Radiolab

Radiolab explores how a single 60-word sentence from the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) has become the legal foundation for over two decades of American counterterrorism operations, including drone strikes, detentions, and military actions across multiple countries. The episode traces how vague language like "all necessary and appropriate force" and "associated forces" has been interpreted to expand the scope of war far beyond its original intent.

This RadioLab episode from the "Dolly Parton's America" series explores Dolly Parton's early songwriting, which focused on dark themes about women's suffering, and traces how her music evolved from sad ballads to empowering messages. Through interviews with Dolly, writers, and listeners like Grandma Betty from Kansas, the episode examines Dolly's role as an unexpected feminist icon who challenged conventions by embracing femininity while building business power.

This Radiolab episode explores the concept of 'Patient Zero' through three distinct stories: Mary Mallon, an asymptomatic typhoid carrier who was isolated for decades; the true origins of HIV/AIDS traced back to a hunter in Cameroon around 1908; and the unexpected history of the high-five gesture, which multiple people claimed to invent.

A Radiolab episode tells the true story of Nigel, a gannet who became the world's loneliest bird after landing on New Zealand's Mana Island and falling in love with a concrete decoy. Despite initial hope that he would attract other gannets to establish a new colony, Nigel remained devoted to his statue mate until his sudden death, which captured global media attention and inspired widespread reflection on loneliness and individuality.

During the Cold War, Sweden's military detected mysterious submarine sounds in their waters for over a decade, triggering military operations and international tensions. Scientists eventually discovered the 'typical sound' was actually thousands of herring fish releasing air bubbles through their anal canals—essentially fish farts—not Soviet submarines.

RadioLab's 'The Shoe Thrower' tells the story of Muntadhar Al-Zaidi, an Iraqi journalist who threw his shoes at President George W. Bush during a 2008 Baghdad press conference as a culmination of years documenting civilian casualties from the Iraq War. The act became a global symbol of protest, sparking copycat incidents worldwide, though it came at tremendous personal cost to Al-Zaidi, including imprisonment, torture, and the destruction of his journalism career.

A RadioLab episode explores how Amy Pearl developed a sudden allergy to red meat after a tick bite, discovering the culprit is alpha-gal, a sugar found in non-primate mammals. The episode then updates listeners on how this discovery led to the creation of genetically modified GalSafe pigs that can provide organs for transplant and safe meat for alpha-gal allergy sufferers.

Radiolab explores the origins and consequences of the phrase "neither confirm nor deny," tracing it to a 1975 CIA response about a covert Cold War submarine recovery mission. The phrase has since become ubiquitous across government agencies and popular culture, creating legal and transparency challenges that can delay public accountability for years.

Radiolab investigates goosebumps, exploring how this vestigial survival reflex evolved from a thermoregulation mechanism in mammals to trigger aesthetic chills in response to music, art, and emotionally meaningful experiences. Scientists Nico Regensi and Felix Schöller have developed methods to reliably induce chills in laboratory settings and are studying their potential therapeutic applications for depression.

Radiolab explores a secret Cold War-era government project to preserve artifacts that would survive nuclear apocalypse, then asks modern Americans what items should represent American identity in a post-catastrophic future. The episode examines what objects and values truly define America.

This Radiolab episode tells the story of Alex Hay, a transgender man who became internationally known as the first female gondolier in Venice's 900-year history, only to later publicly transition and face severe discrimination. The episode explores how Alex's identity was hijacked by media narratives and feminist movements, leading to his eventual loss of livelihood and a six-year period of homelessness and depression before finding stability in Berlin.

This Radiolab episode explores how hormones — particularly estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone — physically and functionally change the brain over time, both across the 28-day menstrual cycle in females and the 24-hour circadian cycle in males. Neuroendocrinologist Emily Jacobs and graduate student Laura Pritchett conducted a pioneering self-study called '28andMe,' scanning Laura's brain daily throughout her menstrual cycle to capture dynamic hormonal effects on brain structure and connectivity. The findings reveal that hormone fluctuations are a universal organizing principle of the brain, not a female-specific liability.

This Radiolab/Terrestrials bonus episode explores remarkable animal fathers across species—from owl monkeys to seahorses, poison dart frogs, burying beetles, and stickleback fish—to challenge stereotypes about what fatherhood looks like in nature. Human dad Michael reflects on how his assumption that chimp-like absence was 'natural' for fathers was overturned by learning about these diverse parenting examples. The episode ultimately argues that nurturing, caregiving fatherhood is deeply ancient and biologically ingrained across the animal kingdom.

This Radiolab episode features excerpts and discussion from On The Media's four-part series 'American Emergency' about FEMA, exploring the agency's origins in Cold War civil defense, its troubled history of dysfunction and conspiracy theories, and its current existential threat under the Trump administration. Reporter Micah Lowinger traces how FEMA went from a well-intentioned disaster relief agency to one of America's most mistrusted government institutions. The episode culminates with the story of interim FEMA head Cameron Hamilton, who was fired after testifying against abolishing the agency, only to be renominated by Trump a year later.

The Radiolab episode tells the story of Oliver Sipple, a gay ex-Marine who saved President Gerald Ford's life in 1975 by deflecting an assassination attempt by Sarah Jane Moore. Despite his heroism, Sipple's life was devastated when journalists outed him without his consent, estranging him from his family and ultimately contributing to his lonely death at age 47.

Reporter Alex Neeson explores her intense fear and disgust of American cockroaches through encounters with exterminators, an edible insect chef, and entomologists. Her journey takes an unexpected turn when she learns the American cockroach arrived in the U.S. on slave ships, forcing her to reckon with the deeper racial and social dimensions of pest hatred. The episode ultimately reframes the roach as a forest creature native to Africa, obscured by layers of human history and filth.