This Teen Scientist Is TIME's First-Ever 'Kid Of The Year'

FromShort Wave

Start listening View podcast show

This Teen Scientist Is TIME's First-Ever 'Kid Of The Year'

FromShort Wave

ratings:

Length:

11 minutes

Released:

Jan 11, 2021

Format:

Podcast episode

Description

Fifteen-year-old Gitanjali Rao is a scientist, inventor, and TIME Magazine's first-ever 'Kid Of The Year.' She shares why she didn't initially think science was for her, what motivates her now, and a bit of advice for other budding innovators. Email the show at shortwave@npr.org.

Released:

Jan 11, 2021

Format:

Podcast episode

Titles in the series (100)

New discoveries, everyday mysteries, and the science behind the headlines — all in about 10 minutes, every weekday. It's science for everyone, using a lot of creativity and a little humor. Join host Maddie Sofia for science on a different wavelength.

Skip carousel

Finally, An All-Female Spacewalk: We hear from NASA astronauts Christina Koch and Jessica Meir. They completed the first all-female spacewalk last week. by Short Wave
12 min listen
Randall Munroe's Absurd Science For Real-World Problems: The cartoonist behind the popular Internet comic <em>xkcd </em>has a new book called <em>How To: Absurd Scientific Advice for Common Real-World Problems.</em> by Short Wave
10 min listen
The Squishy Science Behind ASMR: A trend for some is a sensory pleasure-trigger for others. by Short Wave
11 min listen
An Eyewitness to Extinction: When Karen Lips started studying frogs in Central America as a grad student, she had no idea she'd have a front-row seat to a catastrophic animal die-off. by Short Wave
9 min listen
Adversarial AI: University and military researchers are studying how attackers could hack into AI systems by exploiting how these systems learn. It's known as "adversarial AI." by Short Wave
10 min listen
Solving The Sleep & Alzheimer's Puzzle: We know that people with Alzheimer's often have sleep problems. But does it work the other way? Do problems with sleep set the stage for this degenerative brain disease? by Short Wave
8 min listen
A Revolutionary Experiment To Edit Human Genes: A groundbreaking gene-editing technique could change the way we treat genetic diseases. by Short Wave
13 min listen
One Small Step For Cookie Baking: Inside NASA's food operation, and the Thanksgiving menu for astronauts aboard the International Space Station. Also, can you bake cookies in space? by Short Wave
11 min listen
Kicking The Habit With 'Shrooms: How could a magic mushroom trip help people beat addiction? We talk to a patient who used a chemical in 'shrooms to help her quit smoking. by Short Wave
10 min listen
Introducing Short Wave: Short Wave, NPR's new daily science podcast, starts October 15th. Join host Maddie Sofia, Monday through Friday. Subscribe now. by Short Wave
2 min listen
The Mind-Bending Ascent Of Helium — And Why It's Running Low: Helium is the second-most common element in the cosmos, but it's far rarer on planet Earth. by Short Wave
13 min listen
Crows Don't Forget: We learn some crow facts and leave it to you — do crows deserve their creepy reputation? by Short Wave
9 min listen
Exploring The Rainforest With 'TreeTop Barbie': Pioneering ecologist Nalini Nadkarni takes us up into the canopy — the area above the forest floor — where she helped research and document this unexplored ecosystem. by Short Wave
13 min listen
Fighting An Insect Invasion With... An Insect Invasion: An invasive species has no significant natural predators here. Yet. by Short Wave
10 min listen
Logging 'The Lungs' of North America: The Trump administration wants to eliminate a ban on logging in the Tongass National Forest. We talk to an Alaskan worried about the future of the largest U.S. rainforest. by Short Wave
10 min listen
What We Know (And Don't) About The Dangers Of Vaping: Amid an outbreak of lung injury cases, there's a new spotlight on vaping. by Short Wave
10 min listen
The Zombies That Walk Among Us: Ed Yong, science reporter for The Atlantic, creeps us out with real zombies of the animal kingdom. by Short Wave
10 min listen
Can Global Shipping Go Zero Carbon?: A lot of the stuff we buy in the U.S. comes by ship — ships that use a particularly dirty kind of fuel. Now a big shipping company says it wants to go zero carbon. by Short Wave
11 min listen
Wildfire Season Is Here To Stay: Californians face a terrible new normal as wildfire season grows longer and more intense. We explore three key factors at the heart of the state's high wildfire risk. by Short Wave
9 min listen
The U.S. Wants Out Of The Paris Agreement: It's official. The U.S. has notified the United Nations it wants to withdraw from the Paris Agreement, the global accord to fight climate change. by Short Wave
9 min listen
You Asked About The Flu: How can you tell if you have the flu or a cold? Why does your arm hurt after a flu shot? Can getting the shot give you the flu? We answer your flu-related listener questions. by Short Wave
11 min listen
Iridium's Pivotal Role In Our Past And ... Maybe Our Future?: The story of how a father and son team - one a physicist, one a geologist - used iridium to help solve a big scientific mystery. What brought the reign of dinosaurs to an end? by Short Wave
13 min listen
Seen Any Nazi Uranium? These Researchers Want To Know: Nazi Germany tried to build a nuclear reactor. How evidence of that effort was almost lost to history. by Short Wave
13 min listen
Meet Two MacArthur 'Genius Grant' Scientists: The MacArthur Foundation "genius grant" winners were announced this fall. Meet two who study oceans. by Short Wave
11 min listen
SpaceX's Satellite Swarm: Could It Hurt Astronomy?: Why some scientists are concerned that heavy satellite traffic could permanently alter their ability to observe the night sky. by Short Wave
12 min listen
Most U.S. Dairy Cows Come From 2 Bulls. That's Not Good.: Why it's a problem that cows are so genetically similar, and what scientists are trying to do about it. by Short Wave
9 min listen
If You Give An Orangutan A Kazoo...: Researchers discovered that a simple instrument could offer insights into the vocal abilities of orangutans — and the evolution of human speech. by Short Wave
12 min listen
When A Listener Calls...: Why do some people seek out scary experiences? Turns out, some of us may be more wired to crave the thrill. by Short Wave
11 min listen
Happy Thanksgiving!: Gobble gobble. by Short Wave
2 min listen
Is CBD Safe? The FDA Can't Say: A look at CBD and a new set of warnings from the Food and Drug Administration by Short Wave
11 min listen

More Episodes from Short Wave

Skip carousel

Psychedelic treatment for PTSD faces misconduct hurdle by Short Wave
14 min listen
A Silky Shark Named Genie Swam 17,000 Miles, a Record-Breaking Migration by Short Wave
9 min listen
A Vaginal Microbiome Transplant Could Help People With BV by Short Wave
13 min listen
With summer is approaching, here's a smarter way to use sunscreen by Short Wave
12 min listen
How Israel Is Using Facial Recognition In Gaza by Short Wave
15 min listen
Who's At Risk For Uterine Fibroids? Most Women by Short Wave
13 min listen
What are sperm whales saying? Researchers find a complex 'alphabet' by Short Wave
14 min listen
Scientists Reveal Mysterious Origin of Baobab Trees, Rafiki's Home in 'The Lion King' by Short Wave
9 min listen
Climate Change Is Coming For Your Chocolate by Short Wave
13 min listen
How AI Is Cracking The Biology Code by Short Wave
14 min listen
NEWS: NOAA Issues First Severe Geomagnetic Storm Watch Since 2005 by Short Wave
13 min listen
How Autism Can Look Very Different, Even in Identical Twins by Short Wave
11 min listen
The Wonderous World Of Nudibranchs by Short Wave
12 min listen
'Stealing The Past': A Spat Between Twins Leads To A Theory Of Disputed Memories by Short Wave
13 min listen
Deer Are Expanding North. That Could Hurt Some Species Like Boreal Caribou by Short Wave
9 min listen
The Mysterious "Great Attractor" Pulling Our Galaxy Off Course by Short Wave
13 min listen
How The New Catan Board Game Can Spark Conversations On Climate Change by Short Wave
12 min listen
10 Years After Flint, The Fight To Replace Lead Pipes Continues by Short Wave
13 min listen
Beavers Can Help With Climate Change. So How Do We Get Along? by Short Wave
14 min listen
Sustainable Seafood Is All Around You — If You Know Where To Look by Short Wave
14 min listen
An 11-Year-old Unearthed Fossils Of The Largest Known Marine Reptile by Short Wave
9 min listen
The Nightmarish Worm That Lived 25 Million Years Longer Than Researchers Thought by Short Wave
13 min listen
How The Brain Experiences Pleasure — Even The Kind That Makes Us Feel Guilty by Short Wave
14 min listen
What To Know About The New EPA Rule Limiting 'Forever Chemicals' In Tap Water by Short Wave
13 min listen
The Order Your Siblings Were Born in May Play a Role in Identity and Sexuality by Short Wave
12 min listen
How Climate Change And Physics Affect Baseball by Short Wave
12 min listen
The "Barcodes" Powering These Tiny Songbirds' Memories May Also Help Human Memory by Short Wave
9 min listen
How To Make The Most Of Next Week's Solar Eclipse by Short Wave
13 min listen
The Two Sides Of Guyana: A Green Champion And An Oil Producer by Short Wave
16 min listen
The Shy Rodents Lost To Science by Short Wave
13 min listen

