What’s A

Astronomers are putting together a new picture of the early universe. It involves a lot of very weird black holes, and it could help us understand how our own galaxy formed. Guest: Caitlin Casey, astronomer at UC Santa Barbara ⁠ For show transcripts, go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠v ...  Show more

It’s surprisingly hard to predict how clouds form, move, and change, but it’s essential to try. Because how clouds react to a warming world helps determine how hot our future will be. Guests: Vox contributor Umair Irfan, scientists Scott M. Collis, Angeline Pendergrass, and autho ...  Show more

What happens when a real-life astronaut turns to fiction? In this episode, Chris Hadfield shares how decades of spaceflight and global diplomacy inspired his latest novel, Final Orbit, a cold war thriller packed with historical intrigue and technical precision. Host Rachel Feltma ...  Show more

In a hauntingly innovative exhibit, brain cells grown from the late composer Alvin Lucier’s blood generate sound. Set in a museum in Perth, Australia, the installation blurs the line between art and neuroscience. Host Rachel Feltman and associate editor Allison Parshall explore t ...  Show more

In a hauntingly innovative exhibit, brain cells grown from the late composer Alvin Lucier’s blood generate sound. Set in a museum in Perth, Australia, the installation blurs the line between art and neuroscience. Host Rachel Feltman and associate editor Allison Parshall explore t ...  Show more

What makes an apology sound sincere? Psychologist Shiri Lev-Ari joins host Rachel Feltman to explore how the effort we put into our words—especially through longer, easier-to-understand language—can signal genuine remorse. New research reveals that even subtle linguistic choices ...  Show more