Unexplainable
Unexplainable takes listeners right up to the edge of what we know … and then keeps on going. Host Noam Hassenfeld and an all-star team of reporters ��� Byrd Pinkerton, Meradith Hoddinott, and Mandy Nguyen — tackle scientific mysteries, unanswered questions, and everything we learn by diving into the unknown. New episodes drop 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 Jorge Just. The show is a production of the Vox Media Podcast Network.
The latest in Unexplainable
![How much can we actually control inflation?](https://cdn.statically.io/img/platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/gettyimages-2157345796.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=16.381594796435%2C0%2C67.236810407131%2C100&w=2400)
![How much can we actually control inflation?](https://cdn.statically.io/img/platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/gettyimages-2157345796.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0.42398184641108%2C100%2C99.152036307178&w=2400)
The mystery of inflation may be rooted in psychology.
![What’s a wild bat worth to you? This economist is asking.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/05_BenjiBats.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=16.666666666667%2C0%2C66.666666666667%2C100&w=2400)
![What’s a wild bat worth to you? This economist is asking.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/05_BenjiBats.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&w=2400)
Nature is priceless — but quantifying its value could help save it.
![Who’s the father? For these baby animals, one doesn’t exist.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/chorus/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25441726/VartikaSharma_Vox.png?quality=90&strip=all&crop=16.666666666667%2C0%2C66.666666666667%2C100&w=2400)
More animals can occasionally reproduce asexually than scientists realized.
![She’s been chasing solar eclipses for three decades. What’s she after?](https://cdn.statically.io/img/platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/chorus/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25369184/595244018.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=19.306202500613%2C0%2C61.387594998774%2C100&w=2400)
![She’s been chasing solar eclipses for three decades. What’s she after?](https://cdn.statically.io/img/platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/chorus/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25369184/595244018.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=3.9593037509193%2C0%2C92.081392498161%2C100&w=2400)
This scientist has seen nearly 20 solar eclipses. She’s trying to solve a mystery that could help protect Earth.
![17 astounding scientific mysteries that researchers can’t yet solve](https://cdn.statically.io/img/platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/chorus/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25337682/GettyImages_1530562630.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=21.86018957346%2C0%2C56.279620853081%2C100&w=2400)
What is the universe made out of? How should we define death? Where did dogs come from? And more!
![Menstrual fluid’s underexplored medical treasures](https://cdn.statically.io/img/platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/chorus/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25322743/1701274698.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=16.669492962523%2C0%2C66.661014074953%2C100&w=2400)
![Menstrual fluid’s underexplored medical treasures](https://cdn.statically.io/img/platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/chorus/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25322743/1701274698.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0.0042394437849822%2C0%2C99.99152111243%2C100&w=2400)
From wound healing to disease diagnosis, “this stuff is like gold dust.”
![10 ocean mysteries scientists haven’t solved yet](https://cdn.statically.io/img/platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/chorus/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23406204/GettyImages_1346022120.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=21.875%2C0%2C56.25%2C100&w=2400)
And the adventures scientists go on to better understand our enigmatic seas.
![Astronomers spotted something perplexing near the beginning of time](https://cdn.statically.io/img/platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/chorus/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25230296/stsci_01gqqfcdz3j7arc9f8qdxe0f7z__1_.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=25.75%2C15.253122945431%2C54.2%2C71.268902038133&w=2400)
Monsters lurk in the background of James Webb Space Telescope images. Scientists are scrambling to make sense of them.
![How to catch a scientific fraud](https://cdn.statically.io/img/platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/chorus/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25065333/1233512909.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=16.669908578098%2C0%2C66.660182843805%2C100&w=2400)
![How to catch a scientific fraud](https://cdn.statically.io/img/platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/chorus/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25065333/1233512909.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0.0048628671464712%2C0%2C99.990274265707%2C100&w=2400)
Elisabeth Bik has made a career of being a data vigilante. What should mainstream scientific journals learn from her?