Related podcast episodes

Skip carousel

Steve Truitt, Award-Winning Author & Futurist, On Saving Humanity & Preventing AI From Ruining Us by AI and the Future of Work
38 min listen
Neama Dadkhahnikoo sits down with A.I. entrepreneur Anita Schjøll Brede: For International Women's Day we speak with one of Forbes World’s Top 50 Women in Tech by Future Positive
34 min listen
Notes to Nono 4: You cannot change what people think of you, but you can change how you react to them! with Gitanjali Rao: The world is in good hands if we have people like Gitanjali Rao becoming the leaders of tomorrow. This inventor, aspiring scientist, UNICEF ambassador and the first ever TIME kid of the year is an example to all of us. I had the great pleasure... by Messy and Masterful
7 min listen
First author in an 8 week summer research project?: Research takes time, so what's a realistic outcome for the summer research student? Pipette LeGogettuer (not her real name) wrote in to ask for our input on her summer research plans. Not only is she struggling to come up with a project idea but she h... by The Short Coat: An Inside Look at Getting Into and Getting Through Medical School
54 min listen
Don't Be Told What You Want, Don't Be Told What You Need: What if there were no journals? Would academic life be barren and empty, noisy and chaotic, happy and egalitarian, or something else entirely? In this episode we conduct an extended thought experiment about life without journals, in order to probe questi... by The Black Goat
65 min listen
The Science of Making Work Not Suck with Adam Grant: Interested in making work not suck? We spend a quarter of our lives in our jobs. My guest today wants to make all that time worth your time. Enter Organizational Psychologist, Adam Grant. Adam has been Wharton’s top-rated professors for 7 straight... by The Chase Jarvis LIVE Show
79 min listen
How to Handle Failure and Embrace Your Awesomeness - Neil Pasricha by Start My Next Chapter
58 min listen
Dr. Laurie Santos - Time Affluence, Hedonic Adaptation, and What the Science Says About Ancient Wisdom by Slo Mo: A Podcast with Mo Gawdat
31 min listen
Hello, Astrophysicist! (ft. Debarati Chatterjee) by ASTROPHYSICAST
76 min listen
Original Research from Emerging Student Investigators: Young scientists are guided through the research process that ultimately helps them develop the skills they need to publish by Lab Out Loud
22 min listen
BIG FACTS feat. DR ANGELA C. WRIGHT a.k.a. PHREE by BIG FACTS with Big Bank & DJ Scream
70 min listen
Philosophy, Pussycats & Porn with Stoya: Stoya has been working with sexuality for over a decade. She is the co-founder of ZeroSpaces.com, where you can follow her current adult work. In this episode, hear how Stoya's beginnings primed her to the the 'PornoDiva' she is today, why she's so... by The Erotic Philosopher
41 min listen
Beginning September 7: Stories of Impact Season 5: The birthright of every human being is not just to survive, but to thrive. This year on the Stories of Impact Podcast, we bring you conversations about the science behind innovative tools that help human beings flourish. Join host Tavia Gilbert... by Stories of Impact
1 min listen
Teen Genius Says "I Learned Nothing from Lecture": She was named America’s Top Young Scientist of 2017 by the Discovery Education 3M Young Scientist Challenge, with a patent-pending device to detect lead in water faster than any other current techniques. She then open-sourced this device so people... by 10 Minute Teacher Podcast with Cool Cat Teacher
10 min listen

Discover this podcast and so much more

This Teen Scientist Is TIME's First-Ever 'Kid Of The Year'

This Teen Scientist Is TIME's First-Ever 'Kid Of The Year'

Description

Titles in the series (100)

More Episodes from Short Wave

Related podcast episodes