Skip to content
Our greatest actors transport us through the magic of fiction, one short story at a time. Sometimes funny. Always moving. Selected Shorts connects you to the world with a rich diversity of voices from literature, film, theater, and comedy. Hosted by Meg Wolitzer.

Selected Shorts

Listen Live

Listen Live

Every week listeners hear stories about race and identity that expand their minds, and learn practical ways to make their lives better. It's lifelong learning that ranges from the big picture to tiny details and everything in between.
Next

Codeswitch / Life Kit

Every week listeners hear stories about race and identity that expand their minds, and learn practical ways to make their lives better. It's lifelong learning that ranges from the big picture to tiny details and everything in between.

WHYY
rewind
play
fast-forward
 
 
 
Radio Schedule
WHYY
  • DONATE
Primary Menu
  • News
  • Radio & Podcasts
    • Radio Schedule
    • Ways to Stream
    • WHYY Listen App
  • TV
    • WHYY TV Schedule
    • WHYY Watch App
    • Live TV
    • Watch on Demand
    • Stream PBS Kids
  • Arts
  • Events
  • Education
    • WHYY Youth Media
    • WHYY Media Labs
    • WHYY Early Education Programs
    • For Students
    • Pathways to Media Careers
    • Youth Media Awards
  • Support
    • Membership
    • WHYY Passport
    • WHYY Member Portal
    • Sponsorship
    • Vehicle Donation Program
    • Volunteer
  • NEWSLETTERS
  • DONATE

Science

FILE - In this Wednesday, March 28, 1979 file photo, a Pennsylvania state police officer and plant security guards stand outside the closed front gate to the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant near Harrisburg, Pa. after the plant was shut down following a partial meltdown. (AP Photo/Paul Vathis)
Energy
Environment
Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania raises alarms on transfer of radioactive Three Mile Island reactor

DEP asks the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to slow down the review of a license transfer due to the coronavirus emergency.

5 years ago

Listen 1:56
An icebergs floats in the Nuup Kangerlua Fjord in southwestern Greenland. Greenland's glaciers have been melting and retreating at an accelerated pace in recent years due to warmer temperatures. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Radio Times
Environment

Climate change: lessons from the pandemic

We'll talk about what our response to COVID-19 can teach us about tackling climate change and we'll discuss recent environmental rule rollbacks by the Trump administration.

Air Date: April 14, 2020 10:00 am

Listen 49:00
Rachel Valletta, Director of the Climate and Urban Systems Partnership at the Franklin Institute, explains how to scrape spotted  lanternfly eggs off of a maple tree in Fairmount Park. (Kimberly Paynter/WHYY)
PlanPhilly
Environment
Outdoors

Nature scavenger hunt, anyone? The Franklin Institute starts with spotted lanternfly eggs

The Franklin Institute has started a nature scavenger hunt for people to engage with nature and outdoors during the coronavirus pandemic.

5 years ago

 (AP Photo/David Gard)
Home & Family
Medicine
Public Health

Cats can get coronavirus. How worried should you be?

A study published in the journal Science now says the virus can infect both felines and ferrets. But there are some important caveats to the findings.

5 years ago

David Fajgenbaum leads a research lab at the University of Pennsylvania dedicated to studying Castleman disease, a rare illness that nearly killed him five times. He has recently shifted his focus to look at ways of treating COVID-19. (Courtesy of David Fajgenbaum)
The Pulse
Biology
Health Care
Medicine

Penn doctor uses his near-death experiences to research why COVID-19 patients crash

Facing the cytokine storm — David Fajgenbaum brings his first-hand experience with cytokine storms to bear on this new coronavirus.

5 years ago

Listen 09:10
The harvesting session, called Phrag Fest, kicks off an ecological art project by artist Sarah Kavage (not pictured). (Rachel Wisniewski for WHYY)
Environment
Sustainability

Could climate change shift the conversation on this invasive species?

Winters along the Delaware River and its tributaries can lead to picturesque scenes of snow-topped phragmites swaying in the wind.

5 years ago

Listen 6:54
A crew cleans up Darby Creek in Chester County, Pa. (Kim Paynter)
Energy
Environment
Public Health

How some of Pa.’s public utility companies are adjusting during COVID-19

StateImpact Pennsylvania reporter Susan Phillips talks to `Morning Edition’ host Jennifer Lynn about COVID-19’s effect on power, water, and gas companies.

5 years ago

Listen 5:30
A jogger runs past a wall painted with the word
Radio Times
Biology
Medicine
Public Health

Predicting the pandemic

Science journalist David Quammen discusses why we weren't prepared for the pandemic despite all the predictions of an animal-borne virus emerging.

Air Date: March 31, 2020 10:00 am

Listen 48:57
(Courtesy of Jonathan Lai)
The Pulse

Why We Need Friends — Especially Now

We rely on our friends for all kinds of things — companionship, laughter, and right now — support in times of crisis. But it’s ...

Air Date: March 27, 2020

Listen 49:04
It’s normal for friendships to end. How can we approach that in a way that minimizes damage — and leads to healing? (motortion/Big Stock Photos)
The Pulse
Behavioral Health
Sex & Relationships

The painful path of friend break ups

It’s normal for friendships to end. How can we approach that in a way that minimizes damage — and leads to healing?

5 years ago

Listen 11:14
Bloodfed aegypti (David F Duneau)
Biology
Public Health

How bats, mosquitoes, humans and other mammals factor into the coronavirus story

Viruses travel, and sometimes jump from species to species. Which ones are a part of the coronavirus journey?

5 years ago

To stop lanternflies before they're full-grown, scrape off their eggs AP IMAGES / @VCMCGUIRE
Billy Penn

Best quarantine activity: Destroy spotted lanternfly eggs before the spring hatch

Now’s the time to scrape these bugs out of existence.

5 years ago

Mariner East 2 construction site in Delaware County, Sunday March 22, 2020. (Courtesy of Eric Friedman)
Energy
Environment
StateImpact Pennsylvania

Energy Transfer seeks waiver to continue some Mariner East work

The company says the state has allowed some work to continue.

5 years ago

A view inside the control room at PJM Interconnection, which operates the electric grid for 65 million people in 13 states and the District of Columbia. (Courtesy of PJM Interconnection)
Energy
Public Health

Electricity usage down across the region, which helps power grid staffing

The Montco company, which helps power 65 million people in 13 states and D.C., reports demand on Monday dropped about 6,000 megawatts.

5 years ago

Algae floats in the water at the Maumee Bay State Park marina in Lake Erie in Oregon, Ohio. (Paul Sancya/AP Photo)
Down the Shore
Environment
New Jersey

N.J. awards $2.5M in grants to combat harmful algal blooms

The grants will fund filtration systems, products to neutralize bloom-causing nutrients, high-tech oxygen bubblers and floating wetland islands.

5 years ago

Page 71 of 191« First«...6970717273...»Last »
Arts & Entertainment Community Courts & Law Education Health Lifestyle Money Politics & Policy Science Urban Planning Weather
  • WHYY thanks our sponsors — become a WHYY sponsor
  • WHYY thanks our sponsors — become a WHYY sponsor

Latest News

  • SEPTA riders feel a ‘sense of loss’ as major cuts go into effect for Philadelphia’s transit system

    4 hours ago

  • SEPTA cuts have begun. What do you need to know about the changes?

    5 hours ago

  • Villanova University receives another false active shooter call, police say

    7 hours ago

  • WHYY thanks our sponsors — become a WHYY sponsor

Want a digest of WHYY’s programs, events & stories? Sign up for our weekly newsletter.

Together we can reach 100% of WHYY’s fiscal year goal

Donate
Learn about WHYY Member benefits
Ways to Donate
WHYY

WHYY provides trustworthy, fact-based, local news and information and world-class entertainment to everyone in our community.

WHYY offers a voice to those not heard, a platform to share everyone’s stories, a foundation to empower early and lifelong learners and a trusted space for unbiased news. Learn more about Social Responsibility at WHYY. It’s how we live.

Contact Us

Philadelphia

215.351.1200
talkback@whyy.org

Delaware

302.516.7506
talkback@whyy.org

Our Programs

  • Albie’s Elevator
  • Art Outside
  • Billy Penn at WHYY
  • Check, Please! Philly
  • The Connection
  • Delishtory
  • Flicks
  • Fresh Air
  • Good Souls
  • Movers & Makers
  • On Stage at Curtis
  • Peak Travel
  • Philadelphia Revealed
  • PlanPhilly
  • The Pulse
  • Radio Times Rewind
  • Studio 2
  • Things To Do
  • Voices in the Family
  • WHYY News Climate Desk
  • You Oughta Know
  • Young Creators Studio
  • Young, Unhoused and Unseen
  • Your Democracy

Inside WHYY

  • About
    • Social Responsibility at WHYY
    • Board and Executives
    • Community Advisory Board
    • Frequently Asked Questions
    • Employment
    • Internships
    • Press Room
    • Meet Our Newsroom
    • WHYY News Style Guide
    • WHYY Productions
    • WHYY Spaces
    • Submissions
    • History
    • Directions
    • Coverage Area
    • Financial Statements
    • WHYY Community Report
    • Supporters
    • Privacy
  • Apps
  • Meet Our Newsroom
  • Employment
  • Lifelong Learning Award
  • N.I.C.E. Initiative
  • Contact Us
  • Sponsorship
  • Directions
  • FCC Public Files
  • FCC Applications

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
Sign up for a Newsletter

© MMXXV WHYY

  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use for WHYY.org