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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.) -
Why Are You Backing Into That Parking Spot?
In a parking lot, everyone has a go-to method -- you either pull into a parking space, or back into it. Practitioners of each method tend to outrage the other. We ask Daniel Findley and Bryan Northrop help settle – once and for all – which is more efficient. Findley’s a civil engineer at NC State's Institute for Transportation Research and Education, and Northrop is vice president at Skanska, a construction management firm that builds parking garage and parking lots. Then, controversy policy moves have brought mRNA vaccines back into the headlines. Stirling Churchman helps us refamiliarize ourselves with how an mRNA vaccines works, why they're particularly useful for quickly mutating viruses, and how the potential mRNA technology compares to previous major breakthroughs in health science. Churchman is an associate professor of genetics at Harvard Medical School. -
Could a Figure Skater Land FIVE Turns?
First up, President Trump's proposed “Board of Peace” has its first meeting today. We ask Abiodun Williams to explain the traditional structures of international diplomacy. Williams is a professor of the practice of international politics at Tufts. And, with figure skating fans in awe of the quadruple jump, we ask what ARE the limits for figure skating? Anette “Peko” Hosoi and Jerry Lu from the MIT Sports Lab talk physics of spinning and jumping, and new technology to push skaters forward. -
Why Don't We Have More Saunas?
It's National Sauna Week, and we stoke the fires of sauna envy in a conversation with Mark Babson, owner of Got Sauna, and Saana McDaniels, former president of the Finlandia Foundation.Plus, what ever happened to Smell-O-Vision?! Sandeep Robert Datta is a neurobiologist at Harvard, and he explains why it’s so hard to authentically replicate the sensation of smell. ---------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.
