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The Power Grid Problem
Manage episode 490308909 series 2653190
Content provided by NPR. All podcast content including episodes, graphics, and podcast descriptions are uploaded and provided directly by NPR or their podcast platform partner. If you believe someone is using your copyrighted work without your permission, you can follow the process outlined here https://ppacc.player.fm/legal.
The U.S.'s power grid — a nearly 100-year-old network of electrical circuits — is facing increased demand and weather-related stress. What will it take to modernize? We interrogate that question today with the help of Anjan Bose, an electrical engineer at Washington State University.
Interested in more stories about electricity? Email us at shortwave@npr.org.
Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave.
Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Interested in more stories about electricity? Email us at shortwave@npr.org.
Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave.
Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices
NPR Privacy Policy
1330 episodes
Manage episode 490308909 series 2653190
Content provided by NPR. All podcast content including episodes, graphics, and podcast descriptions are uploaded and provided directly by NPR or their podcast platform partner. If you believe someone is using your copyrighted work without your permission, you can follow the process outlined here https://ppacc.player.fm/legal.
The U.S.'s power grid — a nearly 100-year-old network of electrical circuits — is facing increased demand and weather-related stress. What will it take to modernize? We interrogate that question today with the help of Anjan Bose, an electrical engineer at Washington State University.
Interested in more stories about electricity? Email us at shortwave@npr.org.
Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave.
Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices
NPR Privacy Policy
…
continue reading
Interested in more stories about electricity? Email us at shortwave@npr.org.
Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave.
Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices
NPR Privacy Policy
1330 episodes
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1 Why Gene-Edited Babies May Be Closer Than Ever 14:18
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A Chinese scientist, He Jiankui, made a shocking announcement to the world in 2018: He had secretly engineered the birth of the first gene-edited babies. The birth of the twins was seen as reckless and unethical by the scientific community. That’s because, among other things, the CRISPR gene-editing technique Jiankui used was so new. NPR science correspondent Rob Stein has been following the controversial world of gene-editing and human reproduction, including some companies’ recent quests to push gene-editing technology forward. Read more of Rob Stein’s reporting on the topic here . Interested in more science news? Let us know at shortwave@npr.org. Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave . Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy…

1 Sea Camp: Did Life Start In Hydrothermal Vents? 14:40
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How did life start on Earth? The answer is a big scientific mystery scientists are actively investigating. After talking with many scientists, host Regina G. Barber found that an abundance of water on Earth is most likely key, in some way, to the origin of life — specifically, in either deep sea hydrothermal vents or in tide pools. It's for this reason some scientists are also exploring the potential for life in so-called "water worlds" elsewhere in the solar system, like some of the moons of Jupiter and Saturn. This episode, Regina digs into two water-related hypotheses for the origin on life on Earth — and what that might mean for possible alien life. Have another scientific mystery you want us to cover on a future episode? Email us at shortwave@npr.org . Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave . Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy…

1 Why Do Some 80 Year-Olds Have Extraordinary Memories? 8:45
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The human brain tends to slow down as we age — even healthy brains shrink. That can make learning and memory harder as people age. But some people’s brains shrink more slowly than their peers. This lucky group is called “SuperAgers.” They’re people aged 80 or older. But they have the memory abilities of someone 50-to-60 years old. This week in the journal Alzheimer's & Dementia, researchers from Northwestern University’s SuperAging Program summarized some of the secrets they’ve learned in the last 2.5 decades. Want to hear about more stories about human health and aging? Email us and let us know at shortwave@npr.org . Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave . Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy…
Every September, the small town of La Junta, Colorado puts on a whole festival to celebrate a beloved local animal: the tarantula! Around this time of year, thousands of mature male tarantulas start to migrate en masse – but until recently, scientists didn’t know what triggered them to move out of their cozy burrows. On today’s show, biologist Dallas Haselhuhn explains how they solved the mystery, and how climate change could affect future treks. Want to hear about more critter mysteries? Email us and let us know at shortwave@npr.org . Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave . Listen to Short Wave on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. This episode was produced by Berly McCoy and edited by Rebecca Ramirez. Tyler Jones checked the facts. Robert Rodriguez was the audio engineer. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy…

1 'Zombie' Cells Could Explain Aging — And Help Scientists Slow It 11:45
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It’s no secret that stress isn’t good for you. But just how bad is it? Well, in the last few decades, scientists have linked psychological stress to changes in our DNA that look a lot like what happens on the molecular level as we age. Today on the show, host Regina G. Barber talks to freelance science journalist Diana Kwon about the latest research on stress and aging, including a new hypothesis for how your brain handles aging — and what science could do about all of it. Interested in more aging science? Let us know at shortwave@npr.org . Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave . Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy…
The bathypelagic zone of the ocean is 1,000 to 4,000 meters below the surface. Sometimes it's called the midnight zone because it's too deep for sunlight to reach. Most animals here are much smaller than their shallow-water counterparts. But occasionally, researchers find the rare deep sea giant: giant isopods, giant squids, colossal squids, sea spiders. While these giants sound like the subjects of some people's nightmares, deep sea biologist Craig McClain dreams about them. And today on the show, he helps unravel the mystery and research behind these creatures. SIGN UP FOR OUR SEA CAMP NEWSLETTER! WE WORKED SO HARD ON IT! Interested in more ocean mysteries? Let us know at shortwave@npr.org . Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave . Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy…
Last year, we reported how extreme weather events may be dwindling the future of chocolate. Just last week, we saw an inkling of that: The Hershey Company announced it would significantly raise the cost of its candy in the face of historically high cocoa prices. So, we're revisiting host Emily Kwong 's conversation with Yasmin Tayag , a food, health and science writer at The Atlantic. They get into the cocoa shortage: What's causing it, how it's linked to weather and poor farming conditions and what potential solutions exist. Plus, they enjoy a chocolate alternative taste test. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy…

