Shows / The Curiosity Desk
The Curiosity Desk
Edgar B. Herwick III hosts GBH’s newest show, The Curiosity Desk, where he answers your questions and examines everyday mysteries hiding in plain sight. Tune in daily for conversations, insights and profundities about the world we live in.
Have something you’re curious about? Leave us a voicemail anytime at 877-301-8970, or submit questions via the form on our landing page at GBHNews.org.
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Episodes
The Curiosity DeskWhat Makes A Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie?
August 4th, 2026 First up, Amherst College environmental historian Edward D. Melillo discusses the role that bird poop played in establishing America’s global…
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Special Hour: 🍅 Tomato Takeover 🍅
August 3rd, 2026 We talk with Harvard Law Professor Jacob Gersen about Nix v. Hedden, the 1893 Supreme Court that officially classified tomatoes as a vegetable…
The Curiosity DeskICYMI: It's 3 AM. Do You Know Where Henry Santoro Is?
July 31, 2026 First up, it's our Friday menagerie of misfit news ICYMI, this week with Henry Santoro and the Boston Globe’s Emily Sweeney. They’ll talk about…
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Where Did This Humidity Come From?
July 30, 2026 On Today's show... Our weekly edition of The Glitch Report, with misinformation researcher Joan Donovan. She’ll weigh in on Kash Patel’s lost…
The Curiosity DeskWhy Does New England Love Its Stone Walls?
July 29, 2026 First: A reporter’s notebook with GBH reporter Meghan Smith, about her recent story on culinary programs employing people with disabilities…
The Curiosity DeskAI News Panel: Did OpenAI Truly "Go Rogue"?
First up, it's an AI news panel, this week with Boston Globe tech reporter Hiawatha Bray, researcher Elena Glassman, and Agents of Purpose founder Kathy Pham…
The Curiosity DeskWho Decides the Ballot Question Order?
We begin with Chris Liniski from Commonwealth Beacon, explaining how Mass. chooses the order of election ballot questions and how it can influence outcomes…
The Curiosity DeskWhat Does It Mean To Live In Harmony With The Rats?
First up, it’s another round of our misfit news panel ICYMI, this week with GBH’s Callie Crossley and UTR producer Andrea Asuaje. Among other stories, they'll…
The Curiosity DeskWhy Do Eggs Come in a Dozen?
First up, we’re talking about the 80’s horror sci/fi flick C.H.U.D., with Joan Donovan & psychologist / movie critic Mike Snoonian. The term “chud” has since…
The Curiosity DeskHow Can Massachusetts Stay Climate Resilient?
July 22, 2026 We’re exploring what it means to be resilient in the face of climate change, in Massachusetts and New England. Joining is Katherine Antos from…
The Curiosity DeskWhy Are Fireflies So Lit?
July 21, 2026 First up, UMass Lowell biologist Sarah Gignoux-Wolfsohn explains how exactly algae and micro-organisms can make lakes and ponds unsafe for…
The Curiosity DeskThe Impossible Curiosity Desk: A Plant-Based Special
July 20, 2026 We begin with Jean-Luc Pierite and Lux Trevelyan from the North American Indian Center of Boston, for a conversation about growing & fostering…
The Curiosity DeskBonus Interview: Why Can't I Fall Asleep?
In this bonus interview, Edgar meets Mass. General Hospital sleep researcher Chenlu Gao, to help answer a listener-submitted curiosity question how it's…
The Curiosity DeskWhy Is The Sky Yellow?
July 17, 2026 Arun Rath is guest hosting today! We talk briefly with Mathew Barlow, a Professor of Climate Sciences at Umass Lowell, about this week’s wildfire…
The Curiosity DeskWhat Salt Is Worth Its Salt?
First up, Edgar interviews Dr. Jim Faust about his nonprofit Adam’s Parachute, bringing people suffering from substance addiction into the world of fly…
The Curiosity DeskWhy Is My Cat Obsessed With My Feet?
First up, we're airing Edgar’s conversation with MIT physicist Pablo Jarillo-Herrero. Pablo tries to explain his research in the field of twistronics in the…
The Curiosity DeskWho Owns Your Attention?
July 13, 2026 First up, Migration Policy Institute senior fellow Muzaffar Chishti explains the phenomenon of birth tourism in the U.S., and whether it’s as…
The Curiosity DeskDo Elephants Make Good Friends?
July 9, 2026 First up, MIT economist Jon Gruber reflects on why independent government agencies matter, following the Trump v. Slaughter ruling by the Supreme…
The Curiosity DeskThe World Cup Effect
July 8, 2026 Today, Edgar is joined by NPR World Cup correspondent Jasmine Garsd for "The World Cup Effect," a national special exploring how the World Cup is…
The Curiosity DeskShould A.I. Start Paying Up?
