Short Wave Folgen

A few years ago, ecologist Elizabeth Clare had an idea--what if she could study rare or endangered animals in the wild without ever having to see or capture them? What if she could learn about them by only pulling data out of thin air? It turns out, the air's not so thin. There are bits of DNA floating around us, and Elizabeth figured out how to collect it. She talks to guest host Lauren Sommer about testing her collection method in a zoo, how another science team simultaneous came up with and tested the same idea and how DNA taken from the environment could revolutionize the field of ecology.Read about the study here.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Raychelle Burks is a forensic chemist and an associate professor at American University. She's also a big fan of murder mysteries. Today, we talk pop culture forensics with Raychelle and what signs to look for to know whether or not a tv crime show is getting the science right. (ENCORE)What else bothers you about TV accuracy? E-mail the show at shortwave@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

As a kid, Jasmin Graham was endlessly curious about the ocean. That eventually led her to a career in marine science studying sharks and rays. But until relatively recently, she had never met another Black woman in her field. That all changed in 2020 when she connected with a group of Black women studying sharks through the Twitter hashtag #BlackInNature. Finding a community was so powerful that the women decided to start a group. On today's show, Jasmin talks with host Maddie Sofia about Minorities in Shark Sciences (MISS) and how it's supporting women of color through hands-on workshops and community building. (Encore)To see pictures of MISS's first workshop check out their website.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy