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Robert Krulwich Robert Krulwich works on radio, podcasts, video, the blogosphere. He has been called "the most inventive network reporter in television" by TV Guide.

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Robert Krulwich

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Wednesday October 1, 2014

Is That A Lark I Hear? A Nightingale? Surprise! It's A Bat

Quoctrung Bui/NPR

Krulwich Wonders...

Is That A Lark I Hear? A Nightingale? Surprise! It's A Bat

October 1, 2014 • There are animals famous for their songs. Whales sing. Birds sing. We humans have Aretha, Elvis, Ray Charles, Pavarotti. But bats — who knew?

Tadarida brasiliensis

Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/352586936/352587081" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Sunday September 28, 2014

2 Ways To Think About Nothing, One Mo' Time

Robert Rauschenberg/SFMOMA

Krulwich Wonders...

2 Ways To Think About Nothing, One Mo' Time

September 28, 2014 • Let's compare two kinds of nothing: an empty patch of deep space and an empty piece of paper that was once beautiful. There's nothing to see in either. Or is there?

Friday September 26, 2014

Everything Dies, Right? But Does Everything Have To Die? Here's A Surprise

Adam Cole/NPR

Krulwich Wonders...

Everything Dies, Right? But Does Everything Have To Die? Here's A Surprise

September 26, 2014 • Meet two animals. Both are teeny. Both live in water. Both mature extra fast. But while one dies in about a week, the other — well, prepare to be amazed.

Wednesday September 24, 2014

This Blog Is Ending Soon

Robert Krulwich/NPR

Krulwich Wonders...

This Blog Is Ending Soon

September 24, 2014 • Krulwich and his Wonders are packing up, and before I go, I'd like to shake all your hands, each and every one of you, and say thank you. This is my goodbye.

Friday September 19, 2014

'Murdersquishing' Them To Death: How Little Bees Take On Enormous Hornets

Courtesy of Matt Inman

Krulwich Wonders...

'Murdersquishing' Them To Death: How Little Bees Take On Enormous Hornets

September 19, 2014 • They are small. They are weak. They are vulnerable. But these little bees take on a humongous predator in the most ingenious way.

Sunday September 14, 2014

Howling Babies Drove Prehistoric Warriors Into Battle?

iStockphoto

Krulwich Wonders...

Howling Babies Drove Prehistoric Warriors Into Battle?

September 14, 2014 • Can a colicky baby's piercing scream be militarized? As in, made (literally) into a weapon of war? Oh, absolutely, says this scholar, smiling ever so slightly.

Friday September 12, 2014

What Makes A Star Starry? Is It Me?

Courtesy of Tyler Nordgen

Krulwich Wonders...

What Makes A Star Starry? Is It Me?

September 12, 2014 • Draw a planet (a circle, right?). Now draw a star (a pointy thing, yes?). Now ask yourself, aren't stars all round? Our sun is. So why do we make them pointy? Come learn the answer.

Wednesday September 10, 2014

Souls Tumbling In The Light

BirdCast/YouTube

Krulwich Wonders...

Souls Tumbling In The Light

September 10, 2014 • Every fall, birds head south and, around Sept. 11, New York sends two beams into the sky. When birds and lights collide, that could mean trouble — but New York is surprisingly gentle.

Sunday September 7, 2014

Mapping What You Cannot See, Cannot Know, Cannot Visit

Nature Video/YouTube

Krulwich Wonders...

Mapping What You Cannot See, Cannot Know, Cannot Visit

September 7, 2014 • We live on a planet, next to a star that's part of a galaxy that's part of ... ah, here comes the new discovery. We are at the very tip of a giant galactic "supercluster." Take a look.

Friday September 5, 2014

Building Me: A Puzzlement

NIH Human Connectome Project/Science Photo Library/Corbis

Krulwich Wonders...

Building Me: A Puzzlement

September 5, 2014 • I am made of atoms — 7,000 trillion trillion of them. How did I teach them to tie my shoes? Or did they teach me?

Thursday September 4, 2014

Glenn Gould In Rapture

Gordon Parks/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images

Krulwich Wonders...

Glenn Gould In Rapture

September 4, 2014 • You don't get to see this too often: a man (in this case, a very talented man) totally possessed by his muse. Watch pianist Glenn Gould deep in what psychologists call "a flow state."

Wednesday September 3, 2014

A Giant Appears At The Edge Of An African Roadway

Courtesy of Marco Cianfanelli

Krulwich Wonders...

