Unexplainable
Unexplainable takes listeners right up to the edge of what we know…and then keeps on going. The Unexplainable team — Noam Hassenfeld, Julia Longoria, Byrd Pinkerton, and Meradith Hoddinott — tackles scientific mysteries, unanswered questions, and everything we learn diving into the unknown. New episodes Mondays and Wednesdays.
76
How scientists are searching for aliens
They’re not looking for UFOs or decoding government secrets. They’re doing something much simpler.
14 min
77
A universal virus-killer?
Airborne diseases kill millions of people a year, despite available antibiotics and vaccines.
21 min
78
Why do we cry?
Humans seem to be the only animals that cry from emotion.
21 min
79
Should you quit Diet Coke?
Safety questions have haunted aspartame — the no-calorie sweetener used in many diet soft drinks and other low-calorie products — since its invention.
23 min
80
The case for cursing
Can swearing make you stronger?
25 min
81
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
82
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
83
A stethoscope for the rainforest
Researchers planted microphones in a forest and walked away.
24 min
84
Which came first, the chicken or the egg?
What’s up with the weird golden egg at the bottom of the ocean?
27 min
85
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
86
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
87
Weaponizing uncertainty
Our show celebrates uncertainty. But as environmental reporter Amy Westervelt explains, the concept also has a dark side.
22 min
88
Can we live in space?
NASA is planning for humans to live on the moon by 2040.
30 min
89
The ice cream effect
Decades of studies suggest that eating ice cream reduces diabetes risk. Could ice cream be ... good for you?
26 min
90
The data vigilantes
Data sleuths are working outside the system to keep science honest.
29 min
91
Trouble on Pickles Reef
Coral reefs are an essential ecosystem undeniably threatened by climate change.
24 min
92
Redefining death
This Halloween, we look at how technology is forcing us to ask: When is someone actually dead?
31 min
93
The Orcanizing
Over the last few years, orcas have been targeting boats, often leaving them stranded at sea.
19 min
94
Unexplainable or Not with Wyatt Cenac
Our game show is back!
31 min
95
Rogue waves
Towering walls of water sometimes appear in the ocean without warning or apparent cause.
25 min
96
Does garlic break magnets?
What would an episode of Unexplainable have sounded like if it had been made in 100 CE?
28 min
97
How to decode a thought
Can researchers decipher what people are thinking about just by looking at brain scans?
29 min
98
It’s getting harder to see
Something about modern life is leading to higher rates of nearsightedness across the world.
19 min
99
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
100
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