Short Wave

Coffee is complex. Can science standardize it for the better?

Ask any coffee aficionado, and they’ll tell you: A good cup is about more than the beans. The flavor is affected by lots of things – the roast and fermentation of the beans, the coarseness of the grind, the brewing temperature and even the chemicals in the water used to brew it. But there are very few quantitative ways to assess all the flavor variations. Current industry standards measure the concentration of coffee, but they often miss qualities like the acidity, brightness and fruitness. Scientists at the University of Oregon are trying to change that [https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-026-71526-5] using a tool called a potentiostat that’s often used to measure the charge in batteries. Interested in more food and beverage science? Email us your question at shortwave@npr.org [shortwave@npr.org] and we may turn it into an 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 [http://plus.npr.org/shortwave]. See pcm.adswizz.com [https://pcm.adswizz.com] for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy [https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy]

NASA is practicing moonwalks. When are we going back?

After the success of Artemis II, we at Short Wave definitely have moon fever. So, we brought NPR science correspondent Nell Greenfieldboyce [https://www.npr.org/people/4494969/nell-greenfieldboyce] onto the show to talk about where we’re headed. What will future Artemis missions look like and what needs to happen next for people to be able to walk on the moon again? We find out in this latest installment of Spacing Out – with space enthusiasts Regina G Barber [https://www.npr.org/people/1082526815/regina-g-barber] and one of the hosts of All Things Considered, Scott Detrow [https://www.npr.org/people/444796749/scott-detrow]!  Interested in more space episodes? Check out our whole summer series, Space Camp [https://www.npr.org/series/g-s1-3299/short-wave-space-camp]. Or, email us your ideas for future space-focused episodes at shortwave@npr.org [shortwave@npr.org]. P.S. If you see this and you like the idea of formally calling this segment “Spacing Out with Gina”, email us to let us know that too! We’re still deciding. 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 [http://plus.npr.org/shortwave]. See pcm.adswizz.com [https://pcm.adswizz.com] for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy [https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy]

Set up solar, or save a tree? It’s complicated

To solar or not to solar? That is the question for this latest episode of our monthly series Nature Quest. For listener Darcey Hughes, installing solar panels isn’t just about keeping her utilities free of fossil fuels – it’s also a way to become fully self-reliant and save some money each month. But there’s a catch: She might have to chop down a large, shading cedar tree. Today, we investigate: When is solar worth it? And is it worth the price of an old, majestic tree?  Do YOU have a question you have about your local environment? Send us a voice memo telling us your name, where you live, and your dilemma… we may make it the next Nature Quest. We’re reachable at shortwave@npr.org [shortwave@npr.org]. Want to learn more about easy-to-install solar? Check out NPR climate correspondent Jeff Brady’s reporting on plug-in solar panels [https://www.npr.org/2026/03/12/nx-s1-5737287/solar-panels-utilities-energy-saving]. 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 [http://plus.npr.org/shortwave]. See pcm.adswizz.com [https://pcm.adswizz.com] for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy [https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy]

The mystery that led this family to get their stomachs removed

When Karyn Paringatai learned about a pattern among her family members, it changed the course of her life: A lot of people died young. As Karyn dug into her family history, she learned many Maori families, like her own, suffered from a rare form of stomach cancer called diffuse gastric cancer. Sarah Zhang [https://www.theatlantic.com/author/sarah-zhang/] recently wrote a story [https://www.theatlantic.com/health/2026/03/stomach-cancer-total-gastrectomy/686623/?gift=e8DbyF2sDmzhn965n7rLL7i5OyzgM0iPSAMNssaj6Ws&utm_source=copy-link&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=share] on this kind of cancer as a staff writer at The Atlantic. Today, she gets into all the details with Short Wave host Emily Kwong: the mutation that causes it and the life-changing decision people with the mutation have to make – risk dying or get surgery to remove their entire stomach? Interested in more science? Email us your question at shortwave@npr.org [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 [http://plus.npr.org/shortwave]. Listen to Short Wave on Spotify [https://n.pr/3HOQKeK] and Apple Podcasts [https://n.pr/3WA9vqh]. See pcm.adswizz.com [https://pcm.adswizz.com] for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy [https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy]

Why a chimp 'civil war' shows how societies collapse

In the mid-1970s, primatologist Jane Goodall witnessed something that changed her opinion of chimpanzees forever: A four-year conflict amongst the chimpanzees she was studying in Tanzania. Chimpanzees that knew each other started killing each other. It was essentially the primate equivalent of a civil war. And now, it’s happening again: Fighting within the largest known community of chimpanzees. NPR science correspondent Nate Rott [https://www.npr.org/people/348779465/nathan-rott] helps us break down what’s going on and what it could tell us about how human communities can fall apart.  Read all of Nate’s story here [https://www.npr.org/2026/04/13/nx-s1-5781149/chimpanzee-civil-war-primate-conflict-anthropology].  Interested in more science? Email us your question at shortwave@npr.org [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 [http://plus.npr.org/shortwave]. See pcm.adswizz.com [https://pcm.adswizz.com] for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy [https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy]