Science Quickly
Scientific American
300 episodes
Host Rachel Feltman, alongside leading science and tech journalists, dives into the rich world of scientific discovery in this bite-size science variety show.
Episodes page 1 of 6
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Finding Nutrition Truth in a World of Myths [Sponsored]
From fearmongering about ingredients to misleading dietary trends, nutrition misinformation is everywhere. In this podcast, nutrition scientist Jessica Knurick explores why food myths spread, how to recognize…
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Cartwheeling snakes, vocal vultures and a mysterious Martian moon
On this episode of Science Quickly, host Rachel Feltman discusses Japan’s half-billion-dollar mission to land on Mars’s lumpy little moon Phobos and catches up on animal behavior, both big and small—from newly…
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Why your brain hates uncertainty
Our brains are constantly trying to predict what comes next, but in an increasingly unpredictable world, that mental workload can fuel stress, anxiety and even depression. In this episode of Science Quickly, author…
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Slime molds, Pompeii and alien consciousness with Annalee Newitz
In this episode of Science Quickly, science journalist and science-fiction author Annalee Newitz discusses their novel A Wall Is Also a Road, a story about a graduate student who also happens to be a conscious slime…
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Cover Story: Escaping the Infinite Scroll
How much screen time is too much? In this episode of Science Quickly, Scientific American associate editor Allison Parshall reads her November cover story, “Escaping the Infinite Scroll.” In the story, she explores the…
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Bee stingers, plastic risks and ovarian surprises
In this episode of Science Quickly: a surprising discovery about postmenopausal ovaries, new evidence that microplastics may harm cells through their physical structure, the secret mechanics of honeybee stingers and a…
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What science says about endless phone scrolling
How much screen time is too much? In this episode of Science Quickly, Scientific American associate editor Allison Parshall explores the growing debate over screen addiction and problematic social media use. From…
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Are Blue Zones real?
Longevity research has fueled books, documentaries and billion-dollar industries, but how much of it stands up to scrutiny? In this episode, researcher Saul Justin Newman explains why he believes that the evidence…
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Fighting Fear with Facts: Navigating Infectious Disease Information [Sponsored]
From sensationalized health claims to AI-generated misinformation, misleading content can distort how people understand infectious disease. Epidemiologist and science communicator Jessica Malaty Rivera explores why…
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Nobel winners, neutrino detectors and nature’s longest-living tortoise
This week’s science news roundup unpacks the 2026 Nobel Prizes—from controlling brain cells with flashes of light to catching ghostly neutrinos from distant galaxies in Antarctic ice to building mirror-image molecules…
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The doctor fighting for pain-free IUDs
In this episode of Science Quickly, Rachel Feltman speaks with Helena Kopp Kallner, an ob-gyn and a professor, about her promising new study that shows local anesthetic can reduce pain during placements of intrauterine…
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Who’s accountable when AI goes wrong?
When news broke that OpenAI agents had breached the AI platform Hugging Face, many headlines framed it as a case of “rogue” artificial intelligence acting on its own. But how much of that narrative was reality, and how…
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El Niño flood threats, measles risks and a risky viral trend
In this episode of Science Quickly, we explore how an El Niño–driven Kelvin wave could increase coastal flooding risks in California, why researchers say a plan to weaken vaccine requirements could leave Florida…
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You’re probably walking past edible plants every day
In this episode of Science Quickly, Rachel Feltman speaks with Alexis Nikole Nelson, better known as Black Forager, about her new book Happy Snacking, Don’t Die! Nelson shares how a childhood fascination with edible…
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Can you spot a romance scam?
