Unexplainable
Unexplainable takes listeners right up to the edge of what we know … and then keeps on going. Host Noam Hassenfeld and an all-star team of reporters — Byrd Pinkerton, Meradith Hoddinott, and Mandy Nguyen — tackle scientific mysteries, unanswered questions, and everything we learn by diving into the unknown. New episodes drop every Wednesday.
1
Is insurance doomed?
As the world gets warmer and storms get worse, insurance companies are jacking up rates — or refusing to cover homeowners altogether. Is the future uninsurable?
26 min
2
My animal heart
Doctors have started transplanting animal organs into people, hoping this experimental procedure could one day solve an organ shortage crisis that kills 17 Americans every day.
22 min
3
How hot could the world get?
Scientists have lots of ways to try to answer that question, and lots of different predictions.
21 min
4
Should you be eating poison oak?
Probably not.
26 min
5
Dark oxygen could rewrite Earth’s history
Scientists just discovered oxygen being produced without sunlight — without photosynthesis — at the bottom of the ocean.
20 min
6
You're lost in the wilderness. Now what?
For decades, search and rescue teams followed an accepted playbook.
19 min
7
Viral dark matter
With antibiotic resistance on the rise, some scientists are starting to turn to viruses as a medical tool.
21 min
8
The good virus
Our bodies are teeming with viruses.
17 min
9
Ecstasy therapy
The FDA is about to announce whether it’s going to approve MDMA as a treatment for PTSD.
27 min
10
What did dinosaurs sound like?
They probably didn’t roar like lions.
36 min
11
Do we live inside an enormous black hole?
It’s possible that the entire observable universe is inside a black hole.
22 min
12
Is good posture actually good?
Send this episode to the person who constantly hounds you not to slouch.
18 min
13
Why do we yawn?
People yawn when they’re bored, right?
34 min
14
Embracing economic chaos
Can a physicist predict our messy economy by building an enormous simulation of the entire world?
24 min
15
We still don’t really know how inflation works
Inflation is one of the most significant issues shaping the 2024 election.
28 min
16
Can you put a price on nature?
It’s hard to figure out the economic value of a wild bat or any other part of the natural world, but some scientists argue that this kind of calculation could help protect our environment.
21 min
17
The deepest spot in the ocean
Seventy-five percent of the seafloor remains unmapped and unexplored, but the first few glimpses scientists have gotten of the ocean’s depths have completely revolutionized our understanding of the planet.
25 min
18
What’s the tallest mountain in the world?
If you just stood up and shouted, “It’s Mount Everest, duh!” then take a seat.
25 min
19
Did trees kill the world?
Way back when forests first evolved on Earth … they might have triggered one of the biggest mass extinctions in the history of the planet.
24 min
20
Can we stop aging?
From blood transfusions to enzyme boosters, our friends at Science Vs dive into the latest research on the search for the fountain of youth.
33 min
21
Who's the daddy? There isn't one.
A snake. A shark. They got pregnant with no male involved.
17 min
22
Itch hunt
Itch used to be understood as a mild form of pain, but scientists are learning this sense is more than just skin deep.
15 min
23
How did Earth get its water?
Life as we know it needs water, but scientists can’t figure out where Earth’s water came from.
23 min
24
Is Earth alive?
A cell is alive. So is a leaf and so is a tree. But what about the forest they’re a part of?
25 min
25
The alpha myth
The researcher who popularized the idea of the alpha wolf has spent decades trying to take it back.
38 min