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New discoveries, everyday mysteries, and the science behind the headlines — in just under 15 minutes. It's science for everyone, using a lot of creativity and a little humor. Join hosts Emily Kwong and Regina Barber for science on a different wavelength.

If you're hooked, try Short Wave Plus. Your subscription supports the show and unlocks a sponsor-free feed. Learn more at plus.npr.org/shortwave

Short Wave

This past weekend, Winter Storm Fern struck the States. Sleet, snow and ice battered Americans all the way from New Mexico to New York. Scientists predicted its arrival in mid-January, and in anticipation of the storm, more than 20 state governors issued emergency declarations. But how did scientists know so much, so early, about the approaching storm? NPR climate reporter Rebecca Hersher says it has to do with our weather models… and the data we put into them. Which begs the question: Will we continue to invest in them?

Interested in more science behind the weather? Check out our episodes on better storm prediction in the tropics and how the Santa Ana winds impact the fire season this time of year. 

Have a question we haven’t covered? Email us at shortwave@npr.org. We’d love to consider it for a future episode! 

Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave.

This episode was produced by Hannah Chinn. It was edited by our showrunner Rebecca Ramirez. Tyler Jones and Rebecca Hersher checked the facts. The audio engineer was Robert Rodriguez. 

News clips were from CBS Boston, Fox Weather, Fox 4 Dallas-Fort Worth, and PBS Newshour.

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How scientists predict big winter storms

Listener Shabnam Khan has a problem: Every time she works in her garden, she’s visited by lizards and frogs. Shabnam has lived in the metro Atlanta area for decades, and she says this number of scaly, clammy visitors has exploded over the past few years. Frogs croak at night; lizards sun on the cement. And she wants to know, where did all of these animals come from? It turns out, there are a number of potential answers – from small-scale environmental changes like natural plants and new water sources to large-scale shifts like urbanization and development displacing local wildlife. On this month’s Nature Quest, host Emily Kwong and producer Hannah Chinn discuss the possibilities – and impacts – of these changes.

If you live in the Atlanta area and are interested in volunteering with MAAMP (the Metro Atlanta Amphibian Monitoring Program), you can sign up for training here.

This episode is part of Nature Quest, our monthly segment that brings you a question from a fellow listener who is noticing a change in the world around them.

Send a voice memo to shortwave@npr.org telling us your name, location and a question about a change you’re seeing in nature – it could be our next Nature Quest episode!

Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave.

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What drives animals to your yard? It's complicated

There’s an ongoing, near-total blackout of the internet in Iran. The shutdown is part of a response by the government to ongoing protests against rising inflation and the value of the nation’s currency plummeting. Since protests began more than two weeks ago, only an estimated 3% of Iranians have stayed online through the satellite internet system Starlink. Doing so is a crime. So, today on the show: Iran offline. We get into how the internet works, how a government can shut it down and how scientists are monitoring the nation’s connectivity from afar. 

Check out more of NPR's coverage of Iran: 

- Iran Protests Explained

- There's an internet blackout in Iran. How are videos and images getting out?

- Iran blocked the internet amid deadly protests. Some voices are still getting through

Interested in more science behind the headlines? Email us your question at shortwave@npr.org – we may tackle it in a future episode!

Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave.

This episode was produced by Berly McCoy, edited by Rebecca Ramirez and fact checked by Tyler Jones. Robert Rodriguez was the audio engineer.

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Iran offline: How a government can turn off the internet

A new study shows penguins are breeding earlier than ever in the Antarctic Peninsula. This region is one of the fastest-warming areas of the world due to climate change, and penguins time their breeding period to environmental conditions. That’s everything from the temperature outside and whether there’s ice on the ground to what food is available. Changes in those conditions could contribute to mating changes. Plus, answers to a debate about how ice melts and how dirty diapers train parents in the art of disgust. 

Have a scientific question you want us to answer? Email us at shortwave@npr.org.

Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave.

Listen to Short Wave on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. 

This episode was produced by Jason Fuller and Rachel Carlson. It was edited by Rebecca Ramirez and Christopher Intagliata. Tyler Jones checked the facts. The audio engineers were Kwesi Lee and Hannah Gluvna.

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The plight of penguins in Antarctica

Cloud 9 is a failed galaxy. It’s a clump of dark matter, called a dark matter halo, that never formed stars. But this failure could be the key to a mystery almost as old as the universe itself: dark matter. Scientists don’t know what dark matter is, but Cloud 9 could offer new clues. Three researchers weigh in on this new discovery and why it could be a missing piece to the story on how the universe formed.

