Unexplainable

Unexplainable takes listeners right up to the edge of what we know ... and then keeps right on going. This Vox podcast explores scientific mysteries, unanswered questions, and all the things we learn by diving into the unknown. New episodes every Wednesday.

Science
Life Sciences
Natural Sciences
26
How to decode a thought
Can researchers decipher what people are thinking about just by looking at brain scans?
29 min
27
It’s getting harder to see
Something about modern life is leading to higher rates of nearsightedness across the world.
19 min
28
Jumping the gun
At last year’s World Athletics Championships, sprinter TyNia Gaither was disqualified for false starting... after the gun went off.
31 min
29
Can we talk to animals?
Two scientists explain how AI might help us translate animal communication, and what we might learn from their squawks, chirps, songs, and chatter.
31 min
30
Unexplainable or Not: Beach day!
Sam Sanders, host of Vulture’s Into It podcast, is in the hot seat for a new episode of our game show.
27 min
31
Who let the wolves in?
Dogs were the first domesticated animal in history, emerging from wolves some 20,000 years ago.
22 min
32
Why do we have a moon?
In all our searching of the universe, we’ve never seen another moon like ours.
24 min
33
The Black Box: In AI we trust?
AI can often solve problems in unexpected, undesirable ways.
28 min
34
The Black Box: Even AI’s creators don’t underst...
AI has the potential to impact our society in dramatic ways, but researchers can’t explain precisely how it works or how it might evolve.
32 min
35
Do animals grieve?
A dog on its owner’s grave. A killer whale carrying around its dead calf. A goose that isolates when its mate dies.
24 min
36
Why do we dream?
Dreams are weird, but can they be a scientific tool?
20 min
37
Cracking the Indus code
The Indus Valley civilization was one of the largest, most advanced civilizations in the ancient world.
21 min
38
Awestruck
Awe is what takes our breath away when we face a sky full of stars or listen to a moving piece of music.
22 min
39
Expecting: Weed and pregnancy
Many states have extremely punitive policies around cannabis and pregnancy.
30 min
40
Expecting: Baby brain
Caring for a child seems to change parents’ brains.
25 min
41
Expecting: Pregnancy souvenirs
Fetuses leave cells behind in their parents' bodies, where they braid themselves into tissues, and remain, for years.
34 min
42
The tornado problem
2023 has been a record-setting year for tornadoes, and these storms came with barely any warning.
22 min
43
How to resurrect a mammoth
Scientists are hard at work trying to bring back woolly mammoths (and dodos).
30 min
44
Live show, dead dinosaurs
We did a live show!
34 min
45
Talking trees
Studies suggesting trees communicate through an elaborate underground fungal network have captured imaginations.
21 min
46
Your questions, unexplained
This week, we tackle three listener questions — on sleepwalking, deja vu, and Earth’s magnetic field.
24 min
47
What's so funny?
Scientists are digging into what makes something funny.
16 min
48
Origins: The meaning of “life”
For every definition of life, there’s a creature that sends us right back to the drawing board.
23 min
49
Origins: The first living thing
How did life on Earth start?
25 min
50
Origins: How did Earth get its water?
Life as we know it needs water, but scientists can’t figure out where Earth’s water came from.
23 min