Latest Episodes
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How did the drive to reproduce unlock the incredible beauty and complexity of life on Earth?
Follow the surprising evolutionary journey that led to the majestic elephant.
Discover the untold story—full of surprising evolutionary leaps—behind every bite we take.
The story of the dolphin reveals how intelligence evolved, step by step, over billions of years.
Inside the escalating military struggle to control space and the satellites we rely on.
Step into the stunning cave that’s reshaping our understanding of prehistoric art.
Witness how Native North Americans have generated scientific knowledge over thousands of years.
Follow the relentless quest that led to a breakthrough treatment for a deadly disease.
Archaeologists investigate the dramatic origins of democracy in ancient Greece 2,500 years ago.
Follow the Artemis mission to bring humanity back to the Moon for the first time since Apollo.
Surprising evidence at the world’s oldest temple overturns our understanding of human history.
New evidence sheds light on the remarkable life—and mysterious collapse—of the ancient jungle city.
What if violent asteroid impacts actually jump-started life on Earth? Explore a dramatic theory.
See how ingenuity and teamwork keep the crew alive and doing science 250 miles above Earth.
Astronauts and Mission Control relive terrifying moments during construction of the ISS.
Find out why deadly flash floods are on the rise and how we can protect ourselves from them.
Explore mysterious 9,000-year-old Stone Age megastructures found in the Arabian Desert.
Discover how two revolutionary ancient inventions changed the course of humanity forever.
Discover how Homo sapiens outlasted Neanderthals – and how they helped make us who we are today.
Follow Homo sapiens as they venture out of Africa and spread farther than any other human species.
Trace the remarkable origin story of Homo sapiens and the crucial moments that shaped our species.
Forensic science is put to the test after the first-ever staged multi-vehicle pileup.
A first-of-its-kind experiment aims to stage a multi-vehicle pileup to gain new data on car safety.
After centuries of pseudoscience, researchers examine the causes of racial health disparities.
Follow scientists in a quest to understand how complex forest ecosystems can help cool our planet.
Explore key military technologies in the American colonies’ fight for freedom.
Specials
Hakeem Oluseyi, host of Particles of Thought, is interviewed by Caitlin Saks about Why Do We Exist?
Harvard geophysicist John Shaw on earthquake science, survival, and how humans trigger quakes.
MIT nuclear scientist Dennis Whyte on fusion energy and its potential today and tomorrow.
Cognitive scientist Federico Rossano on talking dogs, primates, and decoding animal communication.
Glaciologist Brent Minchew on the “Doomsday Glacier," a bold fix, and his path from the Marines.
Jordan Ellenberg discusses the math behind AI, strange geometry, and living with uncertainty.
Homo sapiens weren't alone. Discover the lost human species that once shared our world.
MIT's Daniela Rus discusses AI without data centers and its potential in robotics.
Wendy Suzuki joins Hakeem to explore anxiety, exercise, and connection as tools for a better brain.
Steve Brusatte joins Hakeem to talk T. rex, bird origins, and consulting on Jurassic World.
Dark matter may be primordial black holes from the Big Bang. David Kaiser explains.
Adam Riess takes us inside the discovery of dark energy.
From fruit flies to snake venom, evolutionary biologist Sean Carroll explains what drives evolution.
Can we really bring extinct species back? Evolutionary biologist Beth Shapiro says yes.
Dive into how Earth’s weirdest microbes could help us spot extraterrestrial life.
What is speech, really? Neuroscientist Erich Jarvis explores the science behind how we speak.
Your brain does all kinds of strange things. Neuroscientist Heather Berlin explains how it works.
Has science been missing a fundamental law of nature for centuries?
Black holes aren’t just cosmic monsters — they’re simply misunderstood.
Discover how deepfakes are detected and what the future holds for truth in the digital age.
Dive into deep time to discover how fossils form, the ocean's surprising origins, and more.
Fósiles gigantes en el Sahara revelan nuevos secretos sobre la evolución de las ballenas.
Investigate medical algorithms in which the patient’s race drives decisions.
Follow the quest to recover DNA millions of years old for the very first time.
Reintroducing the hogan, an earthen Navajo structure that stays cool in the summers without AC.
Following a local Unangax̂ hunter, hear the realities of food access in the changing Arctic.
Ak-chin farming makes desert agriculture possible, and now, those practices help communities today.
In Northern California, Marine science is guided by Tolowa Dee-ni' Nation’s community and culture.
Using photo archives and ancestral knowledge, witness coastal erosion in Bristol Bay, Alaska.
The Southwest is in a megadrought, but Native Americans have survived them before.
Extras
Meet 2026 ED138, an incredibly bright object beyond Pluto, billions of miles away from Earth.
Physics says the universe is centerless, but a cosmic alignment has scientists asking questions.
Falling is more complicated than you might think.
Falling cats seem to break the rules of motion, but the real explanation is stranger than it looks.
Here’s why centrifugal force is considered a “fictitious” force.
The story of the dolphin reveals how intelligence evolved, step by step, over billions of years.
Inside the escalating military struggle to control space and the satellites we rely on.
Step into the stunning cave that’s reshaping our understanding of prehistoric art.
Witness how Native North Americans have generated scientific knowledge over thousands of years.
Follow the relentless quest that led to a breakthrough treatment for a deadly disease.
Inside one mother's fight to ensure a healthy life for her child with cystic fibrosis.
Inside the race to bring life-saving genetic therapies to every person living with cystic fibrosis.
A simple fold can completely change how a material behaves.
Time isn’t the same for everyone, according to Einstein.
Microsoft's breakthrough in quantum computing could have a huge impact on science, and our future.
Restoring Notre Dame wasn’t just about stone and stained glass.
The “butterfly effect” is often cited in pop culture, but it’s actually rooted in physics and chaos.
These massive walls of water may be far more common than we once believed.
It’s taken over 250 years of shocking experiments to understand how quickly electricity moves!
Follow the Artemis mission to bring humanity back to the Moon for the first time since Apollo.
Archaeologists investigate the dramatic origins of democracy in ancient Greece 2,500 years ago.
Surprising evidence at the world’s oldest temple overturns our understanding of human history.
Do speech buttons really allow dogs to talk to us? Scientists investigate.
New evidence sheds light on the remarkable life—and mysterious collapse—of the ancient jungle city.
What studying the surface of the Moon revealed about Earth’s apocalyptic youth.
What if violent asteroid impacts actually jump-started life on Earth? Explore a dramatic theory.
They're older than King Tut, Ötzi the Iceman, and even the ones found in the Atacama Desert.