![10 of the biggest — and smallest — scientific mysteries](https://cdn.statically.io/img/platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/chorus/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24934789/904137.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=8.728323699422%2C0%2C82.543352601156%2C100&w=2400)
Some unanswered scientific questions loom out in the universe. Others reside in our homes.
![Runners can be disqualified for starting after the gun. What gives?](https://cdn.statically.io/img/platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/chorus/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24041912/toofast_final.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=16.666666666667%2C0%2C66.666666666667%2C100&w=2400)
The rules of elite running say no one can start a race faster than 0.1 seconds. Scientists say that’s wrong.
![11 unexplainable animal mysteries](https://cdn.statically.io/img/platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/chorus/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24823243/GettyImages_1609615.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=17.416666666667%2C0%2C65.166666666667%2C100&w=2400)
![Even the scientists who build AI can’t tell you how it works](https://cdn.statically.io/img/platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/chorus/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24786993/1246656790.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=14.51477300024%2C0%2C75.066058131155%2C104.09726848767&w=2400)
![Even the scientists who build AI can’t tell you how it works](https://cdn.statically.io/img/platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/chorus/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24786993/1246656790.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C3.9307128580946%2C104.09560413164%2C96.235842771486&w=2400)
“We built it, we trained it, but we don’t know what it’s doing.”
![Is weed safe in pregnancy?](https://cdn.statically.io/img/platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/chorus/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24683019/R2_CannabisAndPregnancy_Final.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=21.875%2C0%2C56.25%2C100&w=2400)
Harsh state policies imply it’s not — but what do the studies say?
![4 unexplainable mysteries of pregnancy and parenting](https://cdn.statically.io/img/platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/chorus/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24645081/120906828.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=25.183333333333%2C19.879214896829%2C53.066666666667%2C80.120785103171&w=2400)
![4 unexplainable mysteries of pregnancy and parenting](https://cdn.statically.io/img/platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/chorus/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24645081/120906828.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=11.916666666667%2C19.879214896829%2C79.6%2C80.120785103171&w=2400)
Why do we know so little about pregnancy — one of the most common experiences on Earth?
![What is life? Scientists still can’t agree.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/chorus/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24510432/456761468.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=11.926345609065%2C0%2C76.14730878187%2C100&w=2400)
![What is life? Scientists still can’t agree.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/chorus/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24510432/456761468.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C6.2251984126984%2C100%2C87.549603174603&w=2400)
Science writer Carl Zimmer explains why this question has been so hard to answer.
![3 unexplainable mysteries of life on Earth](https://cdn.statically.io/img/platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/chorus/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24468251/GettyImages_1330164623.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=16.660679001257%2C0%2C66.678641997485%2C100&w=2400)
Earth, for all we know, is the only planet with life on it. But how did it start?
![How Havana syndrome helps us rethink the brain](https://cdn.statically.io/img/platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/chorus/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24486315/979736180.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=16.7%2C0%2C66.6%2C100&w=2400)
![How Havana syndrome helps us rethink the brain](https://cdn.statically.io/img/platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/chorus/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24486315/979736180.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0.049999999999997%2C0%2C99.9%2C100&w=2400)
A neurologist explains how its weird symptoms can manifest via a common but misunderstood class of brain ailments.
![How scientists discovered the universe is really freaking huge](https://cdn.statically.io/img/platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/chorus/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24371303/STScI_01G8H1NK4W8CJYHF2DDFD1W0DQ.png?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C1%2C100%2C98&w=2400)
Edwin Hubble’s name is everywhere in astronomy. Henrietta Leavitt’s should be too.
![The mystery of the mimic plant](https://cdn.statically.io/img/platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/chorus/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24219355/color_stems.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=16.666666666667%2C0%2C66.666666666667%2C100&w=2400)
There’s drama in the plant world — and a shape-shifting vine is at the center of it.
