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Short Wave New discoveries, everyday mysteries, and the science behind the headlines — all in about 10 minutes. It's science for everyone, using a lot of creativity and a little humor. Join hosts Emily Kwong, Aaron Scott and Regina Barber for science on a different wavelength.

If you're hooked, try Short Wave Plus. Your subscription supports the show and unlocks a sponsor-free feed. Learn more at plus.npr.org/shortwave
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New discoveries, everyday mysteries, and the science behind the headlines — all in about 10 minutes. It's science for everyone, using a lot of creativity and a little humor. Join hosts Emily Kwong, Aaron Scott and Regina Barber for science on a different wavelength.

If you're hooked, try Short Wave Plus. Your subscription supports the show and unlocks a sponsor-free feed. Learn more at plus.npr.org/shortwave

Most Recent Episodes

What to know about the link between air pollution and superbugs
Kateryna Kon/Science Photo Library/Getty Images

What to know about the link between air pollution and superbugs

Today on the show, All Things Considered co-host Ari Shapiro joins Aaron Scott and Regina G. Barber for our science roundup. They talk about how antibiotic resistance may spread through particulate air pollution, magnetically halted black holes and how diversified farms are boosting biodiversity in Costa Rica.

What to know about the link between air pollution and superbugs

Listen · 9:31
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Recurring UTIs: The infection we keep secretly getting

Globally, there are more than 400 million UTIs a year. This illustration depicts the most common kind of UTI—bladder (blue) inflammation caused by E. coli (red). TUMEGGY/Getty Images/Science Photo Library hide caption

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TUMEGGY/Getty Images/Science Photo Library

Recurring UTIs: The infection we keep secretly getting

Have frequent, burning pee? Cramping or the urge to pee even though you just went? If you haven't yet, you probably will eventually—along with an estimated 60% of women and 10% of men. That's the large slice of the population that experiences a urinary tract infections (UTI) at least once. Many people avoid talking about these infections, but about one in four women experience recurring UTIs. No matter what they do, the infections come back, again and again. So today on the show, Regina G. Barber takes producer Rachel Carlson on a tour of the urinary tract. We zoom into what recurring UTIs may have to do with changes on the DNA of our bladder cells and the hidden bacterial houses in our bladder walls.

Recurring UTIs: The infection we keep secretly getting

Listen · 13:35
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How heat can take a deadly toll on humans

NASA reports July 2023 as the hottest month on record. David McNew/Getty Images/David McNew hide caption

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David McNew/Getty Images/David McNew

How heat can take a deadly toll on humans

This year, the hottest July ever was recorded — and parts of the country were hit with heat waves that lasted for weeks. Heat is becoming increasingly lethal as climate change causes more extreme heat. So in today's encore episode, we're exploring heat. NPR climate correspondent Lauren Sommer talks with Short Wave host Regina G. Barber about how the human body copes with extended extreme heat and how today's heat warning systems could better protect the public. If you can, stay cool out there this Labor Day, dear Short Wavers.

How heat can take a deadly toll on humans

Listen · 10:49
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Have a food allergy? Your broken skin barrier might be to blame

Allergenic foods. Top left to right: shrimp (crustacean), soy, milk, peanuts. Bottom left to right: tree nuts, wheat, egg, fish. Science Photo Library/ Getty Images hide caption

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Science Photo Library/ Getty Images

Have a food allergy? Your broken skin barrier might be to blame

Food allergies have risen in the United States over the last few decades. Research suggests that 40 years ago the actual prevalence of food allergies was less than 1%. But this year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released data showing that almost 6% of U.S. adults and children have a food allergy. But this trend is not present in all countries — and what people are allergic to varies globally. Today, we dive into the complex world of food allergies with Dr. Waheeda Samady. She's the Director of Clinical Research at Northwestern University's Center for Food Allergy and Asthma Research.

