Published by CBC
CBC Radio's Quirks and Quarks covers the quirks of the expanding universe to the quarks within a single atom... and everything in between.
Listen on Apple Podcasts54 min
From the science of how we sweat to solving golf's greatest mystery, we revisit some of our favourite summery segments from the past season.
54 min
From elephant whiskers to Arctic rhinos and even science programming in prisons, we revisit some of our producers’ favourite stories from this season. Including: One of the world's earliest plant-eaters discovered in Nova Scotia Elephant trunk whiskers increase their sensitivity to better 'feel' their surroundings Yogurt with a creepy-crawly secret ingredient Rhinos roamed Arctic Canada 23 million years ago Bringing science education to the incarcerated
54 min
We revisit our conversations with authors of some of the year’s most fascinating science books in our annual holiday book show. Featuring: Questioning the purpose of whale song — for love or echolocation? Journeying through deep geological time to better tackle problems of the future Biological sex is complicated, but that's what helps animals like humans thrive Plus, science journalist and BookLab podcast co-host Dan Falk reviews The Martians by David Baron, Dinner With King Tut by Sam Kean and The Mind Electric by Pria Anand.
54 min
From tiny T. rexes to a car-sized sea monster, we revisit some of our favourite stories about predators in their prime, like: Smaller tyrannosaur solves decades-long debate about the T. rex Among Yellowstone’s top predators, wolves beat out cougars as the top dog Bears with us. Tracking grizzlies in B.C. Cleveland’s ancient car-sized sea monster had bony fangs made out of its skull Wild wolves run for their lives when they hear Big Bad Humans nearby Why penguin-eating pumas live closer together in Patagonia
54 min
From camping out on 'bird poop island,' chasing down wild dogs in Madagascar, or even looking for bombs in a bog in Ottawa –– no one quite does summer like scientists. This week, we revisit some of the hijinks that Canadian researchers got up to last year as they left their labs to get their hands dirty in the field. FEATURING: Camping out on a remote island with thousands of screaming, pooping, barfing birds Dodging lions and mongooses to monitor what wild dogs are eating in Mozambique Saving ancient silk road graffiti from dam-inundation Prospecting for Second World War bombs in an Ottawa bog Technology allows examination of Inca mummies without disturbing them Eavesdropping on chatty snapping turtles in Algonquin Park
54 min
Quirks & Quarks has been taking your burning science questions for half a century. And while we thought we might have answered every question there is to answer over the years, our listeners proved there are always more fascinating head-scratchers for us to tackle. Like: Are comets eternal? In a sauna, what am I sweating out? Did dinosaurs produce milk? If heat rises, why is there snow on the top of mountains? What does a black hole orbit? What if we had no moon? Why are cat and dog tongues so different? Why are robin eggs so blue? Why do some animals become mega sized? How do animals deal with strong bright UV light?
54 min
Some of the oceans biggest, most powerful predators, like certain sharks and tuna, are “mesothermic” or warm-bodied. Running hot allows them to rapidly convert their food to energy and heat, helping them swim faster and hunt in cold waters. But that advantage may become a disadvantage in a warming climate, meaning these fish need to find new ways of cooling off, or face a new threat to their survival. PLUS: Ancient Peruvians traded parrots across deserts and mountains From the archive: David, Jay and Bob, and Quirks & Quarks' origin story Sea cucumber 'zombie tissue' straddles the line between life and death Dream engineering may help you solve problems in your sleep
54 min
Gold miners working in the Yukon regularly find ancient ground squirrel burrows throughout the permafrost, many containing fossilized feces. Researchers analyzing these well-preserved poop piles found they contain some of the oldest DNA ever recovered, dating from 30,000 to 700,000 years ago. Tucked inside were traces of a wide range of ancient animals, including woolly mammoths, grasshoppers, steppe bison, ancient horses, American cheetahs, as well as hundreds of plant species. PLUS: ‘Super-good, ice-making microbes’ may trigger snow and rain, or help freeze food We’re a hotbed of mutations, and scientists are leveraging that for our health Going out on a limb. Animals regrow body parts, maybe we can too From the archives: Isaac Asimov on human creativity and robots
54 min
150 years ago, Charles Darwin noticed that birds and humans were both drawn to bright plumage and elaborate display. He called this interspecies esthetic appreciation a “shared taste for the beautiful.” Now, in a recent study, an interdisciplinary team of scientists built an online game exploring the mating calls of 16 different species and discovered, to their surprise, that humans and animals agree on which sounds are more attractive. PLUS: How the brain can learn to truly multitask From the archives: The Russian space mirror that flashed across Canadian skies The Matrix is real: birds, dragonflies and dogs see the world in slow motion Could the next giant particle collider unlock the mysteries of the universe?
