| August 31, 2012 |
Podcast for 31 August 2012
- WHALES, APES & BIRDS - Chimps don't share our sense of justice. What gibbons on helium can tell us about opera singers. Deciphering the peacock's hidden message. What an endangered whale has in common with songbirds. Also: Did a Central American rodent save a tree species from extinction?
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| August 30, 2012 |
Precision Decisions
- People trust products more when precise language is used to market them.
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| August 22, 2012 |
The Color of Money
- The color red may be associated with more aggressive bidding in online auctions.
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| August 17, 2012 |
Podcast for 17 August 2012
- PSYCHOLOGY OF CONSUMPTION - Why planning a lifestyle change often backfires, why buying larger quantities doesn't always mean a better deal, and the relationship between speed of consumption and satisfaction, Also: did hunter-gatherers really use more calories than people living today? And an unmanned aircraft maps an archaeological site in Peru in record time.
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| August 9, 2012 |
When Planning Backfires
- Planning a major lifestyle change can be a good idea, but only if you feel good about yourself to begin with.
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| August 6, 2012 |
When More is Less
- New research suggests that we’re prone to think a package deal is a better value if quantity is listed before price.
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| July 26, 2012 |
Robotic Gait
- Engineers have developed a two-legged robot with a more lifelike walking gait.
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| July 25, 2012 |
Social Poker
- Neuroscientists used poker games and MRI scans to separate social from purely strategic decision making.
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| May 21, 2012 |
Money vs. Morals
- What would you do if given enough money?
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| September 7, 2011 |
Opinion Spam
- A computer program can distinguish real hotel reviews from fake ones.
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| August 31, 2011 |
Free-Market Fungi
- Symbiotic plants and fungi reward generous trade partners and punish stingy ones.
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| June 29, 2011 |
Rainbow Polymer
- Color-shifting polymers could make money and other documents harder to copy.
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| May 20, 2011 |
Podcast for 20 May 2011 – All That Glitters
- The soaring price of gold drives deforestation in the Amazon, colonoscopies laced with gold could help detect cancer, and honey protects against antibiotic resistance. Also: a starless starfish, and a jellyfish that navigates without a brain.
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| May 11, 2011 |
Gold & Deforestation
- Deforestation of the Amazon rainforest increases as gold prices rise.
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| October 22, 2010 |
Podcast
- PSYCHOLOGY: Why listening to half of a cell phone conversation is so distracting, how we choose which hand to use, why we'll pay more if we can touch a product, and the mechanisms behind a fast-acting antidepressant.
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| October 19, 2010 |
Teamwork Roundup
- Just because a group has the smartest people doesn't mean it makes the smartest decisions.
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| October 15, 2010 |
Beer Science Roundup
- Brewing beer is an art, but a new beer analysis project could make it more of a science.
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| October 7, 2010 |
Touchy-Feely Buyers
- We're willing to shell out more money for items we can touch.
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| April 2, 2010 |
Rare Earth Roundup
- Rare earth elements make many modern technologies possible, but extracting them results in large amounts of toxic waste.
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| December 15, 2009 |
Accounting Fraud Alert
- A new algorithm looks for accounting fraud by analyzing non-financial statistics.
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| October 22, 2009 |
Corporate Apologies
- Dissatisfied customers may respond better to an apology than a cash rebate.
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| August 25, 2009 |
Rising Health Costs
- Rising health care costs have slowed the growth of companies that subsidize employees' insurance.
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| August 10, 2009 |
Early Life & Chronic Disease
- People who were poor early in life have a biological tendency towards inflammation – which could contribute to chronic diseases.
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| July 1, 2009 |
Computer Composer
- A new computer program can generate an infinite amount of original music.
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| June 2, 2009 |
Online Antiquities
- Online auction sites have transformed both legal and illegal antiquities markets.
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| April 10, 2009 |
Bad Judgment Roundup
- Dumb decisions made by smart investors can lead to crashes in the stock market, and Americans flunk basic science.
To take the California Academy of Sciences science quiz visit: www.calacademy.org.
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| April 3, 2009 |
Podcast
- Why smart people sometimes make really dumb decisions, the neural consequences of not paying attention, and our complicated relationship with food.
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| December 5, 2008 |
Eco Plants Roundup
- Researchers try a new approach to protecting tropical mangrove forests.
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| August 14, 2008 |
New Energy
- A Nobel laureate says the key to solving the energy crisis is to take bold, risky steps and seek diverse solutions.
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| June 23, 2008 |
Frog Legs
- Scientists estimate that the global trade in frog legs is worth about 50 million dollars per year.
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| June 6, 2008 |
Podcast
- CO2's dangerous overlooked cousin, the origins of the southern hemisphere, why magnetic credit cards don't stick to the fridge and why so many white cats are deaf.
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| June 4, 2008 |
Magnetic Stripe
- A listener asks why credit cards with magnetic stripes don't stick to the fridge.
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| May 8, 2008 |
Stock Market Hormones
- Testosterone may make stock traders take bigger risks, leading to price bubbles.
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| January 4, 2008 |
Materials Roundup
- Researchers test the strength of bamboo as a structural material.
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| December 14, 2007 |
Podcast
- Science or Nonsense? Science confronts alternative medicine and vaccine myths. Also: Can we learn anything from violent video games?
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| December 11, 2007 |
Social Brains
- A new brain study shows that comparing your own financial situation to someone else's can affect your well-being.
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| November 30, 2007 |
Fuelish Roundup
- Low grade, high-sulfur bunker fuel is deadly to wildlife and humans. So why is it still in use?
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| November 20, 2007 |
Bus Schedule Math
- Engineers have developed a mathematical algorithm for optimizing bus schedules.
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| October 26, 2007 |
Podcast
- Chewing gum that's not sticky. Worms and bacteria team up. Some very hairy genetics. And more.
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| October 23, 2007 |
Non-Stick Chewing Gum
- A non-stick chewing gum may eliminate some major cleaning headaches.
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| October 12, 2007 |
Podcast
- Whale-inspired windmills. Tracing the origins of a killer asteroid. Using vowels to sell. And more.
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| October 8, 2007 |
Meaningful Vowels
- Vowel sounds in product names may imply what kind of product they're best suited for.
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| September 11, 2007 |
Chicken Diet
- Special diets are helping curb the environmental impact of chickens.
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| September 5, 2007 |
Opinion Repetition
- Hearing one person repeat same opinion is surprisingly influential.
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| June 29, 2007 |
Energy Roundup
- Power could go wireless, and sound could be made into electricity.
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| May 31, 2007 |
Ceiling Height
- The height of your ceilings can affect how you think.
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| May 18, 2007 |
Podcast
- Grilling could take a toll on your health, smarter doesn't equal richer, an infection could help prevent asthma, a step toward fusion reactors, and the closest living descendants of dinosaurs.
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| May 3, 2007 |
Choice Curve
- It's not always good business to offer too many choices.
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| April 25, 2007 |
Celebrity Endorsements
- Celebrity endorsements may not work as well as companies thought.
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| April 23, 2007 |
Fab@Home
- Devices called fabricators are making the leap from factories to homes.
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