When reality broke
In the 1920s, the scientist Werner Heisenberg came up with a wild idea that broke reality as Western science knew it. And it's still unsettling to think about. Benjamin Labatut's recent book, When We ...
13 Apr 202225min
Making Sense: The sixth sense
Why stop at five senses? Just how much of the world can we perceive? And how much is out there that’s still out of reach, hiding in the dark? This is the sixth and final episode of our six-part series...
6 Apr 202226min
Making Sense: Sight unseen
Close your eyes and try to imagine an apple. Can you see anything? Aphantasia is the inability to see with your mind’s eye. Since it was discovered, scientists have been asking the question: What is t...
30 Mars 202224min
Making Sense: The Umami Mama
For thousands of years, there have been four basic tastes recognized across cultures. But thanks to Kumiko Ninomiya (a.k.a. the Umami Mama), scientists finally accepted a fifth. So could there be even...
23 Mars 202237min
Making Sense: No one nose
Dogs can smell cancer, Covid-19, and many other health problems in humans. Now, scientists are trying to duplicate these powers in robotic sniffers. But there’s a big challenge here: Scientists don’t ...
16 Mars 202229min
Making Sense: The healing power of touch
Doctors can save the lives of premature infants, but the process is often painful. Luckily, a solution might be as simple as a parent’s loving touch. This is the second episode of our new six-part ser...
9 Mars 202228min
Making Sense: How sound becomes hearing
In the same way optical illusions trick our eyes, audio illusions can trick our ears. This raises a fundamental question: What is hearing, and how much of it is made up by our brains? This is the firs...
2 Mars 202240min
The methane hunters
Methane traps more than 80 times as much heat as CO2 over the short term. So we could make a real difference on climate change this decade if we could stop leaking so much methane into the atmosphere....
16 Feb 202222min
