Science Friday
@scifri.bsky.social
Entertaining & educational conversations about science, tech, + more. Hosted by Ira Flatow and Flora Lichtman. From WNYCStudios.
Science writer and oncologist Siddhartha Mukherjee discusses what we get wrong about cancer, and why he leans into nuance as an author: buff.ly/92LxRAd
December 1, 2025 at 12:48 PM
Science writer and oncologist Siddhartha Mukherjee discusses what we get wrong about cancer, and why he leans into nuance as an author: buff.ly/92LxRAd
🤔 What do you get when you subscribe to our weekly newsletter? The most essential science news headlines, plus a spoonful of the awe-inspiring: buff.ly/DkmfNKd
November 30, 2025 at 10:55 PM
🤔 What do you get when you subscribe to our weekly newsletter? The most essential science news headlines, plus a spoonful of the awe-inspiring: buff.ly/DkmfNKd
In "Why We Die," chemist Venki Ramakrishnan takes readers on a riveting journey to the frontiers of biology—and asks whether we must be mortal: buff.ly/qvGgX9p
November 30, 2025 at 3:04 PM
In "Why We Die," chemist Venki Ramakrishnan takes readers on a riveting journey to the frontiers of biology—and asks whether we must be mortal: buff.ly/qvGgX9p
“If you want to think of it as an enemy, think of it as an enemy… If that’s going to hurt you, don’t do it.” A young oncologist’s journal became a Pulitzer-Prize-winning book. 15 years later, here’s how our understanding of cancer has evolved.
‘A Multi-Headed Beast’: Telling The Story Of Cancer
Science writer and oncologist Siddhartha Mukherjee discusses what we get wrong about cancer, and why he leans into nuance as an author.
buff.ly
November 29, 2025 at 11:26 PM
“If you want to think of it as an enemy, think of it as an enemy… If that’s going to hurt you, don’t do it.” A young oncologist’s journal became a Pulitzer-Prize-winning book. 15 years later, here’s how our understanding of cancer has evolved.
Reposted by Science Friday
I love it when @scifri.bsky.social covers the Ig Nobels!
Happy Science Friday! Here’s what we’re covering today on the show. Listen on your local public radio station, 2-4 p.m. ET. 🏆 🏋🏽🪴
Learn more here: buff.ly/uWWEb7I
Learn more here: buff.ly/uWWEb7I
November 28, 2025 at 3:11 PM
I love it when @scifri.bsky.social covers the Ig Nobels!
From lizards' pizza preferences to human fingernail growth: Here are highlights from this year’s Ig Nobels. 🏆
Fingernails And Indigestion At The 2025 Ig Nobel Prizes
The Ig Nobel Prizes celebrate unusual scientific research—this year including lizard pizza preferences and fingernail growth.
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November 29, 2025 at 6:04 PM
From lizards' pizza preferences to human fingernail growth: Here are highlights from this year’s Ig Nobels. 🏆
🦇 If humans aged like the longest-lived bat species, we’d live for hundreds of years—and that bat is just one of many superagers in the animal kingdom: buff.ly/YlatJbX
November 29, 2025 at 1:18 PM
🦇 If humans aged like the longest-lived bat species, we’d live for hundreds of years—and that bat is just one of many superagers in the animal kingdom: buff.ly/YlatJbX
The team behind Google’s tool for predicting how proteins “fold” won a 2024 Nobel Prize in chemistry. Here's the state of that tech and how it’s being used in health research today. ⬇️
How Alphafold Has Changed Biology Research, 5 Years On
Google's tool for predicting how proteins “fold” turns 5 this year. How is it fitting into biological research—and where is it going?
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November 29, 2025 at 1:51 AM
The team behind Google’s tool for predicting how proteins “fold” won a 2024 Nobel Prize in chemistry. Here's the state of that tech and how it’s being used in health research today. ⬇️
Happy Science Friday! Here’s what we’re covering today on the show. Listen on your local public radio station, 2-4 p.m. ET. 🏆 🏋🏽🪴
Learn more here: buff.ly/uWWEb7I
Learn more here: buff.ly/uWWEb7I
November 28, 2025 at 3:10 PM
Happy Science Friday! Here’s what we’re covering today on the show. Listen on your local public radio station, 2-4 p.m. ET. 🏆 🏋🏽🪴
Learn more here: buff.ly/uWWEb7I
Learn more here: buff.ly/uWWEb7I
Last week, Flora Lichtman and @parttimegenius.bsky.social co-host Mangesh Hattikudur quizzed one lucky listener with food science trivia. Put your Thanksgiving party to the test with two questions from the episode. 🐼 🌶️
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November 27, 2025 at 9:41 PM
Last week, Flora Lichtman and @parttimegenius.bsky.social co-host Mangesh Hattikudur quizzed one lucky listener with food science trivia. Put your Thanksgiving party to the test with two questions from the episode. 🐼 🌶️
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"A sedentary person might be 8 times as likely to have depression or anxiety versus somebody who’s in the highest quintile of activity." But not all exercise boosts mental health. Two researchers explain why.