1 Why Illusions Are A Brain Feature, Not A Bug 11:36
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A grayscale ballerina who appears to be moving. A human who can fit in a doll box. A black-and-white prism that appears to change shape when viewed from three different directions. Those are the top winners of the 2024 Best Illusion of the Year Contest , open to illusion makers around the world and co-created by neuroscientist Susana Martinez-Conde . Today on the show, we get lost in the magic and science of visual illusions. Have a neuroscience question? Email us at shortwave@npr.org . Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave . Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy…
Much of the country is deep in the middle of a heat wave right now. And every summer, Duane Stilwell's town in Arizona seems to get hotter. It has him worried — and he's not the only one. Since 1980, the average number of heat waves in the U.S has doubled and the average length of a heat wave season has increased from 40 days to 70 . Future summers, experts say, will be even hotter . But why exactly is that happening, and what can people do to protect themselves from the heat? This episode is part of Nature Quest , a monthly segment that answers listeners' questions about their local environment. If you have a question, send a voice memo to shortwave@npr.org that includes it, your name and where you live. We might make it into our next Nature Quest episode! Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave . Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy…

1 Sea Camp: The Largest Daily Migration On Earth 12:47
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The twilight zone of the ocean is a mysterious place. At 200-1000 meters below the surface, it's a tough place to study. That's why, during World War II, people reading sonograms from this zone were perplexed when it looked as if the ocean floor was moving up. Every day. And then back down again before dawn. In this latest installment of Sea Camp , we explore what this historical mystery has to do with the Earth's ability to cycle and store carbon in the ocean's watery depths. SIGN UP FOR OUR SEA CAMP NEWSLETTER! WE WORKED SO HARD ON IT! Interested in more ocean mysteries? Let us know at shortwave@npr.org . Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave . Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy…
Whether you love spiders or can't be within 10 feet of them, you probably think of them crawling around on land. Historically, most researchers would probably say the same thing: Based on the fossil record, they've thought the earliest arachnid ancestors existed around 450 million years ago, living and diversifying exclusively on land. But a new study out this week in the journal Current Biology suggests arachnid brains may have originated much earlier in the ocean . Want to hear more stories about the history of animals on Earth? Email us and let us know at shortwave@npr.org . Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave . Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy…

1 Eating Disorder Recovery In A Diet Culture World 13:45
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Eating disorders are complicated illnesses that skyrocketed among teenagers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Pediatrician Eva Trujillo says they "literally rewire the brain," decrease brain size, and make it harder to concentrate and to regulate emotions. Malnutrition can slow the metabolism, impact bone density and even lead to cardiac arrest. But Eva says, with the right treatment, people can also recover fully. She's the president of the International Association of Eating Disorder Professionals and co-founder of Comenzar de Nuevo , a leading treatment facility in Latin America. Today on the show, host Emily Kwong talks about the physical and mental impacts of eating disorders with Dr. Trujillo and Moorea Friedmann, a teen mental health advocate and host of the podcast Balancing Act . Plus, how to recover in a world steeped in diet culture. Want us to cover more mental health topics? Tell us by emailing shortwave@npr.org ! We'd love to know what you want to hear from us! Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave . Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy…

1 Will Federal Budget Cuts Affect Space Science? 13:05
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Earlier this year, the White House proposed a nearly 24% cut to NASA's 2026 fiscal year budget — the largest in the agency's history. The trims are largely aimed at the NASA's fundamental science research and would halt science that has already been partially paid for, like the Mars sample return and the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope. Many scientists and policy experts are also worried that the reduced funding would cause a scientific brain drain. But within the last month, Congress has started to discuss appropriations packages that may not severely contract the budget after all. So, in this episode, Regina reports on the important hypotheticals: What programs might be affected? Are these cuts likely to happen? If so, when? Want to hear more stories about space and policy? Let us know at shortwave@npr.org . Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave . Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy…

1 Sea Camp: Is Better Human Health Hidden In The Sea? 13:00
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For this week's Sea Camp , we're diving below the ocean's surface to explore the sunlight zone, the portion of ocean that's 0-200 meters deep. Here, we zoom in on some spineless inhabitants envied for their "superpowers." Marine biologist Drew Harvell tells us about stealthy sea slugs, sea stars with super strength and life-saving sponges. Also, exciting news!! WE HAVE A NEWSLETTER! It lets you go even deeper with the marine research each week of Sea Camp . Sign up here! Plus, check out the comic we commissioned to accompany this episode! Want to hear more stories about underwater marvels? Email us and let us know at shortwave@npr.org . Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave . Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy…

1 Congress has voted to eliminate government funding for public media 2:01
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