Programs

This episode was recorded on March 1st, 2026 at the Templeton-Blackburn Alumni Memorial Auditorium in Athens, Ohio. The lineup includes The Steel Wheels, Sam Weber, Peter Holsapple, Lily Talmers, Rylee Bapst Band. https://bit.ly/4dXq37H

There’s something rotten in the cows of Denmark. And Minnesota. And Wisconsin. And Idaho. What could cause a previously thriving herd of majestic dairy cattle to stop drinking water and start drinking … urine? A Danish farmer calls a special investigator, who takes one look at his farm and nopes the heck out of there, refusing to return, citing “bad energy” coming from something nearby … a big building covered in Viking runes.  It’s not magic. It’s an invisible force that’s far more common. And yet deeply mysterious. This episode plunges producers Matt Kielty and Simon Adler knee-deep in a decades-old dairy farm controversy, rooted in a fundamental suspicion of the invisible streams of electrons that keep our world humming. Special thanks to Dr. Liz Brock EPISODE CREDITS:  Reported by – Matt Kielty and Simon Adler with help from – Clara Grunnet and Rebecca Rand Produced by – Matt Kielty with help from – Maria Paz Gutierrez Original music from – Jeremy Bloom and Matt Kielty Sound design contributed by – Jeremy Bloom Mixed by – Jeremy Bloom Fact-checking by – Angely Mercado and Sophie Samiee and Edited by  – Pat Walters EPISODE CITATIONS: Books – The Great Energy Transition: America from 1876 to 1929 (https://zpr.io/3PStsDgidpj5), by David Nye Powering American Farms: The Overlooked Origins of Rural Electrification (https://zpr.io/GdQ4pMCy4DAV), by Richard Hirsch Beyond the Barn – Dodging Cow Patties for 50 Years by a Country Vet (https://zpr.io/S8qS9HLEQBJe), by Don Sanders a memoir about his long career. Signup for our newsletter!! It includes short essays, recommendations, and details about other ways to interact with the show. Sign up (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. Hi Radiolab listeners, we want to hear from you! Take this podcast survey and let us know how you feel about the show. It only takes about 20 minutes and your feedback will help us make our podcast better! There are no wrong answers, we want your honest takes. You can help out by taking the survey here (www.radiolab.org/survey).

In this bonus episode, Jim cues up a Desert Island Jukebox pick—and explains why it’s deeper than it first sounds.Join our Facebook Group: https://bit.ly/3sivr9TBecome a member on Patreon: https://bit.ly/3slWZvcSign up for our newsletter: https://bit.ly/3eEvRnGMake 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.

In December of 2024, a region on Jupiter’s moon Io blew its top. Several huge volcanoes were erupting at the same time – the most powerful volcanic event ever seen anywhere in the solar system. The outburst covered an area the size of West Virginia. During the hour that a spacecraft was watching, it produced enough energy to power the entire United States for days. Io is by far the most active body in the solar system. It has hundreds of cones, lava pools, and other volcanic features. They’re powered by a constant tug-of-war between Jupiter and some of its other big moons. They pull and stretch Io’s interior, heating it up. The 2024 eruptions were observed by Juno, a spacecraft that’s orbiting through the Jovian system. The region on Io had been quiet when Juno last looked at it, about two months earlier. So the eruptions must all have started at about the same time. That suggests they were powered by the same source of magma below the surface. The magma must have traveled through a network of underground plumbing, allowing it to power several eruptions at once. So Io’s interior might be like a sponge, with lots of open spaces – that are sometimes filled with molten rock. Jupiter appears just above our moon tonight. It looks like a brilliant star. Through binoculars, Io and Jupiter’s other big moons look like tiny stars quite close to the planet. We’ll talk about one of Jupiter’s icy moons tomorrow. Script by Damond Benningfield

We're joined for a special Uruguay episode co-hosted by Juan Campodonico, the artist and producer at the forefront of fusing electronic and rock music with traditional Uruguayan genres like tango and murga. Featured artists include Bajofondo, El Cuarteto de Nos, Campo and Peyote Asesino. 

Stories of cheating, cheaters, and the cheated. Visit thisamericanlife.org/lifepartners to sign up for our premium subscription.Prologue: Ira talks with Jessica Pressler about a phenomenon she noticed in the wedding notices in The New York Times. Couples were cheerfully telling—as part of their "meet cute" stories—how their relationships began with one of them cheating on a spouse or long-time partner. (4 minutes)Act One: From England, Ruby Wright has a story of an affair where—even years after it ended—it wasn't much discussed. (14 minutes)Act Two: Ira reviews some infidelity stats from his mother's book on the subject, Not Just Friends. And author James Braly tells a story of temptation live onstage at The Moth. (15 minutes)Act Three: Dani Shapiro on the confusing mess things can be during an affair. The story is from her memoir, Slow Motion. (16 minutes)Act Four: Etgar Keret describes the moment in the immediate aftermath of an affair. Actor Matt Malloy reads. (4 minutes)Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.orgThis American Life privacy policy.Learn more about sponsor message choices.