Science Quickly

In this special Earth Day episode of Science Quickly, host Rachel Feltman turns to three environmental experts for a healthy dose of climate hope. Climate scientist Kate Marvel, atmospheric chemist Susan Solomon and environmentalist Bill McKibben share stories about times in the past when humanity encountered grave environmental threats and succeeded in overcoming them. From beating the London smog to healing the ozone layer to rapidly scaling up renewable energy—these stories offer hope and lessons for saving the planet

Recommended Reading:

Articles by Kate Marvel for Scientific American

Kate Marvel’s personal website

Susan Solomon Group: Atmospheric Chemistry and Climate Change at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology

 

Solvable: How We Healed the Earth, and How We Can Do It Again. Susan Solomon. University of Chicago Press, 2024

Here Comes The Sun: A Last Chance for the Climate and a Fresh Chance for Civilization. Bill McKibben. W. W. Norton, 2025

Third Act Initiative, a nonprofit organization founded by Bill McKibben to encourage people older than age 60 to take part in climate action

E-mail us at [email protected] if you have any questions, comments or ideas for stories we should cover!

Discover something new everyday: subscribe to Scientific American and sign up for Today in Science, our daily newsletter.

Science Quickly is produced by Rachel Feltman, Fonda Mwangi, Sushmita Pathak and Jeff DelViscio. This episode was edited by Alex Sugiura, with fact-checking by Shayna Posses and Aaron Shattuck. Our theme music was composed by Dominic Smith.
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In this episode of Science Quickly, we explore Colombia’s controversial plan to cull invasive “cocaine hippos” and the discovery of millions of underground bees in a New York State cemetery. And we dive into new research on how HIV may accelerate biological aging and how chronic inflammation is reshaping scientists’ understanding of heart disease.

Recommended Reading:

Today in Science newsletter

Colombia will euthanize Pablo Escobar’s invasive ‘cocaine hippos’

The hidden cause of heart disease is inflammation

Scientists just discovered 5.6 million bees under a New York State cemetery

E-mail us at [email protected] if you have any questions, comments or ideas for stories we should cover!

Discover something new everyday: subscribe to Scientific American and sign up for Today in Science, our daily newsletter.

Science Quickly is produced by Rachel Feltman, Fonda Mwangi, Sushmita Pathak and Jeff DelViscio. This episode was edited by Alex Sugiura, with fact-checking by Shayna Posses and Aaron Shattuck. Our theme music was composed by Dominic Smith.
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Birds are the only dinosaurs who managed to survive the asteroid impact that wiped out 75 percent of all species 66 million years ago. But how did they pull it off? To get some answers, host Kendra Pierre-Louis speaks to paleontologist Steve Brusatte, author of the upcoming book The Story of Birds: A New History from Their Dinosaur Origins to the Present. Their conversation traces the incredible evolutionary journey of modern birds and explores what these animals’ survival story can teach us today.

Recommended Reading:

How birds survived the dinosaurs’ doomsday

The Story of Birds: A New History from Their Dinosaur Origins to the Present, by Steve Brusatte. Mariner Books, April 28, 2026

E-mail us at [email protected] if you have any questions, comments or ideas for stories we should cover!

Discover something new everyday: subscribe to Scientific American and sign up for Today in Science, our daily newsletter.

Science Quickly is produced by Kendra Pierre-Louis, Fonda Mwangi, Sushmita Pathak and Jeff DelViscio. This episode was edited by Alex Sugiura, with fact-checking by Shayna Posses and Aaron Shattuck. Our theme music was composed by Dominic Smith.
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Curiosity about the natural world can start in unexpected places. In this episode of Science Quickly, host Kendra Pierre‑Louis talks with paleontologist Arjan Mann and entomologist Spencer Monckton about how Pokémon—the beloved Japanese franchise, which turned 30 this year—helped spark their interest in taxonomy and fossils. The conversation explores how the fictional world of Pokémon mirrors real scientific concepts, why pop culture and natural history shape each other and how that inspiration has come full circle.

Recommended Reading:

The Pokémon universe goes hard on ecology and climate science

Pokémon Fossil Museum. Special exhibition at the Field Museum, Chicago, May 22, 2026–April 11, 2027

E-mail us at [email protected] if you have any questions, comments or ideas for stories we should cover!

Discover something new everyday: subscribe to Scientific American and sign up for Today in Science, our daily newsletter.

Science Quickly is produced by Kendra Pierre-Louis, Fonda Mwangi, Sushmita Pathak and Jeff DelViscio. This episode was edited by Alex Sugiura, with fact-checking by Shayna Posses and Aaron Shattuck. Our theme music was composed by Dominic Smith.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of Science Quickly, we unpack NASA’s Artemis II mission after its safe return from lunar orbit, asking what the long‑awaited comeback to the moon actually achieved and whether it was worth the cost. Scientific American journalists debate the promise of future lunar missions alongside concerns about money and climate effects and the question of what space exploration should mean at a time of global strain.

Recommended Reading:

NASA’s Artemis II moon mission splashes down

NASA’s Artemis II mission’s return to Earth, hour by hour

NASA’s Artemis moon missions are a game changer for astronomy

NASA’s Artemis II astronauts celebrate epic lunar flyby with stunning new images

E-mail us at [email protected] if you have any questions, comments or ideas for stories we should cover!

Discover something new everyday: subscribe to Scientific American and sign up for Today in Science, our daily newsletter.

Science Quickly is produced by Kendra Pierre-Louis, Fonda Mwangi, Sushmita Pathak and Jeff DelViscio. This episode was edited by Alex Sugiura, with fact-checking by Shayna Posses and Aaron Shattuck. Our theme music was composed by Dominic Smith.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices