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.
201
Should I take a DNA ancestry test?
What are the scientific, family, and privacy implications?
25 min
202
My octopus friend?
Octopuses are largely solitary animals, but there have been rare times — notably in the movie My Octopus Teacher — where they seem to have become comfortable around humans
22 min
203
Glow in the dark ocean
Most deep-water creatures are bioluminescent. Marine biologist Edie Widder has spent the last 40 years trying to figure out why.
28 min
204
When reality broke
In the 1920s, the scientist Werner Heisenberg came up with a wild idea that broke reality as Western science knew it.
23 min
205
Making Sense: The sixth sense
Why stop at five senses?
24 min
206
Making Sense: Sight unseen
Close your eyes and try to imagine an apple. Can you see anything?
22 min
207
Making Sense: The Umami Mama
For thousands of years, there have been four basic tastes recognized across cultures.
34 min
208
Making Sense: No one nose
26 min
209
Making Sense: The healing power of touch
Doctors can save the lives of premature infants, but the process is often painful. Luckily, a solution might be as simple as a parent’s loving touch.
25 min
210
Making Sense: How sound becomes hearing
In the same way optical illusions trick our eyes, audio illusions can trick our ears.
37 min
211
The methane hunters
Methane traps more than 80 times as much heat as CO2 over the short term.
20 min
212
What is love?
Can science help us predict whether a relationship will succeed? Or is it all just chaos?
30 min
213
A sonic tour of the solar system
What does it sound like on Mars? On Jupiter? Titan?
19 min
214
Finding asteroids before they find us
Scientists are constantly searching for asteroids that could crash into Earth.
28 min
215
Skeleton Lake
When scientists examined the DNA of ancient bones found near a Himalayan lake, they were forced to confront a seemingly impossible conclusion.
25 min
216
Are humans running out of sperm?
In 2017, researchers published an explosive finding: Sperm counts may be declining in some countries around the world.
25 min
217
The quest to build a star
Scientists are closer than ever to harnessing fusion power — the same process that powers the sun — by essentially making a small star here on Earth.
25 min
218
BONUS: The 2021 song
Noam wrote an end-of-year song with Today, Explained host Sean Rameswaram, so we thought to drop it here as a little end-of-year surprise.
5 min
219
The building blocks of the universe
Most of the matter in the universe is dark matter, an invisible, untouchable, mysterious substance. Scientists don’t know what exactly dark matter is, despite decades of searching. But recently, they got a new clue in the form of an extremely tiny dancer.
51 min
220
99% of ocean plastic is missing
How can we solve the problem of ocean plastic if we don’t know where most of the plastic is?
27 min
221
How medicine mansplained women’s health
Until 1993, many researchers excluded women from clinical drug trials, leaving doctors in the dark about how new treatments work in more than half the population.
23 min
222
How Venus went to hell
Venus is the hottest, scariest place in the solar system, but billions of years ago it may have been a lot like Earth, complete with an ocean of water.
24 min
223
Mind readers
Will scientists ever fully understand the human brain?
29 min
224
A brainless yellow goo that does math
Slime molds can navigate mazes, control robots, and make complicated decisions, all without a central nervous system.
22 min
225
Why whales get beached
Every year, thousands of marine mammals end up trapped on beaches, but it’s often hard to figure out why.
19 min