Latest Episodes
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How is AI Being Used in the Iran War?
AI is being used in modern kinetic wars and in cyberwarfare. We learn how, and how to understand the risks of it, with cybersecurity professor Josephine Wolff at The Fletcher School at Tufts University, and Joan Donovan, founder of The Critical Internet Studies Institute. The Paralympics are underway, and GBH reporter Megan Smith takes us into the sport of wheelchair curling. And it’s our monthly Star Gazer’s Guide with astrophysicist Anjali Tripathi. To celebrate the Spring Equinox and St. Patrick’s Day, we learn about some green-themed phenomenon up in space (nebulas, aurorae, and an exoplanet dubbed “little green men"). -
What Can Chess Teach Us About Life?
Strategy, tactics, reading the room – all skills that Jennifer Shahade says we can learn from chess. She would know best, she’s a three-time national chess champion, and author of the upcoming book “Thinking Sideways.” Shahade and Edgar talk about life and chess, while she gives Edgar a whooping in a live game.Punch, an orphaned baby macaque at the Ichikawa City Zoo in Japan, gained a social media following when he bonded with an orangutan stuffed animal that zookeepers used to console him. Edgar talks to a wildlife conservation biologist Mikaela Gerwing about the monkey social dynamics on display. Plus, Oriana Aragon talks with us about the human response to cute monkeys like Aragon is an assistant professor of marketing at the University of Cincinnati, who’s done research into “cute aggression.” -
Can You Actually Catch 'Em All?
Pokemon has been delighting fans for 30 years, becoming a cultural and financial behemoth in the process. Edgar talks to Daniel Dockery, a freelance writer and author of “MONSTER KIDS: How Pokemon Taught a Generation to Catch Them All,” and Heather Cole, associate professor in Game Design and Interactive Media at West Virginia University.GBH News’ Gal Tziperman-Lotan brings us Four Thing to Know in today’s news.And, who says we can build big things anymore? Matthew Kiefer explains the concept of air rights, and what’s involved in constructing buildings on top of the Mass Pike. Kiefer is a land use attorney and professor at the real estate program at Harvard’s Graduate School of Design. -
Who Doesn't Love to Eat Spam?
MIT Economist Jon Gruber explains the factors that determine the U.S. poverty line, a rubric that impacts trillions in federal aid. Then, Wikipedia is full of curiosities, and Annie Rauwerda is here for it. Her wildly successful Instagram page, Depths of Wikipedia, shines a light on odd and charming corners of the website. Rauwerda’s one-woman show is at the Wilbur next week. And, it’s time for the “Secret Ingredient”! Chefs Irene Li and Laurence Louie explore the culinary wonders of Spam. Li is a James Beard-winning chef, and Laurence is the chef behind Quincy’s Rubato and a competitor on the newest season of Top Chef. -
Who Declares War?
The US and Israel attacked Iran this weekend, and fake images, videos and disinformation about it immediately spread across the internet. We talk with disinformation expert Joan Donovan about to find credible info on chaotic news events. And, the power to wage war versus the technical power to declare it. Boston College history professor Seth Jacobs explains the War Powers Act, and its shortcomings in practice. Plus, on Mondays we highlight American history as part of GBH's America 250 project. Today, a profile of 19th century diplomat and “learned blacksmith" Elihu Burritt. Historian John Loughery and Rod Skinner, Burritt's great-grand nephew, uncover this story of one extraordinary American. -
How Do You Stop a Glacier From Melting?
Thwaites Glacier in Antarctica has been called "the Doomsday Glacier," a reference to the rise in sea level that would results if Thwaites melts. Brent Minchew, a geophysicist at Caltech and chief scientist with the Arête Glacier Initiative, describes his research into how to stop that from happening. Cape Cod got hit hard in the blizzard, and our colleagues at WCAI were put to the test to keep the station on the air and delivering critical updates. Morning Edition host Sam Houghton recounts how he slept at the station for days and kept in on the air, until snow and fallen trees reopened roads to CAI's broadcast center. (Did we mention he also had Norovirus?) And out monthly chat with astrophysicist Anjali Tripathi looks at really cold and windy places in outer space.---------Have something you’re curious about? Leave us a voicemail anytime at 877-301-8970, or submit questions via the form on our landing page at GBHNews.org.Subscribe to our YouTube channel for more content and exclusive videos. -
Do Ads Ruin AI Search Results?
Advertising in ChatGPT was the last straw for Zoë Hitzig. She quit her job as a researcher at OpenAI, saying that ads inject a troubling incentive structure into AI. We talk to her about her work and her perspective. And, another round of Curiosity Questions from listeners! Edgar and senior producer Aidan Connelly answer queries about blue whales, Harvard’s “whispering arch,” and why weather apps sometimes gives different users different temperatures for the same locations. Plus a regular does of trivia from Erin McCarthy, former editor-in-chief at Mental Floss. Today, fun stories about people born on February 26th. (Happy birthday Johnny Cash, Fats Domino, Jackie Gleason & Victor Hugo!) ---------Have something you’re curious about? Leave us a voicemail anytime at 877-301-8970, or submit questions via the form on our landing page at GBHNews.org.Subscribe to our YouTube channel for more content and exclusive videos. -
How Did Montreal Get So Good at Plowing Snow?
Put aside your space savers, and take a look up north: Montreal Gazette transportation reporter Jason Magder describes his city's ingenious method of removing snow from city streets. Then, historian Sara Morrison from Westfield State describes the long history of methods Boston has tried for managing snow here. Things were much more chaotic in Boston of yore. And our monthly look at the most-searched words in Merriam-Webster's online dictionary. Editor at large Peter Sokolowski shows us how word searches reveal trends in what's on people minds. ---------Have something you’re curious about? Leave us a voicemail anytime at 877-301-8970, or submit questions via the form on our landing page at GBHNews.org.Subscribe to our YouTube channel for more content and exclusive videos. -
Are We Wimps in Snow?
As we all dig out from the blizzard, we talk to meteorologist Dave Epstein about this storm and this winter generally compare to the historical record. The essential question, have several mild winters made us lose our edge when it comes to serious cold and snow? And librarians from the GBH Archives plow through (ahem...) decades of GBH tape to share gems from wintry television and radio from years past. -
Snow Day Special!
Massachusetts is getting pummeled with wind and snow in a genuine blizzard today, so we have a snow-themed special to keep you company.Under the ice: Jason Stolarski & Julie Wood explaining everything that goes on under the ice when the Charles River freezes over. Jason is a project leader for the MassWildlife Watershed Project, and Julie’s Climate Resilience Director for the Charles River Watershed Association. (Originally aired Feb 9, 2026.) "Sneckdown": a funny term for a familiar phenomenon, the natural pathways people make through freshly fallen snow. Jean-Luc Pierite explains the concept . Pierite is Board President of the Native American Indian Center of Boston and a former visiting scholar for MIT's Department of Urban Studies and Planning. (Originally aired Feb 11, 2026.)And a snow day history class: school is out, but Daniel Berger-Jones from the Boston History Company joins as part of our America 250 coverage. He tells us about some of the under-explored battles that took place around Boston during the revolution. (Originally aired Feb 9, 2026.)
