Science Friday

18/12/2025

Most birds molt a few feathers at a time. But some species, like the Northern cardinal, do away with all of their head feathers at once. Comment "✋🏽" if you've seen a bald cardinal before. Comment "👎🏽" if you haven't and this really weirds you out.

📷 : By Bird and Moon Comics/Rosemary Mosco

18/12/2025

🪈 Have you ever wondered what a vulture-bone flute sounds like inside of a cave? Hear it now—and discover how researchers are bringing ancient sounds back to life: https://buff.ly/Z2uvVrh

17/12/2025

Do you love robins, house sparrows, blue jays, or even geese? Tell us why we should love your fluffiest, sassiest, most underappreciated neighborhood bird, and we might share your comment on our show.🪿

Leave us a message at 1-877-4-SCIFRI.

17/12/2025

“A lot of what these companies are doing is trying to attract investment, and that means that they do show you only the highlights reel.” Reporter James Vincent digs into the reality of getting humanoid robots into our homes and workplaces. 🤖

Humanoid robots are all over social media, doing everything from dancing to serving drinks. But are they really going to show up in our lives?

17/12/2025

Behold the subject of our , sea slug Goniobranchus kunei. The edges of many sea slugs have contrasting colors as a warning sign to hungry fish.

17/12/2025

🧊 A glacier’s edge can be a dangerous place to do research. This team is using robots and sound samples to monitor the melting ice: https://buff.ly/XFjPloR

16/12/2025

We're kicking off the Christmas Bird Count with Bird and Moon Comics' Rosemary Mosco and ornithologist Corina Newsome, who join us celebrate the common birds that might not be at the top of your pecking order, but should be.🐦‍⬛

This Christmas Bird Count, we salute the fabulous, underappreciated, common species. Here's to you, house sparrow.

16/12/2025

In the "seed and soil" hypothesis of cancer, a tumor is a seed and the environment where it could take root is the soil. Most researchers have studied the seed, but Rakesh Jain has dedicated his career to the soil: https://buff.ly/lGUHUt2

🎥 : Mammary carcinoma tumor in a mouse, courtesy of Rakesh Jain

16/12/2025

Drumroll, please. 🥁

We bring to you a roundup of SciFri staff favorites from the last 12 months, from a death metal podcast to a duck stamp extravaganza—and everything in between.

From fish to Phish, Science Friday has had a big year. Our staff chose their favorite stories and projects from 2025.

15/12/2025

What’s up with those glass shards that look like hairballs? The SciFri voicemail exploded with your burning volcano questions, and now we’re sharing the answers. 🌋

A volcanologist answers your questions about glass-shard hairballs, cooking breakfast over lava, Gollum's end on Mount Doom, and more.

15/12/2025

MIT Technology Review reporter Casey Crownhart says AI use is becoming less of a personal choice as AI becomes more embedded in our digital infrastructure. Now, a boom in construction of AI data centers is facing public backlash: https://buff.ly/CcMLqUj

14/12/2025

They’re cute, they’re charismatic, they’re all over TikTok: WIRE: Wildlife Investigative Reporters & Editors Editor in Chief Rene Ebersole spent over a year investigating how internet fame has intensified the illegal trade of African grey parrots: https://buff.ly/O987jaJ