Don’t let the term “climate change” mislead you. It’s true that our environment is changing in all sorts of ways as we continue to pollute and exploit and manipulate our planet. But even as we brace for more historic typhoons and biblical flood

#24 Long COVID with Dr. Kim Rhoads

Nov 1st, 2023 33m 10s

Nearly four years have passed since COVID swept the globe, infecting millions and bringing society to a grinding halt. The ensuing months saw strict mask mandates, revolutionary vaccines, new viral strains, and—finally—a return to some sort of

#23 Exploding Stars and Other Cosmic Mysteries with Sarafina Nance

Jul 13th, 2023 37m 4s

Roughly every second, a star explodes. Beyond treating astronomers to a radiant light display, these dramatic supernova events contain vast amounts of information about the origin, behavior, and ultimate demise of our universe. UC Berkeley astr

#22 The Edge Presents 'Climate, Hope and Science' from The Science of Happiness

May 25th, 2023 26m 16s

We’re back with something a little different this month. In the wake of this year’s historic floods, wildfires, and hurricanes, we asked ourselves: What would it look like to take a more optimistic attitude towards slowing climate change? In th

#21 Abolish Race (in Medicine)!

Jan 5th, 2023 31m 19s

For centuries, doctors have medically treated people differently according to their race because they believed that race was biological. But in recent years, medical professionals and activists have argued that this is both wrongheaded and can

#20 Abolish Cars!

Oct 12th, 2022 18m 33s

Car-free streets are no longer just an urban fantasy. In cities across the nation, a movement is growing to return the streets to the people. In this episode, we talk to two advocates from UC Berkeley about their quest to ‘pedestrianize’ Telegr

#19 You Snooze, You... Win?

Jul 25th, 2022 21m 9s

The teens are not alright! In fact, they’re experiencing a sleep crisis. In this episode, we talk to journalist and UC Berkeley grad Lisa Lewis about why teens have different sleep needs than the rest of us and how she worked to get more sleep

BONUS: #18 Into the Ishi Wilderness

Jun 22nd, 2022 27m 31s

Today, we’re featuring the audio version of California magazine’s recent cover story, “Into the Ishi Wilderness.” In 1911, a Yahi Native American man walked out of the wilderness near Oroville, California. The famed anthropologist Alfred Kroebe

#17 Hey Mom, I’m an Influencer!

May 31st, 2022 28m 44s

These days, kids want to be social media influencers when they grow up. But is it a viable career? And what does our ever-growing social media obsession mean for society? In this episode, we talk to TikTok star and UC Berkeley grad Talia Lichts

#16 I Once Was Blind, But Now?

Mar 31st, 2022 34m 14s

How is it possible to be blind and able to see at the same time? In this episode, we explore a bizarre, paradoxical neurological condition called blindsight, which challenges everything we think we know about vision—and offers insight into the

#15 I’m in Love with a Robot

Feb 16th, 2022 36m 59s

It’s not easy coming up with the perfect opening line on Tinder. Should you play it cute? Ask a thought-provoking question? Woo them with a witty remark? One entrepreneur thinks he has the answer: robot-generated text. Artificial intelligence i

#14 Blockchain for the People

Oct 7th, 2021 22m 48s

You hear about blockchain everywhere: social media, the news, the guy next door. Some say that in a few years, everyone will use it for everything, much like the internet. But right now we’re in the early days, and it’s pretty Wild West. (Think

#13 Should We Bring Back Woolly Mammoths?

Jun 30th, 2021 43m 40s

Passenger pigeons. Woolly mammoths. Neanderthals. They’re all extinct. But what if we could bring them back? And if we could, should we? Geneticists are exploring de-extincting extinct and near-extinct species, but ethical and logistical proble

#12 2021: A Space Hotel Odyssey

May 19th, 2021 33m 29s

Since the first human left Earth’s atmosphere in 1961, few earthlings—and even fewer private citizens—have had the opportunity to “boldly go” there. But, with new advancements from SpaceX, Blue Origin, and other spaceflight companies, wealthy t

#11 A Completed Life

Apr 7th, 2021 46m 11s

Five years after 29-year-old, terminally ill Brittany Maynard makes national news by choosing to end her life early, medically assisted death continues to face enormous legal and social barriers. And yet public support of the practice is high.

#10 A Shroom of One's Own

Mar 10th, 2021 32m 43s

Half a century after the counterculture movement swept through the Bay Area and “mind altering substances” were banished from the laboratory, researchers at the new UC Berkeley Center for the Science of Psychedelics are reviving a long-buried f

#9 You Say Couch Potato, I Say Athlete

Feb 10th, 2021 26m 51s

How did video gaming, or esports, make it from your parents’ basement to the big leagues? Laura and Leah discuss with student esport “athletes,” an administrator, and a team owner. Also discussed: why UC Berkeley is investing in gaming as a car

#8 Control-Alt-Meat

Jan 6th, 2021 28m 12s

After an unsettling encounter with a turkey, Laura resolves to eat less meat and takes Leah on a journey through the alternative meat industry. Will real, flesh and blood meat be obsolete in 15 years, as one industry leader suggests? Laura and

#7 Hey Siri, Write Me a Poem

Dec 3rd, 2020 46m 56s

When a Berkeley student launches an AI-generated blog that goes viral, Leah and Laura wonder if robots will soon replace us all. Will the journalists, novelists, and poets of the future be robots? What does this mean for art? Programmer/poet an

#6 Are Cities Over?

Nov 4th, 2020 29m 1s

As reopenings stall and some companies extend work-from-home indefinitely, Leah and Laura wonder what the future of cities looks like. Will all the yuppies flee to the countryside? Will mom-and-pop retail survive? Architect and UC Berkeley prof

#5 Can You Make Your Baby Glow?

Oct 7th, 2020 44m 13s

Can you pick your baby’s gender? What about their IQ? And what’s to stop people from editing their babies genes to make them glow? Laura and Leah talk to a UC Berkeley researcher, an entrepreneur, and an ethicist about some exciting, and contro

#4 That Manhole Is Now a Maintenance Hole

Sep 2nd, 2020 36m 34s

After the Berkeley city council votes to remove gender from the municipal code, Laura and Leah decide to investigate how language changes with the times. They talk to two non-binary students about the singular pronoun “they” and linguist Geoffr

#3 I Know Where You Live

Aug 5th, 2020 31m 15s

Laura and Leah worry about their digital presence. How much could someone find out about their private lives based on their online behavior? With the help of Steve Trush and Sean Brooks of the UC Berkeley Citizen Clinic, they discover their cyb

#2 What’s In A Name?

Jul 1st, 2020 41m 36s

When Boalt Hall loses its name because of the building’s namesake’s racist views, Laura and Leah wonder if it rights old wrongs or just papers over the past. Should we change the Washington Redskins name? Does removing a statue or a name actual

#1 Pattern, How Do You Know Me?

Jul 1st, 2020 32m 19s

Laura and Leah discover they use the same mysterious astrology app, The Pattern. They try to figure out how it works, who owns it, and what The Pattern is really doing with their data, which takes them all the way across the country to a mailro