PBS's NOVA Podcast Begins Second Season

When so many Americans appear to discount the value of science, it’s important to reference the most well-respected science series on any media -- PBS's NOVA. The award-winning PBS science series, a production of GBH Boston, just launched the second season of its podcast NOVA Now. Produced by public media organizations GBH and PRX and hosted by pediatrician and on-camera medical news expert Dr. Alok Patel, the original podcast, which was nominated for a Shorty Award earlier this year, unpacks the science behind today’s top news stories.  

NOVA is the most popular prime-time science series on American television, demystifying the scientific and technological concepts that shape and define our lives, our planet, and our universe. The PBS series is also one of the most widely distributed science programs around the world.

 The host of NOVA Now, Dr. Alok Patel, is a physician, journalist, host, and producer who believes humor and relatability should drive science communication. "Scientists," he'll tell you, "need a much louder megaphone." He is a special correspondent for ABC News and regularly appears as an on-camera expert for several news outlets. He hosted the first season of the Nova Now podcast, which was a Shorty Award finalist. 

 The first season of NOVA Now premiered in August 2020 and covered a wide range of current events and hot topics, including the hidden science behind mail-in voting and polling ahead of the 2020 election, health risks from annual wildfires ravaging the West, COVID vaccines, how satellites affect human life, and the science of positive motivation leading into the new year.

A new episode of NOVA Now will be released every other week beginning Thursday, June 24. In each episode, host Patel speaks with the people—scientists, engineers, technologists, mathematicians and more—at the center of research, developments, and theories in the headlines. Just as NOVA’s award-winning films have long provided context and clarity around thorny questions at the intersection of science and society, the NOVA Now podcast turns that same lens to urgent topics while offering listeners a trusted understanding of how science affects them on a daily basis.

Season two will kick off with an episode about “coming back,” using sports as the framework to explore how the body and mind change when people—whether top-tier athletes or folks who work out for fitness—have to stop their training and exercise. The episode will examine how the pandemic forced many of us to either slow, postpone, or cancel our routines to minimize the risk of viral spread. And, as infection rates drop and quarantine restrictions are lifting, the episode will explore the science behind those changes and introduce ideas that might help listeners get back into the game.

Listeners can subscribe and learn more at pbs.org/novanowpodcast.