Episódios

  • Are You Tired of Feeling Cynical? Hopeful Skepticism Could Be a Way Out
    Jan 31 2025
    It’s easy to be cynical about the state of the world—even when you’re a researcher who studies empathy and kindness. Stanford University psychologist Jamil Zaki turned his own negativity into his new book Hope for Cynics: The Surprising Science of Human Goodness. The book busts common myths about cynicism and explores what it could be doing to our body and brain. Zaki reflects on the imperfections of cynicism and hope and presents a third option: hopeful skepticism. Recommended reading: Read Hope for Cynics: The Surprising Science of Human Goodness. Follow Jamil Zaki’s work at www.jamil-zaki.com and www.ssnl.stanford.edu E-mail us at sciencequickly@sciam.com if you have any questions, comments or ideas for stories we should cover! Discover something new every day: subscribe to Scientific American and sign up for Today in Science, our daily newsletter. Science Quickly is produced by Rachel Feltman, Fonda Mwangi, Kelso Harper, Madison Goldberg and Jeff DelViscio. This episode was hosted by Rachel Feltman. Our show is edited by Fonda Mwangi with fact-checking by Shayna Posses and Aaron Shattuck. The theme music was composed by Dominic Smith. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    16 minutos
  • Science Will Stare Directly Into the Sun--And Love It
    Jan 29 2025
    The sun is in the middle of its solar maximum, the part of its 11-year solar cycle that was responsible for the stunning auroras seen across the globe last year. This year is looking equally exciting, with more incoming space weather and a handful of science missions to study the sun’s wide-reaching behavior. Senior reporter Meghan Bartels reviews the missions that are launching in 2025 and explains the reasons why you should be excited by heliophysics. Recommended reading: Heliophysics Is Set to Shine in 2025 Should You Really Worry about Solar Flares? E-mail us at sciencequickly@sciam.com if you have any questions, comments or ideas for stories we should cover! Discover something new every day: subscribe to Scientific American and sign up for Today in Science, our daily newsletter. Science Quickly is produced by Rachel Feltman, Fonda Mwangi, Kelso Harper, Madison Goldberg and Jeff DelViscio. This episode was hosted by Rachel Feltman with guest Meghan Bartels. Our show is edited by Jeff DelViscio with fact-checking by Shayna Posses and Aaron Shattuck. The theme music was composed by Dominic Smith. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    12 minutos
  • WHO Withdrawal, Bird Flu Updates and a Link between Fitness and Treatment Outcomes
    Jan 27 2025
    Executive orders that impact science and health in the U.S. came quickly after the inauguration of President Donald Trump. Tanya Lewis, senior editor of health and medicine, explains how grievances over COVID and funding led Trump to order the U.S.’s withdrawal from the World Health Organization—and what that withdrawal would mean for global health. Plus, we present an update on the spread of bird flu in the U.S. and other news on topics from animal behavior to astronomy. –Listen to our episode about the mishandled response to the bird flu outbreak –Read more about Trump’s executive orders around science and health –Check out some lighthearted animal behavior research E-mail us at sciencequickly@sciam.com if you have any questions, comments or ideas for stories we should cover! Discover something new every day: subscribe to Scientific American and sign up for Today in Science, our daily newsletter. Science Quickly is produced by Rachel Feltman, Fonda Mwangi, Kelso Harper, Madison Goldberg and Jeff DelViscio. This episode was hosted by Rachel Feltman with guest Tanya Lewis. Our show is edited by Madison Goldberg with fact-checking by Shayna Posses and Aaron Shattuck. The theme music was composed by Dominic Smith. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    10 minutos
  • Combatting Climate Anxiety through Community Science
    Jan 24 2025
    It’s easy to feel overwhelmed with the news these days and to fear for the future. What if you could interrupt doomscrolling and contribute to conservation at the same time? That’s the idea behind programs like Adventure Scientists, eBird and iNaturalist. Guest Gregg Treinish, founder and executive director of Adventure Scientists, joins host Rachel Feltman to talk about community science in the great outdoors. Learn more about Adventure Scientists Contribute to the California Biodiversity project Contribute to the Tracking Eastern Hemlock project Read Treinish’s opinion piece in the San Francisco Chronicle E-mail us at sciencequickly@sciam.com if you have any questions, comments or ideas for stories we should cover! Discover something new every day: subscribe to Scientific American and sign up for Today in Science, our daily newsletter. Science Quickly is produced by Rachel Feltman, Fonda Mwangi, Kelso Harper, Madison Goldberg and Jeff DelViscio. This episode was hosted by Rachel Feltman. Our show is edited by Fonda Mwangi with fact-checking by Shayna Posses and Aaron Shattuck. The theme music was composed by Dominic Smith. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    15 minutos
  • What the End of U.S. Net Neutrality Means For You
    Jan 22 2025
