Radiolab

By: WNYC Studios
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  • Summary

  • Radiolab is on a curiosity bender. We ask deep questions and use investigative journalism to get the answers. A given episode might whirl you through science, legal history, and into the home of someone halfway across the world. The show is known for innovative sound design, smashing information into music. It is hosted by Lulu Miller and Latif Nasser.
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Episodes
  • Debatable

    Debatable
    May 6 2022

    In competitive debate future presidents, supreme court justices, and titans of industry pummel each other with logic and rhetoric.

    Unclasp your briefcase. It’s time for a showdown. Looking back on an episode originally aired in 2016, we take a good long look at the world of competitive college debate. This is Ryan Wash's story. He's a queer, Black, first-generation college student from Kansas City, Missouri who joined the debate team at Emporia State University on a whim. When he started going up against fast-talking, well-funded, “name-brand” teams, from places like Northwestern and Harvard, it was clear he wasn’t in Kansas anymore. So Ryan became the vanguard of a movement that made everything about debate debatable. In the end, he made himself a home in a strange and hostile land. Whether he was able to change what counts as rigorous academic argument … well, that’s still up for debate.

    Special thanks to Will Baker, Myra Milam, John Dellamore, Sam Mauer, Tiffany Dillard Knox, Mary Mudd, Darren "Chief" Elliot, Jodee Hobbs, Rashad Evans and Luke Hill.

    Special thanks also to Torgeir Kinne Solsvik for use of the song h-lydisk / B Lydian from the album Geirr Tveitt Piano Works and Songs

    Support Radiolab by becoming a member of The Lab today.

    Radiolab is on YouTube! Catch up with new episodes and hear classics from our archive. Plus, find other cool things we did in the past — like miniseries, music videos, short films and animations, behind-the-scenes features, Radiolab live shows, and more. Take a look, explore and subscribe!
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    1 hr and 1 min
  • Hello, My Name Is

    Hello, My Name Is
    Apr 29 2022

    As a species, we’re obsessed with names. They’re one of the first labels we get as kids. We name and rename absolutely everything around us. And these names carry our histories, they can open and close our eyes to the world around us, and they drag the weight of expectation and even irony along with them. This week on Radiolab, we’ve got six stories all about names. Horse names, the names of diseases, names for the beginning, and names for the end. Listen to “Hello, My Name Is” on Radiolab, wherever you find podcasts.

    Special thanks to Jim Wright, author of “The Real James Bond”, Tad Davis, Cole delCharco, Peter Frick-Wright, Alexa Rose Miller, Katherine De La Cruz, and Fahima Haque.Members of The Lab, watch for an audio extra on your exclusive feeds, a poem written and read by Mary Szybist, whom Molly Webster interviewed for her story in this episode about endlings. It is titled “We Think We Do Not Have Medieval Eyes.” If you are not yet a member and would like to listen to it, you can join here.

    Radiolab is on YouTube! Catch up with new episodes and hear classics from our archive. Plus, find other cool things we did in the past — like miniseries, music videos, short films and animations, behind-the-scenes features, Radiolab live shows, and more. Take a look, explore and subscribe!

    DOWNLOAD BRAILLE READY FILE HERE (https://zpr.io/BmPeeLvvRDrD)

    Citations:

    The Emperor of All Maladies by Siddhartha Mukherjee

    Warhorse: Cavalry in Ancient Warfare by Philip SidnellCheck out ArtsPractica.com, a site focused on medical uncertainty. Alexa Rose Miller.

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    1 hr and 12 mins
  • The Other Latif: Cuba-ish

    The Other Latif: Cuba-ish
    Apr 22 2022

    Almost exactly twenty years ago, detainee 244 got transferred to Guantanamo Bay. Captured by American forces at the battle Tora Bora five months previous, Abdul Latif Nasser was shaved, hooded, shackled, diapered, and flown halfway across the world.

    The Radiolab special series, The Other Latif, kicked off when one of our hosts, Latif Nasser, made a bizarre and shocking discovery. He shares his name with detainee 244. A man the U.S. government paints a terrifying picture of as Al-Qaeda’s top explosives expert, and one of the most important advisors to Osama bin Laden. Nasser’s lawyer claims, on the other hand, that he was at the wrong place at the wrong time, and that he was never even in Al-Qaeda. This clash launched our Latif into a years-long investigation, picking apart evidence, attempting to separate fact from fiction, and trying to uncover what the man with whom he shares a name actually did or didn’t do. Along the way, Radiolab’s Latif reflects on American values and his own religious past, and wonders how a fellow nerdy, suburban Muslim kid, may have gone down such a strikingly different path.

