Science

Capybaras possess such a calm and gentle nature that many other animal species treat them as friends—including the birds who ride on their backs. In this episode, we follow a capybara as she lounges in the lagoon and covers herself in mud to repel bugs. And we’ll listen as she collectively parents her pups with the others in her herd, communicating through a complex language of whistles, clicks, and purrs.

Against the white expanse of the Arctic tundra, a snowy owl is hardly visible as he pauses to listen for the rustling of small prey. While most Arctic birds migrate south for the winter, this owl can survive through the endless polar nights. In this episode, we follow a snowy owl as he searches for food in the dark, soaring past the footprints of polar bears, howling huskies, and snow foxes that call this wintry world home.

From survival of the fittest to survival of the most conscious, discover a revolutionary scientific message of hope for humanity's future. For over a century, Darwin’s concept of “survival of the fittest,” or life as competition, has shaped the fate of civilization. Renowned cell biologist...

With senses that often seem alien to us, bees navigate complex decisions about where to find food, when to fight or flee, and how to work together. The Language of Bees invites listeners into the hidden world of bee communication, a realm where creatures less than an inch long use scent, vibration, movement, and sound to cooperate, share information, and survive.

Along North Carolina's Outer Banks, where thousands of ships met their doom, the brave surfmen of the U.S. Life-Saving Service braved raging seas, defied death itself, and saved countless lives from certain disaster. This gripping book chronicles the extraordinary men of the U.S. Life-Saving...

In 1957, 6,000 scientists from 66 nations achieved the impossible: they erased political borders for 18 months to unlock Earth's greatest mysteries—and changed science forever. The International Geophysical Year (IGY) of 1957 marked humanity's first unified effort to understand our planet...

Feel the change in your bones? From worsening arthritis pain to seasonal depression, discover why millions of people really are "under the weather" and learn science-backed solutions to take control of your health no matter what the forecast. Your body is a living weather station, responding to...

Richard Garwin was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama Called a "true genius" by Enrico Fermi, Richard Garwin has influenced modern life in far-reaching ways, yet he is hardly known outside the physics community. This is the first biography of one of America's...

A love letter to the Adirondacks, revealing the hidden wonders and interconnected lives of its wildlife by one of the region’s most prolific and prominent residents. The Nature of the Place is storied Adirondack nature writer Edward Kanze’s invitation to slow down, smell the roses, and get...

The Ptolemaic system of the universe, with the earth at the center, had held sway since antiquity as authoritative in philosophy, science, and church teaching. Following his observations of the heavenly bodies, Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543) abandoned the geocentric system for a heliocentric...

A fascinating exploration of the science and psychology behind fear, madness, and the haunting stories that linger in our minds Scientists throughout centuries have mined the depths of humanity looking for—and finding—answers to life’s most mysterious questions, but perhaps the most...

Loving the North Woods is a chronicle of the difficult challenges that led to tremendous conservation achievements in the great North Woods of Maine. Focusing on the remarkable period of activity from 1990 to 2015, during which historic achievements in American conservation unfolded, it explores...

Renowned ethicist provides essential guide to successfully navigating the future AI landscape In Building a God, Christopher DiCarlo explores the profound implications of artificial intelligence surpassing human intelligence—a destiny that seems not just possible, but inevitable. At this...

What if the great discoveries of science came in the “wrong” order? The Laws of Thermodynamics were discovered well after the creation of algebra, classical physics, and chemistry, but are perhaps much more important to our basic understanding of the universe. This flawed chronology led to a...

Being a game warden in Maine is not just a job, it’s a way of life. This honest and entertaining book by a twenty-two-year veteran of the service tells the story of America’s oldest game warden service. The stories told cover the risks wardens face dealing with poachers, rogue wildlife, and...

Dominating victories, great duels, and astounding rallies make up some of horse racing’s greatest moments. Award-winning racing writer Edward L. Bowen captures these and more in At the Wire, a compilation of nearly thirty races plus Breeders’ Cup highlights that have earned a solid place in...

What causes bear attacks? When should you play dead and when should you fight an attacking bear? What do we know about black and grizzly bears and how can this knowledge be used to avoid bear attacks? And, more generally, what is the bear’s future? Bear Attacks is a thorough and unflinching...

Step into Yosemite’s backcountry with trailblazing ranger Laurel Boyers as she shares a life dedicated to protecting wild wonders Across Yosemite’s Wilderness is a memoir about the life and career of Laurel Boyers—the first woman to serve as the Wilderness Manager in the park’s history...

An exuberant exploration of why the stuff we use (mostly) works—and a celebration of the unsung engineers who ensure it does. When a manufacturer offers a 10,000-mile warranty on a car or slaps a “bear-resistant” label on a camping cooler, what do we know about how trustworthy that promise...

William Shakespeare has undergone psychological analyses ever since Freud diagnosed Hamlet with an Oedipus complex. But now, two psychologists propose to turn the tables by telling how Shakespeare himself understood human behavior and the innermost workings of the human mind. Psychology...

Quantum theory is the bedrock of contemporary physics and the basis of understanding matter in its tiniest dimensions and the vast universe as a whole. But for many, the theory remains an impenetrable enigma. Now, two physicists seek to remedy this situation by both drawing on their scientific...

Experience the world's most promising technological innovations and the science behind them in this entertaining photo-rich book. For futurists and sci-tech enthusiasts, every moment reveals advances powering our future, with on-site interviews, deep explainers, and helpful visuals.

In late March of 2014, death descended upon the community of Oso, Washington in the form of a massive landslide. Ten million cubic yards of dirt and mud crashed through homes, sweeping a 20-foot-high wall of debris before it and scouring the valley floor. In the cold rain of that morning, an...

When author Edmund Morris left the Philadelphia business world in the early 1800s and bought a small farm in the New Jersey countryside, he was so pleased with the results of his venture that he decided to tell others how he accomplished it. His written chronicle—one of the most popular books...

Why do we still believe in UFOs, despite repeated efforts to dismiss them? For most of the twentieth century, reports of unidentified flying objects were treated as cultural error: cranks, hoaxes, late-night radio. Then, abruptly, the posture changed. The Pentagon released videos it could not...