Jess Venner, author of “The Lost Voices of Pompeii,” talks about the people who faced the destruction of Pompeii. With actor Tom Hiddleston, host of Nat Geo's “Pompeii: Out of Time with Tom Hiddleston,” we explore what life was like in Pompeii. Full podcast is on YouTube: https://bit.ly/4fmXSOv

Our #PictureOfTheWeek features entomologist Dino Martins who has pulled botflies out of camel snot and let a horsefly feast on him. Why? Because he’s obsessed with parasites. 📸 1.Dino teaches a field course. Credit: Anne Powys 2.A botfly. Credit: Dino Martins 3.Dino's baby zebra. Credit: Nani Croze

We spoke with actor Tom Hiddleston, host of National Geographic's "Pompeii: Out of Time with Tom Hiddleston," and archaeobotanist Jess Venner, author of "The Lost Voices of Pompeii," to piece together what life was like in Pompeii before the eruption and why their stories still resonate today.

Bonus podcast alert! 🚨 An outbreak of the foodborne illness cyclosporiasis is causing people to run to the bathroom and stress out about eating vegetables. Health officials have linked the outbreak to lettuce served at Taco Bell in five states, but there are still a lot of unanswered questions.

After a bite from a lone-star tick, some people develop a severe allergic reaction to red meat. It’s called alpha-gal syndrome, and the CDC estimates that 450,000 people in the U.S may be affected. Flora talked with allergist Scott Commins, who has studied alpha-gal syndrome for nearly 20 years.

We’re teaching about the shape-shifting fire amoeba in our newest Think Big educational resource! 🔥 Scientists thought eukaryotic life could not survive temperatures above 60℃, but this microbe broke the record and can survive in water up to 63℃ (about 145℉).

Gut health is having a moment online, and gastroenterologists are surprised about it too! Flora talked with neurogastroenterologists Emeran Mayer and Trisha Pasricha on stage at the 2026 Aspen Ideas Festival @aspenideas.bsky.social about our brain-gut connection.

Want to pick a book for Science Friday’s Book Club? 📚 Our book club members will decide our last read in 2026. Vote for "The Comfort of Crows," "Inside of a Dog," or "Wild New World" for our November/December pick.

Our #PictureOfTheWeek is fossilized squirrel poop from the last ice age. 🐿️ Hundreds of thousands of years ago, a ground squirrel in the Yukon pooped. That scat stayed frozen for millennia until researchers thawed it out and realized it was a literal data dump (sorry, we couldn’t resist).

We talked with author Craig Childs about his journey from Las Vegas into the desert to find the darkest sky. We’re reading his book about the experience,“The Wild Dark,” in SciFri’s Book Club and it’s not too late to join! Catch the segment today from 2–4pm ET on your local public radio station!

Gut feelings, trusting your gut, butterflies in your stomach: We have lots of expressions about how our brains and our bowels are intertwined. But how well do we understand our gut-brain connection? Which one is in the driver's seat? How do they play a role in IBS, Parkinson’s, and depression?

Images Credit and Caption: 3. A super-resolution image of SpudCell’s liposomes. Credit: Orion Venero, Adamala Lab 4. SpudCell which contains a working translation system and metabolic enzymes. The red membrane is stained with a lipid dye. Credit: Orion Venero, Adamala Lab

It’s the first synthetic cell system made entirely from non-living chemical components that encapsulates an entire genome. It can grow, eat, duplicate its DNA, and reproduce. Video Credit/Caption: 2. A video of SpudCell. The red membrane is stained with lipid dye. Credit: Orion Venero, Adamala Lab

Is it alive? Our #PictureOfTheWeek is the SpudCell. Image Credit and Caption: 1. A SpudCell. The DNA of the genome and the synthetic cell membrane are stained with fluorescent dyes. Credit: Orion Venero, Adamala Lab

For America’s 250th birthday, Ira traveled to @wburcityspace.bsky.social to chat with historian Robert Allison about scientific thinkers in early America. And yes, they talk about more than just Ben Franklin and his kite. Hear the full convo today from 2–4pm ET on your local public radio station.

There’s a massive undersea graveyard of whales deep in the Indian Ocean. Spanning about 1,200 kilometers (745 miles or roughly the distance from New York to Chicago), it contains whale remains dating back 5.3 million years and has at least five active whale fall sites still teeming with life.

We’re working on a segment about AI in the doctor’s office and want to hear from you! Are you a doctor that has used platforms like Open Evidence? What do you think about other doctors using AI? Or are you a patient whose doctor used AI during your care? Tell us about it at 1-877-4-SCIFRI.

Our #PictureOfTheWeek shows two scorpions in the middle of a mating dance, where they’ll even “kiss” like a couple in love. And unlike other arachnids, scorpions give live birth to tiny scorplings that the moms carry on their backs. 📸: Prakrit Jain

We set out to raise $100,000 in June, and SciFri fans have come through in a huge way. If you've already donated, we can’t thank you enough for supporting science journalism! If you haven’t, please consider helping us reach our goal before June 30th. https://bit.ly/4nUFb8I 📸: Jonathan Hickerson

Growing potatoes on the moon sounds like “The Martian”, but NASA is making it a reality. With plans to begin construction on a lunar base in late 2028, scientists are already working out how to grow food in lunar soil. Space biologist David Handy joined Flora to explain how it could actually work.

Most of the time, these single-celled protists eat bacteria. But when food runs low, some transform and grow into “super-giants” that eat their own kind. Video credit: Ben Larson

Meet Euplotes gigatrox, a super-giant cannibal captured with a scanning electron microscope for our #PictureOfTheWeek. Image credit: Ben Larson and Samuel Lord

Want to join Science Friday’s Book Club? (P.S. It’s completely free!) You can sign up for our community space on Mighty Networks to connect with other book club readers and/or sign up for our book club newsletter.

Artemis III has been all over the news lately, from NASA's crew announcement to Blue Origin's recent explosion. But what is this mission actually about?

The Knicks won the NBA Finals and fans can’t stop talking about radio announcers Tyler Murray and Monica McNutt. Sports announcers have a way of capturing the excitement of games with a unique blend of sentence structure, pronunciation, and pitch. Just think of soccer's iconic "Goooooooooooal!

Thanks to the generous support of SciFri fans, we’re over halfway to our goal of raising $100,000 by June 30! If you haven’t yet, please consider supporting science journalism by making a donation. Every bit helps us create our podcasts, radio show, and more. https://bit.ly/4nUFb8I 📸: JT Anderson

Mark Elbroch, director of the puma program at Panthera (a big cat conservation organization), hopes to reintroduce mountain lions to their previous habitats in New England.

Big cats used to roam all over the United States, but are now mostly confined to the West and part of Florida.

Scroll so you don’t miss the adorable mountain lion cubs! Our #PictureOfTheWeek is a carousel of videos and photos of mountain lions, or as you may call them, pumas, cougars, or catamounts. They have many names, but they are all the same species.