Why Is Working Out Good For Your Mental Health?
A workout can be a mental health boost—or a psychological strain. Two exercise researchers discuss what physical activity does to your mind.
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November 27, 2025 at 5:09 PM
"A sedentary person might be 8 times as likely to have depression or anxiety versus somebody who’s in the highest quintile of activity." But not all exercise boosts mental health. Two researchers explain why.
🦃 🎈From turkey snoods to giant balloons, Thanksgiving is giving science. Explore our holiday-themed collection, stuffed with audience favorites: buff.ly/LmjsZ56
![Science Friday's Thanksgiving Science Collection. [Image of a Thanksgiving table with a plate full of turkey, green beans, mashed potatoes, and cranberry sauce at its center.]](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:rjtifgmgwnacwa24lqp4tpsy/bafkreigldhdouputzc6vnbrsb3eumumoku2klqavk6fbgkeutpdqcattcm@jpeg)
November 27, 2025 at 12:52 PM
🦃 🎈From turkey snoods to giant balloons, Thanksgiving is giving science. Explore our holiday-themed collection, stuffed with audience favorites: buff.ly/LmjsZ56
Come nerd out with SciFri's Ira Flatow and award-winning physicist Sean M. Carroll on Friday, Dec. 5 at WNYC's The Greene Space. Enjoy an open bar, incredible food, and big ideas to match. Buy your tickets here: buff.ly/GuOdK0S
![Join Us In NYC For "Big Mysteries" and meet SciFri Host Ira Flatow! [A headshot of Ira Flatow in a recording studio]](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:rjtifgmgwnacwa24lqp4tpsy/bafkreiht6pvcpr4vji7zhttjbm3cbj3xuhj7aahbdk7noeoije63ziqnpa@jpeg)
November 27, 2025 at 12:41 AM
Come nerd out with SciFri's Ira Flatow and award-winning physicist Sean M. Carroll on Friday, Dec. 5 at WNYC's The Greene Space. Enjoy an open bar, incredible food, and big ideas to match. Buy your tickets here: buff.ly/GuOdK0S
It's squash, pumpkin, and gourd season! Test your knowledge on these colorful fall favorites with Chris Hernandez, director of the University of New Hampshire’s squash, pumpkin, and melon breeding program.
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November 26, 2025 at 7:07 PM
It's squash, pumpkin, and gourd season! Test your knowledge on these colorful fall favorites with Chris Hernandez, director of the University of New Hampshire’s squash, pumpkin, and melon breeding program.
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Reposted by Science Friday
Flora Lichtman and I chat about ants on Science Friday:
Animals are endlessly fascinating! Two cool animal studies to kick off the week: 1) How #woodpeckers peck wood, and 2) How #ants crown a queen.
Flora talks with @nickantonson.bsky.social about woodpeckers and @danielkronauer.bsky.social about ants.
www.sciencefriday.com/segments/ant...
Flora talks with @nickantonson.bsky.social about woodpeckers and @danielkronauer.bsky.social about ants.
www.sciencefriday.com/segments/ant...
How A Woodpecker Pecks Wood, And How Ants Crown A Queen
Is it all in the hips? Scientists break down woodpeckers' head-hammering moves. Plus, what makes one ant a queen and another a worker?
www.sciencefriday.com
November 17, 2025 at 4:24 PM
Flora Lichtman and I chat about ants on Science Friday:
JADES-GS-z14-0 is one of the most distant galaxies ever observed using the James Webb Space Telescope. According to a recent study, it may have a "dark star" at its core. That is, if dark stars actually exist: buff.ly/8pOGELL
November 26, 2025 at 1:43 PM
JADES-GS-z14-0 is one of the most distant galaxies ever observed using the James Webb Space Telescope. According to a recent study, it may have a "dark star" at its core. That is, if dark stars actually exist: buff.ly/8pOGELL
To navigate the emotions of treating cancer patients, a young oncologist took up journaling. His words became the Pulitzer-Prize-winning book “The Emperor of all Maladies.” Read an excerpt:
'Carcinogen Hunters' Investigate Causes Of Inexplicable Cancers
Frustrated cancer patients worry they may have been exposed to unknown carcinogens. Researchers are on the hunt.
