Quirks and Quarks
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- 13 Nov 2026
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CBC Radio's Quirks and Quarks covers the quirks of the expanding universe to the quarks within a single atom... and everything in between.
Épisodes 54
Voyager approaches one light-day away
On Nov. 18, Voyager 1 spacecraft will be 25.9 billion kilometres from Earth — the first human-made object to reach a distance of one light-day away. Bob McDonald watched Voyager 2 launch from Cape Canaveral …
Notes de l’épisode
On Nov. 18, Voyager 1 spacecraft will be 25.9 billion kilometres from Earth — the first human-made object to reach a distance of one light-day away. Bob McDonald watched Voyager 2 launch from Cape Canaveral, Fla., on Aug. 20, 1977, alongside Jon Lomberg, the space artist and design director for the Golden Record, the time capsule aboard both spacecraft. They reconnect to chat about the launch and the meaning of the mission. Joe Westlake, a space physicist and NASA’s Heliophysics division director, explains how the Voyager spacecraft continue to make scientific discoveries about the galaxy beyond our solar system, almost 50 years later.
Also today:
- Renewable energy could help avoid a ‘global meltdown’ — if we pick up the pace
- Scientists find strongest evidence yet of dinosaur blood
- Recounting the feathered connections between humans and birds
- How you respond to medications depends on your genes
For more information about today’s episode, visit cbc.ca/quirks.
How to nuke an asteroid, and more…
After a massive, fresh asteroid impact crater was spotted on the moon, scientists jumped on the opportunity to study it to better understand the violent history of such impacts in our little nook of the solar …
Notes de l’épisode
After a massive, fresh asteroid impact crater was spotted on the moon, scientists jumped on the opportunity to study it to better understand the violent history of such impacts in our little nook of the solar system. If we ever find one on a collision course with Earth, scientists have simulated how we might be able to defend our planet from any potentially hazardous asteroids — with a nuclear bomb.
Also today:
- The Earth is moving in strange new ways in the North — and climate change is to blame
- Sperm whales blow bubbles in their sleep. Now we know why
- Slowing down wind turbine blades could help recover power in shifting winds
- Birdsong shares similar patterns to human speech
For more information about today’s episode, visit cbc.ca/quirks.
Ice Age Alaskan basecamp shows what life was like 13,800 years ago
Archaeologists excavating a 13,800-year-old site in Alaska have uncovered a treasure trove of artifacts and domestic features that shed new light on the life and culture of the people who settled into the …
Notes de l’épisode
Archaeologists excavating a 13,800-year-old site in Alaska have uncovered a treasure trove of artifacts and domestic features that shed new light on the life and culture of the people who settled into the region. Hunter-gatherers lived at this site, known as Shég’ Xdaltth’i’, near the end of the last Ice Age when the Bering Land Bridge provided a passageway between mainland Russia and Alaska.
Also today:
- Long space missions may raise astronauts’ risk of hip fractures
- Jet-lagged seabirds fly off course
- Bad dads and supermales. The life-altering effects of estrogen on fish
- Battery researcher wins Canada’s top science prize
For more information about today’s episode, visit cbc.ca/quirks.
Spooktacular bogs, zombie cells, ghostly stars and more…
The biting dynamics of the world’s deadliest mosquitoes: meet the researcher who rolled up her sleeves and endured more than 1,000 mosquito bites, all to understand how these deadly little creatures bite and …
Notes de l’épisode
The biting dynamics of the world’s deadliest mosquitoes: meet the researcher who rolled up her sleeves and endured more than 1,000 mosquito bites, all to understand how these deadly little creatures bite and guzzle our blood.
Also today:
- Astronomers spot ghostly green star
- Stubby-legged sled dogs pull loads better
- Inside the stinky, spooky, magical world of bogs
- How a Zombie-like state lets cancer cells escape chemo
For more information about today’s episode, visit cbc.ca/quirks.
Scientists find anti-aging secrets in a 194-year-old tortoise
DNA samples from the oldest living land animal show how good genes and limited biochemical wear and tear have given a giant tortoise named Jonathan an extended lifespan. The genetic switches that control the …
Notes de l’épisode
DNA samples from the oldest living land animal show how good genes and limited biochemical wear and tear have given a giant tortoise named Jonathan an extended lifespan. The genetic switches that control the genes for DNA repair and metabolism more closely matched his much younger relatives.
