Episodes

  • Impossible fossils and Lunar New Year
    Feb 16 2026

    The Best of Our Knowledge explores topics on learning, education, and research.

    An analysis of small, prehistoric fossils found in sandstone is giving researchers new clues into the time before the explosion of complex life on Earth.

    And we’ll visit high school students celebrating Lunar New Year, which is now being recognized in New York state schools.

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    29 mins
  • Could arsenic waste be transformed into semiconductors?
    Feb 11 2026

    The Best of Our Knowledge explores topics on learning, education, and research.

    Arsenic is a naturally-occurring toxin with a big reputation.

    But scientists say arsenic-contaminated waste could have a potential public benefit, including in advanced manufacturing. We’ll explore how an environmental challenge could become an economic opportunity.

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    29 mins
  • Prehistoric math and protecting biomedical research
    Feb 2 2026

    The Best of Our Knowledge explores topics on learning, education, and research.

    An analysis of pottery fragments from ancient Mesopotamia has revealed what may demonstrate a mathematical system developed before numbers.

    And in the absence of federal funding, a proposal hopes to create a new hub for medical research.

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    29 mins
  • Was part of King Tut’s story swept under the rug?
    Jan 26 2026

    The Best of Our Knowledge explores topics on learning, education, and research.

    The culture and traditions of Ancient Egypt have long captivated history students. But one part its history may have been swept under the rug.

    On today’s program, we’ll explore opium use in Ancient Egypt, and how the drug was used by people of all classes, including the pharaohs.

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    29 mins
  • Rock, paper, lizards
    Jan 19 2026

    The Best of Our Knowledge explores topics on learning, education, and research.

    A common lizard in the American west plays a unique game of rock, paper, scissors.

    And your dog may be smarter than you think. A new study finds some dogs can learn by eavesdropping.

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    29 mins
  • A lemon-shaped planet and a curious cloud
    Jan 12 2026

    The Best of Our Knowledge explores topics on learning, education, and research.

    Scientists have discovered a distant planet that resembles a lemon.

    And while studying a mysterious cloud of hot dust 70 light-years away, researchers have found an unusual star.

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    29 mins
  • A quantum discovery and an inspiring museum
    Jan 5 2026

    The Best of Our Knowledge explores topics on learning, education, and research.

    On this episode, we’ll speak with a scientist who helped pinpoint a unique – and long theorized – form of matter.

    And we’ll visit museum in upstate New York that organizers hope will inspire the next generation of firefighters.

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    29 mins
  • The best of The Best of Our Knowledge: 2025
    Dec 29 2025

    The Best of Our Knowledge explores topics on learning, education, and research.

    This week we’ll celebrate the best of The Best of Our Knowledge in 2025.

    We’ll learn about a new color that humans normally can’t see, a project that created one of the most advanced maps of the brain, and research that uncovers truths to the extinction of the dinosaurs.

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    29 mins