I Can’t Sleep

Giraffes are hard to mistake for just about anything else. This episode explores their extraordinary height, unusually long necks, distinctive coat patterns, and the adaptations that help them survive across the landscapes of Africa. Along the way, you’ll hear about giraffe behavior, their social lives, and the surprisingly complicated biology behind being the tallest animal ...

Kate Bush built a career by making ambitious music that rarely sounded like anyone else. This episode explores her early life, breakthrough with “Wuthering Heights,” distinctive songwriting and performances, and the creative control that shaped albums such as Hounds of Love. Along the way, you’ll hear about her approach to recording, her famously limited live perform...

The Sun is a 4.6-billion-year-old star that quietly keeps nearly everything on Earth in business. This episode explores how the Sun formed, what happens inside its intensely hot core, how nuclear fusion produces its enormous supply of energy, and how that energy eventually reaches Earth. Along the way, you’ll learn about sunspots, solar flares, the Sun’s layered structure, an...

Kites have crossed borders, centuries, and cultures with little more than wind and a very long piece of string. This episode explores the history of kite flying, how kites stay in the air, and the many ways cultures around the world have turned them into tools, traditions, art, entertainment, and even instruments of war. Along the way, you’ll hear about their early origins, c...

Planets come in an impressive variety of sizes, temperatures, and compositions. This episode explores what makes a planet a planet, how planets form, and the different types of worlds found throughout our solar system and beyond. Along the way, you’ll hear about rocky planets, gas giants, planetary orbits, and the strange conditions that make each world a little different fro...