Undark: Truth, Beauty, Science: Recent Episodes
Undark Magazine
The Undark Podcast continues our mission of illuminating the places where science intersects — and sometimes collides — with our everyday lives, in the form of audio documentaries released monthly from September to May. Scientific questions and challenges, after all, are woven deeply into our politics, our economics, our culture — and they are animated by a wide spectrum of competing values and interests. Our goal is to present rich, narrative-driven audio stories of science as it manifests amid that push-and-pull of human society.
This month: Some regions of the deep ocean contain vast amounts of key minerals, like cobalt and nickel, that are needed to power clean energy technologies. But some scientists warn that mining them could have tremendous consequences, not just for underwater ecosystems, but for the planet as a whole.
This month: Twenty-six years after the end of the Bosnian War, farmers in Livno are once again making cheese the traditional way, grazing herds of sheep on the wide-open plains. The animals' return is restoring natural wetlands, leading to cascading impacts on the environment and the economy.
For scientists who come from abroad to live and work in America, accents can be personal. It's discouraging to be misunderstood, even when they think they’re speaking clearly. Sometimes, it could even be a career liability. Is the problem the accent, or those on the receiving end?
Residents of Lebanon's Beqaa Valley say pollution in the Litani River is responsible for a host of chronic health problems. While a causal link is hard to prove, cleanup efforts are precarious amid the country's economic crisis and shifting blame between refugees and government inaction.
Alkaline hydrolysis is an end-of-life option that’s gaining popularity in Canada and the U.S. It’s marketed as a greener form of cremation — a way to still end up with ashes, but without sending harmful emissions into the air. But getting the technology approved by lawmakers has proven difficult.
When Pervis Payne was sentenced to death more than three decades ago, it was permissible to execute someone with an intellectual disability. A Supreme Court decision changed that in 2002, but Payne's disability was acknowledged only last year. Why did it take so long to remove him from The Row?
Urbanization in Lagos, Nigeria, is moving at a rapid clip — burying mangrove forests and wetlands under mounds of sand to make way for wealthy subdivisions. Without strong regulations around how that sand is harvested, the social, economic, and environmental consequences are vast.
Scientists and counterterrorism experts believe understanding the underlying motivations of radical extremists will help them deradicalize people. Now, one group has studied the brain activity of active extremists after asking them to contemplate the values they are willing to fight and die for.
In December of last year, Congress passed legislation that gives the Environmental Protection Agency authority to phase out most hydrofluorocarbons — potent greenhouse gases that keep refrigerators cool — over the next 15 years. But there's no perfect alternative to replace them.
Twenty years ago Portugal decriminalized all drugs as part of a bigger national strategy to fight addiction. Last month Oregon became the first U.S. state to do the same, in a policy modeled off Portugal’s approach — but many questions about how success may translate remain unanswered.
Amid a worldwide mental health crisis, the discovery of new pharmaceuticals to treat conditions like depression has stalled. But researchers and therapists are showing that when paired with therapy, psychedelic drugs like LSD and magic mushrooms are a new class of promising treatments.
In India, macaque monkeys are a menace — attacking people for food, breaking into offices, and in one state, damaging at least 54 million dollars worth of crops. A sterilization program aimed to curb the population, but some experts and locals question if it’s working or even the right approach.
A recent U.S. Supreme Court decision on the dusky gopher frog now has conservationists and developers squaring off over the legal definition of the term ‘habitat.’ The accepted meaning will guide American lawmakers in designating protected areas for endangered species across the country.
In South Africa, trauma researchers are studying — and working to ease — the psychological toll of Covid-19, while trying to endure the pandemic themselves. They warn the widespread and long-lasting impacts of this collective trauma could span generations and cross national borders.
As smoky summers resulting from wildfires have become the new normal across much of the West Coast, communities have tried to put better systems in place protect their most vulnerable residents. But this year, they didn’t plan on dealing with a smoke wave in the middle of a pandemic. How are they coping?
This month: Acoustic ecologists are racing to record Earth’s shifting soundscapes before they disappear. Some researchers are using their recordings to answer questions about how the environment and its inhabitants are changing, while others are sounding the alarm on pressing conservation issues.
This month: Communicating about animal research with the public can open early career scientists up to social stigma and even campaigns that threaten careers. But working with animals can be an emotionally taxing job — and the silence could isolate scientists further and strengthen public misconceptions.
This month: Ground-up waste leftover from asbestos mining still lines the landscape of Quebec. Now, a number of companies are eager to transform that waste into profitable product — but health officials worry this new industry might reawaken an old problem the province finally seemed to be moving away from.
This month: Tailoring medicine to each individual patient could make health care more affordable and effective. But that reality won’t come to fruition unless researchers, industry, the government, and the public reach a consensus on issues like patient privacy, data bias, and sharing of medical records.
This month: The impulse to “fix” intersex infants with invasive surgeries is facing increased and, some would argue, long overdue scrutiny. As doctors, parents, and intersex people face decisions that may affect their long-term health, researchers grapple with defining and measuring outcomes.
This month: Proponents of a new farming technique called regenerative agriculture argue that it can restore the earth, combat climate change, and alleviate the economic needs of farmers in debt. Now, farmers and researchers alike are putting claims about what this method can actually accomplish to the test.
This month: Harm reduction organizations take a controversial step in checking illicit drugs for fentanyl.
On this episode: The story of a devastating wildfire in India reveals how a complex tangle of law, policy, and science are hindering the country's efforts to contain and prevent forest fires.
This month: The history of a destigmatizing message about HIV transmission and how it finally made it to the public.
The Undark Podcast returns in a brand new format. This episode takes a deep look at the uncertain and challenging paths of patients diagnosed with kidney failure, and the doctors working to make more lifesaving transplants possible.