    Net neutrality, the principle that all Internet traffic should be treated equally, was heralded by the Federal Communications Commission and open Internet advocates. A federal court struck down the FCC’s ability to enforce the policy earlier this month. What does that mean for the free and open Internet? Associate technology editor Ben Guarino joins host Rachel Feltman to review the state rules that could preserve net neutrality and ways that telecommunications giants could leverage the lack of federal regulation against their competitors. Recommended reading: What the End of U.S. Net Neutrality Means E-mail us at sciencequickly@sciam.com if you have any questions, comments or ideas for stories we should cover! Discover something new every day: subscribe to Scientific American and sign up for Today in Science, our daily newsletter. Science Quickly is produced by Rachel Feltman, Fonda Mwangi, Kelso Harper, Madison Goldberg and Jeff DelViscio. This episode was hosted by Rachel Feltman with guest Ben Guarino. Our show is edited by Fonda Mwangi with fact-checking by Shayna Posses and Aaron Shattuck. The theme music was composed by Dominic Smith. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    10 minutos
  • The Health Risks of Alcohol, a Red Dye Ban and Commercial Space Flights
    Jan 20 2025
    A report that was recently released by the Department of Health and Human Services highlights the risks of drinking alcohol, even moderately. The Food and Drug Administration has banned the use of the dye Red No. 3 in food and other products. Experts argue that body mass index (BMI) is a flawed way to diagnose “obesity.” A SpaceX rocket successfully brought two lunar landers into orbit—but in another launch, part of a separate SpaceX vehicle exploded after takeoff. Plus, Australia has another scary spider. Recommended reading: – What to Know about the Ban on Red Dye in Foods and Drugs – Blue Ghost, a Private U.S. Lunar Lander, Launches to the Moon – People Who Are Fat and Healthy May Hold Keys to Understanding Obesity E-mail us at sciencequickly@sciam.com if you have any questions, comments or ideas for stories we should cover! Discover something new every day: subscribe to Scientific American and sign up for Today in Science, our daily newsletter. Science Quickly is produced by Rachel Feltman, Fonda Mwangi, Kelso Harper, Madison Goldberg and Jeff DelViscio. This episode was hosted by Rachel Feltman. Our show is edited by Madison Goldberg with fact-checking by Shayna Posses and Aaron Shattuck. The theme music was composed by Dominic Smith. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    8 minutos
  • Do Pain and Joy Have a Universal Language?
    Jan 17 2025
    Ouch! Ah! Aïe! The words we use when we stub our toe or receive a pinch may point to a common way to express pain across languages. Associate news editor Allison Parshall explores what linguistic commonalities in expressions of pain and joy might mean for our shared biology. Plus, Parshall and host Rachel Feltman chat about onomatopoeias, the “bouba-kiki” effect and linguistic news you may have missed in 2024. Recommended reading: Ouch! Linguists Find Universal Language for Pain How Our Thoughts Shape the Way Spoken Words Evolve My Synesthesia Transforms Speech into Text I ‘See’ in My Head Eight, Ocho, Acht Most Fascinating Language Discoveries of 2024 E-mail us at sciencequickly@sciam.com if you have any questions, comments or ideas for stories we should cover! Discover something new every day: subscribe to Scientific American and sign up for Today in Science, our daily newsletter. Science Quickly is produced by Rachel Feltman, Fonda Mwangi, Kelso Harper, Madison Goldberg and Jeff DelViscio. This episode was hosted by Rachel Feltman with guest Allison Parshall. Our show is edited by Fonda Mwangi with fact-checking by Emily Makowski, Shayna Posses and Aaron Shattuck. The theme music was composed by Dominic Smith. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    19 minutos
  • How the U.S. Mishandled the Early Days of Bird Flu
    Jan 15 2025
    H5N1 avian influenza has now reached almost 1,000 herds of dairy cattle in 16 states and has infected around 66 people, many of them agricultural workers, in the U.S. Host Rachel Feltman is joined by Amy Maxmen, a public health reporter at KFF Health News, to get the latest on bird flu. They explore how government and industry players lost control of the outbreak and what we can do to prevent a future pandemic of this evolving disease. Read the full story: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/bird-flu-has-spread-out-of-control-after-mistakes-by-u-s-government-and/ Read more of Amy Maxmen’s work: https://kffhealthnews.org/news/author/amy-maxmen/ Sign up for Healthbeat’s newsletters here. E-mail us at sciencequickly@sciam.com if you have any questions, comments or ideas for stories we should cover! Discover something new every day: subscribe to Scientific American and sign up for Today in Science, our daily newsletter. Science Quickly is produced by Rachel Feltman, Fonda Mwangi, Kelso Harper, Madison Goldberg and Jeff DelViscio. This episode was hosted by Rachel Feltman. Our show is edited by Fonda Mwangi with fact-checking by Shayna Posses and Aaron Shattuck. The theme music was composed by Dominic Smith. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    16 minutos