July 20, 2026

We begin with Jean-Luc Pierite and Lux Trevelyan from the North American Indian Center of Boston, for a conversation about growing & fostering tree canopies in and around Boston.

Edgar learns about new research on Fit Bit-style plant sensors from Tufts researcher Sameer Sonkusale.

We end our special meeting sound designer and musician Skooby Laposky, who creates compositions using electrical currents in plants.

In this bonus interview, Edgar meets Mass. General Hospital sleep researcher Chenlu Gao, to help answer a listener-submitted curiosity question how it's possible to be totally exhausted and still unable to fall asleep.

If you’ve got something you’re curious about, we'd love to hear from you! Head to The Curiosity Desk landing page at GBHNews.org and fill out the question form.

July 17, 2026

Arun Rath is guest hosting today!

We talk briefly with Mathew Barlow, a Professor of Climate Sciences at Umass Lowell, about this week’s wildfire smoke & why the sky turned yellow.

GBH’s Renuka Balakrishnan joins with Emily Schario from The B-Side for ICYMI. They’ll talk about the best local swimming pools, the 22nd annual Sand Sculpting Festival on Revere Beach, and cyclosporiasis ruining summer salad season.

Why has the vinyl record endured? And what’s the value of physical media in an era of online disinformation? Arun talks with Joan Donovan from the Critical Internet Studies institute, this week with Tony Goddess from Mystery Train Records in Gloucester.

Arun talks Indigenous history with Aquinnah Wampanoag singer/songwriter Thea Hopkins & Cerise Lim Jacobs from White Snake Projects, around a new interactive freedom trail experience for America 250.

First up, Edgar interviews Dr. Jim Faust about his nonprofit Adam’s Parachute, bringing people suffering from substance addiction into the world of fly fishing. He’ll join alongside GBH report Craig LeMoult ahead of Craig’s forthcoming reporting.

Then, the grocery aisles are packed with all different options for salt. Table, iodized, sea, Celtic, gray, pink Himalayan – does it matter which you use? We get some consult from Dan Souza from America’s Test Kitchen.

Lastly, Edgar brushes up on the history of the toothbrush with Dr. Scott Swank, curator at the National Museum of Dentistry in Baltimore.

First up, we're airing Edgar’s conversation with MIT physicist Pablo Jarillo-Herrero. Pablo tries to explain his research in the field of twistronics in the time it takes to finish a cone of soft serve ice cream. There’s a video version of the conversation also airing today on the GBH YouTube channel.

Then, it's another round of Four Things To Know with Gal Tziperman Lotan from the GBH Daily newsletter.

Lastly, we're opening up phone and text lines for “Ask the Dog & Cat behaviorist,” with Rachel Geller from All Cats All the Time and Kate Bigger from High Fidelity Dogs.

July 13, 2026

First up, Migration Policy Institute senior fellow Muzaffar Chishti explains the phenomenon of birth tourism in the U.S., and whether it’s as prevalent as some anti-immigration advocates claim.

Then, Author Rachel Hartigan dives into the life of Amelia Earhart in a conversation about her book Lost: Amelia Earhart's Three Mysterious Deaths and One Extraordinary Life.

Lastly, Social media companies have gotten really good at grabbing our attention. Have we reached a point where society ought to regulate just how addictive they’re allowed to be? Edgar parses the emerging legal field of attention law, with John Newman from U Memphis and Elettra Bietti from Northeastern.

July 9, 2026

First up, MIT economist Jon Gruber reflects on why independent government agencies matter, following the Trump v. Slaughter ruling by the Supreme Court.

Then, we're airing Edgar’s new Curiosity Desk feature on the deployment of Waymo taxis in Boston.

Afterwards, Animal behaviorist Jennifer Verdolin joins to discuss what humans can learn about friendship from elephants.

Finally, ATC host Arun Rath returns to perform some mentalist magic on The Mystery Desk.

July 8, 2026

Today, Edgar is joined by NPR World Cup correspondent Jasmine Garsd for "The World Cup Effect," a national special exploring how the World Cup is changing our perceptions of the rest of the world, and how the rest of the world’s perceptions of us are changing.

The driving question: Can a global sporting event bring the US and the world closer together? And if so, can it last? Edgar & Jasmine talk to reporters from around the country to find out.