Have a food allergy? Your broken skin barrier might be to blame

Listen · 12:43
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'Speedboat epidemiology': How smallpox was eradicated one person at a time

In 1975, a smallpox eradication team volunteer vaccinates a woman living in a Bangladeshi settlement known as a "basti." (Stanley O. Foster/CDC/WHO) Stanley O. Foster/CDC/WHO hide caption

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Stanley O. Foster/CDC/WHO

'Speedboat epidemiology': How smallpox was eradicated one person at a time

Smallpox is a deadly virus. At one point, it killed almost 1 in 3 people who had it. Almost 300 million of those deaths were in the 20th century alone. It was extremely painful, highly contagious and many people thought it would be impossible to wipe out—until it was.

'Speedboat epidemiology': How smallpox was eradicated one person at a time

Listen · 12:30
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We unpacked Japan's plan to release Fukushima wastewater

Japan began releasing wastewater from the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant into the Pacific Ocean on August 24, as tanks containing the radioactive water neared capacity. STR/JIJI Press/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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STR/JIJI Press/AFP via Getty Images

We unpacked Japan's plan to release Fukushima wastewater

Workers in Japan started releasing treated radioactive water from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean on Thursday. Reactors at the plant began melting down after a 2011 earthquake and tsunami that hit the area. To stop the meltdown, plant workers flooded the reactors with water. But even now, when the plant is offline, the reactors need to be cooled. All that water—about 350 million gallons—is being stored on-site in over 1,000 tanks. And now, these tanks are almost full.

We unpacked Japan's plan to release Fukushima wastewater

Listen · 12:22
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India and Russia: A tale of two lunar landing attempts

Journalists film the live telecast of spacecraft Chandrayaan-3 landing on the moon at ISRO's Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network facility in Bengaluru, India, Wednesday, Aug. 23, 2023. Aijaz Rahi/AP hide caption

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Aijaz Rahi/AP

India and Russia: A tale of two lunar landing attempts

A journey through some of the latest science stories catching our eyes. This time, we consider the Russian and Indian lunar landing attempts, how scientists are reconstructing music from people's brains and lessons from wildfires that contributed to a mass extinction of North American land mammals 13,000 years ago.

India and Russia: A tale of two lunar landing attempts

Listen · 9:42
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Hilary was a rare storm. Here's why

This Friday, Aug. 18, 2023, 1:10 p.m. EDT satellite image provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shows Hurricane Hilary, right, off Mexico's Pacific coast. Scientists figure a natural El Nino, human-caused climate change, a stubborn heat dome over the nation's midsection and other factors cooked up Hilary's record-breaking slosh into California and Nevada. (NOAA via AP) AP hide caption

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AP

Hilary was a rare storm. Here's why

One name has been on millions of minds — and all over the news — in the past week: Hilary.

Hilary was a rare storm. Here's why

Listen · 12:20
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Fixing our failing electric grid ... on a budget

Researchers say that advanced transmission technologies could help the existing grid work better. But some of these tech companies worry about getting utilities on board - because of the way utilities make money. Julia Simon/NPR hide caption

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Julia Simon/NPR

Fixing our failing electric grid ... on a budget

It's no secret that our electric grid is a flaming hot mess — and in order to reduce emissions, the U.S. needs to get a lot more renewables onto the grid. But there's a problem: Our electric grid is too old and outdated to handle this new technology. In fact, many of the copper wires on transmission lines are using technology from as far back as the early 1900s!

Fixing our failing electric grid ... on a budget

Listen · 11:18
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The key to uncovering an ancient Maya city? Lasers

After collecting data using LiDAR, researchers were able to visually strip away trees in a lab and reveal the ruins of Ocomtun. University of Houston hide caption

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University of Houston

The key to uncovering an ancient Maya city? Lasers

Today we enter into the plot of a summer blockbuster adventure movie. Regina talks to NPR reporter Emily Olson about the recently uncovered ancient Maya city, Ocomtun. The large site, which researchers found using LiDAR technology, even seems to have "suburbs," flipping their expectations about how robust the Maya civilization was — and where it was.

The key to uncovering an ancient Maya city? Lasers

Listen · 14:08
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