We couldn’t agree more. For today’s podcast, we’re throwing it back to when Queen guitarist/astronomer Brian May and astrophysicist Derek Ward-Thompson chatted with Flora about their stereoscopic book of galaxies, “Islands in Infinity: Galaxies 3-D.” And yes, we get into the music too.

Our #PictureOfTheWeek features Cold War codebreaking specialists. This group of highly skilled Black women were recruited as cryptologists to decipher intercepted Soviet messages. Their role in Cold War intelligence operations has been largely overlooked, until now. 📸: NSA

What food would you take to space? We want to know the one thing you could eat over and over again if you were sent on a mission to Mars. Tell us your comfort food, the clever recipe, how you make it, and why it matters to you. Leave us a voicemail at 877-4-SCIFRI.

We created a puzzle adventure game with Grand Gamers Guild! Imagine you're a science journalist hosting a symposium on the chambered nautilus and the featured expert is missing! Solve puzzles, search the aquarium for clues, and race to find them before time runs out in this escape room-style game.

Did you know sharks are older than Saturn’s rings? Marine conservation biologist Catherine Macdonald joined Flora to talk about shark conservation and what it’s like encountering hundreds of sharks a year off the coast of Florida. Plus we hear about a tiger shark vomiting up an unexpected surprise.

Don't forget to join our live Q&A with author Craig Childs! 📅 Friday, July 31 at 4pm ET 📍 YouTube: https://youtube.com/live/i2zq0P2uKkA Come with your questions and bring a friend! We're reading his book "The Wild Dark" in SciFri's Book Club but all are welcome to join!

Ever wondered how clinical trials actually work? Who gets chosen to participate and why? And what criteria does a drug have to meet to get approved? Flora talked with lawyer and bioethicist Holly Fernandez Lynch to break it all down. Listen now: https://bit.ly/4fd2FBV

How do clinical trials work, and who can participate?

A bioethicist walks us through the complexity of clinical trials, from their core scientific questions to patient selection to FDA approval.

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Tom Hiddleston first visited Pompeii at 17 and never forgot it. Now he's returned as host of National Geographic's "Pompeii: Out of Time with Tom Hiddleston" to piece together the lives of the thousands of people who once called it home.

The Tour de France ends today, but we still have one burning question. Why do cyclists shave their legs? You've probably heard it makes them faster, but does it actually make a difference? We spoke with four cycling experts to find out. 🚴 https://bit.ly/3SLbGuF

Why Do Cyclists Shave Their Legs?

Does it make you faster—or just help you fit in? We asked four cycling experts what leg-shaving actually does for athletes.

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We’re throwing it back to a podcast we did in October 2025 with marine biologist @ashadevos.bsky.social. Over 20 years ago, she discovered a unique population of blue whales that live year round off the coast of Sri Lanka. She also became the first Sri Lankan to earn a PhD studying marine mammals.

Jess Venner, author of “The Lost Voices of Pompeii,” talks about the people who faced the destruction of Pompeii. With actor Tom Hiddleston, host of Nat Geo's “Pompeii: Out of Time with Tom Hiddleston,” we explore what life was like in Pompeii. Full podcast is on YouTube: https://bit.ly/4fmXSOv

Our #PictureOfTheWeek features entomologist Dino Martins who has pulled botflies out of camel snot and let a horsefly feast on him. Why? Because he’s obsessed with parasites. 📸 1.Dino teaches a field course. Credit: Anne Powys 2.A botfly. Credit: Dino Martins 3.Dino's baby zebra. Credit: Nani Croze

We spoke with actor Tom Hiddleston, host of National Geographic's "Pompeii: Out of Time with Tom Hiddleston," and archaeobotanist Jess Venner, author of "The Lost Voices of Pompeii," to piece together what life was like in Pompeii before the eruption and why their stories still resonate today.

Bonus podcast alert! 🚨 An outbreak of the foodborne illness cyclosporiasis is causing people to run to the bathroom and stress out about eating vegetables. Health officials have linked the outbreak to lettuce served at Taco Bell in five states, but there are still a lot of unanswered questions.

