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This episode was recorded on February 22nd, 2026 at the Joan C. Edwards PAC in Charleston, WV. The lineup includes Stephen Kellogg, Emily Scott Robinson, Joe Troop & The Truth Machine, Kindred Valley, Corduroy Brown. https://bit.ly/4mHj455

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).

The prolific and singular rapper Billy Woods has spent decades carving out his own lane in hip-hop. This week, hosts Jim DeRogatis and Greg Kot chat with Billy Woods about his career, discography, and the process driving his music. The hosts also review new albums from Robyn and Courtney Barnett.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:Billy Woods, "Misery (feat. Kenny Segal)," Golliwog, Backwoodz Studioz, 2025The Beatles, "With A Little Help From My Friends," Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, Parlophone, 1967Robyn, "Sexistential," Sexistential, Konichiwa and Young, 2026Robyn, "Sucker For Love," Sexistential, Konichiwa and Young, 2026Robyn, "Really Real," Sexistential, Konichiwa and Young, 2026Robyn, "Blow My Mind," Sexistential, Konichiwa and Young, 2026Courtney Barnett, "Mantis," Creature of Habit, Mom + Pop, 2026Courtney Barnett, "Another Beautiful Day," Creature of Habit, Mom + Pop, 2026Courtney Barnett, "Great Advice," Creature of Habit, Mom + Pop, 2026Courtney Barnett, "One Thing At A Time," Creature of Habit, Mom + Pop, 2026Armand Hammer & The Alchemist, "Glue Traps (Feat. Quelle Chris)," Mercy, Backwoodz Studioz, 2025Billy Woods, "Corinthians Corinthians (feat. Despot & EL-P)," Golliwog, Backwoodz Studioz, 2025Billy Woods, "The Things They Carried," Camouflage, Backwoodz Studioz, 2003Billy Woods & Messiah Musik, "Pollo Rico," Church, Backwoodz Studioz, 2022Billy Woods, "Make No Mistake (feat. Messiah Musik)," Golliwog, Backwoodz Studioz, 2025Billy Woods & Messiah Musik, "Paraquat," Church, Backwoodz Studioz, 2022Billy Woods, "No Hard Feelings," Aethiopes, Backwoodz Studioz, 2022Billy Woods, "Asylum," Aethiopes, Backwoodz Studioz, 2022Billy Woods & Kenny Segal, "Spongebob," Hiding Places, Backwoodz Studioz, 2020Ratboys, "What's Right?," Singin' To An Empty Chair, New West Records, 2026See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Moon passes through the bull tonight. The bull’s “eye” – the star Aldebaran – is off to the left of the Moon. The bull’s face and shoulder are even closer, represented by a pair of star clusters – the Hyades and the Pleiades. For the most part, you can’t tell the distance to an astronomical object just by its appearance. Something that looks quite bright might be close, but it might also be far away and especially bright. But you can tell something about the distances to the objects around the Moon tonight by their appearance. The Pleiades looks like a tiny dipper close below the Moon. It contains hundreds of young stars, some of which are hot and bright. But the cluster’s small size is a good indication of its distance – almost 450 light-years. The Hyades looks bigger. It forms a letter V that outlines the bull’s face. It looks a good bit more spread out than the Pleiades. But that’s largely because it’s only a third as distant. Aldebaran stands at the top left point of the V. It outshines all the other points. In part, that’s because it’s less than half as far – just 65 light-years away. So these prominent features really do tell us something about their distances. One other bright light stands directly below the Moon in early evening, and it’s the brightest of all: Venus, the “evening star.” Right now, it’s closer to us than anything else except the Moon. Script by Damond Benningfield

It's a new music explosion! We highlight the latest releases from Manu Chao, Darumas, Migrant Motel, Orquesta Akokán, Monsieur Perine, Hunters of the Alps, The Warning, Julieta Rada & Juan Campodonico, Diamante Electrico, Sara Valenzuela, Spanish Harlem Orchestra and more.

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.