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Weekdays from 1 to 2 p.m.

Edgar B. Herwick III hosts GBH’s newest show, The Curiosity Desk, weekday afternoons from 1 to 2 p.m. Tune in for conversations, insights and profundities about the world we live in.

We want your input. Have something you’re curious about? Submit your questions via the form below, or email curiositydesk@wgbh.org for the chance to hear them answered on the show.

Watch The Curiosity Desk on the GBH News YouTube Channel or listen daily on GBH.org or 89.7 FM. To weigh in during the show, call or text at 877-301-8970.

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Listen to previous shows

  • Why Is The Sky Yellow?

    July 17, 2026Arun Rath is guest hosting today! We talk briefly with Mathew Barlow, a Professor of Climate Sciences at Umass Lowell, about this week’s wildfire smoke & why the sky turned yellow. GBH’s Renuka Balakrishnan joins with Emily Schario from The B-Side for ICYMI. They’ll talk about the best local swimming pools, the 22nd annual Sand Sculpting Festival on Revere Beach, and cyclosporiasis ruining summer salad season. Why has the vinyl record endured? And what’s the value of physical media in an era of online disinformation? Arun talks with Joan Donovan from the Critical Internet Studies institute, this week with Tony Goddess from Mystery Train Records in Gloucester. Arun talks Indigenous history with Aquinnah Wampanoag singer/songwriter Thea Hopkins & Cerise Lim Jacobs from White Snake Projects, around a new interactive freedom trail experience for America 250.
  • What Salt Is Worth Its Salt?

    First up, Edgar interviews Dr. Jim Faust about his nonprofit Adam’s Parachute, bringing people suffering from substance addiction into the world of fly fishing. He’ll join alongside GBH report Craig LeMoult ahead of Craig’s forthcoming reporting. Then, the grocery aisles are packed with all different options for salt. Table, iodized, sea, Celtic, gray, pink Himalayan – does it matter which you use? We get some consult from Dan Souza from America’s Test Kitchen. Lastly, Edgar brushes up on the history of the toothbrush with Dr. Scott Swank, curator at the National Museum of Dentistry in Baltimore.
  • Why Is My Cat Obsessed With My Feet?

    First up, we're airing Edgar’s conversation with MIT physicist Pablo Jarillo-Herrero. Pablo tries to explain his research in the field of twistronics in the time it takes to finish a cone of soft serve ice cream. There’s a video version of the conversation also airing today on the GBH YouTube channel. Then, it's another round of Four Things To Know with Gal Tziperman Lotan from the GBH Daily newsletter. Lastly, we're opening up phone and text lines for “Ask the Dog & Cat behaviorist,” with Rachel Geller from All Cats All the Time and Kate Bigger from High Fidelity Dogs.
  • Who Owns Your Attention?

    July 13, 2026 First up, Migration Policy Institute senior fellow Muzaffar Chishti explains the phenomenon of birth tourism in the U.S., and whether it’s as prevalent as some anti-immigration advocates claim. Then, Author Rachel Hartigan dives into the life of Amelia Earhart in a conversation about her book Lost: Amelia Earhart's Three Mysterious Deaths and One Extraordinary Life.Lastly, Social media companies have gotten really good at grabbing our attention. Have we reached a point where society ought to regulate just how addictive they’re allowed to be? Edgar parses the emerging legal field of attention law, with John Newman from U Memphis and Elettra Bietti from Northeastern.
  • Do Elephants Make Good Friends?

    July 9, 2026First up, MIT economist Jon Gruber reflects on why independent government agencies matter, following the Trump v. Slaughter ruling by the Supreme Court. Then, we're airing Edgar’s new Curiosity Desk feature on the deployment of Waymo taxis in Boston. Afterwards, Animal behaviorist Jennifer Verdolin joins to discuss what humans can learn about friendship from elephants. Finally, ATC host Arun Rath returns to perform some mentalist magic on The Mystery Desk.