Unexplainable takes listeners right up to the edge of what we know … and then keeps on going. Host Noam Hassenfeld and an all-star team of reporters — Byrd Pink...
Dogs were the first domesticated animal in history, emerging from wolves some 20,000 years ago. But how did wolves become dogs? To find the answer, scientists have to play with a lot of puppies. (First published in 2023.)
Guest: Kathryn Lord, evolutionary biology researcher at UMass Chan Medical School
For show transcripts, go to vox.com/unxtranscripts
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26:14
Where to meet a Neanderthal
We know Neanderthals and early modern humans coupled up. But when did they meet, exactly? And where? Some fossilized smoke and a baby tooth might hold clues.
Guest: Adam Cole of HowTown
For show transcripts, go to vox.com/unxtranscripts
For more, go to vox.com/unexplainable
And please email us! [email protected]
We read every email.
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31:19
Pinky and the (lab-grown) Brain
It’s not great to be a lab rat. And it turns out, lab rats might not be that great for science either. Could the future be little lab-grown brain clumps?
Guests: Rachel Nuwer, science journalist; Lisa Genzel, professor of neuroscience at Radboud University
This episode has been updated. An earlier version didn’t differentiate between two stages of drug development.
For show transcripts, go to vox.com/unxtranscripts
For more, go to vox.com/unexplainable
And please email us! [email protected]
We read every email.
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22:52
Why are there lefties and righties?
This week on Unexplainable or Not, we’ve got three scientific mysteries all about left and right. Jonquilyn Hill, host of Vox’s new podcast Explain It to Me, is going to guess which of them has been solved and which ones are still unexplainable.
Guest: S. Furkan Ozturk, researcher at Harvard University
For show transcripts, go to vox.com/unxtranscripts
For more, go to vox.com/unexplainable
And please email us! [email protected]
We read every email.
Support Unexplainable by becoming a Vox Member today: vox.com/members
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29:50
Placebos work. Why?
For decades, scientists thought that placebos only worked if patients didn’t know they were taking them. Not anymore: You can give patients placebos, tell them they’re on sugar pills, and they still might feel better. No one is sure how this works, but it raises a question: Should doctors embrace placebos in mainstream medicine? (First published in 2021.)
Guests: Ted Kaptchuk, professor at Harvard Medical School; Darwin Guevarra, professor of psychology at Miami University; Luana Colloca, professor at the University of Maryland School of Nursing
For show transcripts, go to vox.com/unxtranscripts
For more, go to vox.com/unexplainable
And please email us! [email protected]
We read every email.
Support Unexplainable by becoming a Vox Member today: vox.com/members
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Unexplainable takes listeners right up to the edge of what we know … and then keeps on going. Host Noam Hassenfeld and an all-star team of reporters — Byrd Pinkerton, Meradith Hoddinott, and Mandy Nguyen — tackle scientific mysteries, unanswered questions, and everything we learn by diving into the unknown. New episodes drop every Wednesday.
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