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.
1
The metabolism myth
Recent research — and one surprising season of The Biggest Loser — has scientists wondering whether some of the most basic things they know about metabolism are wrong.
27 min
2
The Vagina Voyages
Join our friends at The Longest Shortest Time for a deep dive into the misunderstood world of vaginas.
36 min
3
A rabbi and the Lorax walk into a bar...
How the bedtime stories we grew up with inspire the stories we tell now.
19 min
4
Is a little alcohol bad for you?
We spoke to two researchers who disagree about the answer to this question.
26 min
5
Ice Sheet Time Machine
The US military carved a tiny city into the Greenland ice sheet.
29 min
6
Animals in the year 20202025
What do scientists think animals might be like millions of years from now?
24 min
7
Nightmare at the end of the universe
Dark energy is the strange stuff that makes up the vast majority of the universe and will ultimately lead to the end of everything.
23 min
8
Life in plastic — not fantastic?
Much of our modern world is made of plastic, but as more signs point to its dangers to human health, what can we even do about it?
27 min
9
When waves go rogue
Towering walls of water sometimes appear in the ocean without warning or apparent cause.
25 min
10
Good news for people who love bad news
Good news can be hard to find, especially when our brains — and the media — are biased against it.
25 min
11
12 tiny worlds
If you went back 500 million years and re-ran evolution, would life be totally different today?
33 min
12
How good was Michael Jordan, really?
Our friends at Pablo Torre Finds Out uncovered something that throws an entire basketball era into question.
42 min
13
One weird trick to get unlimited clean energy
Is a solution to climate change…pouring water on hot rocks?
21 min
14
Who taught beavers to build dams?
How does any animal know what to do?
26 min
15
The disease we let win
We have a cure for tuberculosis.
29 min
16
Science! Tell me what to eat!
Figuring out the perfect healthy diet remains stubbornly out of reach.
54 min
17
A magical world at the ocean’s edge
In coastal California, researchers grapple with potentially losing a landscape they love.
34 min
18
Ruff translation
We love our pets.
28 min
19
Sick of “morning” sickness
If pregnant people need to eat for two, why do so many of us puke morning, noon, and night?
29 min
20
Your bug roommates
Our houses are homes to hidden worlds of bugs.
24 min
21
Why I left the NIH
Francis Collins oversaw some of the most revolutionary science of the last few decades at the National Institutes of Health.
36 min
22
Mostly dead is slightly alive
When bringing people to the edge of death is your day job.
16 min
23
We don't understand yogurt
Many physicists dream of coming up with a unified theory of the universe.
16 min
24
The musical structure of the universe
If matter is a result of vibration, what causes the vibration?
49 min
25
How to beat roulette
You’ll need your best friend, a computer in your shoe, and a working knowledge of physics.
17 min