    Episode 5: Cuba-ish

    To mark the solemn occasion of the other Latif's transfer to, "the legal equivalent of outer space," we thought we'd replay Cuba-ish, the fifth episode of our special series which first aired back in 2020. In this episode, our Latif heads to Guantanamo Bay to try to speak to his namesake. Before he gets there, he dives deep, seeking the answer to what seems like a simple question: why Cuba? Why in the world did the United States pick this sleepy military base in the Caribbean to house “the worst of the worst”? Support Radiolab by becoming a member of The Lab today.

    Radiolab is on YouTube! Catch up with new episodes and hear classics from our archive. Plus, find other cool things we did in the past — like miniseries, music videos, short films and animations, behind-the-scenes features, Radiolab live shows, and more. Take a look, explore and subscribe!
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    1 hr and 5 mins
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Featured Article: Go Beyond the Lab with the Best Science Podcasts for Curious Listeners


Our picks for the best science podcasts run the gamut from general scientific trivia to earth science, outer space, food, plants, the human body, and much more. They're all accessible—any listener can learn about scientific history, breaking science news, and visions for the future from these shows, which often feature interviews with a variety of interesting experts who provide valuable insight, perspective, context, and clarity.

Featured Article Go Beyond the Lab with the Best Science Podcasts for Curious Listeners

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Profile Image for Private

Thank you for the truth...

I had always been told that only Oregon was attacked. I still hear that false narrative when listening to books and other media. I have a lot to reflect about and it's exactly why I love this podcast.

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Profile Image for Josie Gooch

great story

the longer you listen, the better it gets. one discovery after another. kept me listening.

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Profile Image for G. Gonzales

This is the perfected podcast

No quirks with this podcast but you don’t have to listen to it on audible only. Robert crulwich and jad do a great job explaining and I am never let down but special guests. The only notable thing is that most new episodes are a little gloomy.

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Profile Image for Bare Knees

Not even Latif Nassar could ruin this one

This, Corpse Demon, feels like one of the good ole episodes with Jad and Robert. Original and breath-taking. Listened to it at the edge of my seat. Who would have thunk vultures were our friends?

It is also a proof that the less Latif talked in an episode, the better the episode.

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Profile Image for C. Lynch

most interesting podcast

This is the most interesting podcast ever. I listened to this episode multiple times. stunning

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Profile Image for Yami

excellent, thought provoking episode

I really enjoyed this one! I'd love to hear more about the psychology behind giving and receiving real, impactful apologies. I know they mean a lot to me, and I value giving them too. Having an apology rejected is agony.
I loved how many different stories came together in this episode. This is my favorite so far (I've just started listening) and I'm excited to share it!

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Profile Image for Brenda

LuLu’s story will make you feel

This is my second time listening to this beautiful, soothing story. It makes me feel happy and sad, curious, amused, anxious and calm. I find it very impactful, perhaps because I relate as a parent, and LuLu’s telling is so expressive. I will be listening again.

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Profile Image for CL

Worthwhile plots, questionable delivery

hi guys, I am a LONG time fan of radiolab. I was quite disappointed in the story-telling of Red Herring. I love every single ingredient in that story: cold war, sweden, russia's sinister submarines, etc, but I only got halfway through because of the narrator & person the story is being told to. all of those little embellishments that get added (i.e. the outtake when two people were having a really "hilariously" hard time parking a car) have to sort of be earned, imo. I don't know you guys yet, and while I'm sure you're adorable... I'm just not on board yet. please forgive my review.... maybe I'm just bad at change 🤕

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Profile Image for Keith J Westpfahl

Some of the most interesting podcast content

I love radiolab! You never know where a story will go but it's always interesting. I also enjoy the storytelling style, it's a great group of people. My only complaint is that there's not enough content lol I'd listen to them every day if I could.

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Profile Image for Shaylene

Interesting and engaging

Love radio lab. I wouldn't say it's a very specific genre of podcasts. If you love to learn new and interesting things you probably never needed to know; listen to off the wall story's that take you on an adventure you didnt know you needed; or just are entertained by the semantics of the crew chatting it up then this is for you. I mostly listen to the science based ones. Why do we have butcheeks or what's the deal with trees. Not actual titles. There is plenty more that radio lab covers that's just what I prefer.

Although it's mostly just a radio show, everything is put together in a story structure so it's easy to follow. And there is always points were they wrap it up if some of the details might get lost in the background. That way even if you get distracted for a min you dont miss out. Aswell as not having to connect the dots that form a big picture. They also do this for you.

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