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In the Visitor Center of the Abruzzo National Park of Civitella Alfedena you can see specimens of wolves rescued inside the park and not available for release, Italy. Paolo Picciotto/REDA/Universal Images Group via Getty Imageshide caption

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Paolo Picciotto/REDA/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

State of the World from NPR

Tracking Wolves in Italy

April 16, 2025 •After being hunted to near extinction, wolves have made a population comeback in recent decades with the help of conservation efforts. Now, the country with the most wolves in Europe is Italy. Our correspondent in Rome set's out for the Italian forest with an organization that takes small groups to try to see wolves in the wild.

Tracking Wolves in Italy

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Spring allergies are in bloom. Here's why and what to do about it

Ragweed, seen here, can trigger allergies for some people. Ragweed is common in the fall. Research has found that the window for seasonal allergies is getting longer. Roy Morsch/Getty Imageshide caption

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Roy Morsch/Getty Images

Short Wave

Spring allergies are in bloom. Here's why and what to do about it

April 15, 2025 •Plants are blooming right now – and so are people's allergies. And if it feels like those pesky symptoms are getting worse ... you're probably right. Wednesday, a review published in the journalThe Laryngoscope looked at the link between climate change and increasing rates of allergic rhinitis, or hay fever. So today, we turn back to a classicShort Waveepisode from Brit Hanson and Maddie Sofia, who spoke to allergy expert Dr. Juanita Mora about some quick tips for managing seasonal allergies.

Spring allergies are in bloom. Here's why and what to do about it

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Tornados have been spotted on every continent except Antarctica, but tornado alley has far more twisters than other spots on the globe. Connect Images/Jason Persoff Stormdoctor/Getty Imageshide caption

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Connect Images/Jason Persoff Stormdoctor/Getty Images

Short Wave

Why so many tornadoes hit tornado alley

April 2, 2025 •Each year, the United States has about 1,200 tornadoes. Many of them happen in tornado alley, a very broad swath of the U.S. that shifts seasonally. This area gets at least ten times more tornadoes than the rest of the world. Science writer Sushmita Pathak says that huge difference can be chalked up to one word: geography. But there's a slice of South America with similar geographical features that gets comparatively fewer tornadoes, so what gives? Sushmita wades into the research weeds with guest host Berly McCoy, one ofShort Wave's producers.

Why so many tornadoes hit tornado alley

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Love fruit? Thank dinosaur mass extinction

In the Cretaceous period, sauropods were major ecosystem engineers. They knocked down trees and distributed nutrients through their poop, dramatically altering the landscape of ancient Earth. Joe Regan/Getty Imageshide caption

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Joe Regan/Getty Images

Short Wave

Love fruit? Thank dinosaur mass extinction

March 14, 2025 •Move over, TikTokers. It's time to shine a spotlight on some of the earliest influencers around: dinosaurs. When these ecosystem engineers were in their heyday, forest canopies were open and seeds were small. But around the time most dinosaurs were wiped out, paleontologists noticed an interesting shift in the fossil record: Seeds got bigger —muchbigger. There was a fruit boom. Did the death of these dinosaurs have something to do with it? And who are the modern day equivalent of dinosaur influencers? To find out, host Emily Kwong talks to Chris Doughty, an ecologist at Northern Arizona University.

Love fruit? Thank dinosaur mass extinction

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Here's how tourists are solving a plankton puzzle in Antarctica

In the summer, there are enough phytoplankton to feed the millions of tons of krill that then feed the migratory whales that tourists travel very far to see in Antarctica. Andrew Peacock/Getty Imageshide caption

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Andrew Peacock/Getty Images

Short Wave

Here's how tourists are solving a plankton puzzle in Antarctica

March 10, 2025 •Tourists to Antarctica are fueling research on some of the tiniest, most influential organisms on Earth: phytoplankton. These itty bitty critters make their own food and are the base of the food web in most of the ocean, but tracking how well they're doing is historically tricky. So, researchers with the program FjordPhyto are using samples collected by these tourists to understand how the balance of power in the Antarctic food web could be shifting — could ripple across the food web of the entire ocean.

