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Unexplainable

Unexplainable takes listeners right up to the edge of what we know ... and then keeps right on going. This Vox podcast explores scientific mysteries, unanswered questions, and all the things we learn by diving into the unknown. New episodes every Wednesday.

Tell us about a scientific mystery that fascinates you.

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The Unexplainable team includes Noam Hassenfeld, Byrd Pinkerton, Meradith Hoddinott, Mandy Nguyen, Cristian Ayala, and Brian Resnick. The show is a production of the Vox Media Podcast Network.

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Animals can navigate by starlight. Here’s how we know.

What’s with these invasive “crazy” worms and why can’t we get rid of them?

Nobody knows exactly how tornadoes form — and the mystery can be deadly

These eerie, glowing clouds keep appearing more often

Scientists aren’t sure what will happen to clouds as the planet warms

How a tiny, wobbling particle could unlock mysteries of the universe

The weird science of the placebo effect keeps getting more interesting

“It’s deep. It’s dark. It’s elusive.” The ocean’s twilight zone is full of wonders.

Scientists haven’t figured out long Covid. Here are 5 of their best hypotheses.

The replication crisis devastated psychology. This group is looking to rebuild it. 

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Ball lightning is real, and very rare. This is what it’s like to experience it.

Close encounters with mysterious, hovering balls of lightning, illustrated.

Ancient DNA is helping rewrite human history

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How an ill-fated undersea adventure in the 1960s changed the way scientists see the Earth

Dark matter holds our universe together. No one knows what it is.

Unexplainable: A new podcast about the most fascinating unanswered questions in science 

Go right up to the edge of what we know … and then keep going

Extremely powerful cosmic rays are raining down on us. No one knows where they come from.

Apollo astronauts left their poop on the moon. We gotta go back for that shit.

Scientists: We kept pig brains alive 10 hours after death. Bioethicists: “Holy shit.”

Why your desk job is so damn exhausting

Humans and Neanderthals had sex. But was it for love?

The discovery of human-Neanderthal mating is changing our understanding of what it means to be human.

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