A Giant Appears At The Edge Of An African Roadway

September 3, 2014 • If the task is to think backward, to an important moment in history, here's a stunning way to do it: It's a jewel of a monument alongside a road in South Africa.

Sunday August 24, 2014

Roadways You Can Install Like Throw Rugs

Courtesy of Erik Johansson

Krulwich Wonders...

Roadways You Can Install Like Throw Rugs

August 24, 2014 • You look. You gape. You can't believe your eyes. Well, take a peek at this image and ask yourself, 'How did they do this?'

Thursday August 21, 2014

When Venus Was Filled With Venusians — 50 Billion Of Them

Robert Krulwich/NPR

Krulwich Wonders...

When Venus Was Filled With Venusians — 50 Billion Of Them

August 21, 2014 • Look up at the night sky and ask, "Anybody there?" Then consider this answer (from the 1830s): There are 22 trillion individuals in our solar system.

Wednesday August 20, 2014

If You're Born In The Sky, What's Your Nationality? An Airplane Puzzler

Robert Krulwich/NPR

Krulwich Wonders...

If You're Born In The Sky, What's Your Nationality? An Airplane Puzzler

August 20, 2014 • Suppose two Chinese parents get on an Australian airplane and, while flying over U.S. territory, they have a baby on the plane. Can that baby be an American citizen?

Friday August 15, 2014

When Snails Lose Their Way

Vi Hart/YouTube

Krulwich Wonders...

When Snails Lose Their Way

August 15, 2014 • There are happy snails. There are lonely snails. And there are lost snails. This one is lost. Totally. But it sings.

Thursday August 14, 2014

Stephen Hawking's Dazzling Life Becomes A Movie, But What Sort Of Movie?

Focus Features/YouTube

Krulwich Wonders...

Stephen Hawking's Dazzling Life Becomes A Movie, But What Sort Of Movie?

August 14, 2014 • A new movie turns the physicist into a romantic lead. But how will it handle the not-so-wonderful parts of his marriage? Truthaholics want to know.

Tuesday August 12, 2014

Elemental Storytelling

Courtesy of Thomas Doyle

Krulwich Wonders...

Elemental Storytelling

August 12, 2014 • Thomas Doyle tells stories with teeny frozen people. They aren't cold. They are frozen in time, but he freezes them with exquisitely suspenseful, Sherlock Holmes-like care.

Thursday August 7, 2014

What A Balloon Shouldn't Do, But For Some Reason Does

SmarterEveryDay/YouTube

Krulwich Wonders...

What A Balloon Shouldn't Do, But For Some Reason Does

August 7, 2014 • Tether a balloon to the floor of a car, step on the gas, and watch the balloon do something it shouldn't. Ask why. Then discover the answer. Then feel smart.

Tuesday August 5, 2014

How To Cross 5 International Borders In 1 Minute Without Sweating

Robert Krulwich/NPR

Krulwich Wonders...

How To Cross 5 International Borders In 1 Minute Without Sweating

August 5, 2014 • Nations need borders for security, for revenue, for defense, for identity. But for fun? Introducing borders that giggle.

Saturday August 2, 2014

Guess Who's Been Waiting In The Lobby For A Hundred Million Years?

Krulwich Wonders...

Guess Who's Been Waiting In The Lobby For A Hundred Million Years?

August 2, 2014 • The M-Thing. It's patient. It's modest. It's relentless. It stays.

Monday July 28, 2014

Where The Birds Are Is Not Where You'd Think

Robert Krulwich/NPR

Krulwich Wonders...

Where The Birds Are Is Not Where You'd Think

July 28, 2014 • Birds are everywhere, but the greatest concentration of different birds — the "bird mecca" of America — is not in our great parks, not in our forests, not where you'd suppose. Not at all.

Wednesday July 23, 2014

An Animal Makes A $10,000 Deposit, But Not At The Bank

Courtesy of I.M. Chait

Krulwich Wonders...

An Animal Makes A $10,000 Deposit, But Not At The Bank

July 23, 2014 • A Beverly Hills auction house has an unusual fossil for sale. It's not an ancient animal. It's something an ancient animal left behind — and it's very, very long.

Tuesday July 22, 2014

What's Better Than A Total Eclipse Of The Sun? Check This

NASA/JPL-Caltech

Krulwich Wonders...

What's Better Than A Total Eclipse Of The Sun? Check This

July 22, 2014 • This may be the most heart-rending, most beautiful eclipse in our solar system. But you can't travel to see it. Not yet.

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