Unexplainable

Genetic libraries are treasure troves of information about life from around the world. They’re helping researchers develop everything from vaccines to crops to cosmetics. But who actually benefits from the discoveries scientists make using all this DNA and RNA? Guests: Benji Jones [https://www.vox.com/authors/benji-jones], environmental correspondent at Vox’s Future Perfect; Deborah Fuller [https://microbiology.washington.edu/people/faculty/deborah-fuller], professor of microbiology at the University of Washington For show transcripts, go to vox.com/unxtranscripts [http://vox.com/unxtranscripts] For more, go to vox.com/unexplainable [http://vox.com/unexplainable] And please email us! unexplainable@vox.com [unexplainable@vox.com] We read every email. Support Unexplainable by becoming a Vox Member today: vox.com/members [http://vox.com/members] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]

Some scientists think an explosion of AI awareness and feeling might be just around the corner. Others think it’s impossible for an AI to ever become conscious. How will we know? Guest: Oshan Jarow [https://www.vox.com/authors/oshan-jarow], staff writer at Vox’s Future Perfect For show transcripts, go to vox.com/unxtranscripts [http://vox.com/unxtranscripts] For more, go to vox.com/unexplainable [http://vox.com/unexplainable] And please email us! unexplainable@vox.com [unexplainable@vox.com] We read every email. Support Unexplainable by becoming a Vox Member today: vox.com/members [http://vox.com/members] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]

It’s that time of year again. If you’re changing things up, there’s a lot of diets out there that claim to help you live longer. Our friends at Today, Explained ask: How much of this is real and how much of it is nonsense? Guests: Anahad O’Connor [https://www.washingtonpost.com/people/anahad-oconnor/], health columnist at the Washington Post; Saul Justin Newman [https://theconversation.com/the-data-on-extreme-human-ageing-is-rotten-from-the-inside-out-ig-nobel-winner-saul-justin-newman-239023], researcher at the University College London Centre for Longitudinal Studies For show transcripts, go to vox.com/unxtranscripts [http://vox.com/unxtranscripts] For more, go to vox.com/unexplainable [http://vox.com/unexplainable] And please email us! unexplainable@vox.com [unexplainable@vox.com] We read every email. Support Unexplainable by becoming a Vox Member today: vox.com/members [http://vox.com/members] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]

The wildest stories that never made it into our episodes. Until now. Guests: Amy Boddy [https://www.anth.ucsb.edu/people/amy-boddy], anthropological scientist at the University of California, Santa Barbara; Jayme Locke [https://ast.digitellinc.com/b/sp/jayme-locke-2969], transplant surgeon at the University of Alabama at Birmingham; Jonathan Jiang [https://science.jpl.nasa.gov/people/jonathan], research scientist at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory For show transcripts, go to vox.com/unxtranscripts [http://vox.com/unxtranscripts] For more, go to vox.com/unexplainable [http://vox.com/unexplainable] And please email us! unexplainable@vox.com [unexplainable@vox.com] We read every email. Support Unexplainable by becoming a Vox Member today: vox.com/members [http://vox.com/members] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]

Dogs were the first domesticated animal in history, emerging from wolves some 20,000 years ago. But how did wolves become dogs? To find the answer, scientists have to play with a lot of puppies. (First published in 2023.) Guest: Kathryn Lord [https://karlssonlab.org/about/people-old/kathryn-lord/], evolutionary biology researcher at UMass Chan Medical School For show transcripts, go to vox.com/unxtranscripts [http://vox.com/unxtranscripts] For more, go to vox.com/unexplainable [http://vox.com/unexplainable] And please email us! unexplainable@vox.com [unexplainable@vox.com] We read every email. Support Unexplainable by becoming a Vox Member today: vox.com/members [http://vox.com/members] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]