Science Podcasts

On this week’s show: sonic attack or mass paranoia? New evidence suggests the mysterious illness affecting U.S. diplomats in Cuba is more than just a figment of the imagination. And newly uncovered bones in the tomb of China’s first emperor’s grandmother reveal a now-extinct species of gibbon.

On this week’s show: Why do Nigeria, Russia, and Florida have growing HIV problems? And which parts of the brain are bigger in people who have bigger brains?

On this week’s show: recommendations from our books editor for your summer reading list, and a new blood test for fetal gestational age and preterm birth risk

On this week’s show: A search through an archive of galaxy spectra reveals long-sought—but never detected—medium-size black holes, and a comprehensive survey of global food production shows how we can lessen its environmental impact

On this week’s show: analyzing DNA from crime scenes to predict a suspect’s looks, and detecting Zika in mosquitoes on the cheap

On this week’s show: What lead pollution from the Roman Empire that fell on Greenland can tell us, and the emergence of resistance to antifungal drugs challenges human health and food security

On this week’s show: Ancient genomes suggest Central Asian hunter-gatherers were the first horse tamers, and a single gene separating spring- and fall fall-run salmon may change their protection status

On this week’s show: Comparing genetic changes between twins atop Mount Everest and twins in space, and applying materials science techniques to the secrets of bone

On this week’s show: New research shows how “talking drums” send their messages, and scientists squeeze more energy out of solar cells by poking them with needles

On this week’s show: New research shows psychoactive drugs were present at the dawn of the first complex societies, and a long-term study that questions how plants will deal with rising carbon dioxide levels