Unexplainable

Researchers revisit the Black Death's origin story and challenge long-held narratives. They debate whether Yersinia pestis and its vectors spread via rats, fleas, or contaminated grain. The famous Kaffa catapult tale is questioned using new primary sources. Climate, famine, and trade are examined as drivers that reshaped how the pandemic moved across regions.

Benji Jones, Vox science reporter who tracks natural-history mysteries, and Andy Gluesenkamp, conservation biologist and herpetologist who has spent decades searching subterranean amphibians. They explore the vanished Blanco Blind Salamander, the strange blind fauna of the Edwards Aquifer, using eDNA and cave dives to hunt for hidden life and discuss why finding missing species matters for conservation.

Beatie Wolfe, composer and conceptual artist who blends music, design, tech, and science. She recounts broadcasting an album through a giant horn antenna and why she and Brian Eno call their collaboration "dark matter music." Short takes explore music’s invisible layers, the human textures she preserves in recordings, and surprising effects music has in dementia care.

They explore faint biophotons that make plants and animals glow while alive and fade at death. They discuss striking mouse and leaf images that reveal metabolic light signals. They also investigate microbial life aboard the International Space Station, from sampling methods to how the station’s unusually human-centered, low-diversity microbiome affects health and hardware.

Dylan Scott, senior correspondent at Vox who covers health policy and science, breaks down why inflammation became a wellness catchall. He explains what inflammation really is, contrasts acute repair with chronic low‑grade problems, links modern life and processed food to persistent immune activation, and flags hype around tests and quick fixes.

Noam Hassenfeld, a producer who explores scientific mysteries and sound, joins to probe the question of how to make something that sounds like nothing. He recounts experiments that reveal our discomfort with silence. He reflects on John Cage, performing 4'33", crafting deliberate stretches of silence, and how shared quiet reshapes listening.

K.T. Ramesh, a Johns Hopkins professor who studies impact physics and planetary materials, discusses experiments shooting microbes to test whether life can hitch rides on meteorites. Short, punchy segments cover the lithopanspermia idea, the clever lab gun shock tests, surprising survival at high pressures, and what those results mean for life’s interplanetary possibilities.

Rebecca Boyle, science writer on space health, and Anne McClain, NASA astronaut with long ISS experience, join to unpack life beyond Earth. They talk about radiation risks, moon dust dangers, lunar habitat ideas like lava-tube shelters, and how lunar missions prep us for Mars. Short takes on human intuition in field science and practical tech spin-offs round out the conversation.

Annalisa Merelli, a reproductive health reporter at STAT, walks through the new wave of male contraceptives. She outlines promising hormonal and nonhormonal drugs, on-demand options that block ejaculation, and long-lasting devices in trials. She also explains why progress stalled and what funding and cultural shifts could bring these methods to market.

Grandma, Julia’s Cuban-born grandmother who lived through shortages and the revolution, fondly recalls Vicks VapoRub as a multipurpose remedy. She shares childhood memories, inventive uses born of scarcity, and how the scent ties to home. Short, warm stories reveal habit, history, and comfort.