54 min
The newly described Tylosaurus rex was a violent bus-sized Komodo dragon-like creature with serrated teeth. Dubbed the ‘T. rex of the sea,’ it would have occupied the top of the food chain in the marine ecosystem over 80 million years ago. PLUS: Pigeons use their livers to find their way home From the archives: How Jocelyn Bell Burnell discovered pulsars Scientists discover an underground network of lakes hidden under Arctic ice New book explores the million year history of how we sleep — and why we’re doing it wrong today
54 min
Scientists recorded audio and video of 8 different kinds of rockfish living in the wild near British Columbia, and were surprised they could tell the species apart through their various grunts, pops and knocks, even though the fish are closely related. PLUS: DNA identifies four Franklin Expedition sailors — and solves a 160-year-old mystery Immune cells that fight infection get a boost from food Radio waves let us see the unseeable: black holes, pulsars and volcanoes on Venus From the archives: What will the Earth look like in 2050? Quirks Question: If chicken and fish blood is red, why are they white meats?
54 min
In a study inspired by a field of dandelions, researchers wanted to know why, when you blow on a dandelion seed head, only the seeds closest to you take flight. They found that a dimple in the seed heads where the seed attaches is larger on one side than the other, and that the seeds consistently broke off from the smaller side of that dimple. Once they take flight, each dandelion seed uses its unique shape to catch a ride on the wind. PLUS: Infrasound, not ghosts, may be why old buildings give us the heebie-jeebies These arms are made for lovin'. How male octopuses find their mates From the archives: Donald Johanson on the discovery of 'Lucy,' our missing link Virtual hearts help doctors fix patients’ life-threatening irregular heart beats Quirks Question: What’s the benefit for trees being evergreen?
54 min
On the morning of August 10, 2025, a landslide in a fjord along the southern Alaskan coast triggered a mega tsunami. It generated the second highest wave ever recorded that reached up to 481 metres above sea level. A new study suggests that catastrophic events like this are more likely to occur as our climate warms and glaciers melt. PLUS: The hantavirus at the centre of the outbreak struck Argentina in 2018. What did we learn? Raccoons enjoy solving puzzles, just for the fun of it What animal parents and distant humans can teach us about caregiving From the archives: face to face with the man who killed Pluto Quirks Question: why do my car windows make a ‘wha wha wha’ sound?
54 min
Cocaine and many other chemicals and drugs are found in many waterways, but especially around wastewater treatment plants. Scientists exposed wild juvenile Atlantic salmon to cocaine and its byproduct to see how it impacted their behaviour in the wild. As a result, the fish swam twice as far, which could put them in more danger.
55 min
IDEAS, hosted by Nahlah Ayed is a weekday podcast that explores how ideas shape our world. “One of your tribe is enough.” That’s what Margaret Rossiter was told when she said she wanted to study female scientists in the ‘70s. Nevertheless, Rossiter persisted. She found and documented hundreds of women whose contributions to science had been overlooked, under-credited and misappropriated. Then she made history herself by coining the term “The Matilda Effect” to describe why those women failed to get the credit they deserved. Who is Matilda? Matilda Joslyn Gage was a suffragist erased from history. She was known as being too radical for Susan B. Anthony. This episode of IDEAS shares her story. You can find more episodes of IDEAS wherever you get your podcasts, and here: https://link.mgln.ai/IDEASxQQ
54 min
Seabird poop plays a surprising role in bringing life to barren islands, spreading nutrients throughout the ocean, and even creating wealth for an ancient human empire. PLUS: The precursors of written language go back a lot earlier than we thought Dolphins exposed to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill also more likely to be hit by boats From the archives: Canadian astronomer spots a supernova visible to the naked eye Quirks Question: How do beavers choose their trees? Mapping the universe in three dimensions
54 min
We tend to think of animals like snakes, rats and even cockroaches as pests, but in her new book, biologist Marlene Zuk says there's a lot we can learn from these less than desirable creatures, if we just give them a chance. PLUS: A case of mistaken identity: The truth about the world's 'oldest' octopus fossil From the archives: Carl Sagan on the worlds beyond our solar system The evolutionary cost of our relationship with fire We're not speaking as much as we used to — and scientists are concerned
54 min
There's been a growing movement to develop new technologies to replace at least some of the animals used in scientific research. Researchers across Canada are working to create these tools, to usher in a new animal-free era for medical science. PLUS: Harbor seals can 'talk' thanks to their parrot-like brains 'Flaming hot' water ice may explain Neptune and Uranus' strange magnetism A thigh bone that could represent the oldest evidence of our human lineage The ravens of Yellowstone remember where wolves typically kill their prey
54 min
On their mission around the moon, Jeremy Hansen and his crewmates will become the only four people on Earth to ever lay eyes on the entire far side of the moon. Since joining the space program, the Artemis astronauts have been undergoing intensive geological training to help train their eyes to look for lunar features that satellites can't pick up. PLUS: How Neanderthals skillfully hunted and butchered a giant elephant Filming fish over their lifetime reveals behaviours that lead to longevity How our food environment shapes our tastes — and health
54 min
New research confirms that dogs were the first animal to form a domestic relationship with humans, dating back to the end of the last Ice Age almost 16,000 years ago. PLUS: Constructing shelters out of Martian soil may be possible with bacterial help Male-on-male cricket 'twerking' and 'booty bumping' is not a case of mistaken identity Narrowing down potential alien signals from 12 billion to 100, thanks to SETI Researchers find a brain switch in mice to turn a deadbeat dad into a doting one
United States
United States
Apple Podcasts rankings supplied by Mato Topic Intelligence Platform.
Observed July 30, 2026.
Apple and Apple Podcasts are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries.