Science Friday

The time we see on our phones and clocks is based on the Earth’s rotation. But that rotation speed varies, so if it speeds up or slows down, our time measurements get thrown off. To solve this problem, timekeeping scientists have been deploying leap seconds to keep our clocks aligned with our planet. That is, until last week. After decades of debate, a global committee of timekeepers voted to kill the leap second. Host Flora Lichtman speaks to journalist Emma Gometz, who reported on the change for Scientific American, and physicist Judah Levine, to understand why this decision is a b...

The movie “Klara and the Sun,” in theaters now, is based on the 2021 novel of the same name by Kazuo Ishiguro. The story is set in the future and is narrated by Klara, a robotic “Artificial Friend,” whose job is to be a companion to a sick teenage girl.In the 5 years since the release of the novel, the AI landscape has changed profoundly. Flora talks to novelist Kazuo Ishiguro about the rapid evolution of artificial intelligence, the intersection of art and science, and his hopes—and fears—for the future of this tech.Guest:Kazuo Ishiguro is a novelist and Nobel la...

Have you ever wondered what it means for something to be bear resistant? How do manufacturers know that the cooler you take camping or the compost bin in your backyard will keep hungry bears out? Wonder no more! Journalist Alex Davies’ new book “Kobuk the Destroyer: And Other Tales from the Wild, Unseen World of Test Engineering” takes you inside the workplace of the grizzly bears whose job it is to tear apart consumer goods. Davies joins Ira to discuss how bears do it, and other creative experiments to test the safety of jet engines, pill bottles and more.Read an exce...

In 2020, Jennifer Doudna shared the Nobel Prize in chemistry for the development of the gene-editing technique CRISPR. Along with related techniques, it has become an essential tool in genetics, allowing specific sections of genetic code to be cut and replaced in a genome. It’s an advance that has changed the game in biological research. Doudna talks with Ira Flatow about the path that led to the development of CRISPR, her own route into research, and her thoughts on the attributes needed for success in science. Guest:Dr. Jennifer Doudna is a professor of biochemistry, biophysics and structural biology at the...

In late September 2026, NASA announced that a new telescope called PRIMA was getting a green light and advancing to something called Phase B of the development process. But what does that mean exactly? How does a billion-dollar space project get thought up, designed, approved, and constructed?Flora talks with Jason Glenn, an astronomer who led the initial concept study for PRIMA, about the challenges ahead and the process of getting a massive space project off the ground.Guest:Dr. Jason Glenn led the concept study for the PRIMA space telescope, and is now a professor of astronomy at the University...

Ayana Elizabeth Johnson is one of the most prominent voices in the climate movement. She’s a marine biologist by training, but as she saw the effects of the climate crisis intensify, she took on more public-facing advocacy work.Her work is expansive: She helped organize the March for Science, she founded a think tank focused on coastal cities, she’s started two podcasts about climate solutions, and she’s published a couple books, most recently “What If We Get It Right?”Flora sat down with Johnson on stage at a show produced by Grist to discuss the climate movement, climate so...

In the new movie “Whalefall,” a scuba diver (Austin Abrams) gets accidentally swallowed by a sperm whale. What follows is a tense battle against time and the whale’s digestive system, to escape before his air supply runs out. But could a whale actually swallow a human? And how might this play out in real life? Joining Flora to weigh in are sperm whale biologist Shane Gero, and “Whalefall” director Brian Duffield. Wondering how you’d fare inside a sperm whale’s stomach? Read more here.Guests:Brian Duffield is the director of “Whalefall.” He is based in Los Angeles, California.Dr. Shane...

With the midterms approaching, politicians are out in full force to convince voters to elect them. And that means that we’re hearing a lot of “politician speak.” You know it when you hear it: those folksy turns of phrase, the vague promises. But what do linguists have to say about this vocal register? How has politician speak changed over time? Does the way someone pronounces their As signal something about their values? Sociolinguist Valerie Fridland joins Flora to decode politician speak.Guest:Dr. Valerie Fridland is a professor of linguistics at University of Nevada, Reno.Transcripts for each episode are ava...

An unwelcome visitor is arriving on beaches from West Africa to the Caribbean, and Brazil to Florida. It’s brown, it’s stinky, and it’s more abundant than ever: sargassum. This free-floating seaweed has become a major problem for coastal ecosystems, communities, tourism, and infrastructure. So what is fueling the sargassum superbloom? And is there anything to do about it? Flora chats with satellite oceanographer Brian Barnes about sargassum biology, why the blooms are so hard to deal with, and what we could do about it.Guest:Dr. Brian Barnes is an oceanographer and associate professor at the University of Sout...

This year, October 13 marks Ada Lovelace Day, an observance that calls attention to the role of women in computing and technology. In this conversation from 2018, Ira talks with Claire Evans, author of “Broad Band: The Untold Story of the Women Who Made the Internet,” about some of the women who played key roles in the development of computing. Then, Stacy Horn joins the conversation to describe her creation, EchoNYC, an early bulletin board service.Guests:Claire L. Evans is the author of “Broad Band: The Women Who Made The Internet.” Stacy Horn is the founder of EchoNYC in New York, New York...

In the past few years, the idea of attachment styles has taken off, both online and in therapy offices. It’s gone from a niche psychological concept to a shorthand to describe how we show up in relationships. Here’s a crash course: Anxious attachment is when you seek constant reassurance. Avoidant attachment is when you flee when someone tries to get close. Fearful-avoidant, also called disorganized, is some combination of the two. And secure attachment is a more regulated approach to relationship stress. But where does your attachment style come from? Do you have more than one? Can it chang...

A new mRNA flu vaccine made by Moderna was approved by the FDA in August, and is currently available for people aged 50 and over. The promise of an mRNA vaccine for flu is that it can be spun up more quickly than a traditional vaccine, meaning it could better match the flu strain that’s circulating.  Is that what happened this year? How are the side effects? And how has dysfunction at the health agencies impacted rollout? Flora discusses these questions and more with vaccine researcher Anna Durbin.Guest:Dr. Anna Durbin is a vaccine researcher, professor of international health, and...

A Kelvin wave has reached California and is creeping up the West Coast, raising both sea levels and concerns from government officials. This kind of massive internal wave begins in the western Pacific Ocean and then travels eastward to the Americas along the equator, and then up and down the coastline. While it might raise sea levels up to 12 inches, it stays below the surface instead of crashing on the shore.Host Flora Lichtman speaks to oceanographer Andrew Leising to get the lowdown on what exactly a Kelvin wave is, and how wary West Coasters should be.Guest:Dr. Andrew...

Cephalopods have a reputation for being smart and majestic. And while that may be true, the life of a cephalopod can also be dark and gritty. Have you heard of octopus death spirals? How about cephalopod cannibalism? Host Flora Lichtman is joined by cephalopod experts Heather Judkins and Z. Yan Wang for a conversation about the weirdest parts of being a cephalopod, and to answer some listener questions. Find more Cephalopod Week fun on our site!Guests:Dr. Heather Judkins is a Professor in the Department of Integrative Biology at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg.Dr. Z. Yan Wa...

It’s Nobel Prize week, and this year's prize in physics went to Francis Halzen “for decisive contributions to the IceCube Neutrino Observatory and the discovery of high-energy neutrinos of astrophysical origin.” The IceCube is a massive neutrino detector that covers a cubic kilometer of Antarctic ice, and looks for high-energy neutrinos coming from deep space. In 2013, Ira spoke with physicist Francis Halzen about the decision to build the IceCube at the South Pole and the challenges of constructing a map of the cosmos with neutrinos.Guest:Dr. Francis Halzen is a professor of physics at the University of Wisconsin–Madison a...

On Science Friday, we love to talk about ideas, especially ideas that have the power to shape the future. But there are plenty of groundbreaking ideas that almost don’t make it out of the lab or the art studio: ideas that are birthed but then fall into a deep slumber until, years later, they’re reawakened.Why this happens is the subject of the new book, “Sleeping Beauties: Why Good Ideas Go Dormant and How They Wake Up,” by David Bryne, artist, musician, and lead singer for Talking Heads. He joins Flora to explain.Read an excerpt from “Sleeping Beauties.”...

John Wilson’s new documentary, “The History of Concrete,” has a subject matter that to most people may seem gray, drab, and boring. The film is anything but. Alongside facts about concrete’s reliance on dwindling sand reserves and New York City’s crumbling infrastructure, there are unexpected tangents. Following the idiosyncratic format of Wilson’s hit HBO show “How To,” he tells the stories of a struggling musician, a man who preserves tattoos, and a group of runners looping the same block for two months.Ira talks with documentarian John Wilson about the documentary and their shared appreciation of concrete.Guest:J...

Big news for tiny cats: an itty-bitty three-pound spotted cat from Bolivia—called the tilcayo—is the first new wild cat species described in more than a hundred years. Tilcayo pics have been all over the news and social media, but there’s much more to tilcayo’s tale, including the surprising story behind its discovery. Flora chats with Paola Nogales-Ascarrunz, the biologist who worked for nearly 10 years to describe this flashy feline. They also discuss how Paola met the tilcayo, why it was so hard to classify, and what the reaction has been in Bolivia.Guest:Paola Nogales-Ascarrunz is a National...

Leaders of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University say they can’t afford to keep the museum open to visitors. And there are rumors that another natural history museum, in Hays, Kansas, may be closing its doors. What happens to the collections, and are museums going the way of the dinosaurs? Jason Cryan, from the Natural History Museum of Utah, and Barbara Thiers, formerly of the New York Botanical Garden, join Host Flora Lichtman to discuss the challenges of running a natural history museum.Guests:Dr. Jason Cryan is The Sarah B. George Executive Director of the Natural His...

In 2024, scientists using instruments on board the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft spotted a new large impact crater on the surface of the moon. Tyler Powell joins host Flora Lichtman to describe what they found, and what scientists are learning about the lunar surface from studying it. After, Sofia Sheikh describes different approaches to hunting for intelligent alien life through ‘technosignatures’. These are technological traces that could only be produced by intelligent life, like radio transmissions, industrial pollution, or city lights at night. Researchers from the SETI Institute have proposed sifting through lunar dust to look for tiny traces of a long...