Podcasts by Paper Boys

Is solar reflective pavement the cure for hot cities? from 2020-05-14T05:20:32

As urban environments grow and natural vegetation gets replaced with concrete and asphalt, “Urban Heat Islands” develop, where urbanized areas retain much more heat than surrounding rural areas....

What’s inside a Martian meteorite? from 2020-05-07T08:00

Returning rock samples from planets and asteroids can provide new insights into how the solar system, the universe, and life formed. But how much can we learn from meteorite samples that fell to...

Is eating sugar a gut instinct? from 2020-04-30T08:00

Check out the paper, news articles, and more at www.paperboyspodcast.com.

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What happened in the Stanford Prison Experiment? (Bonus episode) from 2020-04-23T08:00

This week is a bit different - instead of a fresh episode, we are sharing one of our bonus episodes covering the Stanford Prison Experiment. Tune in to hear how this seemingly innocent psychology ...

Did Oumuamua come from a destroyed planet? from 2020-04-16T08:00

Oumuamua is an interstellar object that passed through our solar system in late 2017. It originally made the news thanks to several scientists suggesting its odd shape might be explained if it w...

Does traffic spread like a virus? from 2020-04-09T08:00

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Why is Uranus losing its atmosphere? from 2020-04-02T08:00

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Why do water balloons pop? from 2020-03-26T08:00

Any kid can intuitively understand how much you need to fill a water balloon to effectively drench someone. But it turns out that predicting this quantitatively with physics is much more challen...

How can we suppress COVID-19? from 2020-03-19T08:00

The coronavirus, COVID-19, has been spreading around the world since it was first detected in December 2019. Since then, drastic measures have been taken in communities around the world to limit...

Why do gray whales strand during solar storms? from 2020-03-12T08:00

Gray whales have some of the longest migrations on the planet--between 10,000-12,000 miles long each year! Sadly, they often get stranded on beaches. As weird as it may sound, scientists have fo...

What has InSight discovered on Mars? from 2020-03-05T09:00

Over a year ago we covered the challenges that NASA’s InSight lander overcame to land on Mars and begin performing the first detailed seismographic measurements of Mars. The InSight science team...

Can you stimulate consciousness? from 2020-02-27T09:00

Consciousness is challenging to study. We interact with consciousness everyday, and yet there are still so many questions. Learning about how consciousness arises and where it occurs in the brai...

Why do extragalactic “fast radio bursts” repeat? from 2020-02-20T09:00

Fast radio bursts are millisecond-long signals we detect coming from distant galaxies. They were only recently discovered in 2007 and we still have no clue what’s causing them. These radio burs...

Do penguins speak like humans? from 2020-02-13T09:00

It’s clear that birds can communicate. All you have to do is listen to their songs. But when they communicate, do their songs conform to the same linguistic laws as human speech? Join James and ...

How should you talk to babies? from 2020-02-06T09:00

Check out the paper, news articles, and more at www.paperboyspodcast.com.

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How did Mount Vesuvius' victims die? from 2020-01-30T09:00

In the year 79 A.D., the infamous Mt. Vesuvius transformed the towns of Pompeii and Herculaneum--as well as its residents. For a long time, archaeologists thought that all the victims died quick...

How fast is the world's fastest spin? from 2020-01-23T09:00

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Does tongue fat cause sleep apnea? from 2020-01-16T09:00

It is estimated that sleep apnea affects nearly 1 billion worldwide. However, many of the mechanisms behind sleep apnea are still a mystery. New research has pointed to high levels of tongue fat...

What's OSIRIS-REx doing at asteroid Bennu? from 2020-01-09T09:00

OSIRIS-REx is an exciting mission from NASA that seeks to return samples from asteroid Bennu back to Earth, providing insight into the original building blocks of our solar system. Touchdown on ...

The best science of 2019 from 2020-01-02T09:00

Join us this new year as we discuss the best science of 2019 that we never got to present on Paper Boys!

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Christmas special - Why do we believe in Santa? from 2019-12-24T09:00

(WARNING: Do not listen with young children!!) For Christmas Eve, the Paper Boys tackle the everlasting mythos of Santa Claus. Why do parents encourage kids to believe? What reactions do kids ha...

Does Europa actually have water plumes? from 2019-12-19T09:00

Jupiter’s moon Europa garners a lot of attention for its potential to house life, particularly thanks to what are predicted to be vast oceans beneath the planet’s icy crust. From past observatio...

Why does Enceladus have “tiger stripes”? from 2019-12-12T09:00

Saturn’s tiny moon Enceladus is of great interest to scientists for its unique features and potential for life. Despite its far distance from the sun, a vast ocean exists under its surface, and ...

Is eating healthier better for the planet? from 2019-12-05T09:00

Food has a big impact on the world. What we eat can drastically affect our health. It can also have major consequences for the environment. But is there any link between the health and environme...

How does hibernation work genetically? from 2019-11-28T09:00

With winter setting in, it’s easy to wonder why we humans can’t simply hibernate. How is it that animals like bears can simply bypass eating and drinking for such a long time? Join us this week ...

Is there a universal "bit rate" of speech? from 2019-11-21T09:00

Certain languages have reputations for speaking faster. But, over the same amount of time do these languages actually convey more information than other slower languages? Would a slower, more co...

Is there a universal "bit rate" of speech? from 2019-11-21T09:00

Certain languages have reputations for speaking faster. But, over the same amount of time do these languages actually convey more information than other slower languages? Would a slower, more co...

Can we save penguins from climate change? from 2019-11-14T09:00

With their habitats heavily dependent on sea ice, Emperor penguins are extremely impacted by climate change in Antarctica. The 2015 Paris Climate agreement sought the commitment of nations to ke...

Can lasers hack your voice devices? from 2019-11-07T09:00

Cell phones, tablets, home assistants, and even cars are leveraging voice control technology to add convenience to our lives. But are our voice controlled devices at risk for being hacked...by l...

Did Google really achieve quantum supremacy? from 2019-10-31T08:00

In a new paper in Nature, Google recently claimed that they achieved "quantum supremacy," or using a quantum computer to achieve a task that a classical computer could not. However, not everyone...

Could Skin-On make your smartphone ticklish? from 2019-10-24T08:00

Touch screens are ubiquitous in technology today. We’ve grown very accustomed to using our fingers to tap and swipe our way through most tasks. But what if we could do more…like caress, or even ...

Can physical exertion lead to mental burnout? from 2019-10-17T08:00

Endurance athletes are used to pushing themselves; most people would give up if they attempted similar feats. Does this constant push towards finishing difficult physical goals carry a mental bu...

Nobel Prize edition: what was the first exoplanet? from 2019-10-10T08:00

The 2019 Nobel Prize for Physics was awarded to three researchers whose work significantly advanced our understanding of the universe. Two of the researchers worked together to identify the firs...

Is Planet 9 actually a black hole? from 2019-10-03T08:00

Astronomers have noticed a strange clustering of objects orbiting our solar system very far from the sun. Their grouping suggests that there might be a planet (dubbed “Planet 9”) responsible for...

How is the "darkest black" created? from 2019-09-26T08:00

The material Vantablack made headlines a few years ago as being the “blackest black” color ever known. People were shocked by how this color would transform shapes, and the material even sparked...

What’s the difference between vegetarians and meat-eaters? from 2019-09-19T08:00

Health studies continuously debate the pros and cons of different diets, particularly vegetarian diets vs. carnivorous diets. Will one type of diet lower your risk for certain disease? Could the...

Is intermittent fasting healthy? from 2019-09-12T08:00

Talk of intermittent fasting has grown in the news. Some feel intermittent fasting is a new dieting fad, others claim that it’s an amazing technique to improve health and lose weight. But what d...

Can you find a supernova in Antarctic snow? from 2019-09-05T08:00

Our planet is bombarded with tons of extraterrestrial dust every year. While much of the dust comes from asteroids, some of these particles may have come from supernovas - ancient stars that exp...