July 7, 2026 It’s an AI news panel, this week focused on labor and workforce issues. We’ll hear from AI ethicists Nir Eisikovits & J. Hughes, and Boston Globe…
The Curiosity DeskCan Today's Guest Read Edgars Mind?
First up, Edgar talks with ReFED Executive Director Sara Burnett and John Hopkins researcher Roni Neff about what “sell by” labels on food packages actually…
The Curiosity DeskWhat is the Election Fraud Doom Loop?
June 25, 2026 First up, it’s the latest edition of “The Glitch Report," with Joan Donovan from the Critical Internet Studies Institute. She'll discuss what she…
The Curiosity DeskWho Wants The Bourne Bridge?
June 24, 2026 First up, how much of the lore around the historic liberty tree is real, and how much is myth carried out over centuries? That’s the focus of new…
The Curiosity DeskIs The World Cup A Religious Experience?
June 23, 2026 It’s a Curiosity Desk faith leader news panel. We’ll talk World Cup, A.I. and trillionaires with B.U. Muslim Chaplain Naureen Mallick, Rev…
The Curiosity DeskWhat Makes World Cup-Quality Soccer Turf?
First up, Edgar meets Jennifer Felt from the Conservation Law Foundation + scientist Taylor Heyl at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, for a conversation…
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What Does A 174 Year-Old Speech Mean In 2026?
First up, it’s ICYMI, our Friday menagerie of misfit news. Joining this week, we’ve got GBH’s Renuka Balakrishnan and Boston Globe higher-ed business reporter…
The Curiosity DeskDo You Like, Hate When People Say Like?
It’s another edition of “The Glitch Report” with Joan Donovan from the Critical Internet Studies Institute. She’ll talk about some implications of A.I…
The Curiosity DeskWhy Are Bananas So Cheap?
First up, Edgar talks with Abagael Giles from Vermont Public about her recent piece on scientists working to save the American Elm. Then, As the cost of…
The Curiosity DeskCan You Teach A.I. Compassion?
First up, it’s the latest edition of our A.I. News panel, this week with Harvard humanist chaplain Greg Epstein, former Executive Director of the National AI…
The Curiosity DeskWhat Are Archaeologists Digging Up In Charlestown?
First, Edgar talks with Massport CMO John Raferty about what could potentially be the world’s largest soccer ball, which arrived at a park in East Boston on…
The Curiosity DeskIs There A Better Way To Board A Plane?
First up misinformation researcher Joan Donovan joins with Craig Newmark – founder of Craigslist – on internet scams in the age of A.I. Craig’s heading the…
The Curiosity DeskWho's Afraid Of Recombinant DNA?
First up, 50 years ago this month, a contentious Cambridge City Council meeting around the issue of recombinant DNA research would go on to shape the future of…
The Curiosity DeskWhy Did We Stop Keeping Pigeons As Pets?
First up, we check in with professor Rocky Weitz from the Tufts Fletcher School. Now that we are 5 months out from the US government overthrowing Maduro we ask…
The Curiosity DeskWhat Were Our Founding Fathers Drinking?
First up, Edgar meets Clear Scientific’s Shekar Shetty & Winston Henderson to learn about their work developing the world’s first antidote to methamphetamine…
The Curiosity DeskWhat's Real About Reality Show Cooking?
It’s our Friday menagerie of misfit news. GBH’s Paris Alston & Jeremy Siegel join us to talk about the Nantucket school committee meeting gone awry, the…
The Curiosity DeskHow Tiny Can A Robot Get?
It's The Glitch Report, with Joan Donovan from the Critical Internet Studies Institute. We cover former reality star Spencer Pratt using Trump’s social media…
The Curiosity DeskWho's Got The Best Ice Cream in New England?
250 years ago, Americans weren’t just fighting the British – they also had smallpox to contend with. Edgar talks with GBH’s Jennifer Moore and Kanisorn…
The Curiosity DeskWill A.I. Cyborgs Outlast Us All?
Edgar kicks us off with another round of our A.I. news & ethics panel with Nir Eisikovits & J Hughes from the podcast Prosthetic Gods, and Harvard A.I…
The Curiosity DeskHow Do I Start A Start-Up?
On Saturday, a meteor crashed into the ocean off the coast of Cape Cod. Sky & Telescope senior editor Kelly Beatty joins to explain what we know (and don’t)…
The Curiosity DeskWhat's It Take To Bee A Spelling S-T-A-R?
