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The Best of Our Knowledge explores topics on learning, education, and research.Imagine seeing something brighter than 10 trillion suns… seems impossible.Well, scientists have detected a black hole flare that achieved this rare unbelievable brightness.This sighting opens up the possibility of there being more flares of this magnitude.We will learn all about this supermassive black hole flare.

There has much coverage of the plight of sunflower sea stars, the large starfishes with 16 to 24 arms that inhabit the Pacific Coast of North America. A wasting disease that hit the population starting in 2013 killed off more than 90% of the population from Mexico to Alaska. Only recently has the underlying cause of the disease been identified: a specific bacterium of the Vibrio genus. But sunflower sea stars aren’t the only species that have fallen victim to the wasting disease. In fact, it has killed billions of sea stars in up to 20 species.

The Best of Our Knowledge explores topics on learning, education and research.The East African Savannah is known to be the cradle of humanity.Now, researchers are presenting a different history of homo sapiens, theorizing they evolved all across the continent including in rainforests as early as 150,000 years ago.[rerun]

To understand climate change, we can look to Venus and Mars, both surrounded by carbon dioxide—the main greenhouse gas. On Venus, CO₂ traps enough heat to keep the surface at 850°F, while on Mars, a much thinner layer still warms the planet by about 40 degrees. Greenhouse gases work by trapping infrared energy: when the Sun heats Earth’s surface, most infrared escapes through simple gases like oxygen and nitrogen, but CO₂ and water vapor absorb and re-radiate it, sending some back toward the ground. This process keeps Earth warmer and explains why cloudy nights are warmer than clear ones—the same physics behind climate change.

On this week's 51%, we speak with Keene State College Professor Dr. Lisa DiGiovanni about "militarized masculinity," and the connection between authoritarianism, state violence, and misogyny. In her new book, Militarized Masculinity in Spain and Chile, DiGiovanni outlines how hyper-masculinity and the idolization of the military contributed to the rise of Spanish Dictator Francisco Franco in the 1930s and Chilean Dictator Augusto Pinochet in the 1970s. In both cases, DiGiovanni says backlash to social progress for women and minorities helped catapult these men to power. She also examines how the arts were used to resist or expose these regimes in their later years, and lays out the warning signs that other countries, including the U.S., should watch for.

Michael Connelly has long been a master at mapping the evolving landscape of crime and justice in America, and in his latest, "The Proving Ground," he turns his attention to one of the defining questions of the moment: what happens when artificial intelligence crosses dangerous ethical lines—and real people pay the price?

Texas and oil have been an inexorable combination for well over a century. The oil and gas industry is the state’s largest economic engine, generating billions of dollars and supporting hundreds of thousands of jobs. But these days, Texas is meeting much of its rising electricity demand with renewable energy.

(Airs 12/05/25 @ 3 p.m. & 12/07/25 @ 6 p.m.) The Media Project is an inside look at media coverage of current events with former Times Union Editor, current Upstate American, Substack columnist Rex Smith, Barbara Lombardo, Adjunct Professor at the University at Albany and former Editor of the Saratogian, and former Times Union Associate Editor Mike Spain. On this week’s Media Project, Rex, Barbara, and Mike talk about The New York Times lawsuit against the Pentagon, the peril of AI deep fakes and much more.

(Airs 12/05/25 @ 10 p.m.) The Legislative Gazette is a weekly program about New York State Government and politics. On this week’s Gazette: we’ll speak with the Commissioner of the Office of Children and Family Services about the impact of federal cuts and how the state is filling the gap for those in need, the Executive Director of the New York Council on Problem Gambling will tell us about how expanded gambling has impacted gambling addiction, and we’ll introduce you to the Republican candidate for state attorney general.

(Airs 12/04/25 @ 3 p.m.) WAMC’s David Guistina in conversation with Michelle Hadden, Executive Director of The New York Council on Problem Gambling, about the definition of gambling addiction, the expansion of legalized gambling in the state, online gambling and its impact on youth, and much more.