Are self-citations a problem for science? from 2019-08-29T08:00

Tracking the productivity and impact of research has always been problematic. Especially in the highly competitive environment of today where hiring and promotions can be tied to a single perfor...

How does an artificial tongue taste whiskey? from 2019-08-22T08:00

For the average person, the words used to describe whiskey can seem strange, if not completely arbitrary. Dignified vs. subtle, austere vs. rich, mouth-coatingly winey...the entire process of ta...

Can you hide secret messages in music? from 2019-08-15T08:00

Check out the paper, news articles, and more at www.paperboyspodcast.com.

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Do you really need 10,000 steps a day? from 2019-08-08T08:00

Nearly everyone has heard the advice “walk 10,000 steps per day to be healthy!” As fitness trackers like FitBit have grown in popularity, many people use the 10,000-step benchmark as their goal ...

How is Neuralink hacking the brain? from 2019-08-01T08:00

News channels have been buzzing with the new press releases from Elon Musk’s brain-computer interface company, Neuralink. The company hopes to develop new devices that could change the way human...

Was Stonehenge built using pig fat? from 2019-07-25T08:00

Stonehenge has puzzled people for centuries. What was the purpose of such a massive rock formation? And how were people able to move such large boulders from quarries 50-150 km away? As scientis...

Can your brain see into the future? from 2019-07-18T08:00

Recent research has sparked popular news headlines about the brain “seeing what’s around the corner.” Can your brain actually look around corners? Well, not quite...however, fascinating research...

How can you measure the expansion of the universe? from 2019-07-11T08:00

In the early 20th century, Einstein, Hubble, and other scientists confirmed the universe was expanding. With the exception of a few nearby galaxies, nearly all galaxies are moving away from us. ...

Does caffeine make you burn fat? from 2019-07-04T11:00

Most people don’t need an excuse to drink caffeine in the morning. Pick your poison: whether it’s coffee, tea, or an extra large Red Bull, caffeine’s psychoactive effects are evident. But could tha...

Can seals learn to sing and talk? from 2019-06-27T08:00

Researchers have long been puzzled about how human language evolved. Humans’ ability to create complex, flexible, spoken language stands out in the animal kingdom, but little is known about how ...

Is the Critical Brain Hypothesis correct? from 2019-06-20T08:00

In the 1980s, neuroscientists put forth the Critical Brain Hypothesis, which suggests our brain operates on a teetering edge between different "phases" of operation. These phase changes charact...

Does human endurance have a hard limit? from 2019-06-13T08:00

Humans love to test their limits. Some people run marathons, race triathlons, or climb the world’s highest peaks. All of these endeavors are challenging, but can we quantitatively compare how ea...

Did supernovae make us walk upright? from 2019-06-06T08:00

Recent science news has been covering a paper drawing a connection between supernovae and the advent of human ancestors walking upright. The new headlines went viral, but their short titles made it...

How deep does "bomb carbon" go? from 2019-05-30T08:00

Nuclear weapons have obviously had a big impact on the world since their development more than 70 years ago. But new research on the diets of small crustaceans in the Mariana Trench--the deepest...

Are synthetic genomes in our future? from 2019-05-23T08:00

A huge breakthrough of the last few decades is our ability to sequence genomes - pulling out the order of bases in our DNA to understand exactly what makes organisms tick. However, a new field ...

Are moonquakes reshaping the Moon? from 2019-05-16T08:00

When people think of the moon, they often envision it as a cold, static body. However, when the Apollo moon missions landed on the moon’s surface, they were actually able to record seismic activ...

How bad is the Replication Crisis? feat. Ood Gallifrey from Occultae Veritatis from 2019-05-09T08:00

The so-called Replication Crisis has plagued all areas of academia, and especially psychology, in the last few decades. The astonishing number of studies published in peer-reviewed journals tha...

Is there a wrong side of the time zone? from 2019-05-02T08:00

Daylight Savings Time gets a bad rap every year when it's time to turn the clocks forward - it's bad for your health, it's bad for the economy...but DST has a friend no one warned you about: sun...

