Podcast · 97 episodes
Unexplainable
by Vox · English
Unexplainable takes listeners right up to the edge of what we know…and then keeps on going. The Unexplainable team — Noam Hassenfeld, Julia Longoria, Byrd Pinkerton, and Meradith Hoddinott — tackles scientific mysteries, unanswered questions, and everything we learn diving into the unknown. New episodes Mondays and Wednesdays. From Vox and the Vox Media Podcast Network.
Latest episodes
The bodies buried in the bogHow bogs preserve organic material and what bog bodies and other finds (e.g., “bog butter”) can reveal, plus modern conservation and climate importance of peatlands.28 Sep 2026 · 26 min
What happened to the giant bugs?The episode asks what happened to the giant pre-human insects (e.g., Carboniferous “suitcase-sized” dragonfly relatives and ~2-meter millipede-like bugs) and whether high atmospheric oxygen explains…23 Sep 2026 · 27 min
Dark matter and the end of answersDark matter—why it’s inferred to make up about 85% of the universe but remains undetected—and what that failure to identify it means for science and meaning.21 Sep 2026 · 35 min
All episodes
The bodies buried in the bogHow bogs preserve organic material and what bog bodies and other finds (e.g., “bog butter”) can reveal, plus modern conservation and climate importance of peatlands.28 Sep 2026 · 26 min · 19 chapters
What happened to the giant bugs?The episode asks what happened to the giant pre-human insects (e.g., Carboniferous “suitcase-sized” dragonfly relatives and ~2-meter millipede-like bugs) and whether high atmospheric oxygen explains…23 Sep 2026 · 27 min · 12 chapters
Dark matter and the end of answersDark matter—why it’s inferred to make up about 85% of the universe but remains undetected—and what that failure to identify it means for science and meaning.21 Sep 2026 · 35 min · 13 chapters
What happened before the big bang?A two-part Scientific American “Impossible Questions” series episode on what happened before the Big Bang, framed through why some scientific questions remain unanswered.16 Sep 2026 · 26 min · 12 chapters
What's the oldest story ever told?The episode asks “what’s the oldest story ever told?” It starts with George Smith (1872), a London banknote engraver who taught himself to read Babylonian tablets and discovered the Epic of…14 Sep 2026 · 27 min · 10 chapters
Stopping the science that could stop the worldSynthetic cell biology’s “mirror life” concept—cells built with opposite-handed (left/right) biomolecules—could be invisible to immune systems and predators, potentially enabling an unstoppable…2 Sep 2026 · 36 min · 13 chapters
A breakthrough in synthetic lifeSynthetic biology “from scratch,” focused on Kate Ademala’s lab-made “spud cells” that are assembled from non-living chemicals and can feed, grow, divide, and compete—though she argues they’re not…31 Aug 2026 · 34 min · 17 chapters
Life from scratch“Life from scratch” (Unexplainable, Vox) explores synthetic cell biology—how scientists try to understand what makes cells alive by building minimal cells from lab-made synthetic genomes, and how…26 Aug 2026 · 30 min · 13 chapters
The idea of a songSwitched on Pop (Netflix debut) episode “The idea of a song” focuses on the intro section—its purpose, how it shapes first impressions, and why intros still matter even as streaming and attention…24 Aug 2026 · 44 min · 19 chapters
Why can’t I remember being a baby?Why people can’t remember being babies (infantile amnesia), what early experiences still leave behind, and what that means for parenting.19 Aug 2026 · 27 min · 10 chapters
Can these corals take the heat?Coral reefs are declining, largely due to ocean heat. The episode explains why heat causes coral bleaching (corals’ symbiotic algae leaves when temperatures rise) and discusses whether coral…17 Aug 2026 · 31 min · 19 chapters
Why Hank Green takes pseudoscience seriouslyHank Green discusses how to distinguish science from pseudoscience, arguing that science is defined by communal checking (“please tear apart my data”) and embracing uncertainty, while pseudoscience…10 Aug 2026 · 27 min · 17 chapters
A trip to the twilight reefsA field-to-lab look at “mesophotic” twilight reefs (about 30–150m) in Palau and other Pacific sites, and how scientists use ARMS (Autonomous Reef Monitoring Structures) to study deep coral ecosystems…5 Aug 2026 · 40 min · 19 chapters
The hidden world that birds seeHow birds navigate using magnetoreception—sensing Earth’s magnetic field—plus the broader idea that animals live in different perceptual “umwelts” (their own sensory worlds).3 Aug 2026 · 28 min · 12 chapters
The Godzilla El NiñoThe coming “El Niño” climate event—called a possible “Godzilla/super El Niño”—and how it could intensify global heat and disrupt rainfall, hurricanes, crops, fires, and politics, with 2027 framed as…29 Jul 2026 · 44 min · 8 chapters
An argument for the sunThe episode argues that sunlight has important health benefits, while public messaging swung from “heliotherapy for everything” to “avoid the sun,” and now may be shifting toward a nuanced middle…27 Jul 2026 · 31 min · 19 chapters
What the Odyssey is hidingThe late Bronze Age collapse behind the Odyssey—how an interconnected Mediterranean/Middle Eastern network unraveled around 1225–1175 BCE, and what factors (Sea Peoples, earthquakes, drought,…22 Jul 2026 · 25 min · 9 chapters
Dinosaur mysteries with Riley BlackHow paleontologists turn fragmentary dinosaur fossils into believable reconstructions, and how trace fossils (tracks, bite marks, coprolites, insect damage) add behavioral evidence.20 Jul 2026 · 32 min · 13 chapters
When doctors don't know what's wrongDiagnostic errors and the “diagnosis crisis,” using Louise Proctor’s decades-long search for answers and the NIH Undiagnosed Diseases Program as a model for how coordinated, time-intensive care can…15 Jul 2026 · 32 min · 18 chapters
Are you a lyric person or a music person?Why people differ in whether they focus on music or on lyrics when listening; how brain processing of music and language may be partly distinct; and how shared listening still produces different…13 Jul 2026 · 33 min · 16 chapters
Big news!Announcement episode for Vox’s Unexplainable moving to Netflix and launching a weekly video show.9 Jul 2026 · 3 min · 1 chapter
Are we all living in an enormous black hole?Whether the observable universe could be inside an enormous black hole, with horizons explaining why we can’t see beyond the universe’s edge; discussion also covers black hole “singularities,” Big…6 Jul 2026 · 26 min · 11 chapters
Risky businessHow climate change reshapes insurance risk—catastrophe modeling, rising premiums, insurer pullbacks, and the possibility of “uninsurable” homes—plus what policy interventions could do.29 Jun 2026 · 30 min · 15 chapters
A period pieceThe episode explores how the uterus’s endometrium heals extremely fast (3–5 days, usually without scarring) and whether menstrual fluid can “turbocharge” wound repair elsewhere.24 Jun 2026 · 20 min · 7 chapters