
New discoveries, everyday mysteries, and the science behind the headlines — in just under 15 minutes. It's science for everyone, using a lot of creativity and a little humor. Join hosts Emily Kwong and Regina Barber for science on a different wavelength.If you're hooked, try Short Wave Plus. Your subscription supports the show and unlocks a sponsor-free feed. Learn more at plus.npr.org/shortwave
| Publishes | Daily | Episodes | 1880 | Founded | 7 years ago |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of Listeners | Categories | AstronomyScienceLife Sciences | |||

For years, farmers in California have been pumping huge amounts of water from their wells to irrigate their crops. The state’s Central Valley is the nation’s single biggest source for many different foods. But all that water use is making aquifers sh... more
Dreams of flying? Nightmares of teeth falling out? Falling off a cliff? As a sleep scientist at the University of Montreal, Michelle Carr has pretty much heard it all. In Michelle’s new book Nightmare Obscura, she explores the science of dreams, nigh... more
It’s been over 25 years since the FDA approved a new ingredient for sunscreen in the United States. But a molecule called gadusol found in fish and coral reefs is a promising candidate. It absorbs U.V. rays — acting like a built-in sunscreen for fish... more
The average person eats 10-15 grams of fiber per day, according to the USDA. The problem? That’s WAY under the recommended daily amount.
Fiber – a type of carb that our bodies are unable to digest – is prevalent in foods like fruits, veggies, whole... more
People also subscribe to these shows.
•EPISODE 1235 “The Great Antarctic Food Web Puzzle”. Unlistenable. Why do Americans refuse to pronounce “Antarctica” correctly?
~
•EPISODE 1297 “When Eavesdropping Pays Off” in which a guest uses the non-word “nother” (twice in one sentence).
~
•EPISODE: “Why is NASA going to the moon again?” In which the host confuses “disinterest” (impartiality) with “uninterest” (Meh).
I always learn something I never knew I needed to know on Short Wave. Fun questions, upbeat hosts, great pacing, and my kids are happy to have it on in the car, too!
It’s my favorite science podcast, you’re well prepared team I love it, today I listened the show for NAsa Artemis, beautiful launch today , I think other issue to return moon is the challenge or race vs China
I really enjoy listening to Regina Barber talk with guests. She’s always fully engaged with whoever she’s interviewing.
Short, interesting facts about science. Love the commitment and passion of scientist and scientific journalists nerding about random facts. Thank you 🥰🤩
Key themes from listener reviews, highlighting what works and what could be improved about the show.
How this podcast ranks in the Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube charts.
Spotify | #11 | |
Apple Podcasts | #2 | |
Apple Podcasts | #10 | |
Apple Podcasts | #2 | |
Apple Podcasts | #7 | |
Apple Podcasts | #12 |
Recent interactions between the hosts and their guests.
Listeners, social reach, demographics and more for this podcast.
| Listeners per Episode | |
|---|---|
| Gender Skew | |
| Location | |
| Interests | |
| Professions | |
| Age Range | |
| Household Income | |
| Social Media Reach |
Topics explored include a wide range of scientific findings encompassing astronomy, health, and psychology. Listeners can expect discussions on structures like the search for extraterrestrial intelligence, the complexities of health conditions such as tinnitus, and the impact of diet and AI on mental health. Noteworthy is the podcast's ability to distill complex scientific subjects into digestible content, typically spanning under 15 minutes, making it accessible and engaging for a broad audience. This focus on brevity, creativity, and humor differentiates it from more traditional science podcasts, offering a pleasant educational experience for all ages.
Rephonic provides a wide range of podcast stats for Short Wave. We scanned the web and collated all of the information that we could find in our comprehensive podcast database. See how many people listen to Short Wave and access YouTube viewership numbers, download stats, audience demographics, chart rankings, ratings, reviews and more.
Rephonic provides a full set of podcast information for three million podcasts, including the number of listeners. View further listenership figures for Short Wave, including podcast download numbers and subscriber numbers, so you can make better decisions about which podcasts to sponsor or be a guest on. You will need to upgrade your account to access this premium data.
Rephonic provides comprehensive predictive audience data for Short Wave, including gender skew, age, country, political leaning, income, professions, education level, and interests. You can access these listener demographics by upgrading your account.
To see how many followers or subscribers Short Wave has on Spotify and other platforms such as Castbox and Podcast Addict, simply upgrade your account. You'll also find viewership figures for their YouTube channel if they have one.
These podcasts share a similar audience with Short Wave:
1. The Indicator from Planet Money
2. Planet Money
3. Throughline
4. Consider This from NPR
5. Science Friday
Short Wave launched 7 years ago and published 1880 episodes to date. You can find more information about this podcast including rankings, audience demographics and engagement in our podcast database.
Our systems regularly scour the web to find email addresses and social media links for this podcast. We scanned the web and collated all of the contact information that we could find in our podcast database. But in the unlikely event that you can't find what you're looking for, our concierge service lets you request our research team to source better contacts for you.
Rephonic pulls ratings and reviews for Short Wave from multiple sources, including Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Castbox, and Podcast Addict.
View all the reviews in one place instead of visiting each platform individually and use this information to decide if a show is worth pitching or not.
Rephonic provides full transcripts for episodes of Short Wave. Search within each transcript for your keywords, whether they be topics, brands or people, and figure out if it's worth pitching as a guest or sponsor. You can even set-up alerts to get notified when your keywords are mentioned.
Recent guests on Short Wave include:
1. Brian Drucker
2. Emily Abdaller
3. David Perez
4. Stephen Cook
5. Lori Mitchell
6. Pasifique Mutambala
7. Emmanuel Vraven
8. Jenny Richards
To view more recent guests and their details, simply upgrade your Rephonic account. You'll also get access to a typical guest profile to help you decide if the show is worth pitching.