Can you bring a dead brain back to life? from 2019-04-25T08:00

Once an animal dies, there isn't much hope of bringing it back to life - especially when that animal is a slaughtered pig. There has been past research into brain activity after death, but the ...

Do mosquitoes hate Skrillex? from 2019-04-18T09:00

Mosquitoes are the deadliest animal on the planet (which we all know from Episode 10 of Paper Boys, of course!) so scientists are always looking for ways to stop their spread of diseases. Over ...

How do you image a black hole? from 2019-04-11T07:01:55

This week, the Event Horizon Telescope unveiled something truly groundbreaking - the first ever direct image of a black hole. The telescope consisted of a dozen antennas located all around the ...

Are eggs really bad for you? from 2019-04-04T09:00:25

It's one of the most controversial topics in all of diet science: are eggs good or bad for you? It seems there are contradicting studies all the time - one day eggs are a superfood, the next day e...

Does space affect male and female astronauts differently? from 2019-03-28T09:00:04

It's long been known that going to space can have negative effects on the health of astronauts. Space is a harsh environment with too much radiation and too little gravity. There are cardiovas...

Did F-words come from a change in diet? from 2019-03-21T09:00

You may not realize it, but having an overbite makes it a lot easier to say words with "f" and "v" in them. Go ahead, bring your lower teeth forward and try saying an F-word (no, not that one) - i...

Why does pain hurt? from 2019-03-14T09:00

When you touch a hot stove, you reflexively pull your hand away in an instant. If you get burned (and you're like us), you'll grunt and whine about the pain for hours. Both of these are "painful,...

Is Titan's organic atmosphere coming from inside? from 2019-03-07T11:00

Titan is the only moon in the solar system that has an atmosphere, and its origin is still a hotly studied mystery. However, ESA's Rosetta mission that landed on Comet 67P made some startling disc...

How did tardigrades become immortal? from 2019-02-28T10:00

It seems every few months, a news article pops up talking about the indestructible Tardigrade - otherwise known as the "water bear" or "moss piglet." These resilient little animals can survive ...

Are female brains really "more youthful?" from 2019-02-21T10:00

Some clues have indicated that female brains may stave off aging better than male brains, such as better cognitive ability later in life and longer life expectancies. However, the reason behind...

Can you understand talking brain waves? from 2019-02-14T15:15:56

Brain-computer interfaces promise to change everything about our lives in the future, but are still in their early infancy technology-wise. However, you may be closer than you think to being ab...

How did the Curiosity rover weigh a mountain on Mars? from 2019-02-07T10:00

The Curiosity rover on Mars has some pretty amazing experiments aboard, but curiously enough never had a gravimeter, a device used for measuring the gravitational pull of buried rocks. So how t...

How can 3D printed filters improve chemotherapy? from 2019-01-31T10:00

Even though it's our best way of fighting cancer today, chemotherapy can be extremely damaging to the human body. The drugs spread through your entire bloodstream just to target one small tumor...

Why is the giant ice disk in Maine spinning? from 2019-01-24T10:00

There's a giant ice disk hanging out in the Presumpscot River in Westbrook, Maine that's garnered international attention, and rightfully so - it's an extremely rare phenomenon and this is one o...

Can an LED control your nervous system? from 2019-01-17T10:00

Optogenetics is a breakthrough technology that you may not have heard of. So what exactly is it and how might it change our future? James brings in a paper about rat incontinence that could sp...

Did Leonardo da Vinci have strabismus? from 2019-01-10T10:00

When you look at Da Vinci's art, it's not hard to see why he's hailed as a genius. But he may have had a little trick up his sleeve that helped him see the world a little differently than most ...

How often did humans breed with Neanderthals? from 2019-01-03T10:00

It's long been known that many modern humans have around 2% Neanderthal in their DNA. However, scientists don't have an exact answer for how it got there. James brings in a paper that gets clo...

Does negative mass explain dark matter? from 2018-12-27T08:05:31

Cosmologists claim that all the matter we can see in the universe really only accounts for 5% of everything that's out there - the other 95% is so-called "dark matter" and "dark energy." Figurin...

