How umami blew up taste
For thousands of years, there have been four basic tastes recognized across cultures. But thanks to Kumiko Ninomiya (a.k.a. the Umami Mama), scientist...
Unexplainable
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Unexplainable takes listeners right up to the edge of what we know … and then keeps on going. Host Noam Hassenfeld and an all-star team of reporters — Byrd Pinkerton, Meradith Hoddinott, and Mandy Nguyen — tackle scientific mysteries, unanswered questions, and everything we learn by diving into the unknown. New episodes drop every Wednesday.
What’s hiding under the Antarctic ice?
Some of the largest lakes in the world have been buried under miles of ice for millions of years. Is there life hiding down there? And if so, could li...
Biopiracy
Genetic libraries are treasure troves of information about life from around the world. They’re helping researchers develop everything from vaccines to...
Will AI ever ... feel?
Some scientists think an explosion of AI awareness and feeling might be just around the corner. Others think it’s impossible for an AI to ever become ...
New year, new diet, live forever?
It’s that time of year again. If you’re changing things up, there’s a lot of diets out there that claim to help you live longer. Our friends at Today,...
Mysteries we can’t stop thinking about
The wildest stories that never made it into our episodes. Until now. Guests: Amy Boddy, anthropological scientist at the University of California, San...
Who let the wolves in?
Dogs were the first domesticated animal in history, emerging from wolves some 20,000 years ago. But how did wolves become dogs? To find the answer, sc...
Where to meet a Neanderthal
We know Neanderthals and early modern humans coupled up. But when did they meet, exactly? And where? Some fossilized smoke and a baby tooth might hold...
Pinky and the (lab-grown) Brain
It’s not great to be a lab rat. And it turns out, lab rats might not be that great for science either. Could the future be little lab-grown brain clum...
Why are there lefties and righties?
This week on Unexplainable or Not, we’ve got three scientific mysteries all about left and right. Jonquilyn Hill, host of Vox’s new podcast Explain It...