Unexplainable

This week on Unexplainable or Not, the newest member of our team, Julia Longoria [https://x.com/hooliwho?lang=en], tries to figure out which of three scientific mysteries about the sea, the land, and the sky has actually been solved. Guest: Admir Masic [https://cee.mit.edu/people_individual/admir-masic/], associate professor of civil and environmental engineering at MIT. 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]

And why he thinks you should too. Guest: Dylan Matthews [https://www.vox.com/authors/dylan-matthews], senior correspondent at Vox’s Future Perfect This episode was made in partnership with Vox’s Future Perfect [https://www.vox.com/future-perfect] team. 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]

A neuroscientist argues that the focus on dreams has held back the scientific understanding of sleep. So he took dreams out of the picture and uncovered a new potential connection between the mind and body. Guest: Mark Blumberg [https://blumberg.lab.uiowa.edu/], behavioral neuroscientist at the University of Iowa 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]

Funding cuts and research censorship have shaken the foundations of America’s health and science agencies, leaving researchers shocked, confused, and afraid. What does this mean for the future of science? 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]

For thousands of years, there have been four basic tastes recognized across cultures. But thanks to Kumiko Ninomiya (a.k.a. the Umami Mama), scientists finally accepted a fifth. Could there be even more? (First published in 2022.) Guests: Kumiko Ninomiya [https://flavourjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/2044-7248-4-13], biochemist and former director of the Umami Information Center; Gary Beauchamp [https://monell.org/gary-beauchamp/], former director of the Monell Chemical Senses Center; Sarah Tracy [https://sarahetracy.com/], historian of science; Camilla Arndal Andersen [https://www.ted.com/talks/camilla_arndal_andersen_what_happens_in_your_brain_when_you_taste_food], neuroscientist; Paul Breslin [https://nutrition.rutgers.edu/faculty/paul-breslin.html], professor at Rutgers University 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]