Short Wave

They explore why recycled wastewater triggers a strong

A look at why freshwater is getting saltier around the world and the human activities driving it. Stories from local lakes reveal long-term salinity trends and hidden sources like road salt, fertilizer runoff, and seawater intrusion. The show explores ecological harms, threats to drinking water, the stubborn persistence of salt, and practical community strategies to cut salt use.

A deep dive into shrinking aquifers and why groundwater matters for half the world’s water. A Kansas farmer recounts falling well levels and local attempts to find sustainable pumping. Scientists and satellites reveal where aquifers are draining fastest and where management has led to recovery. Discussion covers data gaps, economic hurdles for crop changes, and cross-border cooperation challenges.

A look at cities that nearly ran out of water and what 'day zero' really means. Reports from Cape Town, Mexico City and Tehran highlight failed systems, leaks and theft. The conversation covers infrastructure breakdowns, aquifer depletion, urban demand and how scarcity deepens inequality.

Elsa Chang, a science journalist who covers natural-history research, walks through how scarlet monkeyflowers survived a Western megadrought. She highlights decade-long tracking and genetic sequencing. Short, vivid scenes explain rapid evolution and how reduced stomatal opening helped some populations hang on.

Dr. Sarah Kim, a UCSF diabetes specialist, explains protein needs and clinical views on diet. Shana Spence, a registered dietitian nutritionist, critiques the new food pyramid’s protein focus and talks fats. They discuss school lunch impacts, protein amounts, preserving real-food guidance, and environmental and cost concerns of emphasizing animal protein.

Peter Ross, a toxicologist and senior scientist who studies environmental contamination, explains the fallout from Iran’s ‘black rain’. He breaks down what pollutants like soot, PAHs and benzene do to air, water and health. He discusses how rain can transport toxins, Tehran’s geography that worsens exposure, and why recovery from oil-related pollution can take decades.

A look at why some pleasures feel embarrassing and how social judgment shapes what we enjoy. Neuroscientists break pleasure into a cycle of wanting and liking with different brain mechanisms. The conversation covers hedonic hotspots, how wanting can outlast liking in addiction, and experiments showing guilt can actually boost reported enjoyment.

Victor Tsai, a geophysicist who recreated lake stars in the lab and linked them to features on Europa, explains the curious star-shaped patterns. He describes how slushy snow, thin ice and upwelling warm water carve branching channels. He also compares Earth’s lake stars to spider-like features on Jupiter’s moon and what that could mean for near-surface water there.

Joshua Stewart, a marine ecologist at Oregon State University who studies marine mammals and Arctic benthic ecosystems, joins to unpack repeating mass gray whale deaths. He describes historical boom-and-bust mortality patterns. He traces the shift from disease hunts to linking whale declines with Arctic prey cycles and climate-driven food shortages. He considers limits to human intervention and whales as climate warning signs.