![Space is deadly. NASA’s Artemis mission will help us learn how to survive it.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/chorus/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24199347/GettyImages_1241324532.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=16.666666666667%2C0%2C66.666666666667%2C100&w=2400)
![Space is deadly. NASA’s Artemis mission will help us learn how to survive it.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/chorus/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24199347/GettyImages_1241324532.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&w=2400)
The rocket finally launched, equipped with scientific experiments to test how deep space affects our bodies.
![A mountain, a tower, a thermos of molten salt. These are the batteries that could power our renewable future.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/chorus/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24179473/jar03.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=16.666666666667%2C0%2C66.666666666667%2C100&w=2400)
![A mountain, a tower, a thermos of molten salt. These are the batteries that could power our renewable future.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/chorus/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24179473/jar03.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&w=2400)
Climate change is pushing the power grid to the limit. Energy storage could help.
![The mysterious rise of food allergies](https://cdn.statically.io/img/platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/chorus/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24125151/food_allergy.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=21.875%2C0%2C56.25%2C100&w=2400)
![The mysterious rise of food allergies](https://cdn.statically.io/img/platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/chorus/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24125151/food_allergy.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=7.8125%2C0%2C84.375%2C100&w=2400)
More kids and adults are finding out that they can’t eat their favorite foods. Why?
![The race to find 2,100 missing species before they go extinct](https://cdn.statically.io/img/platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/chorus/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23988341/20220701mebVOXwater_328.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=12.5%2C0%2C75%2C100&w=2400)
![The race to find 2,100 missing species before they go extinct](https://cdn.statically.io/img/platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/chorus/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23988341/20220701mebVOXwater_328.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C5.5555555555556%2C100%2C88.888888888889&w=2400)
Many animals aren’t endangered or extinct — they’re missing. Species detectives are trying to track them down.
![What did dinosaurs actually sound like? Take a listen.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/chorus/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23967694/GettyImages_777490__1_.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=16.675%2C0%2C66.65%2C100&w=2400)
Two tubas, a chicken, and a low-pitched alligator: The weird ways scientists imagine dinosaur voices.
![The ovarian “biological clock” and other reproductive health metaphors that have led science astray](https://cdn.statically.io/img/platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/chorus/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23947207/1173096193.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=16.666666666667%2C0%2C66.666666666667%2C100&w=2400)
![The ovarian “biological clock” and other reproductive health metaphors that have led science astray](https://cdn.statically.io/img/platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/chorus/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23947207/1173096193.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&w=2400)
And why even the phrase “reproductive health” might be kind of misleading.
![Why the new James Webb Space Telescope images are such a big deal](https://cdn.statically.io/img/platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/chorus/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23762022/web_first_images_release.png?quality=90&strip=all&crop=21.044921875%2C0%2C57.91015625%2C100&w=2400)
The JWST can simply see more of the universe than the Hubble Space Telescope could.
![Why scientists really, really want to know if there was ever life on Mars](https://cdn.statically.io/img/platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/chorus/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23659502/Mars_Perseverance_ZR0_0317_0695080841_957EBY_N0090000ZCAM03290_1100LMJ.png?quality=90&strip=all&crop=2.123786407767%2C0%2C72.148058252427%2C99.083333333333&w=2400)
![Why scientists really, really want to know if there was ever life on Mars](https://cdn.statically.io/img/platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/chorus/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23659502/Mars_Perseverance_ZR0_0317_0695080841_957EBY_N0090000ZCAM03290_1100LMJ.png?quality=90&strip=all&crop=2.123786407767%2C5.4861111111111%2C96.23786407767%2C88.111111111111&w=2400)
If there was life on Mars billions of years ago — even just microbial life — it could change our understanding of how life begins.
