Big Thinkers

A Peek Inside the Mind of Elon Musk

The following is an excerpt from Elon Musk, a biography by Ashlee Vance. Listen to SciFri on June 26, 2015, to hear Vance talk more about Musk’s life. “Do you think I’m insane?” This question came from Elon Musk near the very end of a long dinner we shared at a high-end seafood restaurant in […]

What Does the Sun Do? Solar Experts Respond

How Math is Like Baking: You Just Need a Recipe

Carl Sagan, and the Rise of the ‘Celebrity Scientist’

Science Friday Introduces New Video Series, The Macroscope

Science Friday Joins National STEM Partnership

Since our first broadcast in 1991, education has been a big part of our mission, and it plays a prominent role in our founder Ira Flatow’s vision for the Science Friday Initiative.  That’s why I’m both pleased and honored to announce that Science Friday has been selected as a new partner in the national 100Kin10 […]

Overheard at SXSW 2015

SciFri web producer Chau Tu is in Austin, Texas, for South by Southwest. Below, she shares snippets from various sessions she attended at SXSW Interactive:    We're All Related. The (Big) Data Proves It “Everyone is married to their cousin if you go back far enough.”—AJ Jacobs, author Author AJ Jacobs is on a quest to […]

Kitchen Math: How to Eat π Pies

Tune in to Science Friday on March 14, 2015, for a Pi Day Celebration. Every child knows how to make their pie last: Eat half, then eat half of what’s left, then eat half of that…and so on. The part that’s left over will get smaller and smaller until eventually you can’t even see it […]

Quiz: Pi Versus Pie

Happy Pi Day! Every March 14th, enthusiasts from around the world celebrate the (arguably) most famous number in mathematics with events, apparel, social media love, and a certain crusty dessert by a similar name.  While pi and pie sound alike, that’s not the only thing that connects them. Both have a long, storied history involving […]

Should These Scientific Ideas Be Retired?

The following are two excerpts from the book This Idea Must Die, edited by John Brockman. Listen to SciFri on Friday, February 27, 2015, to hear Seth Lloyd and Sean Carroll discuss their ideas. And let us know if you think these scientific ideas must die by clicking the Twitter links after each essay. THE […]