The Best of Our Knowledge explores topics on learning, education and research.On this episode, we’ll speak with investigative journalist Mariah Blake.Blake’s new book “They Poisoned the World: Life and Death in the Age of Forever Chemicals” chronicles the decade-long fight for clean drinking water in the small community of Hoosick Falls, New York.

On this episode, we’ll learn how an introduced fish population in the Adirondacks has evolved to avoid capture. New research has revealed neurons tied to binge drinking. And we’ll spend time with historians working to bring back a centuries-old barn in the Berkshires.

The Best of Our Knowledge explores topics on learning, education and research.Unlocking a genetic mystery, scientists studying an unusual jellyfish-like creature have determined the animal to have multiple lineages.A new report examines an adolescent literacy gap.And we’ll visit a new museum dedicated to all things pinball.

The Best of Our Knowledge explores topics on learning, education and research.On this episode, we’ll learn how artificial intelligence is allowing scientists to understand brain function. A new algorithm illuminates the brain’s internal wiring. Researchers are gaining new insight into the brain’s reward system.

The Best of Our Knowledge explores topics on learning, education and research.We’ll speak with one of a handful of winners of this year’s Dan David Prize. Hamilton College professor Mackenzie Cooley received the world’s largest history prize for her study of “bioprospecting.”And we’ll speak with school administrators in New York about the state’s new ban on cell phones in schools.

The Best of Our Knowledge explores topics on learning, education and research.New research offers a glimpse at the evolutionary link between prehistoric creatures and contemporary fowl.And fossilized amber is sought after for jewelry. A new study demonstrates the substance that takes Mother Nature millions of years to create can be synthesized in the lab.

The Best of Our Knowledge explores topics on learning, education and research.Scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration are predicting an active 2025 Atlantic hurricane season. We’ll speak with an atmospheric scientist about this year’s forecast.The president of Vassar College discusses executive orders directed at colleges and universities.And we’ll speak to a super speller who participated in the 2025 Scripps National Spelling Bee.

The Best of Our Knowledge explores topics on learning, education and research.Humans aren’t the only animals able to keep a beat. And we may not be the best at it either.A new study examines the time-keeping abilities of a special sea lion.

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.

The Best of Our Knowledge explores topics on learning, education and research.Scientists have discovered a new color. Only a handful of people on Earth have seen “olo” – a greenish-blue hue that can only be seen by using special equipment.And we’ll learn how scientists are aging stars – not by the light they emit, but by their “sound.”