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Unexplainable

Unexplainable takes listeners right up to the edge of what we know ... and then keeps right on going. This Vox podcast explores scientific mysteries, unanswered questions, and all the things we learn by diving into the unknown. New episodes every Wednesday.

Tell us about a scientific mystery that fascinates you.

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The Unexplainable team includes Noam Hassenfeld, Byrd Pinkerton, Meradith Hoddinott, Mandy Nguyen, Cristian Ayala, and Brian Resnick. The show is a production of the Vox Media Podcast Network.

Show transcripts. Clean versions of explicit episodes. Songs from the podcast.

10 of the biggest — and smallest — scientific mysteries

Runners can be disqualified for starting after the gun. What gives?

11 unexplainable animal mysteries

Even the scientists who build AI can’t tell you how it works

Is weed safe in pregnancy?

4 unexplainable mysteries of pregnancy and parenting

What is life? Scientists still can’t agree.

3 unexplainable mysteries of life on Earth

How Havana syndrome helps us rethink the brain

How scientists discovered the universe is really freaking huge

The mystery of the mimic plant

Space is deadly. NASA’s Artemis mission will help us learn how to survive it.

A mountain, a tower, a thermos of molten salt. These are the batteries that could power our renewable future.

The mysterious rise of food allergies

The race to find 2,100 missing species before they go extinct

What did dinosaurs actually sound like? Take a listen.

The ovarian “biological clock” and other reproductive health metaphors that have led science astray

Why the new James Webb Space Telescope images are such a big deal

Why scientists really, really want to know if there was ever life on Mars

7 solar system mysteries scientists haven’t solved yet

The underwater “eye” that is unlocking ocean secrets

What science still doesn’t know about the five senses

Cancer has a smell. Someday your phone may detect it.

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Doctors learned how to save premature infants’ lives. They forgot about pain.

Scientists are investigating how to treat pain in babies who can’t tell you when it hurts.

The loss of insects is an apocalypse worth worrying about

The mystery of methane gone missing

What science still can’t explain about love

What romance novels can teach us about attraction

There’s a Covid-19 epidemic in deer. It could come back to haunt us. 

The quest to avert an asteroid apocalypse is going surprisingly well

Fusion energy is a reason to be excited about the future

The largest space telescope in history is about to blow our minds

11 epic mysteries scientists totally can’t solve

The world’s largest space telescope is set to launch on Christmas. Here’s how to watch.

Venus could have been a paradise but turned into a hellscape. Earthlings, pay attention.

Psychiatrists are uncovering connections between viruses and mental health. They’re surprising.

How technology has inspired neuroscientists to reimagine the brain

The curious case of the ancient whale bones

The animals that may exist in a million years, imagined by biologists

How telescopes make the universe self-aware