Throughout human history, there’s been one element we’ve always associated with death. Just the smell of it is an alarm bell that says, “something here is dangerous.” But what if our noses have been wrong all along? Listen: lnk.to/radiolab?utm_source=t…

Mathematician Steve Strogatz watched AI go from flailing at basic arithmetic to solving problems that baffle the best mathematicians. Steve grapples with the idea that the window might be closing on humanity’s effort to unpuzzle the world around us. lnk.to/radiolab?utm_source=t…

When you think about grass, what do you think of? Pool parties? Suburbs? Allergies? It turns out, unassuming grass has an epic story to tell. One of transforming the planet, changing what we eat, and altering the ways we perceive the world. Listen: lnk.to/radiolab?utm_source=t…

What is the sweetest thing in the world? Is it a West African Katemfe berry? Or an industrial sugar substitute cooked up in a lab? Or an ingredient hiding in plain sight in all of our pantries? Listen: lnk.to/radiolab?utm_source=t…

When Kelley and Tom finally got pregnant everything was perfect. Until it wasn't. Their story contains a universe of questions about life and death, reflex and will, and the tug of war between doing no harm...and doing everything in our power to help. radiolab.visitlink.me/7O2Ylk…

In the hours after the Sept. 11 attacks, a lawyer sat down and wrote one single sentence, 60 words long. This week, we pull apart that sentence, which led to the longest war in U.S. history. We examine how 60 words blurred the line between war and peace. lnk.to/radiolab?utm_source=t…

This week on Radiolab, producer Annie McEwen tells us a love story about a rogue bird at the top of a high cliff overlooking the sea. It's a tale about what happens when the things we want for animals clash with what they seem to choose for themselves. lnk.to/radiolab?utm_source=t…

For as long as she could remember, Amy loved meat in all its glorious cuts and marbled flavors. One day, for seemingly no reason, her body wouldn’t tolerate it. It made no sense: why couldn’t she eat something that she had routinely enjoyed for decades? lnk.to/radiolab?utm_source=t…

Why do we get goosebumps in so many different situations? What’s happening in our bodies? We face chilly winds, sudden frights and moments when the world seem to shift under your feet to figure out what the bumps on our skin are trying to tell us. Listen: lnk.to/radiolab?utm_source=t…

In the 1950s, with the threat of nuclear annihilation, federal officials pondered what American life would look like after an atomic attack. They set out to save America’s most precious stuff. Today, we ask: What objects would we preserve now? Listen: lnk.to/radiolab?utm_source=t…

Radiolab reporter Alex Neason got out of the shower and almost stepped on her worst nightmare: a cockroach. This sent her into a spiral of fear, anger, and disgust. This week, Alex tries to understand what's behind her fear, hoping she can overcome it. lnk.to/radiolab?utm_source=t…

We make three earnest attempts to put a price on the priceless. We figure out the dollar value for an accidental death, another day of life, and the work of bats and bees as we try to keep our calculations from falling apart in the face of reality. lnk.to/radiolab?utm_source=t…

This week: quite possibly the closest Radiolab has ever come to making a true crime episode. It’s a show about cruelty, violence, badness. Listen to “The Bad Show” wherever you get your podcasts: lnk.to/radiolab?utm_source=t…

We're doing a live show next month at the Tribeca Festival in NYC. It will be SWEET (in more ways than one: part of the show is about SWEETNESS itself. 🍭) We'll have stories, sounds, and science – and life musical accompaniment! You can get tickets here: tribecafilm.com/films/radiol…

One activist is put on trial for taking two sick piglets from a factory farm. During his trial, he makes a bizarre argument that forces the jury, and all of us, to stare straight at our complicated, sometimes uncomfortable relationship with animals. lnk.to/radiolab?utm_source=t…

For much of history, tree canopies were ignored by science. But once ecologists got curious, they found out that not only was the forest canopy not empty, it was absolutely filled to the brim with life. You've heard of treehouses? How about tree gardens?! lnk.to/radiolab?utm_source=t…

There’s something rotten in the cows of Denmark. And Minnesota. And Wisconsin. And Idaho. This week, an episode about a decades-old dairy farm controversy, rooted in a fundamental suspicion of the invisible streams of electrons that keep our world humming. lnk.to/radiolab?utm_source=t…

Come to our Radiolab game show LIVE in NYC! It’s part-improv, part-museum exhibit on stage, part-some goofy new thing that we might have invented. We’ve got mysterious objects, some extraordinary stories, and a trio of epic guest players. Buy tickets: radiolab.visitlink.me/6BBD9x

We’re having an Ask Me Anything about our Snail Sex Tape episode. You can come and ask Mona and Molly anything you want on April 16, at 7 p.m. Eastern IF you're a Lab member. Become a Lab member to support us, and so that you can come to the event, here: members.radiolab.org?utm_sou…

We’re highlighting an episode from our show for families, Terrestrials, where we take you on a musical journey about beavers. We learn about the US government parachuting beavers out of planes, and discover how beavers saved acres of land from burning.  lnk.to/radiolab?utm_source=t…