The Sound Barrier #3: What does silence sound like?
A scientist asked people to sit in a silent room for 15 minutes. Almost half of them decided to give themselves a painful electric shock instead. What is it about our brains that makes our relationsh...
10 Nov 202531min
The Sound Barrier #2: The noise that isn't there
Almost 15% of adults suffer from a persistent, often intolerable sound... that is literally just in their heads. Why does the brain do this to us? We help one of our listeners get some answers. This ...
5 Nov 202533min
The Sound Barrier #1: The myth of hearing
Just like optical illusions trick our eyes, audio illusions can trick our ears. It makes scientists wonder: What exactly are we hearing, when we're hearing? This is the first episode of our new four-...
3 Nov 202540min
Solve me a river
This week on Unexplainable or Not, Sally Helm, the newest member of our team, tries to figure out what's killing mussels, why rivers suddenly change course, and what the longest river in the world is....
29 Okt 202537min
This episode is haunted and spooky
Now why would you click on something like this? What's wrong with you?! Why are you — and so many other people — into scary stuff? Two scientists are trying to find out. (Originally aired in 2024) ...
27 Okt 202519min
Consider the shrimp
Killing two people is worse than killing one. What about 440 billion crustaceans? Adapted from Dylan Matthews's essay on Vox.com. This story is part of a series supported by Animal Charity Evaluators...
22 Okt 202524min
When talent vanishes overnight
Think about the thing you’ve practiced more than anything else in the world. Maybe it’s painting. Or writing. Or playing baseball. Now, imagine you wake up one day, and you just can’t do it. You’re ...
20 Okt 202528min
Composing chaos
Terry Riley's "In C" is one of the most influential pieces of music of the last century...but you'll never hear it the same way twice. Guest: Evan Ziporyn, composer, clarinetist, and producer of "In ...
8 Okt 202527min