First up, It’s ICYMI, our menagerie of misfit news week-in-review panel. We’ll talk with Axios’ Mike Deehan and freelance journalist Megan Johnson about the…
The Curiosity DeskDoes History Have A Lesson For Today's College Grads?
First up, BU Misinformation Researcher Joan Donovan walks us through a few stories that've made headlines this week. Then, Edgar chats with UMass Boston labor…
The Curiosity DeskWhy Does My Cat Meow So Loudly?
First up, GBH’s Meghan Smith joins to talk about her reporting on why Malden has so many Chinese restaurants. She’ll join alongside Diana Jeong, a lifelong…
The Curiosity DeskAre Doctors Embracing The AI Era?
First up, we begin with an AI panel focused on AI in medicine. Guests are Dr. Leo Celi and Dr. Adam Rodman from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, and STAT…
The Curiosity DeskWhich Type of Vanilla Should I Use?
First up, it’s the inaugural edition of our segment “ICYMI,” where we talk about some lighter news of the week you might’ve missed. Joining today is GBH’s Adam…
The Curiosity DeskStuck On Stamps: What Fuels The Philatelists?
First up, Edgar talks with Joan Donovan and Steven Rai, a colleague from her Critical Internet Studies Institute, about the extremist ecosystem online that…
The Curiosity DeskWhy's There A Green Light At My Walk Signal?
First up, Edgar talks “concurrent signaling” – when the walk sign coincides with a green light – and how it can complicate getting around the city for people…
The Curiosity DeskIs it Possible To Learn While You Dream?
What’s actually happening in those academic departments at research institutions? Edgar asks MIT economics chair Jon Gruber. Then, we’re getting up to speed on…
The Curiosity DeskWhere Did The Starter Home Go?
First up, we open with a housing panel, comprised of Jesse Kanson-Benanav from Abundant Housing MA, and Commonwealth Beacon Housing Reporter Jennifer Smith…
The Curiosity DeskDid We Really Just Discover 10,000 New Planets?
First up, It’s been an especially chaotic month for higher-ed reporters, now with cuts to research at MIT, the closure of Hampshire College & more. GBH’s Kirk…
The Curiosity DeskCan We Return To The Internet of the 90's?
First up, Misinformation researcher Joan Donovan returns, as we celebrate 30 years of The Internet Archive with founder Brewster Kahle. We'll chat about what…
The Curiosity DeskHow Come We Never See Baby Pigeons?
First up, MIT economics chair Jon Gruber on what easing regulations around the use of GLP-1’s could do for the U.S. economy. Then, Chemist & professor Krishna…
The Curiosity DeskHow Does War Affect To Cost of My Fertilizer?
First up, Edgar talks with GBH’s Emily Judem and self-deporting immigrant Anderson Costa about what ICE anxiety is doing to Framingham's Brazilian community…
The Curiosity DeskWhen Did We Start Saying "Wicked Pissah"?
First up, GBH's Esteban Bustillos joins Jonathan Tannenwald from the Philadelphia Inquirer to compare Boston’s readiness against Philadelphia. Then, We’re…
The Curiosity DeskTrue Crime(ish): Who Stole Swirly?!
First up, GBH's Zoe Matthews joins in person for a reporter's notebook on her story looking at the question: could urban gardening be Boston's answer to rising…
The Curiosity DeskHow Do You Start A Smear Campaign?
First up, Disinformation researcher Joan Donovan breaks down how malicious PR firms & internet trolls manufacture smear campaigns for the digital age. Next, as…
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How Are Local Activists Protecting Abortion Rights?
First up, as the Supreme Court considers a ban on telehealth-prescribed abortion medication, Edgar meets abortion rights activist and co-founder of The MAP…
The Curiosity DeskHow Does A Bumblebee Keep Rhythm?
First up, The FDA is making it easier to study the medical applications of psychedelic drugs. Edgar talks about the policy change with Genny Kanter, associate…
The Curiosity DeskWho Invented The Care Package?
First up, Edgar learns about the first-ever care package – delivered 80 years ago – and discusses the state of global humanitarian aid with Michelle Nunn, CEO…
The Curiosity DeskWhy Not Invite Everyone To Your Wedding?
First up we celebrate May Day. We are learning some essential Massachusetts labor history, from the 1912 Bread & Roses Strike in Lawrence up ’til our present…
The Curiosity DeskWhy Are Moroccan Farmers Planting Shrimp Seeds?
First, it’s B.U. misinformation researcher Joan Donovan on why so many people – on the left & right – were quick to cry conspiracy after the WHCA dinner…