Short Wave Folgen

TFW when you're so excited you get those butterflies in your stomach - or maybe when you see something icky, you feel ill. On today's show, producer Berly McCoy looks at this relationship between our gut and our brain. Berly talks to host Emily Kwong about how the organs evolved to have a tight connection - connections that go beyond transient feelings of excitement or disgust. In fact, an increasing body of research shows links between the gut and conditions we typically associate mostly with the brain – like anxiety and Parkinson's Disease.Here's a link to the study about gut bacteria and the brain in some children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. https://www.theautismstudy.com/studyLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

For many, recycling feels like a tangible way to personally combat climate change and to positively affect the environment. But after a years long investigation, NPR correspondent Laura Sullivan finds that reality is generally the opposite: Only a small fraction of plastic is ultimately recycled. Moreover, plastic production is on the rise.Further reading:- Recycling plastic is practically impossible — and the problem is getting worse- How Big Oil Misled The Public Into Believing Plastic Would Be RecycledLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

If an asteroid were hurling through space, making a beeline straight to Earth, how would humans prevent it from doing what it did to the dinosaurs? Would we bomb it? Would we shoot lasers at it like a scene from Hollywood's latest sci-fi flick? Well, the folks at NASA have designed and tested a theory."The DART mission, the Double Asteroid Redirection Test, is essentially our first test of a kinetic impact for planetary defense." says Cristina Thomas, assistant professor of Astronomy and Planetary Science at Northern Arizona University. Put simply, scientists at NASA took a spacecraft and crashed it into an asteroid — hoping the little nudge, like bumper cars, would be enough to push the asteroid off course. Today on the show, Short Wave's scientist-in-residence Regina G. Barber talks to Cristina Thomas about what it was like watching the success of the DART mission and what this means for science and planetary defense. Email Short Wave at ShortWave@NPR.org. Or, follow us on Twitter at @NPRShortWave.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy