Podcast
The Best Of Our Knowledge
By WAMC
528
1
Every day, faculty members at schools and universities throughout the world are making discoveries that shape our ways of thinking and redefine our understanding of today's knowledge-driven society. Since 1990, The Best of Our Knowledge has highlighted breakthroughs across disciplines and across the globe, putting listeners in touch with the minds at the forefront of their fields. Each week this program examines some of the issues unique to education, looks at the latest research and invites commentary from experts across disciplines.
Every day, faculty members at schools and universities throughout the world are making discoveries that shape our ways of thinking and redefine our understanding of today's knowledge-driven society. Since 1990, The Best of Our Knowledge has highlighted breakthroughs across disciplines and across the globe, putting listeners in touch with the minds at the forefront of their fields. Each week this program examines some of the issues unique to education, looks at the latest research and invites commentary from experts across disciplines.
Impossible fossils and Lunar New Year
Episode in
The Best Of Our Knowledge
The Best of Our Knowledge explores topics on learning, education, and research.
An analysis of small, prehistoric fossils found in sandstone is giving researchers new clues into the time before the explosion of complex life on Earth.
And we’ll visit high school students celebrating Lunar New Year, which is now being recognized in New York state schools.
28:30
Could arsenic waste be transformed into semiconductors?
Episode in
The Best Of Our Knowledge
The Best of Our Knowledge explores topics on learning, education, and research.
Arsenic is a naturally-occurring toxin with a big reputation.
But scientists say arsenic-contaminated waste could have a potential public benefit, including in advanced manufacturing. We’ll explore how an environmental challenge could become an economic opportunity.
28:30
Prehistoric math and protecting biomedical research
Episode in
The Best Of Our Knowledge
The Best of Our Knowledge explores topics on learning, education, and research.
An analysis of pottery fragments from ancient Mesopotamia has revealed what may demonstrate a mathematical system developed before numbers.
And in the absence of federal funding, a proposal hopes to create a new hub for medical research.
28:30
Was part of King Tut’s story swept under the rug?
Episode in
The Best Of Our Knowledge
The Best of Our Knowledge explores topics on learning, education, and research.
The culture and traditions of Ancient Egypt have long captivated history students. But one part its history may have been swept under the rug.
On today’s program, we’ll explore opium use in Ancient Egypt, and how the drug was used by people of all classes, including the pharaohs.
28:30
Rock, paper, lizards
Episode in
The Best Of Our Knowledge
The Best of Our Knowledge explores topics on learning, education, and research.
A common lizard in the American west plays a unique game of rock, paper, scissors.
And your dog may be smarter than you think. A new study finds some dogs can learn by eavesdropping.
28:30
A lemon-shaped planet and a curious cloud
Episode in
The Best Of Our Knowledge
The Best of Our Knowledge explores topics on learning, education, and research.
Scientists have discovered a distant planet that resembles a lemon.
And while studying a mysterious cloud of hot dust 70 light-years away, researchers have found an unusual star.
28:30
A quantum discovery and an inspiring museum
Episode in
The Best Of Our Knowledge
The Best of Our Knowledge explores topics on learning, education, and research.
On this episode, we’ll speak with a scientist who helped pinpoint a unique – and long theorized – form of matter.
And we’ll visit museum in upstate New York that organizers hope will inspire the next generation of firefighters.
28:30
The best of The Best of Our Knowledge: 2025
Episode in
The Best Of Our Knowledge
The Best of Our Knowledge explores topics on learning, education, and research.
This week we’ll celebrate the best of The Best of Our Knowledge in 2025.
We’ll learn about a new color that humans normally can’t see, a project that created one of the most advanced maps of the brain, and research that uncovers truths to the extinction of the dinosaurs.
28:30
Bringing up bongo
Episode in
The Best Of Our Knowledge
The Best of Our Knowledge explores topics on learning, education, and research.
On this episode, we’ll learn how an endangered antelope was born to a mother of a separate species.
A new report from New York examines declining public school enrollment.
And lawmakers are celebrating the return of whole milk to the cafeteria.
28:30
The Moai statues on Easter Island “walked”
Episode in
The Best Of Our Knowledge
The Best of Our Knowledge explores topics on learning, education and research.
The Rapa Nui peoples of Easter Island have sculpted statues known as Moai for centuries.
These statues are likely familiar to you – giant stone heads with prominent figurative facial features.
We will learn all about how the Moai statues were transported by the Rapa Nui on the island to their places of display.
34:05
Early humans on the African continent
Episode in
The Best Of Our Knowledge
The Best of Our Knowledge explores topics on learning, education and research.
The East African Savannah is known to be the cradle of humanity.
Now, researchers are presenting a different history of homo sapiens, theorizing they evolved all across the continent including in rainforests as early as 150,000 years ago.
