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 new species in New York
Around 90% of life on Earth is unknown.
23 min
2
The disaster problem
Climate change is making hurricanes, floods, and wildfires harder to prepare for just as confidence in the government’s disaster response is collapsing.
56 min
3
The lost Lyme vaccine
Vijay Sikand is a family doctor in the Connecticut town that gave Lyme disease its name.
35 min
4
The cells we share
Fetuses leave cells behind in their parents' bodies, where they braid themselves into tissues, and remain, for years.
33 min
5
The man who bet against humanity — and lost
Paul Ehrlich was famous for predicting a population explosion that would destroy the planet, but he didn't count on human ingenuity.
14 min
6
The aftermath
What would life look like after a global nuclear war?
38 min
7
A better Black Death story
What happens when researchers reexamine some of the basic facts about the Black Death?
29 min
8
The hunt for a lost species
One of the world’s most biodiverse aquifers is full of strange, blind creatures that have evolved in isolation for millions of years. But one is missing.
25 min
9
Dark matter music
Pioneering musicians Beatie Wolfe and Brian Eno released their latest album Liminal by broadcasting it from a 50-foot microwave antenna.
31 min
10
I glow, therefore I am
Today on the show: a double feature — two mysteries in one episode.
25 min
11
Is everything inflammation?
To hear some people tell it — especially people on TikTok — inflammation is the root of all disease.
29 min
12
A show about nothing
A few months ago, we put out an episode about what silence sounds like, and it caught the attention of Rob Rosenthal, who hosts a podcast called Sound School about the craft of audio storytelling.
25 min
13
The Hitchhiking Microbe’s Guide to the Galaxy
Can microbes travel through space on meteorites?
23 min
14
Why did we go back to the moon?
For the first time in over 50 years, humans have gone to the moon and back.
29 min
15
Is male birth control finally here?
Typically, the burden of birth control falls on whomever has a uterus, but it seems like that might change — and soon!
25 min
16
Mi Vickicito
Host Julia Longoria signs off from Unexplainable with one final question: Why does her grandma love Vicks VapoRub so much?
16 min
17
Casey gets his voice back
Casey Harrell is a goofy, lighthearted chatterbox whose love for language helped him become an accomplished environmental activist.
34 min
18
Oliver Sacks's not quite nonfiction
Oliver Sacks was once crowned “the poet laureate of medicine."
28 min
19
The accidental rise of Botox
One of the deadliest poisons known to man is now used to treat wrinkles, migraines, and even, maybe, depression. How did that happen?
26 min
20
Who are we to fight the alchemy?
Many alchemical texts are full of bizarre, metaphorical language. But what if there's interesting science hiding behind some of those metaphors?
29 min
21
Snow day!
Grab some hot cocoa and a warm blanket and let’s talk about the tiny crystals that fall from the sky.
26 min
22
My brain made me do it
A man committed a crime. He admitted it. Then something alarming showed up on an image of his brain.
24 min
23
The Codfather
How many fish are in the sea? It's a question that has had enormous consequences for the fishing community in New Bedford, Massachusetts.
36 min
24
Stress ages us on a cellular level
It's no secret that stress isn't good for you… But just how bad is it?
12 min
25
The Amazing Extremophiles
In the dark depths of the Gowanus canal, strange lifeforms lurk...
23 min