The quest to build a star
Scientists are closer than ever to harnessing fusion power — the same process that powers the sun — by essentially making a small star here on Earth. Fusion could give humanity its best shot at solvin...
5 Jan 202228min
BONUS: The 2021 song
Noam wrote an end-of-year song with Today, Explained host Sean Rameswaram, so we thought to drop it here as a little end-of-year surprise. Lyrics: 2021, it was gonna be fun Get a couple shots and th...
31 Dec 20215min
The building blocks of the universe
Most of the matter in the universe is dark matter, an invisible, untouchable, mysterious substance. Scientists don’t know what exactly dark matter is, despite decades of searching. But recently, they ...
22 Dec 202153min
99% of ocean plastic is missing
How can we solve the problem of ocean plastic if we don’t know where most of the plastic is? For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable It’s a great place to view show transcripts and read more abou...
15 Dec 202129min
How medicine mansplained women’s health
Until 1993, many researchers excluded women from clinical drug trials, leaving doctors in the dark about how new treatments work in more than half the population. This is the story of why that happene...
8 Dec 202125min
How Venus went to hell
Venus is the hottest, scariest planet in the solar system, but billions of years ago it may have been a lot like Earth, complete with an ocean of water. So, what killed Venus? And could Earth be next?...
1 Dec 202127min
Mind readers
Will scientists ever fully understand the human brain? In their quest for knowledge, they’ve tried knives, magnets, computers, blood, and even a good metaphor. For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplain...
17 Nov 202132min
A brainless yellow goo that does math
Slime molds can navigate mazes, control robots, and make complicated decisions, all without a central nervous system. If this weird gooey blob can think, does that mean scientists are thinking about i...
10 Nov 202125min
