Episodes

  • Viral dark matter

    Viral dark matter
    Aug 21 2024
    With antibiotic resistance on the rise, some scientists are turning to viruses as a medical tool. But we barely know anything about the bacteria-eating viruses all around us. (First published in 2021) Guest: Nicola Twilley, host of Gastropod For show transcripts, go to vox.com/unxtranscripts For more, go to vox.com/unexplainable And please email us! unexplainable@vox.com We read every email. Support Unexplainable by becoming a Vox Member today: vox.com/members Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    26 mins
  • The good virus

    The good virus
    Aug 14 2024
    Our bodies are teeming with viruses. But some of them, called phages, might play a really important role in keeping us healthy. Guest: Tom Ireland, author of The Good Virus For show transcripts, go to vox.com/unxtranscripts For more, go to vox.com/unexplainable And please email us! unexplainable@vox.com We read every email. Support Unexplainable by becoming a Vox Member today: vox.com/members Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    22 mins
  • Ecstasy therapy

    Ecstasy therapy
    Aug 7 2024
    The FDA is about to announce whether it’s going to approve MDMA as a treatment for PTSD. Our friends at Today, Explained explore what this kind of therapy looks like, and why it’s so controversial. For show transcripts, go to vox.com/unxtranscripts For more, go to vox.com/unexplainable And please email us! unexplainable@vox.com We read every email. Support Unexplainable by becoming a Vox Member today: vox.com/members Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    32 mins
  • What did dinosaurs sound like?

    What did dinosaurs sound like?
    Jul 31 2024
    They probably didn’t roar like lions. Their real voices were likely much, much weirder. We asked scientists to help us re-create these strange, extinct sounds. (First published in 2022) Guests: Dr. Michael Habib, professor at UCLA, Dr. Julia Clarke, professor at the University of Texas at Austin, and Jonny Crew, sound designer at Wounded Buffalo For show transcripts, go to vox.com/unxtranscripts For more, go to vox.com/unexplainable And please email us! unexplainable@vox.com We read every email. Support Unexplainable by becoming a Vox Member today: vox.com/members Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    41 mins
  • Do we live inside an enormous black hole?

    Do we live inside an enormous black hole?
    Jul 24 2024
    It’s possible that the entire observable universe is inside a black hole. All we need to do to find out is … build a gigantic particle collider around the moon. Guest: James Beacham, particle physicist at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN For show transcripts, go to vox.com/unxtranscripts For more, go to vox.com/unexplainable And please email us! unexplainable@vox.com We read every email. Support Unexplainable by becoming a Vox Member today: vox.com/members Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    25 mins
  • Is good posture actually good?

    Is good posture actually good?
    Jul 17 2024
    Send this episode to the person who constantly hounds you not to slouch. Guest: Beth Linker, author of “Slouch: Posture Panic in Modern America” For show transcripts, go to vox.com/unxtranscripts For more, go to vox.com/unexplainable And please email us! unexplainable@vox.com We read every email. Support Unexplainable by becoming a Vox Member today: vox.com/members Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    21 mins
  • Why do we yawn?

    Why do we yawn?
    Jul 10 2024
    People yawn when they’re bored, right? So then why do athletes yawn before races? And why do so many animals yawn? … And why does reading this paragraph make you more likely to yawn? (Updated from 2022) Guest: Dr. Andrew Gallup For show transcripts, go to vox.com/unxtranscripts For more, go to vox.com/unexplainable And please email us! unexplainable@vox.com We read every email. Support Unexplainable by becoming a Vox Member today: vox.com/members Please take a second to help us learn more about you! vox.com/podcastsurvey Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    37 mins
  • Embracing economic chaos

    Embracing economic chaos
    Jul 3 2024
    Can a physicist predict our messy economy by building an enormous simulation of the entire world? For show transcripts, go to vox.com/unxtranscripts For more, go to vox.com/unexplainable And please email us! unexplainable@vox.com We read every email. Support Unexplainable by becoming a Vox Member today: vox.com/members Please take a second to help us learn more about you! vox.com/podcastsurvey Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    27 mins