. Not only that: They were definitely kissing Neanderthals. The study was published in the journal Evolution and Human Behavior. In this news roundup, we also talk about new clues about the collision that created our moon and a moss surviving the hardships of space.
Interested in stories about human evolution? Email us your question at [email protected].
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NPR Privacy Policy28 November 2025, 8:00 am - 15 minutes 28 secondsHow To Disagree BetterMany people are gearing up for holiday conversation with loved ones who may disagree with them -- on everything from politics to religion and lifestyle choices. These conversations can get personal and come to a halt quickly. But today on the show, we get into neuroscience and psychological research showing that as much as we disagree, there are ways to bridge these divides -- and people who are actively using these strategies well in their daily lives. (encore)
Want to hear more neuroscience and psychology? Email us your ideas to [email protected] — we'd love to hear from you!
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NPR Privacy Policy26 November 2025, 8:00 am - 14 minutes 35 secondsNature Quest: The Earthquake Prediction ProblemTheir whole life, producer Hannah Chinn has known about the Big One: a massive earthquake forecasted to hit the West Coast. Scientists say it’ll destroy buildings, collapse bridges, flood coastal towns and permanently shift the landscape. But how exactly do scientists know this much about the scope of earthquakes if they can’t even predict when those earthquakes are going to happen? Together with host Emily Kwong, Hannah goes on a quest for answers. Plus, they get into what a Cascadia earthquake has in common with a Thanksgiving turkey.
This story is part of Nature Quest, our monthly segment that brings you a question from a Short Waver who is noticing a change in the world around them. Have an environment-based question you want us to investigate on the next Nature Quest? Email us your question at [email protected].
Check out our previous episode on earthquake prediction.
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This episode was produced by Hannah Chinn and Rachel Carlson. It was edited by Rebecca Ramirez. Tyler Jones checked the facts. The audio engineer was Kwesi Lee. Special thanks to scientists Paul Lundgren and Suzanne Carbotte.
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