This month: testing the effect of Skrillex on mosquitos, addressing poaching in Uganda, and public response to the first black hole image.
This month: using social media in search and rescue, developing a more accurate way to track citations, and tackling sexual harassment in science.
This month: the quest for a universal flu shot, the trend of environmentally-friendly burials, and understanding medical consent laws for minors. Transcript is available at Undark.org
This month: using audio data to track sea ice loss, the efficacy of medication-assisted treatment, and fighting for a national underwater monument. Transcript is available at Undark.org
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This month: a boom of citizen science projects, teaching young doctors to balance empathy and professionalism, and a near-death encounter with C. Diff.
Ep. 32: Decentralized Internet, a Trip into Space, and a Roiling Debate Among Science Writers by
This month: building a heat map with the help of citizen scientists, monitoring an Estonian forest, and the heartbreaking cost of fragmented care.
This month: the toll of human-caused wildfires, rescuing snakes to prevent human-animal conflict, and capturing the impacts of an ambient killer.
Transcript and individual segments available at https://undark.org/article/podcast-30-wildfires-snakes-air-pollution
Update: An earlier version of this podcast and transcript provided an incorrect description of PM2.5, a scientific and regulatory term referring to fine particulate matter that is 2.5 micrometers or smaller in diameter. Although particulate pollution larger than 2.5 micrometers is generally considered less hazardous, it is still a public health concern. There is also no meaningful lower threshold for particulate pollution below 2.5 micrometers that can be considered safe.
Join former NYT Science Times editor David Corcoran for a discussion with popular science writer and prolific book author Carl Zimmer about the history of heredity, and why you can’t boil down something as complex as intelligence to a couple of genes. Also, podcast host Kasha Patel talks with Undark’s Matters of Fact and Tracker columnist Michael Schulson about the safety of CBD, or cannabidiol, for dogs; and science journalist Anja Krieger takes listeners to the small German town of Schleswig, where a major leak has sparked a big debate.
David Corcoran talks with former EPA administrator Gina McCarthy about bridging the gap between science and the public. Also: an airplane ride-along with a group of tornado chasers from the NOAA, a closer look a carbon dioxide study with big implications, and game of Two Truths and Lie.
Our latest podcast looks at the resilience of bees; a study in memory transfer; and an attack on science.
A tiny fish is fast disappearing from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. Many ecologists consider it a sign that both the local ecosystem and the nation’s approach to conservation are in crisis.
In this episode of the Undark podcast, we talk with reporter Charles Schmidt about his article on a misguided U.S. crackdown on lead poisoning. Also, Vanessa Schipani on media violence and Garrett Tiedemann on the personal toll of a genetic disorder.
Our latest Undark podcast looks at an ancient civilization, rediscovered but threatened; science and the media; and the world's strangest flower.
Join Undark podcast host and former NYT editor David Corcoran as he talks with Kerstin Hoppenhaus and Sibylle Grunze about their Undark documentary on stem rust. Also: commentator Seth Mnookin on how people get their science news; and reporter Kate Morgan visits a fossil park in New Jersey where dinosaurs met their fate.
Join our podcast host and former NYT editor David Corcoran as he talks with Carrie Arnold about her Undark Case Study on the he toxic legacy of a 1973 chemical accident. Also: commentator Seth Mnookin on the biggest science stories of 2017, and Randy Scott Carroll on what it means to be alive.
The environmental price of clean energy in the Balkan states and the rise of predatory journals. Plus, Part 1 of a two part series on what it means to be "alive."
A campaign to wipe out polio in a corner of Nigeria where it stubbornly hangs on, issues in science journalism, and growing your own produce at home.
Threats to the national parks, a controversial editorial in Nature, and a rare genetic disorder afflicting descendants of New Mexico’s Spanish settlers.
The ethical debate surrounding a New York Times reporter hired by the Manhattan Project to be its chronicler and cheerleader, as well as an effort to increase science communication in the public sphere.
A program to stop deforestation and protect wildlife in Kenya, a controversial literature review on gender identity, and whirling disease in Banff National Park.
An effort to monitor public health in North Korea by studying refugees who defected to the South, media coverage of health care and addiction, and the effects on your body from being buried at sea.
A visit with the virus hunters of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the state of long form science journalism, and a tool for treating obsessive hair-pulling.
The future of the Great Plains ecosystem, the downside of conservation in East Africa, and a recap of the March for Science.
The toxic legacy and uncertain future of Ohio's former Great Black Swamp, why you should be skeptical of scientific studies you read about, and the fight to restore some of North America’s greatest rapids.
The movement and evolution of the global leather tanning and textile trades, science journalism in the Trump era, and improving hospital food.
The risks of lead ammunition, how to cover science deniers, and confessions of a standardized patients.
The aftermath of a water crisis in Flint, the impact of a political election on science, and the psychology of GMOs.
A controversial treatment for a mysterious disease, a vote for equality among the ranks of science writers, and flesh eating beetles. Happy Halloween!
The unintended consequences of war, recalling science's most famous patient, and a trip to the rainforest with the author of "Stellaluna."
HIV and the criminal justice system, covering harassment in academic research, and the science behind near death experiences.
A research study turned train wreck, two science media controversies, and a plan to save the New England rattlesnake.
The Wild West of pesticides and marijuana agriculture, comedians as science journalists, and a new way to think about global warming.
This is Undark. We’re a science magazine, published by the Knight Science Journalism program at M.I.T. And we’re a podcast, based on the content of the magazine, featuring interviews with some of the world’s top science journalists, media criticism, and more. Hosted by David Corcoran.