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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The pink on a flamingo? Stripes on a zebra? Spots on a giraffe? All explained. Simply. Elegantly. Oddly. -
Man goes in for a routine hip operation. In the corner of the operating room, there's a young med student watching. When things go wrong, she tries to make sense of what she sees. -
You've swum with dolphins, ridden camels, stalked tigers. Now, try taking a memory test with a chimp — and losing. It's fun, humbling and mind-boggling.
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Whales are famous for spouts and blowholes. Turns out there's another whale opening that's just as important, but I'm too polite to mention it. -
There it is: a wild animal, lurking. Here's Andrew, darting so fast, using his bare hands — and bingo! Suddenly, he's holding the animal. He doesn't use weapons — just his lightning-quick reflexes. -
YouTube is chock full of cats, gophers, dogs and chimps who are supposed to be dancing. But they're not. Biologists say the list of "true" dancers is extremely small. We're on it. But guess who else? -
A few weeks ago, this little frog was frozen solid, hard like an ashtray, basically dead. And then, we don't know how, this amazing thing happened ... -
Two mapmakers made the place up. It wasn't real. Then, oddly, it popped into being. I am not making this up. It happened. Then it un-happened. -
This is a "Which came first?" riddle. Not chicken vs. egg. This one is about rain forests. When rain forests begin, do they start with rain ("Yes!" say I) or trees ("No! That's ridiculous!" say I)? I should warn you: Sometimes nature has a sense of humor. -
What are the odds that you will die this year? Whatever they are, the mortality tables suggest those odds will double eight years from now. Death, apparently, moves closer at a curiously regular pace. Why this eight-year progression? Is it something biological? Random? What is it about eight that attracts the Grim Reaper? Let's ask.
