Podcast · 97 episodes
Unexplainable, page 3
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.
All episodes, page 3
My brain made me do itThe 1991 Herbert Weinstein case and how PET brain scans entered U.S. courts, plus neuroscience’s limits in determining criminal responsibility.9 Mar 2026 · 27 min · 8 chapters
The CodfatherNew Bedford’s “Codfather,” Carlos Rafael, and how mistrust between fishermen and NOAA fish-science led to quota-driven fraud and widespread resentment of government data.25 Feb 2026 · 39 min · 18 chapters
Stress ages us on a cellular levelHow psychological stress may accelerate biological aging, including evidence at the DNA and cellular “zombie cell” levels, and a new brain-body energy conservation model linking stress signals to…23 Feb 2026 · 15 min · 6 chapters
The Amazing ExtremophilesThe Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn is a Superfund site contaminated by industrial waste and sewage; the episode explores how “extremophiles” (microbes adapted to toxic environments) survive there and what…9 Feb 2026 · 26 min · 6 chapters
Mysterious objects near the beginning of timeThe James Webb Space Telescope’s “Little Red Dots” in the early universe and what they imply about how supermassive black holes formed.4 Feb 2026 · 26 min · 7 chapters
Cloud atlasClouds—how they’re made, why they’re hard to predict, and how they may affect climate change; plus a sound-design “clouds” motif and a firsthand thunderstorm flight.2 Feb 2026 · 29 min · 14 chapters
What's good sound?How “good sound” relates to tuning the musical note A (especially A440 vs slightly higher tunings), and how violin/cello makers shape tone through materials, setup, and overtones.28 Jan 2026 · 26 min · 9 chapters
No data, just vibesHow federal data collection under the Trump administration is being eroded, making health and climate science harder and widening “blind spots,” with long-term consequences.26 Jan 2026 · 23 min · 9 chapters
It's not all badThe episode mixes a sponsor read about identity theft with a “Good News” year-in-review conversation.14 Jan 2026 · 25 min · 12 chapters
Superbabies?Value pluralism and the ethics of IVF embryo screening, including PGTA and newer polygenic testing (sex selection and predicted risks/traits), plus whether parents “owe” children “the best” or “good…12 Jan 2026 · 26 min · 11 chapters
The G-word“Solar geoengineering” (the “G-word”): whether spraying sunlight-reflecting particles in the stratosphere could cool Earth, who might do it, and the governance risks.7 Jan 2026 · 27 min · 10 chapters
Who's afraid of big, bad Yellowstone?Debunks claims that Yellowstone will erupt imminently and explains what scientists can and can’t predict, then highlights other real Yellowstone hazards.5 Jan 2026 · 23 min · 7 chapters
Vitamin C and the common coldWhether vitamin C prevents or treats the common cold, and what Linus Pauling’s vitamin-C crusade got right and wrong.17 Dec 2025 · 32 min · 8 chapters
Your moments of silence (The Sound Barrier #5)This Sound Barrier #5 episode explores what “silence” sounds like when people actually listen for it.15 Dec 2025 · 32 min · 11 chapters
Diary of a teenage brain, part 2Part 2 of “Diary of a teenage brain” explains synaptic pruning—how developing brains overproduce synapses and then rapidly eliminate unused ones—and what this suggests for learning and for designing…10 Dec 2025 · 27 min · 7 chapters
Diary of a teenage brainThe “Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD)” study—how researchers track nearly 12,000 U.S.8 Dec 2025 · 29 min · 12 chapters
The trees of deathA journey to the Cairo, New York quarry “ghost forest” showing tree root impressions from 385 million years ago, explaining the Devonian “plant explosion,” the rise of early forests and land…3 Dec 2025 · 27 min · 14 chapters
That's no moon...The episode explores a newly discovered object near Earth, referred to as 2025 PN7, which exhibits characteristics similar to a moon or quasi-satellite.1 Dec 2025 · 21 min
Lost on the road to enlightenmentThe episode explores adverse mental health effects of meditation, how science has sometimes suppressed or misunderstood them, and how historical Buddhist texts and modern cases describe “meditation…19 Nov 2025 · 35 min · 13 chapters
Is animal grief real?In this episode of *Unexplainable*, the hosts explore the complex topic of whether animals experience grief.17 Nov 2025 · 26 min
The Sound Barrier #4: Listen to the universeHow humans can “listen” to space by translating non-audible signals (radio waves, microwaves, X-rays) into sound, and how sonification can expand scientific discovery and accessibility.12 Nov 2025 · 37 min · 12 chapters
The Sound Barrier #3: What does silence sound like?Episode 3 of The Sound Barrier asks what silence “sounds like” and whether silence is truly nothing.10 Nov 2025 · 32 min · 13 chapters
The Sound Barrier #2: The noise that isn't thereTinnitus—hearing persistent ringing/noises that aren’t in the environment—why hearing tests can miss it (“hidden hearing loss”), and what treatments might help.5 Nov 2025 · 34 min · 13 chapters
The Sound Barrier #1: The myth of hearingHow hearing works as brain “editing” rather than direct playback of sound waves, using auditory illusions and cochlear-implant experiences to show top-down processing and individual perception…3 Nov 2025 · 40 min · 16 chapters