How does an "ion plane" actually fly? from 2018-12-20T08:01

Airplanes are responsible for 10% of the carbon footprint of the US. Recently the news reported on a new "ion plane" that could revolutionize the industry...but can it actually? James brings i...

Did climate change cause the "Great Dying?" from 2018-12-13T10:00:59

The worst mass extinction in known history happened 250 million years ago, wiping out an astonishing 96% of all marine life. Scientists have offered many theories on how this could have happene...

Could you prove you're human in one word? from 2018-12-06T10:00:10

Hypothetical scenario: you and a robot are before a judge who cannot see you. You each must pick one word from the english dictionary to give to the judge. Based on these two words, the judge ...

How hard was the InSight Mars landing? from 2018-11-29T10:00:38

It seems everyone and their mother watched the InSight lander touching down on Mars this past monday, and it was impossible to turn on the TV without hearing that the landing phase is a big chal...

Is paralysis a thing of the past? from 2018-11-22T10:00

Most paralysis patients are told that if they can't regain the ability to walk in 6 months they will never walk again. Then how did three research teams get paralyzed patients walking after severa...

Is Oumuamua an alien spacecraft? from 2018-11-15T10:00

Last year, astronomers discovered a bizarre rock from outside our solar system zipping past Earth. This year, two researchers have made the extroardinary claim that this rock could actually be ...

Does cloud seeding work? from 2018-11-08T10:00:47

What does a phytoplankton virus have to do with the annual snowfall at a ski resort? It turns out they're more related than you think! James brings in two papers on cloud seeding that explore ...

How many faces do you know? from 2018-11-01T09:00

How many different people could you recognize if you passed them on the street? As it turns out, this is a question science had never answered until now. Charlie brings in a paper with ingenio...

Should we kill all the mosquitoes? from 2018-10-25T09:00:19

Did you know mosquitoes are the deadliest animal on Earth? (Neither did we!) With gene editing, it may be possible to eradicate these bugs that transmit diseases to humans...but is it a good i...

Can we terraform Mars? from 2018-10-18T10:00

From Carl Sagan to Elon Musk, people have discussed making Mars more like Earth through terraforming. But are we sure that Mars even has the ingredients we need to transform it? Charlie brings...

Can you hear meteors? from 2018-10-11T10:00:06

When you wish upon a star, you'd be freaked out if you heard it falling. Witnesses reporting to hear the sound of meteors have been called crazy for centuries, but James brings in new research ...

Magnetic fields can blow up your lab from 2018-10-04T10:00

Everyone knows about magnetic fields, but very few people know what they really are and what they're capable of. Charlie brings in a paper from an experiment that broke a magnetic field world r...

Are microwave weapons attacking the US embassy? from 2018-09-27T06:00

US embassy workers abroad have been reporting strange sicknesses and hearing imaginary sounds, and news reports say that microwave weapons may be to blame. Listen as James uncovers the mind-blo...

Can goats read your face? from 2018-09-20T06:00

Next time you meet a goat, make sure you put your best face on...but be careful which side you're standing on. Find out why when Charlie unravels a new paper that changes the way we look at goat...

Pollution is damaging your cognition from 2018-09-13T10:00:37

Nobody likes pollution, but did you know it could actually harm your brain? James looks at a study on pollution in Chinese cities that will make you want to move to the suburbs. Listen

Saturn is whistling to Enceladus from 2018-09-06T10:00

Want to know what a plasma wave from outer space sounds like? Well, it's kind of like whistling (or aliens, according to Nikola Tesla). Charlie brings in new research from NASA that you have t...

How to find water on Mars from 2018-08-30T04:24:58

When it comes to the search for life on other planets, scientists like to "follow the water." But finding water in the solar system is its own challenge. James brings in a study that could be ...

How do spiders fly? from 2018-08-30T04:09:43

Do you know how spiders fly? (Who even knew spiders could fly?) Charlie brings in new research that turns two centuries of conventional wisdom on its head. Listen