Short Wave

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1. Can planting more trees make allergies worse?

   21 oktober 2026 · 12 min

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   Trees provide shade and clean air in congested cities, so planting more of them seems like a straightforward solution. But trees also produce a natural pollutant— pollen. In this episode, producer Juan Diego Ramirez reports on the link between growing urban canopies and allergy exposure, and what you can do to protect yourself. Lees meer

   Interested in more health stories? Email us your question at shortwave@npr.org.

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2. What are the odds we're not alone in the universe?

   20 oktober 2026 · 15 min

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   There are hundreds of billions of stars in the galaxy we live in. Many of them have their own exoplanets. So why haven’t we found proof of alien life yet? And what’s the probability of us contacting or being contacted anyway? That’s exactly what a famous math formula called the Drake Equation tries to answer. It takes into account a whole variety of factors, including the rate at which stars like the Sun are born, how many of those stars have planets, how many of those planets are hospitable to life and the likelihood of intelligent life on that habitable planet communicating with us. Today on the show, Regina Barber and Seven Rasmussen talk about the equation as it was created back in 1961 – and whether it still matters for astrobiologists today. Lees meer

   Interested in more episodes on space or math? Email us your question at shortwave@npr.org – we might answer it in a future episode!

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3. What the world's leading researchers think about saunas

   19 oktober 2026 · 14 min

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   Saunas have gone from a Scandinavian tradition to a global wellness phenomenon. But how long should a person endure heat? Do saunas actually work? And if so, what are their benefits? NPR health reporter Will Stone goes as deep as the science will let him to explore the sauna hype waves and find out what happens to our bodies when we step in them. Lees meer

   Interested in more about thermal physiology? Email us your question at shortwave@npr.org.

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4. The terrifying physics of prehistoric sea monsters

   16 oktober 2026 · 9 min

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   While dinosaurs roamed the earth, giant monsters roamed the sea. Mosasaurs were like the deadly T-rexes of the ocean: They grew up to the size of a bus and chased down their smaller prey. A recent study in the journal Current Biology details just how exactly they might have done that. And the answer is fast – way faster than humans can swim – and sneakily. Lees meer

   Interested in more animal or paleontological news? Email us what you want us to talk about at shortwave@npr.org

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5. What's at stake if we can't regrow our forests

   15 oktober 2026 · 14 min

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   In 2022, parachutist Luigi Cani dropped 100 million seeds over the Amazon rainforest while skydiving. He did it to raise awareness about deforestation and help regrow the forest. But there has been little scientific follow up to see whether it worked. So, today, we talk to restoration ecologist Pedro Brancalion about the surprising complexity involved in regrowing a forest, and when dropping seeds from the sky – by people or by drones – could work. Lees meer

   If you liked this episode, check out our others on building microforests in cities and scientists’ creative idea to save a keystone tree species that grows very slowly.

   Interested in more tree science? Email us your question at shortwave@npr.org.

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6. What Flock cameras really see – and how

   14 oktober 2026 · 16 min

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   Police departments across the U.S. are installing Flock cameras, saying the surveillance devices help deter theft and solve crimes, like helping find stolen property and missing people. But as the technology and its use by federal agencies expands, a handful of people have taken matters into their own hands. A hacker collective ripped down a Flock camera and made a copy of the software inside for investigative journalists at 404 Media and Wired. We talk to one of those journalists, Joseph Cox, about what he and his colleagues found, how the data is being used, why some residents are pushing back against the cameras and the future of the technology. Lees meer

   Interested in more science and technology news? Email us your question at shortwave@npr.org.

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7. The sound of fear: Why so many animals scream

   13 oktober 2026 · 13 min

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   It's Halloween season — and what better way to celebrate October 13th than to explore the haunting sound of fear? That's exactly what we do in this episode, where host Regina G. Barber and NPR science correspondent Nate Rott dive into the science behind the sound of fear. Along the way, they find out what marmot shrieks, baby cries and horror movie soundtracks have in common — and what all of this tells us about ourselves. Lees meer

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8. One of the toughest parts of ADHD is left out of the diagnosis

   9 oktober 2026 · 12 min

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   ADHD diagnoses are on the rise in the United States, but what if professionals are missing a key part of the disorder? In the 1970s, some clinicians recognized a lot of their ADHD patients had trouble with emotional regulation. But because it was easier to measure behavior rather than emotions, the criteria eventually fell off the radar. Today in the U.S., emotional dysregulation is not a part of the ADHD diagnostic criteria in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). Dr. Sasha Hamdani thinks that needs to change. In today’s episode, she talks about her book Too Sensitive, and explains what is going on in the brains of people with Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria. Lees meer

   Interested in more mental health science? Email us your question at shortwave@npr.org.

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   Wender, P. H. (1971). Minimal Brain Dysfunction in Children. Wiley-Interscience. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/4581984/

   Barkley, R. A. (2015). Emotional dysregulation is a core component of ADHD. In R. A. Barkley (Ed.), Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: A Handbook for Diagnosis and Treatment (4th ed., pp. 81–115). Guilford Press. https://www.guilford.com/excerpts/barkley2.pdf?t=1

   Shaw, P., Stringaris, A., Nigg, J., & Leibenluft, E. (2014). Emotion dysregulation in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. American Journal of Psychiatry, 171(3), 276–293. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ajp.2013.13070966

   Faraone, S. V., et al. (2019). Emotional dysregulation in adults with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: Validity, aetiology, and clinical implications. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 107, 132–142.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2019.08.021

   Bondü, R., & Esser, G. (2015). Justice and rejection sensitivity in children and adolescents with ADHD symptoms. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 24(2), 185–198.https:…

9. What's missing from the lethal injection conversation

   7 oktober 2026 · 15 min

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   You might have seen the news that Christa Pike, a convicted murderer in Tennessee, did not die from the injections given to her as part of her death penalty sentence last week. After her failed execution, she was hospitalized, where she continues to receive critical medical care, according to her attorneys. Her survival is singular, but her mishandled execution is not. A review of executions carried out between 1890 and 2010 indicated that three out of every hundred executions were botched – and that lethal injection executions, which began in 1982, have a more frequent incidence of complications than any other method. All of this has re-raised the question of how humane lethal injections are as a form of execution. So, today on the show, we speak to anesthesiologist Gail Van Norman, a medical expert who testified about Christa’s case and many other lethal injection executions. She told us how she and other experts predicted much of how Christa's execution would unfold. Lees meer

   Read a perspective piece from one of the seven media witnesses to last week's failed execution.

   Interested in more science and criminal justice stories? Email us your question at shortwave@npr.org.

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10. Science-backed guidance for healthy screen time

    6 oktober 2026 · 13 min

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    We’re all aware – and wary – of doomscrolling. Lots of screen time can be bad for us. But what if that’s not always the case? We spoke with the author of a study that found a positive relationship between screen time and brain development in young people. This episode, we sort through what to actually worry about when it comes to screen time – and what guidelines already exist that can empower you and the kids in your life. Lees meer

    Interested in learning more about how screen time affects your brain? Email us your question at shortwave@npr.org.

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