The Naked Mole Rat

Mole Rats and War

This story is about a creature with a head like a furry shovel, and a body about the size of a sneaker. By rodent standards, the sandy blind mole rat is huge. But it’s special for another reason too. The sandy blind mole rat is found only in a small area of Ukraine, near the front-lines of Russia’s war against its neighbor. And we wouldn’t know of its existence but for the efforts of a small number of zoologists who, over decades of war and repression, risked their lives working to establish the sandy blind mole rat as a distinct species recognized by science. The Naked Mole Rat is a podcast by Libo/Libo. Visit our website: https://libolibo.me/   Follow us and tap the bell for episode notifications Contact us: nakedmolerat@libolibo.me  This episode was produced by Andrey Borzenko, Ilya Marritz, Anastasia Medvedeva and Lika Kremer. Our sound editor is Ildar Fattakhov.

Borrowed vision

People who suffer from retinitis pigmentosa lose their vision as the light-sensitive cells in their eyes start to break down. But what if they could be implanted with light-sensitive cells taken from other organisms, such as algae or coral? A few years ago, a French ophthalmologist was nearly laughed out of a scientific conference when he proposed this idea. But he didn’t lose heart, and his hunch led to a very important breakthrough. Link to the video, in which the patient takes a bottle of hand sanitizer out of his pocket: https://youtu.be/J7a6-46M4qk The Naked Mole Rat is a podcast by Libo/Libo. Visit our website: https://libolibo.me/   Follow us and tap the bell for episode notifications Contact us: nakedmolerat@libolibo.me  This episode was produced by Andrey Borzenko, Ilya Marritz, Danil Astapov, Anastasia Medvedeva and Lika Kremer. Our sound editor is Ildar Fattakhov.

Your Brain on Holidays

Caution! The holiday season is upon us. Terrible holiday jingles blast out of every speaker and get stuck in your head, there’s so much to do before the end of the year, and then we’ll be stress-eating and washing it all down with alcohol. All that while promising ourselves that we’ll definitely change things in the new year (though we likely won’t). In this special episode, we explore the science of what makes this time of year so…special. Use the internet without restrictions to websites and services — get Paper VPN. Get 10% off any plan with the promo code RAT Connect here: https://papervpn.fun/?promocode=RAT&utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=pin&utm_campaign=podcast_nakedrat_24.12.2025 The Naked Mole Rat is a podcast by Libo/Libo. Visit our website: https://libolibo.me/   Follow us and tap the bell for episode notifications Contact us: nakedmolerat@libolibo.me This episode was produced by Andrey Borzenko, Ilya Marritz, Danil Astapov, Anastasia Medvedeva and Lika Kremer. Our sound editor is Ildar Fattakhov.

Russian Flu aka American Fever

In the late 19th century, a deadly illness spread across Asia and into Europe, infecting millions, and prompting what may have been the world’s first “infodemic” — with news (and rumors) about the infection traveling in realtime, via telegram. A teenaged Winston Churchill even wrote a poem about it. Sometimes called “Russian flu” or “American fever” the illness rarely affected children, but caused adults to lose their sense of taste and smell. Is it just possible that “Russian flu” was a coronavirus?  The Naked Mole Rat is a podcast by Libo/Libo. Visit our website: https://libolibo.me/   Follow us and tap the bell for episode notifications Contact us: nakedmolerat@libolibo.me This episode was produced by Andrey Borzenko, Ilya Marritz, Danil Astapov, Anastasia Medvedeva and Lika Kremer. Our sound editor is Ildar Fattakhov.

To Teach and Die for Ukraine: The Story of Yulia Zdanovska

Ukraine is a country that produces a lot of talented math and programming students, and Yuliya Zdanovska was among the most promising. But it was the choices she made about how to live her life that really set her apart. After graduating university, Yuliya dedicated herself to teaching ordinary students at a rural school. Then, when Russia invaded Ukraine, she went to Kharkiv, close to the front-lines, to defend her hometown. That is where she died in 2022. The Naked Mole Rat is a podcast by Libo/Libo. Visit our website: https://libolibo.me/   Follow us and tap the bell for episode notifications. Contact us: nakedmolerat@libolibo.me This episode was produced by Andrey Borzenko and Ilya Marritz.