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This episode was recorded on February 2nd, 2025 at the Culture Center Theater in Charleston, WV. The lineup includes The Headhunters, Amanda Anne Platt & The Honeycutters, David Berkeley, Buffalo Rose, and Crys Matthews.  https://bit.ly/42AWjHv

A couple years ago, an entomologist named Martha Weiss got a letter from a little boy in Japan saying he wanted to replicate a famous study of hers. We covered that original study on Radiolab more than a decade ago in an episode called Goo and You – check it out here – and in addition to revealing some fascinating secrets of insect life, it also raises big questions about memory, permanence and transformation. The letter Martha received about building on this study set in motion a series of spectacular events that advance her original science and show how science works when a 12-year-old boy is the one doing it. Martha’s daughter, reporter Annie Rosenthal, captured all of it and turned it into a beautiful audio story called “Caterpillar Roadshow.” It was originally published in a brand new independent audio magazine called Signal Hill, which happens to have been created in part by two former Radiolab interns (Liza Yeager and Jackson Roach, both of whom worked on this piece), and we loved it, so we’re presenting an excerpt for you here.Special thanks to Annie Rosenthal, Liza Yeager, Jackson Roach, Leo Wong, Omar Etman, the whole team at Signal Hill, Carlos Morales, John Lill, Marfa Public Radio and Emma Garschagen.EPISODE CREDITS: Reported by – Annie RosenthalProduced by – Annie Rosenthalwith help from – Leo Wong and Omar EtmanSound design contributed by – Liza Yeager and Jackson RoachFact-checking by – Alan Deanand Edited by  – Liza Yeager and Jackson RoachEPISODE CITATIONS:Audio –  Listen to the original Radiolab episode, Goo and You, here (https://zpr.io/qh9xqpkXzk7j).Or the Signal Hill podcast here (https://zpr.io/CDfwyK7Zkrva).Guests – And if you want to learn more about Martha Weiss, and her work, head over here (https://zpr.io/aBw2YsqWB6NZ).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 Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, Science Sandbox, a Simons Foundation Initiative, and the John Templeton Foundation. Foundational support for Radiolab was provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.

This year marks the 25th anniversary of socially conscious rapper Common's pivotal album Like Water for Chocolate. Hosts Jim DeRogatis and Greg Kot revisit their classic album dissection of Like Water for Chocolate including an interview with Common from the year 2000.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/soundops Featured Songs:Common, "Time Travelin' (A Tribute to Fela)," Like Water for Chocolate, MCA, 2000Common, "Take it EZ," Can I Borrow a Dollar?, Relativity, 1992Common, "I Used to Love H.E.R.," Resurrection, Relativity, 1994Common, "Brown Sugar," Brown Sugar, EMI, 1995Common, "Funky for You," Like Water for Chocolate, MCA, 2000Common, "A Song for Assata," Like Water for Chocolate, MCA, 2000Common, "Payback is a Grandmother," Like Water for Chocolate, MCA, 2000Common, "The Light," Like Water for Chocolate, MCA, 2000Common, "The 6th Sense," Like Water for Chocolate, MCA, 2000Common, "Thelonius," Like Water for Chocolate, MCA, 2000Common, "Geto Heaven Remix T.S.O.I," Like Water for Chocolate (Alternate Edition), MCA, 2001Common, "A Film Called (Pimp)," Like Water for Chocolate, MCA, 2000Kendrick Lamar, "Institutionalized," To Pimp a Butterfly, Interscope, 2015New York Dolls, "Looking For a Kiss," New York Dolls, Mercury, 1973Delivery, "The New Alphabet," Force Majeure, Heavenly, 2025Delivery, "Deadlines," Force Majeure, Heavenly, 2025Lucy Dacus, "Ankles," Forever is a Feeling, Geffen, 2025See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Sun is an unusual star in several ways. It’s the only star known to support life. It’s in the top 10 percent of the most-massive stars in the galaxy. And it’s in the minority in another way: it moves through the galaxy alone. Like all stars, the Sun probably was born in a cluster – a group of hundreds or thousands of stars. But the Sun’s birth cluster fell apart, with the stars going their own ways. Most stars hang on to one or more of their siblings. Most of them form binaries – two stars bound by their gravity. Others form systems of three stars or more – all the way up to seven. The heavier a star, the more likely it is to have companions. For stars like the Sun, the odds are about 50-50. The Sun has no companions today. But it could have in the distant past. In its crowded nursery, close encounters with other stars could have pulled the Sun and any possible companions away from each other. Astronomers haven’t found any long-lost binary “twin” of the Sun. But they have found some stars that could have been born in the same cluster. A great example is HD 162826. Astronomers at McDonald Observatory found that its composition and motion are very close matches to the Sun’s. HD 162826 rises above Vega, the brightest star of Lyra. They’re in the northeast in late evening. But you need binoculars to see this likely sibling to the Sun. More about binaries tomorrow. Script by Damond Benningfield

We visit CHILE, a country whose music scene far outperforms its population size. Featured artists include Mon Laferte, Francisca Valenzuela, Zona Ganjah, Los Bunkers, Colayuta, Tiro de Gracia, La Ley, Diego Lorenzini, Los Mono, Los Tres, Camila Moreno and more!

A couple devises a strategy to get their daughter's killer prosecuted and to get attention for other Native families.  Visit thisamericanlife.org/lifepartners to sign up for our premium subscription.Prologue: Mika Westwolf was killed in a hit-and-run on a Montana highway. Her parents thought the driver might get away with it. The driver was white. Mika was a citizen of the Blackfeet Nation. (1 minute)Act One: Mika’s parents, Carissa Heavy Runner and Kevin Howard, share recordings of their interactions with law enforcement. (8 minutes)Act Two: Carissa and Kevin take matters into their own hands. (20 minutes)Act Three: The county prosecutor explains why he let Mika’s killer out of jail. Will Carissa and Kevin's efforts pay off? Sierra follows them to court. (33 minutes)Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.orgThis American Life privacy policy.Learn more about sponsor message choices.