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Atul Gawande is a member of President-elect Joe Biden’s COVID task force. He helps us dig through the latest coronavirus news including vaccine trial results, mask mandates, and how to manage risks over the holidays. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Can any part of the long-running film franchise stand up to scientific scrutiny? Matt Gourley — co-host of the James Bonding podcast, among much else — joins to answer all your questions about the coolest gadgets, the craziest stunts, and the glaringest plot holes. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The legendary filmmaker teams up with British geoscientist Clive Oppenheimer to explain how meteorites — what they call ”visitors from darker worlds” — have shaped societies throughout history. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As different as we humans are from each other — politically and otherwise — we’re all part of the same species. We explore the history of Homo Sapiens and who (or what) might eventually replace us as kings of the forest. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This year Science has published an unprecedented series of scathing articles by editor in chief Holden Thorp criticizing President Trump's handling of the dual crises of COVID-19 and climate change. It's finally time for science to join the fight. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We get a look inside the mind of Tal Zaks, the Chief Medical Officer at Moderna, as the company develops and tests what it hopes will become the first successful vaccine against the coronavirus. For more episodes like this, subscribe to If I Don’t See You on Stitcher Premium. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Are robots coming for our jobs? (Probably not.) If we could remove cancer from our genome, should we? (Probably.) Can our codes of ethics keep pace with innovation? (Let's do our best.) Biotech entrepreneur Juan Enriquez is here to prepare us for tomorrow. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft has spent four years stalking Bennu, an asteroid that could one day collide with Earth. We speak with Dante Lauretta, the mission's leader, as the probe is about to grab a pebbly sample of Bennu and bring it home. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dr. Karl Linden explains how ultraviolet light can be used to destroy the coronavirus as if by magic — but it’s not magic, it’s science! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The founder of Kode with Klossy is trying to make fashion more sustainable and the tech industry more female. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dr. Dorothy Roberts explains the long history of racism in science and medicine — and where we go from here. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What happens when you try to develop a vaccine for a brand new disease at “warp speed”? Where do the various trials stand today, and what are the safety concerns associated with emergency use authorizations? Dr. Eric Topol has the answers. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ainissa Ramirez is an expert in the unheralded field that shapes so much of the modern world: the science of materials. She explains how seemingly modest inventions like glass, the pocket watch, and the telegraph have transformed us all. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jennifer Doudna co-discovered CRISPR, a revolutionary tool for editing DNA and changing our genes. She joins us to talk about what her innovation means for health, medicine, and — for better or worse — the ability to redesign ourselves. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the time of COVID social-distancing, loneliness is all around us. Julianne Holt-Lunstad explains how isolation can make the pandemic worse, and how good relationships can protect our health. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The famed actress and activist says she’s learned a lot from getting arrested at her own climate rallies in D.C. last year. She fills us in on the need to address injustice while we fight global warming, how the COVID pandemic has changed her activism, and how individuals can step up when governments fail them. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jacqueline Faherty from the American Museum of Natural History explains the mysteries of brown dwarfs — bigger than planets, smaller than stars — and reveals how she's improving STEM by making it more diverse. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What type of test should you get, and when? How much can you trust the results? And could rapid screening tests really help us reopen businesses and schools? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Eric Haseltine reveals how he used neuroscience to create best-selling toys and to protect U.S. troops from roadside explosives. He also shares some tips to help you (yes, you!) fix your suboptimal behaviors. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You'd never fall for a conspiracy theory, right? Yeah, keep telling yourself that. Psychologist Rob Brotherton explores the history of conspiracy theories — including a famous fake-news scare that was itself fake news — and explains why it's so hard to avoid them. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.