Science Friday

Schedule

88.5-1

Friday

2:00 pm

88.3

Friday

2:00 pm

Science Friday is a live, weekly science talk show that focuses on science topics in the news and brings an educated, balanced discussion to bear on the scientific issues at hand. Panels of expert guests join Science Friday's host, Ira Flatow, a veteran science journalist, to discuss science -- and to take questions from listeners during the call-in portion of the program.

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Find more information about Science Friday.

Friday, October 4, 2013

With Government Shut Down, Science Idles

As the budgetary stalemate in Washington continues, many federally funded science projects are now on hold. Matthew Hourihan of the American Association for the Advancement of Science describes some of the effects of the funding impasse on research programs, from the CDC to NASA.

Friday, August 16, 2013

The STEM Gender Gap

The number of girls and women studying the sciences has steadily increased each year, but there is still a gender gap in higher education and the work force. Researchers Andresse St. Rose and Catherine Riegle-Crumb and Linda Kekelis, executive director of Techbridge, discuss the social and environmental factors that contribute to this disparity.

Friday, July 26, 2013

MERS Virus Update

Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) is an illness caused by a newly discovered virus in the same family as SARS. Most of the documented cases have come from Saudi Arabia, which has seen a 54 percent mortality rate in those patients. Martin Cetron, director of the Division of Global Migration and Quarantine at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, discusses the emerging virus.

Friday, July 5, 2013

With Rising Temperatures, Infrastructure Falters

As the western U.S. continues to bake in 100-plus degree heat, the high temperatures are making pavement buckle and power lines droop. Vicki Arroyo of the Georgetown Climate Center talks about heat's effects on infrastructure, and how cities can adapt for increasing temperatures.

Benjamin Franklin's Intellectual Revolution

Benjamin Franklin's entrepreneurial spirit fueled American innovation during his time and can still be felt today. In The Society for Useful Knowledge author Jonathan Lyons talk about how Franklin brought an intellectual revolution through practical invention, collaborative inquiry, and shared knowledge.

Friday, June 28, 2013

Aiming For 'Wild and Crazy' Energy Ideas

The Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy, or ARPA-E, backs energy technologies that are too risky for investors, but offer a potentially huge payoff — if they work. The agency has gambled on flywheels, compressed air energy storage, lithium-air batteries, even wind-energy kites.

Obama: U.S. Should Lead Assault on Climate Change

This week President Obama announced his plan to tackle climate change, including proposals to regulate gas and coal emissions, and brace the nation for rising seas. David Roberts, who covers energy and climate change for Grist.org, talks about what to expect from the plan — and how much the president can accomplish without the help of Congress.

Arts & Culture

WAMU 88.5

Art Beat With Lauren Landau, October 7

You can explore one calligrapher's modern take on Korean handwriting, or see two shows that require a little help from the audience.

Food

NPR

Labor-Starved Pear Farmers Buckle Under Bumper Crop

The Pacific Northwest grows the majority of the nation's pears, and this year's harvest is predicted to be the third-largest in history. But farmers are facing a shortfall that's been plaguing many agricultural industries: not enough workers to pick the fruit.

Politics

NPR

No End In Sight: Shutdown Showdown Enters Week Two

Hundreds of thousands of Defense Department civilian employees will go back to work on Monday, but many government operations remain suspended.

Technology

NPR

Wanted: A New Generation Of High-Tech Aviation Workers

Millions of U.S. factory jobs have been lost in the past decade. Now, in North Carolina, high school students are being encouraged to think about taking manufacturing jobs. But this isn't the furniture-making or textile labor of generations past — it's a new kind of highly technical work in aviation.

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Science Friday

Arts & Culture

Art Beat With Lauren Landau, October 7

Food

Labor-Starved Pear Farmers Buckle Under Bumper Crop

Politics

No End In Sight: Shutdown Showdown Enters Week Two

Technology

Wanted: A New Generation Of High-Tech Aviation Workers

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