Unexplainable

Almost 15% of adults suffer from a persistent, often intolerable sound... that is literally just in their heads. Why does the brain do this to us? We help one of our listeners get some answers. This ...

Just like optical illusions trick our eyes, audio illusions can trick our ears. It makes scientists wonder: What exactly are we hearing, when we're hearing? This is the first episode of our new four-...

This week on Unexplainable or Not, Sally Helm, the newest member of our team, tries to figure out what's killing mussels, why rivers suddenly change course, and what the longest river in the world is....

Now why would you click on something like this? What's wrong with you?! Why are you — and so many other people — into scary stuff? Two scientists are trying to find out. (Originally aired in 2024) ...

Killing two people is worse than killing one. What about 440 billion crustaceans? Adapted from Dylan Matthews's essay on Vox.com. This story is part of a series supported by Animal Charity Evaluators...

Think about the thing you’ve practiced more than anything else in the world. Maybe it’s painting. Or writing. Or playing baseball. Now, imagine you wake up one day, and you just can’t do it. You’re ...

Terry Riley's "In C" is one of the most influential pieces of music of the last century...but you'll never hear it the same way twice. Guest: Evan Ziporyn, composer, clarinetist, and producer of "In ...

Donald Trump and RFK Jr. seem convinced that it does. But our friends at Science Vs say the data is far more complicated. Guest: Meryl Horn, senior producer at Science Vs For show transcripts, go ...

Zombies might seem like the stuff of horror movies, but there are lots of examples of parasites taking over bugs’ bodies and bending them to their will. Guest: Mindy Weisberger, author of Rise of t...

Who are you, really? Our friends at The Gray Area ask whether it's really possible to change. Guest: ⁠Olga Khazan⁠, author of Me, But Better: The Science and Promise of Personality Change For show...