buff.ly
November 26, 2025 at 1:53 AM
To navigate the emotions of treating cancer patients, a young oncologist took up journaling. His words became the Pulitzer-Prize-winning book “The Emperor of all Maladies.” Read an excerpt:
Looking for last-minute, science-proof Thanksgiving inspiration? 🍽️
Chef Dan Souza shares a vegan butternut squash recipe with an audience member. Plus, the heat physics of the perfect apple pie: buff.ly/QhRTcj0
Chef Dan Souza shares a vegan butternut squash recipe with an audience member. Plus, the heat physics of the perfect apple pie: buff.ly/QhRTcj0
November 25, 2025 at 9:34 PM
Looking for last-minute, science-proof Thanksgiving inspiration? 🍽️
Chef Dan Souza shares a vegan butternut squash recipe with an audience member. Plus, the heat physics of the perfect apple pie: buff.ly/QhRTcj0
Chef Dan Souza shares a vegan butternut squash recipe with an audience member. Plus, the heat physics of the perfect apple pie: buff.ly/QhRTcj0
"Only waste travels from rich countries to poor, and the supply is endless." When journalist @alexclapp.bsky.social began exploring the waste trade, he found it resembled something he had written about before: the drug market.
Where Does Plastic And Other Trash Go After We Throw It Away?
A journalist traveled to five continents to learn about the afterlife of our trash, and why most “recyclable” plastic actually isn’t.
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November 25, 2025 at 3:49 PM
"Only waste travels from rich countries to poor, and the supply is endless." When journalist @alexclapp.bsky.social began exploring the waste trade, he found it resembled something he had written about before: the drug market.
Chances are, you've seen one of his recipes online (his hasselback potato gratin for @nytimes.com is having a moment). Author and food scientist J. Kenji Lopez-Alt shares that the secret behind a great Thanksgiving meal is solid chemistry. 🧪🦃
Spice Up Your Thanksgiving With Science
Should you brine your turkey? Why do mashed potatoes get glue-y? Cookbook author Kenji López-Alt tackles the science behind thanksgiving.
buff.ly
November 25, 2025 at 1:18 AM
Chances are, you've seen one of his recipes online (his hasselback potato gratin for @nytimes.com is having a moment). Author and food scientist J. Kenji Lopez-Alt shares that the secret behind a great Thanksgiving meal is solid chemistry. 🧪🦃
Ahead of the 15-year anniversary of the Pulitzer-Prize-winning book “The Emperor of all Maladies,” we catch up with its author, oncologist Siddhartha Mukherjee.
‘A Multi-Headed Beast’: Telling The Story Of Cancer
Science writer and oncologist Siddhartha Mukherjee discusses what we get wrong about cancer, and why he leans into nuance as an author.
buff.ly
November 24, 2025 at 7:04 PM
Ahead of the 15-year anniversary of the Pulitzer-Prize-winning book “The Emperor of all Maladies,” we catch up with its author, oncologist Siddhartha Mukherjee.
After immigrating to the U.S. from Lebanon, neuroscientist @ardemp.bskyverified.social found belonging in science—and did Nobel-winning work on the sense of touch: buff.ly/boCE6ZY
November 24, 2025 at 1:07 PM
After immigrating to the U.S. from Lebanon, neuroscientist @ardemp.bskyverified.social found belonging in science—and did Nobel-winning work on the sense of touch: buff.ly/boCE6ZY
These 400-year-old tables show real human nerves and veins. Now, they live on in @realgdt.bsky.social's "Frankenstein": buff.ly/bMx7jnF
November 23, 2025 at 9:49 PM
These 400-year-old tables show real human nerves and veins. Now, they live on in @realgdt.bsky.social's "Frankenstein": buff.ly/bMx7jnF
🎸 @Phish.com has toured for over 40 years. One of the draws of the band's performances are finding moments of flow, a feeling of being locked in or in the zone. Now, bassist @mike-gordon.com is on a mission with scientists to better understand this feeling: buff.ly/AnTxWBy
November 23, 2025 at 1:50 PM
🎸 @Phish.com has toured for over 40 years. One of the draws of the band's performances are finding moments of flow, a feeling of being locked in or in the zone. Now, bassist @mike-gordon.com is on a mission with scientists to better understand this feeling: buff.ly/AnTxWBy
"Usually when you see this, you say, 'Oh, this is too good to be true.' But you know what? I think it’s true, and we should take advantage of it." New research found that mRNA vaccines for COVID-19 could enhance cancer treatments. To vaccine expert @erictopol.bsky.social, it's big news.
Study Finds COVID mRNA Vaccines Boost Cancer Treatment
New research found that mRNA vaccines for COVID-19 could enhance cancer treatments and help patients live longer.
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November 22, 2025 at 10:41 PM
"Usually when you see this, you say, 'Oh, this is too good to be true.' But you know what? I think it’s true, and we should take advantage of it." New research found that mRNA vaccines for COVID-19 could enhance cancer treatments. To vaccine expert @erictopol.bsky.social, it's big news.