In this episode of Science Quickly, Rachel Feltman speaks with criminologist Fangzhou Wang about how romance scams have evolved from simple online deception into sophisticated, artificial-intelligence-powered fraud…
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Navigating Science and Health Misinformation [Sponsored]
As health misinformation surges online, Morgan McSweeney—known online as Dr. Noc, a science communicator and immunology expert whose videos reach millions each month across TikTok, Instagram, and X—explores why facts…
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Fire amoebas, fossilized vomit and AI energy demands
In this episode of Science Quickly, we cover discoveries both big and small, from the supersized particle collider needed to find the next subatomic specimen to tropical sea turtles that found new nesting grounds to a…
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Unexplainable: Dark matter and the end of answers
In this episode of Science Quickly, we share part two of our crossover with Vox’s Unexplainable in which we explore one of the universe’s biggest mysteries: dark matter. Host Noam Hassenfeld talks with Scientific…
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Rethinking Age-Related Vision Loss [Sponsored]
Treatment for wet age-related macular degeneration has advanced significantly with anti-VEGF therapies, but the need for frequent injections remains a challenge. A new, longer-lasting treatment now in development aims…
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Should you be ‘poop maxxing’?
As colon cancer rates rise in younger adults, more and more people are paying attention to their poop and talking about it on social media, where such “poop maxxing” has become a hashtag. But what’s considered normal,…
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Space weapons are here, and AI experts are sounding alarms
In this episode of Science Quickly, we discuss newly revealed U.S. space weapons, growing artificial intelligence safety concerns and the Environmental Protection Agency’s rollback of power plant emissions limits…
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Can you hear a forest disappear?
In this episode of Science Quickly, filmmaker and journalist Leah Varjacques takes us to a Bornean rainforest area, where centuries-old patterns of human and wildlife behavior are being disrupted by the construction of…
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Unexplainable: What happened before the big bang?
In this special crossover episode, Science Quickly shares an appearance by host Rachel Feltman on Vox’s Unexplainable. Together with host Noam Hassenfeld, she explores Scientific American’s special issue on impossible…
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From 9/11’s lasting legacy to AI’s disruptive future
In this episode of Science Quickly, we explore newly released 9/11 records and their revelations about the attacks’ lasting health impacts, unpack a controversial artificial intelligence breakthrough that solved one of…
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Is AI making us less human?
Can an artificial intelligence really be a friend? In this episode of Science Quickly, Scientific American books and culture lead Bri Kane sits down with Massachusetts Institute of Technology researcher Sherry Turkle…
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The surprising science of friendship
Friendships are key to our well-being, but what kind of friendships do we really want? Despite being such a foundational part of the human experience, the science of friendship is still mysterious. Assistant professor…
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What if a dating app matched you with a dead body?
What if a dating app could optimize human connection, even after death? In this episode of Science Quickly, books and culture editor Bri Kane speaks with author Sarah Pierce about her debut novel For Human Use, a…
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The hackers fighting to keep our water safe
Across the U.S., the digital infrastructure that runs our utilities is quickly aging, becoming more vulnerable to cyber attacks. Recently at least a dozen states reported attacks on their water systems. Stepping up to…
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NASA’s Roman Space Telescope launches
In this episode of Science Quickly, NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope begins its mission to probe dark energy, hunt for distant worlds and map the cosmos in unprecedented detail. The mission’s senior project…
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Is Trump abandoning endangered species?
In July the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced changes to how key parts of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) will be implemented, including a new definition of what it means to “harm” an endangered species. To…
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Could damaged sperm be causing miscarriages?
Miscarriage is often treated as a problem rooted in the pregnant partner, but emerging research suggests sperm may play a bigger role than many people realize. Science journalist Sarah Elizabeth Richards joins Science…
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What happens when Arctic ice melts and forests lose protection?
In this episode of Science Quickly, we examine a proposal to roll back protections for millions of acres of U.S. roadless forests, explore how climate change is opening a new Arctic shipping route and discuss new…
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Can magic mushrooms help treat anorexia?
A small clinical trial suggests that psilocybin, the psychedelic compound in magic mushrooms, may help some people with anorexia when combined with intensive therapy. Science Quickly host Rachel Feltman speaks with…
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Is AI making the creativity crisis worse?
Astrophysicist, folklorist and author Moiya McTier joins Science Quickly to discuss her new book Mothers of Invention, a sweeping look at the history of human creativity. From the Greek muses and the invention of…
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A stunning solar eclipse, a vaccine shake-up and coffee’s big win
In this episode of Science Quickly, we explore the awe of a rare total solar eclipse, examine renewed controversy around childhood vaccines, look at the aftermath of Colombia’s major earthquake and unpack the latest…
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How AI helped a nonspeaking opera star find his voice
In this episode of Science Quickly, we meet Jakob Jordan, an autistic performer with apraxia, who stars in the groundbreaking opera Sensorium Ex. Host Rachel Feltman talks with Jordan, composer Paola Prestini and New…
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Could humans learn to speak in music?
What would it take to create a language made entirely of music? In this episode of Science Quickly, Scientific American’s Allison Parshall explores the science and linguistics behind musical languages, from real-world…
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A moon crash, water hacks and a new mRNA flu shot
A wayward SpaceX rocket crashes into the moon, offering scientists a rare chance to study a lunar impact, while cyberattacks targeting U.S. water utilities raise concerns about critical infrastructure security. We also…
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Is Gen Z making smoking cool again?
In this episode of Science Quickly, Scientific American’s Adam Kovac joins host Rachel Feltman to explore why some experts worry cigarettes may be making a comeback among Generation Z. They discuss how social media,…
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Getting to YouTube science stardom by building $#!%ty robots
In this episode of Science Quickly, we talk with Simone Giertz, YouTube maker extraordinaire, about her life in science and the influencer spotlight. She started making, in her words, “shitty robots” and has evolved…
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Explosive diarrhea, ‘protein maxxing’ and the science of burnout
In this episode of Science Quickly, we unpack a major outbreak of Cyclospora infections linked to contaminated produce, explore new research that suggests that “protein maxxing” may do more harm than good and examine…
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Lewis, Clark and America’s first great science mission
In this episode of Science Quickly, Scientific American’s books and culture lead Bri Kane talks with historian Craig Fehrman about This Vast Enterprise, his fresh take on the Lewis and Clark expedition. Rather than…
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How to beat rogue antibodies at their own game [Sponsored]
Almost all of us know someone who suffers from an autoimmune disease. Or maybe you do yourself. Autoimmune diseases are common: only cancer and cardiovascular diseases are more prevalent. So how do you fight a body…
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Summer Reading Challenge: Quantum queerness, Pompeii and plant horror
Science Quickly’s summer reading series continues! Host Rachel Feltman chats with Scientific American books editor Bri Kane about the magazine’s Summer Reading Challenge and swaps recommendations—from queer physics…
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Your summer reading list starts here
Kick off Scientific American’s first-ever Summer Reading Challenge with book recommendations from our editors, including mind-bending fiction, ecohorror and fascinating nonfiction. Host Rachel Feltman and editor Bri…
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Are we too afraid of the sun?
In this episode of Science Quickly, host Rachel Feltman talks with author Rowan Jacobsen about new research on sun exposure and health. While too much sun increases skin cancer risk, moderate sunlight may offer…
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Ebola update, World Cup heat risks, dad brains
In this episode of Science Quickly, we start with a quick update on the Ebola outbreak surging in parts of Africa. Host Rachel Feltman is then joined by Scientific American’s senior desk editor for life science Andrea…
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How common viruses could quietly raise your cancer risk
In this episode of Science Quickly, one of SciAm’s Young American Scientists, biologist Jaye Gardiner, explores how common viral infections may raise cancer risk—not just through genetic mutations but by reshaping the…
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The neuroscientist decoding how the brain learns
In this episode, host Rachel Feltman interviews neuroscientist Kauê M. Costa, who is among Scientific American’s inaugural cohort of Young American Scientists honorees. Costa shares how being surprised by experiments…
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From aspiring actress to NASA astrophysicist
In this episode of Science Quickly, host Rachel Feltman interviews NASA astrophysicist Erini Lambrides about her unconventional journey from pursuing the performing arts to studying supermassive black holes. Lambrides…
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Shows are listed from Apple Podcasts' charts and directory, and Podcast Index where it is used. Every show and episode belongs to its publisher and plays from the publisher's own feed; this site hosts none of them. Explicit shows are for adult profiles only, and children’s profiles hear only children’s shows. More about this list.