Unexplainable
Unexplainable takes listeners right up to the edge of what we know … and then keeps on going. Host Noam Hassenfeld and an all-star team of reporters — Byrd Pinkerton, Meradith Hoddinott, and Mandy Nguyen — tackle scientific mysteries, unanswered questions, and everything we learn by diving into the unknown. New episodes drop every Wednesday.
26
The math problem that could break the internet
Today's internet is built on a series of locks and keys that protect your private information as it travels through cyberspace
36 min
27
Garbage patch kids
Scientists didn’t think it was possible for life to thrive in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Then, they found some anemones...
17 min
28
A stethoscope for the rainforest
Researchers planted microphones in a forest and walked away.
24 min
29
Which came first, the chicken or the egg?
What’s up with the weird golden egg at the bottom of the ocean?
27 min
30
Something weird near the beginning of time
The James Webb Space Telescope launched two years ago, giving scientists a new view into the early universe.
19 min
31
The tallest mountains on Earth are ... undergro...
An expedition to Antarctica. Strange seismic readings. Clues to uncover a hidden part of our planet.
17 min
32
Weaponizing uncertainty
Our show celebrates uncertainty. But as environmental reporter Amy Westervelt explains, the concept also has a dark side.
22 min
33
Can we live in space?
NASA is planning for humans to live on the moon by 2040.
30 min
34
The ice cream effect
Decades of studies suggest that eating ice cream reduces diabetes risk. Could ice cream be ... good for you?
26 min
35
The data vigilantes
Data sleuths are working outside the system to keep science honest.
29 min
36
Trouble on Pickles Reef
Coral reefs are an essential ecosystem undeniably threatened by climate change.
24 min
37
Redefining death
This Halloween, we look at how technology is forcing us to ask: When is someone actually dead?
31 min
38
The Orcanizing
Over the last few years, orcas have been targeting boats, often leaving them stranded at sea.
19 min
39
Unexplainable or Not with Wyatt Cenac
Our game show is back!
31 min
40
Rogue waves
Towering walls of water sometimes appear in the ocean without warning or apparent cause.
25 min
41
Does garlic break magnets?
What would an episode of Unexplainable have sounded like if it had been made in 100 CE?
28 min
42
How to decode a thought
Can researchers decipher what people are thinking about just by looking at brain scans?
29 min
43
It’s getting harder to see
Something about modern life is leading to higher rates of nearsightedness across the world.
19 min
44
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
45
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
46
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
47
Who let the wolves in?
Dogs were the first domesticated animal in history, emerging from wolves some 20,000 years ago.
22 min
48
Why do we have a moon?
In all our searching of the universe, we’ve never seen another moon like ours.
24 min
49
The Black Box: In AI we trust?
AI can often solve problems in unexpected, undesirable ways.
28 min
50
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