After a bite from a lone-star tick, some people develop a severe allergic reaction to red meat. It’s called alpha-gal syndrome, and the CDC estimates that 450,000 people in the U.S may be affected. Flora talked with allergist Scott Commins, who has studied alpha-gal syndrome for nearly 20 years.

We’re teaching about the shape-shifting fire amoeba in our newest Think Big educational resource! 🔥 Scientists thought eukaryotic life could not survive temperatures above 60℃, but this microbe broke the record and can survive in water up to 63℃ (about 145℉).

Gut health is having a moment online, and gastroenterologists are surprised about it too! Flora talked with neurogastroenterologists Emeran Mayer and Trisha Pasricha on stage at the 2026 Aspen Ideas Festival @aspenideas.bsky.social about our brain-gut connection.

Want to pick a book for Science Friday’s Book Club? 📚 Our book club members will decide our last read in 2026. Vote for "The Comfort of Crows," "Inside of a Dog," or "Wild New World" for our November/December pick.

Our #PictureOfTheWeek is fossilized squirrel poop from the last ice age. 🐿️ Hundreds of thousands of years ago, a ground squirrel in the Yukon pooped. That scat stayed frozen for millennia until researchers thawed it out and realized it was a literal data dump (sorry, we couldn’t resist).

We talked with author Craig Childs about his journey from Las Vegas into the desert to find the darkest sky. We’re reading his book about the experience,“The Wild Dark,” in SciFri’s Book Club and it’s not too late to join! Catch the segment today from 2–4pm ET on your local public radio station!

Our session proposal for Podcast Movement 2026 is live for public voting! Podcast Movement is a conference where podcasters come together to discuss what goes into making a great podcast. The community helps shape the conference, with public voting accounting for 50% of selected sessions.

Gut feelings, trusting your gut, butterflies in your stomach: We have lots of expressions about how our brains and our bowels are intertwined. But how well do we understand our gut-brain connection? Which one is in the driver's seat? How do they play a role in IBS, Parkinson’s, and depression?

Is it alive? Our #PictureOfTheWeek is the SpudCell. Image Credit and Caption: 1. A SpudCell. The DNA of the genome and the synthetic cell membrane are stained with fluorescent dyes. Credit: Orion Venero, Adamala Lab

For America’s 250th birthday, Ira traveled to @wburcityspace.bsky.social to chat with historian Robert Allison about scientific thinkers in early America. And yes, they talk about more than just Ben Franklin and his kite. Hear the full convo today from 2–4pm ET on your local public radio station.

There’s a massive undersea graveyard of whales deep in the Indian Ocean. Spanning about 1,200 kilometers (745 miles or roughly the distance from New York to Chicago), it contains whale remains dating back 5.3 million years and has at least five active whale fall sites still teeming with life.

We’re working on a segment about AI in the doctor’s office and want to hear from you! Are you a doctor that has used platforms like Open Evidence? What do you think about other doctors using AI? Or are you a patient whose doctor used AI during your care? Tell us about it at 1-877-4-SCIFRI.

Our #PictureOfTheWeek shows two scorpions in the middle of a mating dance, where they’ll even “kiss” like a couple in love. And unlike other arachnids, scorpions give live birth to tiny scorplings that the moms carry on their backs. 📸: Prakrit Jain

Looking for books your kids will love this summer? 📚 We teamed up with literacy experts Melissa Stewart and Kathy Renfrew to find 10 children’s books guaranteed to get kids curious about nature. Check out the list and let us know which ones are your favorites: www.sciencefriday.com/articles/bes...

We set out to raise $100,000 in June, and SciFri fans have come through in a huge way. If you've already donated, we can’t thank you enough for supporting science journalism! If you haven’t, please consider helping us reach our goal before June 30th. https://bit.ly/4nUFb8I 📸: Jonathan Hickerson

Growing potatoes on the moon sounds like “The Martian”, but NASA is making it a reality. With plans to begin construction on a lunar base in late 2028, scientists are already working out how to grow food in lunar soil. Space biologist David Handy joined Flora to explain how it could actually work.