Here's how tourists are solving a plankton puzzle in Antarctica

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Early humans made tools from bones 1 million years sooner than scientists thought

Bone tool shaped on a 1.5-million-year-old elephant humerus. CSIChide caption

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CSIC

Short Wave

Early humans made tools from bones 1 million years sooner than scientists thought

March 7, 2025 •Archeologists know early humans used stone to make tools long before the time ofHomo sapiens. But a new discovery out this week inNaturesuggests early humans in eastern Africa were also using animal bones – one million years earlier than researchers previously thought. The finding suggests that these early humans were intentionally shaping animal materials – like elephant and hippopotamus bones – to make tools and that it could indicate advancements in early human cognition.

Early humans made tools from bones 1 million years sooner than scientists thought

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How a dog's nose became a powerful tool for science and conservation

Conservation detection dogs help biologists find a range of hard-to-find targets, from invasive and endangered species, to animal scat to poachers. Collette Yeehide caption

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Collette Yee

Short Wave

How a dog's nose became a powerful tool for science and conservation

March 5, 2025 •On their second job ever, Collette Yee and her partner were assigned a difficult job: locate transient whale poop in the ocean before it sinks. Luckily, Collette was partnered with Jack, a blue heeler mix trained to sniff out cryptic odors from things that conservation biologists have trouble collecting on their own. Producer Berly McCoy reports on Jack and the growing field of dog detection conservation that helps science by sniffing out everything from invasive crabs to diseased plants to endangered species.

How a dog's nose became a powerful tool for science and conservation

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To ease the energy crisis, we're going to need better batteries

California Flats is a 2900 acre plot of land in central California that's covered in solar panels. The extra energy generated from all that solar flows straight into batteries right on site. Hearst Corporation, California Flats Solar-plus-Storage Projecthide caption

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Hearst Corporation, California Flats Solar-plus-Storage Project

Short Wave

To ease the energy crisis, we're going to need better batteries

February 28, 2025 •Batteries are everywhere. They're in our phones, our remote controls, smart-watches, electric cars and so much more. They could also be the solution to a problem that renewable energy companies have faced for years: How to store the mass amounts of energy they produce for later use. Some companies are using batteries to make renewable energy accessible 24/7. Today, we dig into how the technology is rapidly progressing with Cooper Katz McKim, a producer from fellow NPR podcastThe Indicator from Planet Money.

To ease the energy crisis, we're going to need better batteries

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The view from Greenland: 'We don't want to be Americans'

Naaja Nathanielsen poses for a portrait in her office in Nuuk, Greenland on Feb. 20, 2025. Grace Widyatmadja/NPRhide caption

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Grace Widyatmadja/NPR

Consider This from NPR

The view from Greenland: 'We don't want to be Americans'

February 25, 2025 •President Trump's calls for the U.S. to take over Greenland have sparked alarm and outrage.

The view from Greenland: 'We don't want to be Americans'

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New in Peru: 27 species previously undiscovered by science

This harlequin frog (Atelopus seminiferus) was found in the Alto Mayo landscape at higher elevations than previously recorded. It is considered endangered by the IUCN Red List. Trond Larsenhide caption

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Trond Larsen

Short Wave

New in Peru: 27 species previously undiscovered by science

February 19, 2025 •What happens when a team of scientists and local Awajún guides go on a 38-day trip into the Alto Mayo region of Peru? Over 2000 species are identified, of course! Tucked in this lush landscape where the Amazon basin meets the Andes mountains, were 27 species of animals previously unknown to science. It makes us wonder, what else is out there that the scientific community hasn't seen? And who already knows about it?

New in Peru: 27 species previously undiscovered by science

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Tracking Wolves in Italy

Spring allergies are in bloom. Here's why and what to do about it

Why so many tornadoes hit tornado alley

Love fruit? Thank dinosaur mass extinction

Here's how tourists are solving a plankton puzzle in Antarctica

Early humans made tools from bones 1 million years sooner than scientists thought

How a dog's nose became a powerful tool for science and conservation

To ease the energy crisis, we're going to need better batteries

The view from Greenland: 'We don't want to be Americans'

New in Peru: 27 species previously undiscovered by science