Also today:
- What fossilized vomit reveals about ancient sea monsters
- Meet the Nobel-winning physicist who hunts for ghost particles at the South Pole
- What Jonathan, the 194-year-old tortoise, can teach us about defying death
- Nuclear clocks begin ticking — and could become the world’s most precise timekeepers
For more information about today’s episode, visit cbc.ca/quirks.
Nobel laureates share their winning science
We talk to two of this year’s newest Nobel Laureates, Dr. Karl Deisseroth and Peter Hegemann, about their discoveries in optogenetics, a technique that has transformed what we know about the brain — all thanks …
Notes de l’épisode
We talk to two of this year’s newest Nobel Laureates, Dr. Karl Deisseroth and Peter Hegemann, about their discoveries in optogenetics, a technique that has transformed what we know about the brain — all thanks to a light-detecting algal protein.
Also today:
- Gut microbes can encourage fever after vaccination
- Weather forecasters are less confident in their predictions these days. Here’s why
- What raccoons and other wild brains can teach us about ourselves
Quirks & Quarks has been nominated for a Signal Award! You can vote for us here.
For more information about today’s episode, visit cbc.ca/quirks.
How feasting black holes time their burps
Black holes are voracious eaters, but they’re also quite messy, and often after devouring a star, they’ll let out a big burp, launching jets of high energy particles through space. Now, in a recent study, a …
Notes de l’épisode
Black holes are voracious eaters, but they’re also quite messy, and often after devouring a star, they’ll let out a big burp, launching jets of high energy particles through space. Now, in a recent study, a team of astrophysicists has figured out the formula behind the timing of these burps.
Also today:
- Skiing, hiking and roads are taking a toll on wolverines
- The buzzy, chirpy sounds of the Jurassic forest
- A notorious invasive species has been here a lot longer than we thought. Does that matter?
- Anomalies suggest King Tut’s tomb may conceal hidden chambers
Quirks & Quarks has been nominated for a Signal Award! You can vote for us here.
For more information about today’s episode, visit cbc.ca/quirks.
How corals tell us climate change is supersizing El Niño
The El Niño underway in the Pacific Ocean is a natural climate phenomenon but its warming effects are being boosted by climate change. Researchers recently used corals growing around the Galapagos Islands to …
Notes de l’épisode
The El Niño underway in the Pacific Ocean is a natural climate phenomenon but its warming effects are being boosted by climate change. Researchers recently used corals growing around the Galapagos Islands to create a local temperature record of the ocean going back 1,000 years.
Also today:
- Massive study redraws bat family tree and uncovers genetic oddities
- How the Surinam toad uses star-shaped fingertip lobes to ‘see’ its prey
- T. rex tooth enamel reveals these dinosaurs were warm-blooded
- Why great white sharks are converging on the East Coast
Quirks & Quarks has been nominated for a Signal Award! You can vote for us here.
For more information about today’s episode, visit cbc.ca/quirks.
A feather found in dino poop and more...
It’s long been a mystery why one particular avian dinosaur was the only kind to survive mass extinction, but the recent discovery of a perfectly preserved fossilized feather, found in a cherry-sized piece of …
Notes de l’épisode
It’s long been a mystery why one particular avian dinosaur was the only kind to survive mass extinction, but the recent discovery of a perfectly preserved fossilized feather, found in a cherry-sized piece of dinosaur poop, offers new clues.
Also today:
- Why citizen scientists buried thousands of undies
- How climate change tipped the scales on a catastrophic Himalayan avalanche
- Why an AI leap has left mathematicians feeling uneasy
- Why scientists put teeny-tiny micro-trackers on chimney swifts
Quirks & Quarks has been nominated for a Signal Award! You can vote for us here.
For more information about today’s episode, visit cbc.ca/quirks.
