Making Sense: How sound becomes hearing

When scientists write their own rules for life, how do they know what could go wrong before it’s too late? This is the final episode of our new three-part series, Life from Scratch. Guests: Kate Adamala, associate professor at the University of Minnesota; David Relman, professor ...  Show more

Synthetic biologist Kate Adamala has been making major headlines as her lab creates cells that feed, divide, and grow — all from nonliving parts. It may sound like sci-fi, but Kate believes that these “not quite alive” cells are key to a renewable future. This is the second episo ...  Show more

In the same way that optical illusions can trick our eyes, auditory illusions can trick our ears. This raises a serious question: what is hearing, and how much of it is actually made up by our brains? In this story from the Unexplainable podcast, we explore how our brains create ...  Show more

How do we hear? What parts of our brain respond to sound? And how can we use vibrations to expand the way we enjoy music? In this episode of How We’re Wired, join evolutionary anthropologist Dr Anna Machin on a sensory journey exploring the world of sound, and how we hear it. We’ ...  Show more

How do we hear a sound and immediately know where it’s coming from?

That’s the question that CrowdScience listener Chiletso asked himself one day as he heard his son bounce a ball and instantly knew its direction. In this ear-opening episode, presenter Anand Jagatia set ...

We love listening to music at a ridiculous level of detail. But the other day we heard a podcast that made us fundamentally question the accuracy and reliability of our own listening skills. In it they played a familiar melody, “Yankee Doodle,” in such a way that we couldn’t reco ...  Show more