Check out our episode with astrophysicist Jorge Moreno on the mysterious Great Attractor and our summer series on space. 

Have a scientific question you want us to answer? Email us at shortwave@npr.org.

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A failed galaxy could solve the dark matter mystery

Medical drama The Pitt is winning Golden Globes… and health care workers’ hearts. Medical experts say the show, which chronicles a fictional Pittsburgh hospital emergency department, is perhaps the most medically accurate show that’s ever been created. But what about The Pitt makes it so accurate… and does the second season hold up as well as the first? Stanford Global Health Media Fellow (and fourth-year medical school student) Michal Ruprecht joins Short Wave to discuss.

Have a question about YOUR favorite show and whether science supports it? Email us at shortwave@npr.org.

Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave.

This episode was produced by Hannah Chinn. It was edited by Rebecca Ramirez. Tyler Jones checked the facts. The audio engineer was Maggie Luthar.

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Is ‘The Pitt’ accurate? Medical experts weigh in

In today's episode, host Emily Kwong leads us on a night hike in Patuxent River State Park in Maryland. Alongside a group of naturalists led by Serenella Linares, we'll meet a variety of species with unique survival quirks and wintertime adaptations. We'll search out lichen that change color under UV light and flip over a wet log to track a salamander keeping warm under wet leaves. Emily may even meet the bioluminescent mushrooms of her dreams. Plus, we talk about community events to get outside, such as the City Nature Challenge and Great American Campout.

Do you have a question about changes in your local environment? Email a recording of your question to shortwave@npr.org — we may investigate it as part of an upcoming Nature Quest segment!

Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave.

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Come critter spotting with us on a cold winter's night

Wanna know where tech is headed this year? MIT Technology Review has answers. They compile an annual list called "10 Breakthrough Technologies". Today, host Regina G. Barber speaks with executive editor Amy Nordrum about the list, and they get into everything from commercial space stations and base-edited babies to batteries that could make electric vehicles even more green. We also do a lightning round of honorable mentions you won't want to miss out on!

Check out the full list from MIT Technology Review.

Interested in more science? Check out our episode on last year’s top 10 technologies to watch and our episode on building structures in space.

Email us your questions at shortwave@npr.org.

Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave.

This episode was produced by Berly McCoy. It was edited and fact-checked by Rebecca Ramirez. The audio engineer was Robert Rodriguez.

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10 breakthrough technologies to expect in 2026

There’s this idea that something happens in the human brain when we turn 25. Suddenly, we can rent a car without fees. Make rational decisions. We may even regret some of our past… indiscretions. All because we’re developed…right? Well, a recent paper in the journal Nature suggests that may not be the case. Neuroscientists found four distinct turning points in brain development across the human lifespan – and that the brain may be in its “adolescent” phase until about the age of 32. 

Interested in more of the science inside your brain? Email us your question at shortwave@npr.org.

Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave.

This episode was produced by Rachel Carlson. It was edited by Rebecca Ramirez. Tyler Jones checked the facts. The audio engineer was Kwesi Lee.

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When is your brain actually an "adult"?

In the mid-1980s, scientists published a startling finding–a giant hole in the ozone layer over Antarctica. That’s the protective shield that blocks large amounts of harmful UV radiation. And without it, the rate of cancer, cataracts and crop failure would skyrocket. Today on the show, we dive into ozone science and examine how scientists successfully sounded the alarm and solved an Antarctic mystery.

Check out our episode on an Antarctic plankton mystery. And, listen to our monthly series Nature Quest.

Interested in more atmospheric science? Email us your question at shortwave@npr.org.

Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave.

This episode was produced by Berly McCoy. It was edited by Rebecca Ramirez. Tyler Jones checked the facts. The audio engineer was Becky Brown.

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The ozone layer is still healing…thanks to science

Have you ever scrolled through a TikTok without finishing it? Switched between YouTube videos halfway through one or the other? Pressed "fast forward" on a Netflix episode that just wasn't holding your interest? That habit is called "digital switching" — and it might be causing the exact thing you're trying to avoid: boredom. Emily and Regina break that and more of the week's news down with the help of All Things Considered's Ailsa Chang.

Read this study on digital switching and boredom in the Journal of Experimental Psychology.

Interested in hearing more psychology news? Email us at shortwave@npr.org.

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