Science Quickly

Jan 20 2025 1728 ep. 5 mins 7.8k

Science Quickly Podcast artwork

Host Rachel Feltman, alongside leading science and tech journalists, dives into the rich world of scientific discovery in this bite-size science variety show.

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The Health Risks of Alcohol, a Red Dye Ban and Commercial Space Flights

Jan 20 2025 7 mins

A report that was recently released by the Department of Health and Human Services highlights the risks of drinking alcohol, even moderately. The Food and Drug Administration has banned the use of the dye Red No. 3 in food and other products. Experts argue that body mass index (BMI) is a flawed way to diagnose “obesity.” A SpaceX rocket successfully brought two lunar landers in

Do Pain and Joy Have a Universal Language?

Jan 17 2025 19 mins

Ouch! Ah! Aïe! The words we use when we stub our toe or receive a pinch may point to a common way to express pain across languages. Associate news editor Allison Parshall explores what linguistic commonalities in expressions of pain and joy might mean for our shared biology. Plus, Parshall and host Rachel Feltman chat about onomatopoeias, the “bouba-kiki” effect and linguistic

How the U.S. Mishandled the Early Days of Bird Flu

Jan 15 2025 15 mins

H5N1 avian influenza has now reached almost 1,000 herds of dairy cattle in 16 states and has infected around 66 people, many of them agricultural workers, in the U.S. Host Rachel Feltman is joined by Amy Maxmen, a public health reporter at KFF Health News, to get the latest on bird flu. They explore how government and industry players lost control of the outbreak and what we can do

Outbreaks of Norovirus, a Death from Bird Flu and Wildfires in L.A.

Jan 13 2025 13 mins

Norovirus cases are up this year, with 91 reported outbreaks nationwide. Human metapneumovirus (HMPV) cases are up in China and India. There has also been an increase in the U.S., but HMPV is currently a cause for concern in the nation, where its relative commonality gives many people some immunity. Louisiana has reported the first U.S. death from H5N1 avian influenza. Experts say

Finding Pluto’s Potential Replacement with a Giant New Telescope

Jan 10 2025 18 mins

Pluto was unseated as our solar system’s ninth planet in 2006. Since then astronomers have found signs that a real ninth planet could be hiding at the edges of our solar system. Clara Moskowitz, senior editor for space and physics, explains how the forthcoming Vera Rubin Observatory could give researchers a way to find the real Planet Nine—if it’s out there. Recommended readi

Going Outside Can Change Our Hormones and Improve Microbiome Diversity

Jan 08 2025 18 mins

Going outside has many benefits, from positively affecting our nervous system to diversifying our microbiome. But you don’t need a forest preserve to benefit from nature—sometimes even a houseplant or the smell of lavender can improve our life. Kathy Willis, a professor of biodiversity at the University of Oxford, joins host Rachel Feltman to discuss her new book Good Nature: W

A Farewell to 2024, and What We’re Following in the New Year

Dec 23 2024 21 mins

2024 brought heat waves and hurricanes, bird flu and breakthroughs, and an overwhelming amount of progress in AI. Science Quickly host Rachel Feltman is joined by sustainability editor Andrea Thompson, health and medicine editor Tanya Lewis and technology editor Ben Guarino to recap a busy year and weigh in on the stories they’re watching in 2025. Happy Holidays from all of us a

The New Conservationists: Thanks to Conservation Efforts, Pandas, Wolves and Panthers Are Making a Comeback (Part 4)

Dec 20 2024 23 mins

Tens of thousands of animal species are facing extinction, mostly because of human activity. But thanks to conservationists, there are some animals that are making a comeback. This is part four of “The New Conservationists,” a four-part series about the evolving world of animal conservation. Listen to part one, part two and part three. Recommended reading: – The Panda Factori

The New Conservationists: Meet the Next Generation of Conservationists (Part 3)

Dec 18 2024 19 mins

Ashleigh Papp, an animal scientist turned storyteller, shifts our perspective on the modern conservationist. With low wages and expectations of free work, conservation science lacks diversity as a field—but dedicated graduate students and new programs are trying to change that. Isaac Aguilar, a graduate student in the geology division at the California Institute of Technology, te

The New Conservationists: AI is Making Meaning from the Sounds and Visuals of Wildlife (Part 2)

Dec 16 2024 17 mins

Ashleigh Papp, an animal scientist turned storyteller, takes us on into the field. Conservationists and animal behaviorists were once restricted to wildlife data gathered manually. Now new technologies are expanding the amount of passively collected data—and machine learning is helping researchers cut through the noise. This is part two of The New Conservationists, a four-part se