S2018 E1 • A Disease's Guide to World Domination

There's something surprising that helps determine how damaging a disease is: distance.

Première diffusion : 9 janvier 2018

S2018 E2 • Why Our Favorite Crops Live Fast and Die Young

We mostly grow annual plants because they reliably produce energy-rich seeds, which we like to eat.

Première diffusion : 24 janvier 2018

S2018 E3 • Why Electroshock Therapy Is Back

Shocking the brain has come and gone as a medical treatment, but it’s currently resurging, as it often provides the best form of relief for severe depression and advanced Parkinson’s disease.

Première diffusion : 7 février 2018

S2018 E4 • We Asked Bill Gates: Do You Need To Be Rich To Be Healthy?

No matter how wealthy a country is, there's a lot it can do to improve the health of its citizens.

Première diffusion : 14 février 2018

S2018 E5 • Is It Safe To Get Your DNA Tested?

Once it’s out of your body, your genetic information is valuable to a variety of people, but you can keep it safe(ish) with a few simple steps.

Première diffusion : 20 février 2018

S2018 E6 • How Much Food Is There On Earth?

Food already in cupboards, supermarkets, & warehouses could feed humanity for 4 months, but potential food - berries, termites & krill - could extend that by another year.

Première diffusion : 22 mars 2018

S2018 E7 • Are Plastics Too Strong?

The same chemistry that makes plastic tough, light and flexible also makes it nearly impossible to get rid of, because it’s hard to break those resilient chemical bonds.

Première diffusion : 6 avril 2018

S2018 E8 • Milk Is Just Filtered Blood

Female mammals make milk, a cocktail of filtered blood, to provide their babies with vital nutrients.

Première diffusion : 12 avril 2018

S2018 E9 • Why You Shouldn't Give Ginger To Monkeys (and other animal sayings)

Humans from different cultures anthropomorphize different animals to represent the same human traits.

Première diffusion : 25 avril 2018

S2018 E10 • When Trees Go Nuts

Every once in a while, all the oaks or spruces or other plants in a region suddenly produce a tremendous bounty of seeds – up to 100 times more than usual. But why do they do it, and how do they all manage to sync up?

Première diffusion : 10 mai 2018

S2018 E11 • How Long Can We Live?

The human lifespan might be limited, in part, because natural selection just stops working late in life.

Première diffusion : 29 mai 2018

S2018 E12 • Rise Of The Mesopredator

Thanks to humans, old school apex predators are struggling to hold onto their perch at the top of the food chain. And now a new class of adaptable mesopredators are remaking the ecosystems they take over.

Première diffusion : 14 juin 2018

S2018 E13 • The Similarity Trap

As we try to figure out the evolutionary trees for languages and species, we sometimes get led astray by similar but unrelated words and traits.

Première diffusion : 27 juin 2018

S2018 E14 • Why Earth Has Two Levels

Earth’s outer shell is made of two materials whose different densities and thicknesses give rise to two distinct “levels” on the planet’s surface.

Première diffusion : 12 juillet 2018

S2018 E15 • Why Are There Penguins At The Equator?

When nutrients from the ocean depths reach the sunlit surface (like in the Galapagos), life is more productive.

Première diffusion : 2 août 2018

S2018 E16 • Why Do Some Animals Eat Poop?

Animals eat their own poop in order to gain extra access to nutrients or to microbes that help digest those nutrients.

Première diffusion : 29 août 2018

S2018 E17 • Why Malaria Isn’t Just a Tropical Disease

Malaria is a global disease that we've beaten back around the world, including in some tropical places, but we’ve had the hardest time in Africa.

Première diffusion : 12 septembre 2018

S2018 E18 • The Secret Weapon That Could Help Save Bees

Honeybees are dying from parasites, pesticides, and poor nutrition, but we can help them in a number of ways, including by encouraging them to make a homemade antibiotic.

Première diffusion : 4 octobre 2018

S2018 E19 • The Mystery of The Exploding Appendix

Rates of appendicitis vary around the world, likely due to the forces of modernization.

Première diffusion : 14 novembre 2018

S2018 E20 • These Names Can Kill Animals

Just like the names of products and companies, animals' names can affect how we feel about them...and changing the name of a species might actually help us save it.

Première diffusion : 5 décembre 2018

S2018 E21 • The Bird Poop That Changed The World

Bird poop was the gateway fertilizer that turned humanity onto the imported-chemical-based farming system of modern agriculture.

Première diffusion : 14 décembre 2018