Cameron Hecht discusses an intervention targeting high school teachers to improve student retention and diversity in STEM fields.

Cameron Hecht discusses an intervention targeting high school teachers to improve student retention and diversity in STEM fields.

Growth mindset and educational outcomes

Vanessa Duthé explains how dehorning affects the behavior of black rhinoceroses.

Vanessa Duthé explains how dehorning affects the behavior of black rhinoceroses.

How dehorning affects rhino behavior

Eric Martínez explains why legal documents are written in hard-to-read language.

Eric Martínez explains why legal documents are written in hard-to-read language.

Why legalese persists

Researchers explore trends in the gender gap among internationally mobile scholars.

Researchers explore trends in the gender gap among internationally mobile scholars.

Gender gap among migrant scientists

Mattia Tagliavento talks about the evolutionary transition from dinosaurs to birds using isotopes in Troodon eggshells.

Mattia Tagliavento talks about the evolutionary transition from dinosaurs to birds using isotopes in Troodon eggshells.

Communal nesting in bird-like dinosaur

Pengfei Liu shares findings on racial disparities in exposure to the air pollutant nitrogen dioxide.

Pengfei Liu shares findings on racial disparities in exposure to the air pollutant nitrogen dioxide.

Racial disparities in air pollution exposure

Chinmay Kalluraya and Matthew Daugherty explain how vertebrates acquired a gene critical for vision from bacteria.

Chinmay Kalluraya and Matthew Daugherty explain how vertebrates acquired a gene critical for vision from bacteria.

How vertebrates acquired a gene for vision

Blair P. Bentley, Lisa Komoroske, and Camila Mazzoni discuss the role genomic elements play in the evolution of sea turtles.

Blair P. Bentley, Lisa Komoroske, and Camila Mazzoni discuss the role genomic elements play in the evolution of sea turtles.

Genomic insights for sea turtle conservation

A special edition of Science Sessions delves into the capabilities of robots inspired by plants and animals.

A special edition of Science Sessions delves into the capabilities of robots inspired by plants and animals.

Jump, bend, and roll: The rise of bioinspired robots

Stanislas Dehaene and Marie Amalric investigate whether short online videos are sufficient to teach mathematics concepts.

Stanislas Dehaene and Marie Amalric investigate whether short online videos are sufficient to teach mathematics concepts.

Math learning through videos

Welcome to Science Sessions, the PNAS podcast program. Listen to brief conversations with cutting-edge researchers, Academy members, and policymakers as they discuss topics relevant to today's scientific community. Learn the behind-the-scenes story of work published in PNAS, plus a broad range of scientific news about discoveries that affect the world around us.

I really enjoy the concise summaries of recent findings. My only criticism is that they are infrequent (fortnightly) and each episode is very short!

Short, sharp science

Great and diverse topics, awful intro music

PNAS Science Sessions

Incorporating plant functional diversity effects in ecosystem service assessments

Incorporating plant functional diversity effects in ecosystem service assessments

Interview with Cozzarelli Prize Winner Sandra Díaz

David Hu describes his research on how mosquitos survive collisions with raindrops, which could help design better flying robots.

How mosquitos survive raindrops

Bernhard Palsson explains how bacteria can be used as factories to produce sustainable products.

Microbial cell factories

"The implications of human metabolic network topology for disease comorbidity"

"The implications of human metabolic network topology for disease comorbidity"

Interview with Cozzarelli Prize Winner Albert-Laszlo Barabási

Daniel Nocera discusses how efficient catalysts can help us store solar energy in the same way plants do.

Daniel Nocera discusses how efficient catalysts can help us store solar energy in the same way plants do.

Catalysts for energy storage

Seth Burgess describes a timeline of events surrounding the end-Permian mass extinction.

Timeline of the end-Permian extinction

Mark Thiemens

Robina Shaheen

Robina Shaheen and Mark Thiemens discuss an oxygen isotope signature that reveals how carbonates on Mars form in the absence of life.

Interview with Cozzarelli Prize Winners Robina Shaheen and Mark Thiemens

Fred Gage is a professor in the Laboratory of Genetics at the Salk Institute in La Jolla, CA. In this podcast, Dr. Gage talks about the subtleties involved as researchers explore how to use stem cells to treat conditions such as Parkinson's disease.

Fred Gage is a professor in the Laboratory of Genetics at the Salk Institute in La Jolla, CA. In this podcast, Dr. Gage talks about the subtleties involved as researchers explore how to use stem cells to treat conditions such as Parkinson's disease.

Stem cells in neuromedicine

Peter Schiller discusses a device that could one day restore sight to the blind by directly stimulating the visual cortex.

Visual prosthetic devices for the blind

Thomas Wellems is the head of the Malaria and Vector Research Unit at the National Institutes of Health. In this episode, he discusses the advances made in the fight against malaria and the problems that still remain.

Thomas Wellems is the head of the Malaria and Vector Research Unit at the National Institutes of Health. In this episode, he discusses the advances made in the fight against malaria and the problems that still remain.

Malaria and vector research

Neil Shubin researches the evolutionary origin of anatomical features. Dr. Shubin's most recent discovery, Tiktaalik roseae, has been dubbed the "missing link" between fish and land animals. Dr. Shubin discusses Tiktaalik and the evolutionary shift from life in water to life on land.

The "missing link" between fish and land animals

Jim Jensen, Executive Director of the Office of Congressional and Government Affairs, a branch of the National Research Council, discusses how scientific research shapes public policy.

Keeping Congress up-to-date on the latest scientific research

Jeff Schneider explains how self-driving cars use machine learning to learn the rules of the road.

Self-driving cars

Christopher Monroe discusses recent developments in quantum computing.

Quantum computing

Joseph DeRisi describes the Chan Zuckerberg Biohub, a new privately-funded medical research center in the Bay Area.

The Chan Zuckerberg Biohub

Nina Fedoroff

Elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1990 for her work in the field of Plant Biology, Nina Fedoroff is a pioneer in the molecular aspects of plant transposable elements. Building upon the work of Barbara McClintock, she elucidated the sequence of some of these elements, demonstrated their utility for gene cloning and was instrumental in converting the study of plant transposable elements into one accessible by molecular techniques.

Elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1990 for her work in the field of Plant Biology, Nina Fedoroff is a pioneer in the molecular aspects of plant transposable elements. Building upon the work of Barbara McClintock, she elucidated the sequence of some of these elements, demonstrated their utility for gene cloning and was instrumental in converting the study of plant transposable elements into one accessible by molecular techniques.

Interview with Nina Fedoroff

Eric Boilard explains the role of serotonin and platelets in immune responses.

Eric Boilard explains the role of serotonin and platelets in immune responses.

Serotonin, platelets, and immunity

Dana Lepofsky describes ancient sustainable clam gardening practices.

Dana Lepofsky describes ancient sustainable clam gardening practices.

Human–clam cohistory

Savanna chimpanzees use tools to harvest the underground storage organs of plants.

Savanna chimpanzees use tools to harvest the underground storage organs of plants.

Interview with Cozzarelli Prize Winner R. Adriana Hernandez-Aguilar

Noam Sobel explains how a human olfactory fingerprint helps uncover the uniqueness of individuals’ sense of smell.

Uniqueness of olfactory perception

The best podcasts about ourselves as well as the world through the lense of Science. Specific topics include things about our brain, emotions to biology, physics and more!

Best Episodes on Science, Humans & The World

The best podcast episodes on romantic relationships. Episodes talk about the 5 love languages, intimacy, and the taboo topics of sexual desires and infidelity. This topic is a deep dive into the science and complexities that face us in our relationships with others. Add episodes you're interested into your queue below!