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.
From Vox and the Vox Media Podcast Network.
176
The bleeding edge
Periods and menstrual fluid have long been overlooked by scientists.
16 min
177
Aliens from Earth?
Was there a technologically advanced species living on Earth long before humans?
24 min
178
How scientists are searching for aliens
They’re not looking for UFOs or decoding government secrets. They’re doing something much simpler.
14 min
179
A universal virus-killer?
Airborne diseases kill millions of people a year, despite available antibiotics and vaccines.
21 min
180
Why do we cry?
Humans seem to be the only animals that cry from emotion.
21 min
181
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
182
The case for cursing
Can swearing make you stronger?
25 min
183
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
184
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
185
A stethoscope for the rainforest
Researchers planted microphones in a forest and walked away.
24 min
186
Which came first, the chicken or the egg?
What’s up with the weird golden egg at the bottom of the ocean?
27 min
187
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
188
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
189
Weaponizing uncertainty
Our show celebrates uncertainty. But as environmental reporter Amy Westervelt explains, the concept also has a dark side.
22 min
190
Can we live in space?
NASA is planning for humans to live on the moon by 2040.
30 min
191
The ice cream effect
Decades of studies suggest that eating ice cream reduces diabetes risk. Could ice cream be ... good for you?
26 min
192
The data vigilantes
Data sleuths are working outside the system to keep science honest.
29 min
193
Trouble on Pickles Reef
Coral reefs are an essential ecosystem undeniably threatened by climate change.
24 min
194
Redefining death
This Halloween, we look at how technology is forcing us to ask: When is someone actually dead?
31 min
195
The Orcanizing
Over the last few years, orcas have been targeting boats, often leaving them stranded at sea.
19 min
196
Unexplainable or Not with Wyatt Cenac
Our game show is back!
31 min
197
Rogue waves
Towering walls of water sometimes appear in the ocean without warning or apparent cause.
25 min
198
Does garlic break magnets?
What would an episode of Unexplainable have sounded like if it had been made in 100 CE?
28 min
199
How to decode a thought
Can researchers decipher what people are thinking about just by looking at brain scans?
29 min
200
It’s getting harder to see
Something about modern life is leading to higher rates of nearsightedness across the world.
19 min