Robert Krulwich
Robert Krulwich has been called “the most inventive network reporter in television” by TV Guide.
His specialty is explaining complex subjects, science, technology, economics, in a style that is clear, compelling and entertaining. On television he has explored the structure of DNA using a banana; on radio he created an Italian opera, “Ratto Interesso” to explain how the Federal Reserve regulates interest rates; he has pioneered the use of new animation on ABC’s Nightline and World News Tonight.
Robert now reports for National Public Radio. His NPR blog, “Krulwich Wonders”, features drawings, cartoons and videos that illustrate hard-to-see concepts in science. He is also co-host of “Radiolab”, a nationally distributed radio series that explores new developments in science for people who are curious but not usually drawn to science shows. (“There’s nothing like it on the radio, “ says Ira Glass of This American Life, “It’s a act of crazy genius.”) Radiolab won a Peabody Award in 2011.
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There are animals famous for their songs. Whales sing. Birds sing. We humans have Aretha, Elvis, Ray Charles, Pavarotti. But bats — who knew? -
Let's compare two kinds of nothing: an empty patch of deep space and an empty piece of paper that was once beautiful. There's nothing to see in either. Or is there?
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They are small. They are weak. They are vulnerable. But these little bees take on a humongous predator in the most ingenious way. -
Can a colicky baby's piercing scream be militarized? As in, made (literally) into a weapon of war? Oh, absolutely, says this scholar, smiling ever so slightly.
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Draw a planet (a circle, right?). Now draw a star (a pointy thing, yes?). Now ask yourself, aren't stars all round? Our sun is. So why do we make them pointy? Come learn the answer. -
Every fall, birds head south and, around Sept. 11, New York sends two beams into the sky. When birds and lights collide, that could mean trouble — but New York is surprisingly gentle.
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We live on a planet, next to a star that's part of a galaxy that's part of ... ah, here comes the new discovery. We are at the very tip of a giant galactic "supercluster." Take a look. -
I am made of atoms — 7,000 trillion trillion of them. How did I teach them to tie my shoes? Or did they teach me?
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You don't get to see this too often: a man (in this case, a very talented man) totally possessed by his muse. Watch pianist Glenn Gould deep in what psychologists call "a flow state." -
You look. You gape. You can't believe your eyes. Well, take a peek at this image and ask yourself, 'How did they do this?'