Summertime and the science isn’t always easy
Summer is fieldwork time for many scientists. We talk to researchers who have been busy hiking on fresh lava, capturing thousands of ticks, shooing away moose from their study sites, and even spelunking for …
Notes de l’épisode
Summer is fieldwork time for many scientists. We talk to researchers who have been busy hiking on fresh lava, capturing thousands of ticks, shooing away moose from their study sites, and even spelunking for Neanderthals — all in the ever-important quest for data.
Sweat, comets and dino milk. It’s our summer question show!
Quirks & Quarks has been taking your burning questions for 50 years. And while we thought we might have answered every question there is, our listeners proved there are always more science questions for us to …
Notes de l’épisode
Quirks & Quarks has been taking your burning questions for 50 years. And while we thought we might have answered every question there is, our listeners proved there are always more science questions for us to tackle. Including:
- What does the black hole orbit?
- What do you sweat out in a sauna?
- Why are robins' eggs blue?
- What if we no longer had a moon?
- Did dinosaurs produce milk?
- Were there ever giant humans?
How to battle climate apathy, and more stories about humans
From doubting our doubts to sleuthing out scientific fraud, this week we revisit some of our favourite stories about humans.
Celebrating 50 years of Quirks & Quarks!
For our 50th anniversary celebration last October, we spoke with some of Canada's top scientists about their predictions for the future. We revisit our conversations with:Evan Fraser, director of Arrell Food …
Notes de l’épisode
For our 50th anniversary celebration last October, we spoke with some of Canada's top scientists about their predictions for the future. We revisit our conversations with:
- Evan Fraser, director of Arrell Food Institute and professor of geography at the University of Guelph
- Katie Mack, Hawking Chair in Cosmology and Science Communication at the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics
- Luke Stark, assistant professor in the faculty of information and media studies at Western University
- Laura Tozer, assistant professor of environmental studies at the University of Toronto
- Ana Luisa Trejos, professor in the department electrical and computer engineering and the school of biomedical engineering and Canada Research Chair in wearable mechatronics at Western University in London, Ont.
- Yvonne Bombard, professor at the University of Toronto and scientist and Canada Research Chair in Genomics Health Services and Policy
Sensing space junk, and other stellar stories
From filming a black hole to flaming hot water ice on Neptune, we revisit some of our favourite space-related stories from the past season.
Dust? Tongues? Uranus? It’s our Holiday Question Show!
On this week’s best of Quirks & Quarks, we revisit our annual holiday listener question show, with fascinating queries like:Why did a Canadian astronaut's eyesight change when she went to space? How is the dust …
Notes de l’épisode
On this week’s best of Quirks & Quarks, we revisit our annual holiday listener question show, with fascinating queries like:
- Why did a Canadian astronaut's eyesight change when she went to space?
- How is the dust inside our homes changing?
- Why do some professional athletes stick out their tongues when they play?
- Why are most fruits round, but bananas and pineapple are not?
- What would have happened if the dino-killing asteroid never struck Earth?
We'll satisfy all these scientific curiosities and many more!
Monkeys swallow soil to eat more junk food, and other summery science
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.
Using ants to make yogurt, and other producer picks
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 …
Notes de l’épisode
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
Whales, sex and rocks — it's our book show!
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 …
Notes de l’épisode
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.
Pumas vs. penguins, and other clever carnivores
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. rexAmong Yellowstone’s …
Notes de l’épisode
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
Summer Science Spectacular
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 …
Notes de l’épisode
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
Sweat, comets and dino milk. It’s our summer question show!
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 …
Notes de l’épisode
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?
Great white sharks in hot water, and more…
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 …
Notes de l’épisode
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
Fossilized squirrel poop full of ancient animals, and more…
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 …
Notes de l’épisode
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
Humans and animals love the same sounds, and more...
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 …
Notes de l’épisode
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?
A terrifying T. rex of the sea, and more…
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 …
Notes de l’épisode
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
Listening in on fish grunts, and more…
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 …
Notes de l’épisode
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?
How dandelion seeds take flight, and more…
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 …
Notes de l’épisode
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?
A CN Tower-sized mega tsunami, and more…
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 …
Notes de l’épisode
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?
Cocaine in waterways makes salmon roam further, and more…
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 …
Notes de l’épisode
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.
Introducing IDEAS | How a historian found the lost women of science
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 …
Notes de l’épisode
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
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