[rerun]
30:00
Supermassive black hole blast sets record for brightness
Episode in
The Best Of Our Knowledge
The Best of Our Knowledge explores topics on learning, education, and research.
Imagine seeing something brighter than 10 trillion suns… seems impossible.
Well, scientists have detected a black hole flare that achieved this rare unbelievable brightness.
This sighting opens up the possibility of there being more flares of this magnitude.
We will learn all about this supermassive black hole flare.
28:30
Stone tools and early humans
Episode in
The Best Of Our Knowledge
The Best of Our Knowledge explores topics on learning, education, and research.
Can you imagine early humans over 2 million years ago using tools, maybe not, but guess what they did!
Technology has been a major part in our evolution as humans and stone tools were some of the beginnings of what we recognize as modern technology.
We will explore a discovery of stone tools found in Kenya’s Turkana Basin to learn more about early technology and humans.
28:30
Venomous snakes’ behaviors and techniques to strike
Episode in
The Best Of Our Knowledge
The Best of Our Knowledge explores topics on learning, education, and research.
There are about 600 venomous snake species worldwide and I hope you never run into one.
A new study looks into how some venomous snakes attack their prey.
Vipers, Elapids, and Colubrids all have different behaviors when striking and we will learn all about it.
28:30
Dinosaurs’ extinction and rural school challenges
Episode in
The Best Of Our Knowledge
The Best of Our Knowledge explores topics on learning, education, and research.
We learn about fossils of dinosaurs found in New Mexico that provides evidence that they were quite diverse and thriving before their extinction.
And we learn about a series of forums looking at what challenges rural schools are facing in New York State.
28:30
Sun’s hidden particles exposed
Episode in
The Best Of Our Knowledge
The Best of Our Knowledge explores topics on learning, education, and research.
The sun is the center of our solar system and our source of almost all energy.
The space probe Solar Orbiter has been able to identify the Sun’s dual engines for fast electrons, explosive flares and coronal mass ejections.
Being able to collect this data researchers have uncovered the key mysteries about these sun particles.
28:30
A history of head-binding practices thousands of years ago
Episode in
The Best Of Our Knowledge
The Best of Our Knowledge explores topics on learning, education, and research.
Ever thought about wanting to change the shape of your head, well peoples in Latin America did thousands of years ago.
This practice is called head binding and was done on newborns, when their heads are pliable, to have the desired form of being flat, round, or cone shaped.
We learn all about head binding and the cultural significance of it all.
28:30
Pygmy Seahorses
Episode in
The Best Of Our Knowledge
The Best of Our Knowledge explores topics on learning, education, and research.
Seahorses are some of the most unique and beautiful creatures in the ocean.
The Pygmy Seahorse is one of the most interesting looking and complex of them all.
They are only 1 inch big, and due to their size were not known to exist until about 50 years ago.
We will learn all about this tiny creature that comes from the depths of the ocean hidden in coral.
28:30
Monster Molecular Cloud
Episode in
The Best Of Our Knowledge
The Best of Our Knowledge explores topics on learning, education, and research.
A monster Molecular Cloud has been discovered in our galaxy that was not previously known to exist by a team of astronomers.
This cloud is made up of gas and dust and is about 200 light years long... whoa that is indeed a monster.
We will learn more about this cloud and what exactly it is and its functions.
28:30
Vampire Bats and Ancient Voyage
Episode in
The Best Of Our Knowledge
The Best of Our Knowledge explores topics on learning, education, and research.
Vampire Bats… not really an inviting name, but new research discovers that these bats have behaviors of cuddling, playing, sharing, and more.
And we also learn about an ancient voyage recreation that happened thousands of years ago across one of the strongest ocean currents in the world by a team of researchers.
28:30
More of WAMC View more
Everything Explained
Everything Explained is a podcast about uncovering the basic fundamentals and structure behind what makes what we talk about in the news important. Whether it be GMOs, Social Security, or what even is the Electoral College, Everything Explained is here to help you decipher what we talk about constantly in the news. Updated
Listen With The Lights On
Why do legend and lore fascinate us? Be they tales of ghosts that haunt our towns, myths of creatures that roam our forests or sightings of the unexplained in our skies, these stories have the power to both unite and enthrall people around the world. Listen with the Lights On is a deep dive into the mysterious, the occult and the unknown, and how it connects us. Updated
Women in Science on the Air
The Women In Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics ON THE AIR! website is an audio resource for young girls, young women, parents, educators, guidance counselors, researchers, organizational leaders, and anyone interested in learning more about the past, present and future role of women in science and technology education and careers. Updated
You may also like View more
La ContraCrónica
Un programa que empieza donde otros acaban. Política, economía, análisis y opinión con Fernando Díaz Villanueva. Updated