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
Composing chaos
Terry Riley's "In C" is one of the most influential pieces of music of the last century...but you'll never hear it the same way twice.
25 min
2
Does Tylenol cause autism?
Donald Trump and RFK Jr. seem convinced that it does. But our friends at Science Vs say the data is far more complicated.
24 min
3
Real-life zombies
Zombies might seem like the stuff of horror movies, but there are lots of examples of parasites taking over bugs’ bodies and bending them to their will.
24 min
4
How to change your personality
Who are you, really?
35 min
5
What’s A
The centuries-old international battle over the real sound of a musical note.
24 min
6
Did we find signs of life on Mars?
NASA found a Martian rock that might have traces of ancient life.
31 min
7
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
8
The Vagina Voyages
Join our friends at The Longest Shortest Time for a deep dive into the misunderstood world of vaginas.
36 min
9
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
10
Is a little alcohol bad for you?
We spoke to two researchers who disagree about the answer to this question.
26 min
11
Ice Sheet Time Machine
The US military carved a tiny city into the Greenland ice sheet.
29 min
12
Animals in the year 20202025
What do scientists think animals might be like millions of years from now?
24 min
13
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
14
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
15
When waves go rogue
Towering walls of water sometimes appear in the ocean without warning or apparent cause.
25 min
16
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
17
12 tiny worlds
If you went back 500 million years and re-ran evolution, would life be totally different today?
33 min
18
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
19
One weird trick to get unlimited clean energy
Is a solution to climate change…pouring water on hot rocks?
21 min
20
Who taught beavers to build dams?
How does any animal know what to do?
26 min
21
The disease we let win
We have a cure for tuberculosis.
29 min
22
Science! Tell me what to eat!
Figuring out the perfect healthy diet remains stubbornly out of reach.
54 min
23
A magical world at the ocean’s edge
In coastal California, researchers grapple with potentially losing a landscape they love.
34 min
24
Ruff translation
We love our pets.
28 min
25
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