Programs

This episode was recorded on June 14th, 2026 at the Culture Center Theater in Charleston, WV. The lineup includes Brandy Clark, Steep Canyon Rangers, Tristan, and Philip Bowen. https://bit.ly/4hjzCPF

When you think about grass, what do you think of? Pool parties? Suburbs? Allergies? What about: human history? It turns out, unassuming grass, which exists on every continent, has an epic story to tell. One of transforming the planet, and … us. From what we eat, to how our body might be shaped and the ways we perceive the world. Senior Correspondent Molly Webster speaks to biologist and writer David George Haskell in this tiny ode to Grass.This episode was inspired by “Grass Fed”, a Radiolab outdoor theatre performance at Little Island in New York City. “Grass Fed” featured biologist and writer David George Haskell; Foley artist Steven Wendt; and dance company, Pilobolus. Special thanks to all the artists, and to Little Island, Sarah Sandbach, Natalia Ramirez, and Soren Wheeler.EPISODE CREDITS: Hosted by – Molly WebsterReported by – Molly Websterwith help from – Jo Strogatz and Anisa VietzeProduced by – Sarah Qariwith help from – Jo Strogatz, Molly Webster Original vocals from – Jo Strogatzwith mixing from – Jeremy S. BloomFact-checking by – Nora Belblidiaand Edited by  – Pat Walters EPISODE CITATIONS:Articles – The Other Almanac 2026 (https://www.otheralmanac.com/), by David George Haskell a print-only magazine contains an essay All Hail Grass, Maker of Humans! by David George Haskell all about grass’s role in human history. Books – How Flowers Made Our World” (https://zpr.io/r4ybZJea8WV9) by David George Haskell which has a chapter all about grass in it (it’s a flowering plant, if you didn’t know!) Sign up for our newsletter!! It includes short essays, recommendations, and details about other ways to interact with the show. Signup (https://radiolab.org/newsletter)!Radiolab is supported by listeners like you. Support Radiolab by becoming a member of The Lab (https://members.radiolab.org/) today.Follow our show on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook @radiolab, and share your thoughts with us by emailing radiolab@wnyc.org.Leadership support for Radiolab’s science programming is provided by the Simons Foundation and the John Templeton Foundation. Foundational support for Radiolab was provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this bonus episode, Greg spotlights a song he recently heard as Muzak and makes the case for the original and its grocery store counterpart.Join our Facebook Group: https://bit.ly/3sivr9TBecome a member on Patreon: https://bit.ly/3slWZvcSign up for our newsletter: https://bit.ly/4frcVZoMake a donation via PayPal: https://bit.ly/3dmt9lUSend us a Voice Memo: Desktop: bit.ly/2RyD5Ah  Mobile: sayhi.chat/soundopsSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

To modern eyes, the stars of Sagittarius form the outline of a teapot. But in Greek mythology, the constellation was far more extensive. It represented a centaur – half-man, half-horse – holding a bow and arrow. And the brightest star in the constellation plays a role in both of those pictures. Kaus Australis is at the lower right corner of the teapot. It also represents the southern end of the bow – in fact, that’s the meaning of its name. It’s actually a binary – two stars in a wide orbit around one another. One of the stars is like the Sun. But from the system’s distance of about 145 light-years, it’s much too faint to see with the eye alone. The star we can see is much bigger and heavier than the Sun, and about 500 times brighter. And it spins in a hurry – once every 1.6 days, compared to almost four weeks for the Sun. If it were spinning just a little faster, it would rip itself apart. In fact, it’s closer to that self-destruct point than any other star yet seen. As a result of its rotation, the star is squashed – it’s about a third wider through the equator than the poles. And because they’re closer to the star’s core, the poles are thousands of degrees hotter than the equator. Astronomers can’t explain the star’s high-speed rotation. The star could be siphoning gas from a much-closer companion that’s hidden from view – spinning up the tip of the archer’s bow. Script by Damond Benningfield

It's a spotlight on our favorite Cuban music!  Featured artists include Orishas, Los Van Van, Los Zafiros and more.  

Nikole Hannah-Jones made an argument 10 years ago in The New York Times Magazine that became famous. She wrote about choosing a public school for her daughter, Najya, in one of the most racially and economically segregated school systems in the country: New York City. Nikole chose a regular public school, one that most wealthy and middle-class parents wouldn’t consider, and she challenged other parents to do the same.  She revisits that argument, and that choice, in a series of conversations with producer Chana Joffe-Walt and with her daughter, Najya, who’s now 16 and has her own very different views.  Visit thisamericanlife.org/lifepartners to sign up for our premium subscription.(00:00:00) Prologue: Chana talks with Nikole about what they both remember from being young parents just starting to think about schools for their children. (9 minutes)(00:10:41) Act One: Nikole talks with Chana about Najya’s elementary school and the problems her family navigated there. (15 minutes)(00:25:57) Act Two: Chana talks with Najya about her memories of elementary and middle school and how she felt about her mom’s choices. (9 minutes)(00:31:40) Act Three: Nikole and Najya talk about what changed when Najya pushed back against her mom’s choices for elementary and middle school and got to choose her own high school. (10 minutes)(00:42:08) Act Four: Nikole and Najya talk with each other about the different choices they made and the questions they still have for each other. (9 minutes)(00:51:06) Act Five: Nikole fact-checks her memory against her old emails with Najya’s elementary school and has a painful revelation. (7 minutes)Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org / This American Life privacy policy. / Learn more about sponsor message choices.