I Slept Through Science

This week's question is about drinking straws. Have you ever put your straw in a drink, held your thumb on the top of the straw, and pulled it out of the drink? What keeps the liquid inside the straw?...

30 Jan 202325min

If movies are to be believed, when you are in space, opening a door can have disastrous consequences. Can space really suck all the air out of a spaceship? What about all those science teachers who sa...

23 Jan 202333min

Lesson 53 What seems like a simple question ends up being more difficult that you might think: what exactly is fire? Is it a solid? A gas? Something else? And what causes the actual light we see? This...

16 Jan 202334min

We've all heard it: reading in dim light is bad for your eyes. But is it true, or is it a myth? Lisa, one of our listeners, asks us this question and Cheryl and Ryan do their best to get to the bottom...

9 Jan 202324min

After partying a little too hard for New Year's, sometimes we experience a hangover, but what exactly is a hangover and what causes it? And, most importantly, can it make your brain shrink? Cheryl lea...

2 Jan 202327min

Singing Christmas carols is a long tradition, but it got Cheryl thinking: how does singing work? And is the voice box even a real thing? To answer this, Ryan and Cheryl talk about vocal cords and reme...

26 Dec 202225min

Is snow just frozen rain? If so, shouldn't it look like little ice cubes? Does snow form in clouds, or after it's left the clouds? And what about all the other types of frozen precipitation that falls...

19 Dec 202224min

Baking Christmas cookies is a fun holiday tradition, but why do we have to follow the recipe so closely? Cooking seems to be much more forgiving than backing. Is there a science reason for that? Liste...

12 Dec 202222min