NPR News: Did humans contribute to evolutionary change in rodents?

Did humans contribute to evolutionary change in rodents?
Scientists in Chicago are mapping some fascinating evolutionary changes to local rodents — and how humans may have contributed to that change.

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NPR News: States may meet federal deadline on new Colorado River water-sharing deal

States may meet federal deadline on new Colorado River water-sharing deal
About 40 million people rely on the Colorado River for drinking water. It also irrigates agricultural fields. It's also shrinking. Now, states might agree on a potential deal on sharing the river.

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NPR News: Need a better way to check the weather this summer? Try the dew point

Need a better way to check the weather this summer? Try the dew point
Happy Independence Day, Short Wavers! Do you have plans outdoors this weekend and want to figure out just how swampy it's gonna feel? For that kind of mental preparation, we're revisiting an episode in which some meteorologists are telling us to pay more attention to dew point temperature, not relative humidity. Interested in more weather episodes? Email us your question at shortwave@npr.org. Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave.

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NPR News: NASA spots a new comet flying in from a distant star system

NASA spots a new comet flying in from a distant star system
The newly discovered interstellar visitor is just the third of its kind and fascinates astronomers who hope to learn from it about galaxies far, far away.

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NPR News: Could the Milky Way be headed for a collision?

Could the Milky Way be headed for a collision?
The Andromeda galaxy lies just beyond (...OK, about 2.5 million light-years beyond) our galaxy, the Milky Way. For the past hundred years or so, scientists thought these galaxies existed in a long-term dance of doom — destined to crash into one another and combine into one big galactic soup. But today on the show, Regina and computational astrophysicist Arpit Arora explain why a recent paper out in the journal Nature Astronomy suggests this cosmic game of bumper cars may never come to a head at all. Interested in more space episodes? Email us your question at shortwave@npr.org. Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave.

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NPR News: The White House took down the nation's top climate report. You can still find it here

The White House took down the nation's top climate report. You can still find it here
The National Climate Assessment is the most influential source of information about climate change in the United States.

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NPR News: William Haseltine discusses cuts to federal funding for scientific research

William Haseltine discusses cuts to federal funding for scientific research
What are the consequences of slashing federal funding for scientific research? NPR's Steve Inskeep speaks with William Haseltine, a scientist acclaimed for his medical research.

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