Science

All Things Considered

New Study Challenges The Assumption That Math Is Harder For Girls

Research shows that when boys and girls as old as 10 do math, their patterns of brain activity are indistinguishable. The finding is the latest challenge to the idea that math is harder for girls.

All Things Considered

Lithium-Ion Batteries Help Power Civilizations, But How Can They Be Recycled?

Researchers are worried that the lithium ion batteries powering our phones, and soon our cars, will turn into a big waste problem. They're trying to figure out how to recycle them.

Hidden Brain

The Talk Market: How Stories and Psychology Shape Our Economic Lives

Can we affect the rise and fall of the economy? This week on Hidden Brain, we talk with Nobel Prize-winning economist Robert Shiller about the powerful ways in which stories and psychology shape our economic lives. He argues that narratives affect not just the purchases we make as individuals, but the fate of our entire economic system.

For These Vampires, A Shared Blood Meal Lets 'Friendship' Take Flight

Common vampire bats might drink the blood of their prey, but it turns out that these fearsome beasts can be warm and fuzzy when it comes to their fellow bats.

All Things Considered

From Culinary Dud To Stud: How Dutch Plant Breeders Built Our Brussels Sprouts Boom

Brussels sprouts used to be scorned. Now they're trendy. And one reason for their renaissance sits tucked away in a basement storage room in the Netherlands.

Morning Edition

Newly Discovered Beetle Named For Greta Thunberg: Nelloptodes Gretae

The London Natural History Museum has named a species of beetle after Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg to honor her contribution to raising awareness of environmental issues.

Speakers Forum

What we know about human consciousness

Allen Institute Chief Scientist leads efforts to understand consciousness

Hidden Brain

What Monkeys Can Teach Us About Being Human

What makes the mind of a human different from that of other animals? Psychologist Laurie Santos says we can't know the answer to that question if we only study humans. This week, we turn to Laurie's work with monkeys to understand which parts of human behavior are distinct, and which we share with other species.