S2019 E1 • How Chaos Makes Your Fingerprints Unique

Because of the chaotic way fingerprints develop and the multiplying effect of compound probability, it's basically impossible for any two fingers to have matching prints.

Première diffusion : 15 janvier 2019

S2019 E2 • Why Earthquakes Are So Hard To Predict

Scientists are trying to figure out if they can predict big earthquakes by simulating small quakes in labs and studying big quakes under the ocean.

Première diffusion : 13 février 2019

S2019 E3 • The Problem With Concrete

Concrete is responsible for 8% of humanity’s carbon emissions because making its key ingredient - cement - chemically releases CO2, and because we burn fossil fuels to make it happen.

Première diffusion : 1 mars 2019

S2019 E4 • You Are A Fish

With our current understanding of evolutionary history and our strategy of cladistic naming, if we wanted to have both goldfish and sharks under a single group called "fish", then mammals must also be called fish.

Première diffusion : 21 mars 2019

S2019 E5 • Why Can't We Get Power From Waves?

Wave power hasn’t yet made a splash because it’s hard to use waves to spin turbines, and because the sea is a harsh place to build things.

Première diffusion : 2 avril 2019

S2019 E6 • Why Is Lyme Disease Getting Worse?

Lyme disease is spreading like wildfire around the world: here's why.

Première diffusion : 22 avril 2019

S2019 E7 • The Secrets of Extreme Breath Holding

Humans can hold our breath longer than we think by taking advantage of our body’s innate survival instincts - and then ignoring them.

Première diffusion : 1 mai 2019

S2019 E8 • This Country Has Something Everyone Else Wants

Morocco has 3/4 of the world’s known reserves of rock phosphate, our main source of phosphorus, so Morocco may be key to our long-term ability to grow food.

Première diffusion : 13 juin 2019

S2019 E9 • How to Turn Cancer Against Itself

Cancer has proven hard to beat, but a promising new type of treatment can use the disease's own powers against it.

Première diffusion : 20 juin 2019

S2019 E10 • Why We Should Invest In Rat Massage

Basic research can seem wasteful, but it's actually a great economic investment.

Première diffusion : 5 juillet 2019

S2019 E11 • The Cruel Irony Of Air Conditioning

The technology we use to keep cool is heating the world in a vicious feedback cycle, so we need to improve it and use it less.

Première diffusion : 16 juillet 2019

S2019 E12 • The Bacteria That Made Life Possible Are Now Killing Us

Aquatic cyanobacteria first oxygenated earth’s air, making human life possible; now, due to our actions, cyanobacteria are madly blooming once more, poisoning our coasts in the process.

Première diffusion : 23 juillet 2019

S2019 E13 • How To See Microbes From Space

Observing the effects of microbes using satellites can give us all sorts of useful information about life on Earth ... and other planets too.

Première diffusion : 14 août 2019

S2019 E14 • The Optimal Way To Browse The Internet

The decisions we make while we browse the internet are suprisingly similar to the ones animals make as they forage for food...here's why.

Première diffusion : 27 août 2019

S2019 E15 • The Secret Global Sewer System

Ditches and drain pipes help crops survive but can negatively impact the broader landscape.

Première diffusion : 4 septembre 2019

S2019 E16 • Why Exercise Is Hard

Because exercise isn't essential for short-term survival, we don't exercise enough, so we need to reincorporate purposeful physical activity into our lives.

Première diffusion : 11 septembre 2019

S2019 E17 • Why Our Bodies Are Hurting Us

The same enzyme that used to save us is now killing us because the body reactions it catalyzes now cause more harm than good.

Première diffusion : 10 octobre 2019

S2019 E18 • Why Are Adults Bad At New Languages?

Learning a new language as an adult is harder than doing so as a child because adults usually aren’t as invested and often use the wrong strategies.

Première diffusion : 22 octobre 2019

S2019 E19 • How Much Air Can A Tree Hold?

Trees can take an astounding amount of carbon out of the air, which is good, because we need to do that times a trillion.

Première diffusion : 25 octobre 2019

S2019 E20 • The Best Dragon (According to Science)

We ranked dragons based on how biologically and evolutionarily plausible they are.

Première diffusion : 4 novembre 2019