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
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
2
Is a little alcohol bad for you?
We spoke to two researchers who disagree about the answer to this question.
26 min
3
Ice Sheet Time Machine
The US military carved a tiny city into the Greenland ice sheet.
29 min
4
Animals in the year 20202025
What do scientists think animals might be like millions of years from now?
24 min
5
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
6
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
7
When waves go rogue
Towering walls of water sometimes appear in the ocean without warning or apparent cause.
25 min
8
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
9
12 tiny worlds
If you went back 500 million years and re-ran evolution, would life be totally different today?
33 min
10
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
11
One weird trick to get unlimited clean energy
Is a solution to climate change…pouring water on hot rocks?
21 min
12
Who taught beavers to build dams?
How does any animal know what to do?
26 min
13
The disease we let win
We have a cure for tuberculosis.
29 min
14
Science! Tell me what to eat!
Figuring out the perfect healthy diet remains stubbornly out of reach.
54 min
15
A magical world at the ocean’s edge
In coastal California, researchers grapple with potentially losing a landscape they love.
34 min
16
Ruff translation
We love our pets.
28 min
17
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
18
Your bug roommates
Our houses are homes to hidden worlds of bugs.
24 min
19
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
20
Mostly dead is slightly alive
When bringing people to the edge of death is your day job.
16 min
21
We don't understand yogurt
Many physicists dream of coming up with a unified theory of the universe.
16 min
22
The musical structure of the universe
If matter is a result of vibration, what causes the vibration?
49 min
23
How to beat roulette
You’ll need your best friend, a computer in your shoe, and a working knowledge of physics.
17 min
24
Is climate change really making hurricanes worse?
The answer isn’t as clear as you might think.
17 min
25
Are we sure about fluoride?
Florida just became the second state to ban fluoride from its water system, which has made some public health experts pretty angry.
26 min