Big Picture Science for Sep. 22, 2025: Spare (Body) Parts

Big Picture Science: Spare (Body) Parts

Strapped-on brass noses, frog skin grafts, human organs grown in pigs: The world of replaceable body parts is both amazing and a bit unsettling. But who better give us a tour of the past and present of what medical engineering considers Plan B, than the inimitable science writer Mary Roach.

Guest:

• Mary Roach – Science writer and author of “Replaceable You: Adventures in Human Anatomy”

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Big Picture Science for Sep. 15, 2025: Some Chemicals are Forever

 

Big Picture Science: Some Chemicals are Forever

As their name suggests, “forever chemicals” have extraordinary staying power. When these nearly indestructible compounds find their way into our soil and water, they don’t break down for hundreds or thousands of years. PFAS – the name for these synthetic chemicals – isn’t just in our natural environment. Scientists have found it everywhere, including in the blood of nearly every living being.

In this episode, we talk to the reporter who broke open the story about a decades-long corporate coverup regarding forever chemicals, look at what we know about their health effects, and consider how a kneecapping of the EPA’s regulatory power may weaken the best tool we have for protecting ourselves from PFAS contamination.

Guests:

• Nathaniel Rich – Author of “Second Nature: Scenes from a World Remade,” and the New York Times Magazine article, “The Lawyer Who Became Dupont’s Worst Nightmare”
• Rachel Frazin – Energy and Environment Policy reporter for The Hill, co-author of “Poisoning the Well: How Forever Chemicals Contaminated America”
• Janet McCabe – visiting professor at the Robert McKinney School of Law at Indiana University, former deputy administrator of the United States Environmental Protection Agency

Download podcast at - https://bigpicturescience.org/episodes/some-chemicals-are-forever

You can listen to this and other episodes at http://bigpicturescience.org/

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Big Picture Science: Animal Alphabets

REPEAT
Have scientists discovered an alphabet in whale calls? As researchers try to decipher the series of clicks made by sperm whales, we ask whether these cetaceans might have language, and if it follows that whales are thinking animals too. Could we one day get a peek into the thoughts of a humpback whale? Meanwhile, somewhere along the long path of evolution, one species emerged with an impressive gift for gab. Are speech and language unique human superpowers?

Guests:

• Carl Zimmer – Columnist, The New York Times, including the article, “Scientists Find an ‘Alphabet’ in Whale Songs”.
• Ev Fedorenko – Cognitive neuroscientist, director of the EV Lab, MIT
• Tecumseh Fitch – Evolutionary biologist at the University of Vienna

Originally aired July 29, 2024

Download podcast at - https://bigpicturescience.org/episodes/animal-alphabets

You can listen to this and other episodes at http://bigpicturescience.org/

Get early access to ad-free versions of every episode by joining us on Patreon. Thanks for your support!

Big Picture Science for Sep. 01, 2025: Aliens Now

Big Picture Science: Aliens Now

REPEAT
We are closer than ever to finding aliens according to astrophysicist Adam Frank. He isn’t alone in his optimism. Over the last two decades, the tools used to search for extraterrestrials have been advancing mightily. Where we were once only monitoring with radio telescopes, we are now actively looking for bio and technosignatures on exoplanets. Find out why scientists think new technology may be a game changer in the hunt for life off Earth.

Guest:

• Adam Frank – Astrophysicist and author of a new book “The Little Book of Aliens”

Originally aired July 1, 2024

Download podcast at - https://bigpicturescience.org/episodes/aliens-now

You can listen to this and other episodes at http://bigpicturescience.org/

Get early access to ad-free versions of every episode by joining us on Patreon. Thanks for your support!