Programs

This episode was recorded on July 9th, 2026 at the Culture Center Theater in Charleston, WV. The lineup includes The Po' Ramblin Boys, Inara George, The Mammals, Red Camel Collective, Heather Maloney . https://bit.ly/4ynM0Df

Throughout human history, there’s been one element we’ve always associated with death. Just the smell of it is an alarm bell that says, “something here is dangerous.” But what if our noses have been wrong all along?In this episode of our series Viscera: Gripping Tales of the Human Body, we take you to a live performance in Boston where we reveal how this much-maligned element might be better understood as the smell of life.LATERAL CUTS:Want to see a Viscera show? Join us for Radiolab Presents: Viscera, live in New York City on Thursday, November 5th. All about the sometimes freaky world of organ transplants, with special guest Mary Roach discussing her upcoming book, Replaceable You: Adventures in Human Anatomy. Get your tickets at wnyc.org/events.EPISODE CREDITS:Reported by – Avir Mitra and Matt Kieltywith help from – Mona MadgavkarProduced by – Mona Madgavkar and Matt Kieltywith mixing help from – Jeremy BloomFact-checking by – Rachel Grossand Edited by  – Pat WaltersLiveshow production support – Natalia Ramirez, Sarah Sandbach, Maia Appleby Melamed, and Jeremy Bloom.EPISODE CITATIONS:Videos – Watch the video of Radiolab Presents: Viscera live at WBUR CitySpace (https://zpr.io/PZF3BqnbKKJD)Articles – A possible chemical explanation for the events associated with the death of Gloria Ramirez at Riverside General Hospital (https://zpr.io/sbjXYcPenGSH), the paper explaining Livermore Lab’s hypothesis.Books – The Great Secret (https://zpr.io/PGCmihSFBHj4), by Jennet Conant about the birth of chemotherapy in the laboratory of war. 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.  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Hosts Jim DeRogatis and Greg Kot review some new albums from Michael Kiwanuka, Neil Young, Chaka Khan, The Tubs and This is Lorelei. They also bid farewell to Cheetah Chrome, guitarist for the Dead Boys and Rocket from the Tombs, and hear from some listeners.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/soundops Featured Songs:This Is Lorelei, "Billy Came Back," The Singer In My Band, Matador, 2026The Beatles, "With A Little Help From My Friends," Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, Parlophone, 1967Neil Young & The Chrome Hearts, "Second Song," Second Song, Reprise, 2026Neil Young & The Chrome Hearts, "Casting Me Away From You," Second Song, Reprise, 2026Neil Young & The Chrome Hearts, "I'll Love You Forever," Second Song, Reprise, 2026Neil Young & The Chrome Hearts, "Day After Day," Second Song, Reprise, 2026Neil Young & The Chrome Hearts, "Earth Girl," Second Song, Reprise, 2026Chaka Khan, "Always Love the Challenge," Chakzilla, EarthSong and BMG, 2026Chaka Khan, "Curious Subject," Chakzilla, EarthSong and BMG, 2026Chaka Khan, "Cool You Down (feat. Sia)," Chakzilla, EarthSong and BMG, 2026Chaka Khan, "Now and Forever," Chakzilla, EarthSong and BMG, 2026This Is Lorelei, "Oh No Now My," The Singer In My Band, Matador, 2026This Is Lorelei, "The Singer in My Band," The Singer In My Band, Matador, 2026Michael Kiwanuka, "Summer Clothes," Fudge, Polydor, 2026Michael Kiwanuka, "Love In My Heart," Fudge, Polydor, 2026Michael Kiwanuka, "Steve's Paradise," Fudge, Polydor, 2026The Tubs, "Who's Gonna Love You Now," Hard Life, Merge, 2026The Tubs, "Heaven or London," Hard Life, Merge, 2026The Tubs, "If You Don't Love Me," Hard Life, Merge, 2026The Tubs, "Do Yourself a Favor," Hard Life, Merge, 2026Rocket from the Tombs, "Ain't it Fun (Live)," The Day The Earth Met The…(Live From Punk Ground Zero, Cleveland 1975), Smog Veil, 2002Rocket from the Tombs, "Sonic Reducer," Black Record, Fire, 2015Sweeping Promises, "Accent," You Say I Romanticize, Sub Pop, 2026Neil Young, "Imagine," America: A Tribute to Heroes, Interscope, 2001AFI, "Fall Children," All Hallow's E.P., Nitro, 1999See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The solar system is big. Really big. It’s almost three billion miles from the Sun to Neptune, the most distant major planet. It’s more than three billion miles to Pluto. And it’s more than twice that far to the edge of the Sun’s magnetic “bubble” – the boundary with interstellar space. It’s almost impossible to comprehend those distances – they’re just too far beyond anything we ever experience. But we can get an idea of the scale from models of the solar system – the bigger, the better. And there are some king-size models around the planet. The largest is in Sweden – it spans most of the country. It includes all the major planets, plus many dwarf planets, asteroids, and comets. The Sun is represented by a ball-shaped arena in Stockholm that’s about 350 feet across. At that scale, Earth is bigger than a beachball, and is almost five miles away. Neptune is about 140 miles out, while the edge of the magnetic bubble is several times farther. The biggest model in the United States is in Maine. It spans almost a hundred miles, along U.S. 1. It extends to the dwarf-planet Eris, which is more than twice as far as Pluto. Other large models are found in New Mexico, Illinois, Michigan, and several other states. Some of them are small enough that you can walk them, while you need a car or bike for the others. But all of them can help you understand the scale of our big neighborhood.   Script by Damond Benningfield

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

We discover what we believe might be the original recipe for Coca-Cola…and share it with you! When this episode first aired in 2011, it made international headlines. This, and another story about telling copies from originals. Visit thisamericanlife.org/lifepartners to sign up for our premium subscription.(00:00:00) Act One: The formula for Coca-Cola is one of the most jealously guarded trade secrets in the world. So we were surprised to find a 1979 newspaper article that might contain Coke's original recipe. We were even more surprised to find reasons to believe the recipe is real. (26 minutes)(00:26:23) Act Two: Jake Halpern tells this story about document expert John Reznikoff, who came into possession of some materials which — if authentic — would change history. Then, things got complicated (32 minutes)Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org / This American Life privacy policy. / Learn more about sponsor message choices.