Podcasts · Science
Unexplainable
278 episodes · 20 with AI analysis
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.
AI Intelligence · across all analyzed episodes
People · top 20
Companies · top 20
Vox Media×7NASA×5Vox×3Microsoft×2Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)×2National Institutes of Health (NIH)×2BBC×2University of Minnesota×2Shopify×2Rethink PrioritiesOregon State UniversityUC Berkeley Innovative Genomics InstituteBoston Symphony OrchestraU.S. GovernmentNorthern Arizona UniversityFonalyticsGuinness Book of World RecordsAmerican Guild of OrganistsCenters for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)St. Louis Cardinals
Topics · top 10
Black Death transmission mechanisms and originsMedieval trade routes and grain commercePlague bacterium Yersinia pestis genetics and identificationKaffa siege and Mongol-Italian conflict (1340s)Historical source criticism and documentary verificationClimate impacts on medieval agriculture and famineRodent and flea vectors in disease transmissionBiological warfare narratives in historical accountsMedieval European economic and social upheavalHistoriographical methods and evidence standards
Analyzed Episodes
May 13, 2026
A better Black Death story
Black Death transmission mechanisms and originsMedieval trade routes and grain commercePlague bacterium Yersinia pestis genetics and identification
View AnalysisSep 17, 2025
The metabolism myth
Metabolism definition and measurementWeight loss and obesity causationFood environment impact on health
View AnalysisSep 22, 2025
Did we find signs of life on Mars?
Mars Biosignature DetectionPerseverance Rover OperationsAncient Martian Habitability
View AnalysisSep 24, 2025
What’s A
Musical pitch standardization historyA440 Hz frequency standard adoptionFrench pitch standard A435
View AnalysisSep 29, 2025
How to change your personality
Big Five Personality Traits (Neuroticism, Extraversion, Agreeableness, Openness, Conscientiousness)Intentional Personality Change ScienceMindfulness and Meditation for Neuroticism Reduction
View AnalysisOct 1, 2025
Real-life zombies
Fungal zombification of insectsParasitic behavior manipulation mechanismsImmune system evasion by pathogens
View AnalysisOct 6, 2025
Does Tylenol cause autism?
Acetaminophen safety during pregnancyAutism causation and risk factorsEpidemiological study design and confounding variables
View AnalysisOct 8, 2025
Composing chaos
Aleatoric Music and Chance CompositionEmergent Behavior in Creative SystemsMusical Notation and Performance Freedom
View AnalysisOct 20, 2025
When talent vanishes overnight
The Yips (task-specific performance failure)Focal Dystonia (neurological movement disorder)Motor Learning and Automaticity
View AnalysisOct 22, 2025
Consider the shrimp
Moral philosophy and utilitarian ethicsAnimal sentience and consciousness in invertebratesShrimp farming and industrial aquaculture practices
View AnalysisOct 27, 2025
This episode is haunted and spooky
Recreational Fear PsychologyHorror Media ConsumptionFear Response Mechanisms
View AnalysisOct 29, 2025
Solve me a river
River evulsions and course changesFreshwater mussel ecology and die-offsSediment transport and river dynamics
View AnalysisNov 3, 2025
The Sound Barrier #1: The myth of hearing
Auditory Illusions and Brain PerceptionTop-Down Processing in Sensory PerceptionCochlear Implant Technology and Adaptation
View AnalysisNov 5, 2025
The Sound Barrier #2: The noise that isn't there
Tinnitus pathophysiology and neurological mechanismsHidden hearing loss and auditory nerve fiber damageHearing test limitations and diagnostic gaps
View AnalysisNov 10, 2025
The Sound Barrier #3: What does silence sound like?
Auditory Neuroscience and PerceptionSilence as Sensory ExperienceAnechoic Chambers and Acoustic Engineering
View AnalysisNov 12, 2025
The Sound Barrier #4: Listen to the universe
Sonification in AstronomyCosmic Microwave Background Radiation DetectionAccessibility in STEM Fields
View AnalysisNov 17, 2025
Is animal grief real?
Animal grief and mourning behaviorsAnthropomorphism in animal behavior researchAnimal cognition and consciousness
View AnalysisNov 19, 2025
Lost on the road to enlightenment
Meditation-induced psychosis and depersonalizationPublication bias in meditation researchAdverse effects of mindfulness-based stress reduction
View AnalysisDec 1, 2025
That's no moon...
Quasi-satellites and near-Earth objects classificationAsteroid composition and solar system historyMeteorite analysis and laboratory study techniques
View AnalysisDec 3, 2025
The trees of death
Devonian Period plant evolution and forest emergenceMass extinction events and extinction triggersPaleontological fossil analysis and interpretation
View Analysis