![7 solar system mysteries scientists haven’t solved yet](https://cdn.statically.io/img/platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/chorus/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23630438/dust_ring_illo_final.jpeg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=18.809201623816%2C0%2C62.381596752368%2C100&w=2400)
Why is our moon so weird? Was there ever life on Mars? Big cosmic questions lurk in our celestial backyard.
A marine biologist built a stealth camera that’s collected images of some of the most elusive deep sea animals.
![What science still doesn’t know about the five senses](https://cdn.statically.io/img/platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/chorus/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23340118/MS_UENonSense_Chorus_edit_01_copy.png?quality=90&strip=all&crop=16.666666666667%2C0%2C66.666666666667%2C100&w=2400)
Our senses create our reality. They can trick us, but also teach us.
![Cancer has a smell. Someday your phone may detect it.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/chorus/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23320444/nose_nose.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=20%2C0%2C60%2C100&w=2400)
![Cancer has a smell. Someday your phone may detect it.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/chorus/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23320444/nose_nose.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=5%2C0%2C90%2C100&w=2400)
Our sense of smell is still a mystery. But that’s not stopping research on robot noses.
Scientists are investigating how to treat pain in babies who can’t tell you when it hurts.
![The loss of insects is an apocalypse worth worrying about](https://cdn.statically.io/img/platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/chorus/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23285894/GettyImages_904637674.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=17%2C0%2C66%2C100&w=2400)
![The loss of insects is an apocalypse worth worrying about](https://cdn.statically.io/img/platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/chorus/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23285894/GettyImages_904637674.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0.5%2C0%2C99%2C100&w=2400)
A world without bugs is a world we don’t want to live in.
![The mystery of methane gone missing](https://cdn.statically.io/img/platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/chorus/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23250678/GettyImages_1276590605.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=6.9423076923077%2C0%2C60.538461538462%2C100&w=2400)
![The mystery of methane gone missing](https://cdn.statically.io/img/platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/chorus/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23250678/GettyImages_1276590605.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=4.5961538461538%2C0%2C90.807692307692%2C100&w=2400)
Humanity has an “unbalanced checkbook” of methane pollution.
![What science still can’t explain about love](https://cdn.statically.io/img/platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/chorus/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23226574/GettyImages_588495757.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=16.625%2C0%2C66.75%2C100&w=2400)
People say they know what they’re looking for in a partner. Relationship experts say otherwise.
![What romance novels can teach us about attraction](https://cdn.statically.io/img/platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/chorus/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23208051/GettyImages_1136960271_l.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=16.666666666667%2C0%2C66.666666666667%2C100&w=2400)
Romance authors are philosophers of love. Here’s how they think about chemistry.
![There’s a Covid-19 epidemic in deer. It could come back to haunt us.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/chorus/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23212624/GettyImages_1295541415.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=16.671746418775%2C0%2C66.65650716245%2C100&w=2400)
Cats, dogs, and ferrets have been infected by the coronavirus. But outbreaks in deer are different.
![The quest to avert an asteroid apocalypse is going surprisingly well](https://cdn.statically.io/img/platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/chorus/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23194102/GettyImages_1214628907.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=17.797866034381%2C0%2C64.404267931239%2C100&w=2400)
![The quest to avert an asteroid apocalypse is going surprisingly well](https://cdn.statically.io/img/platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/chorus/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23194102/GettyImages_1214628907.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=1.6967990515708%2C0%2C96.606401896858%2C100&w=2400)
NASA is studying how to dodge giant space rocks.
![Fusion energy is a reason to be excited about the future](https://cdn.statically.io/img/platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/chorus/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23149625/GettyImages_1227814067.jpeg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=16.67%2C0%2C66.66%2C100&w=2400)
![Fusion energy is a reason to be excited about the future](https://cdn.statically.io/img/platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/chorus/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23149625/GettyImages_1227814067.jpeg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0.0050000000000026%2C0%2C99.99%2C100&w=2400)
It’s been a long road, but recent advances mean we’re closing in on a game-changing technology.