Thank you for this great show! Can someone please explain why the shock wave would kill or stun the shrimp's prey, but not harm the shrimp? Thank you!

Loved the aggressive sound design of this show! Whoever this James Bloom character is needs to have his own podcast. This is the sort of post - radio production that could make podcasts an even more artful medium. I was grinning every time the kids interrupted or the music engaged the story. Bravo.

Fascinating show.

Feel free to cease this gratuitous insertion of team family members into the podcasts. No doubt their family find these nieces' utterances cute and adorable, but I can't be alone in finding them excruciating. Keep it to the adults unless the kids are directly relevant, please.

Youza, what a story!!! As a diver who got my own gear before I got a drivers license, I love it. I must and will read alot more about cavitation (which heard a bit about in Hunt for Red October), but I didn't understand several things- first I think it is a VACUUM BUBBLE, not so much a gas bubble, although it would have water vapor in it.

So the SNAP or explosion would be like lightning, from the air smashing back into the void. But where in the world can, A. 5000 degree temps come from in such a micro space (3mm diameter or 1/8")- there is no time or size to create such friction, B. Plasma come from, which I thought takes ~15,000K, and C. where is the Light flash- the videos I saw show no evidence of that, except for the bubble and collapse.

That said, would this be injurious to a diver's ears, and at what range? 220 decibels is tremendous- way higher than a jet plane- my drums at their max were probably 140 db, and water is a very good transmitter of sound. The oceans are amazingly silent, though there are dolphin chips and whale songs, never been around a real symphony, and I've swam with schools of dolphins- most audio is out of human's limited range.

The only thing that ever really hurt me underwater, among sharks, barracuda, manta rays, fire coral, moray eels, lion fish, stone fish (the Mexican guide had pushed my face from 1M to 1/2M ha ha- big joke- they are 60% fatal, the deadliest thing in the ocean)... was a big black urchin off Maui, which after I diddled the spines, started vibrating ("Look, I've excited it!" I thought in wonder) before it fired an alkaloid laced limestone dart halfway through my finger, then an inch away from the tip! The pain was incredible- I came out of the water and dug a huge hole in my finger trying to "extract" the crumbling weapon, then doused it with vinegar, the acid neutralized the alkaloid pain poison and dissolved the limestone, which I never even saw, except as a black form under the skin. I had always been terrified of urchins entering and exiting the water for very good reason (as it turned out)- if one got hit by 10 of those things at once, one would probably go into anaphalactic shock and drown!!!! (I was alergic to yellow-jackets). Interestingly every diver I asked there had never seen such gun toting behavior among the urchins, but then maybe none had tried to diddle one. Pushing the frontiers of science ever onward.

Why don't you arrogant dufuses ever answer any of your viewers' questions, or get the guest to a few days later????

@Tommy from Nyc , who says "...language police are icky worms"

It's not language. It's a tic, one that is maddeningly distracting to hear over and over in conversation. Like "um" and "ah", it contributes nothing to the message, and rather, reveals the speaker's lack of confidence in and commitment to what s/he is saying. Between the "like"s and the kung-fu editing in this piece, I barely hung on to the end. I did so because the actual topic was interesting. There is something to be said for fluid speech: it is simply more pleasant to listen to and easier to understand.

Did the camera capture at, LIKE, thousands of frames per second? Or was it actually thousands of frames per second?

Did the scientists see, LIKE, a bubble? Or did they actually see a bubble?

Did they SORT OF KIND OF see how it all goes down, and it SORT OF unfolds like this?

Does the jet of water shoot out at LIKE 60mph? I mean, the scientist had *just said* that it shoots out at 60mph.

At least the scientist was able to speak clearly and concisely. I wish we could say the same for your, LIKE, producer.

I could probably list more examples but I couldn't finish the episode. What a departure from the crispness of your first several seasons.

Why is this woman laughing at everything she brings up.. We get it lady, you're a cool mom. Chill.

Love the show as always. The link between the Dave Stein's grandfather and his own sense of self was beautiful. Have to admit I did think the editing of that piece took away from the story. Dave had a clear voice which was full of character. Having the same story told by two people at the same time was difficult to listen to. Felt almost disrespectful to Dave, like you were hurrying him along. LOVE the show, but feel this editing style can really take away from the impact of great stories.

Thank you so much for this episode. One of my favorites now. This episode perfectly illustrates how a simple "What is that?" Can lead down a path to new discoveries. Please keep up the work. You guys are one of the main reasons I will never stop loving to learn. Please keep teaching me.

Awesome to see the magic and mysteries of the big blue sea bringing told by the talents at Radio Lab. If you haven't yet, you guys should link to this FANTASTIC cartoon by The Oatmeal all about the Mantis Shrimp and why its just totally awesome. It's 80% of your story, in a strip, lacking the fantastic music and broader context but with some pretty great atomic rainbows.
http://theoatmeal.com/comics/mantis_shrimp

the most boring episode eveeeeeeeer

Great episode as usual!

What about the music at the very end of the episode? I loved the atmospheric sound of it!

It seems like almost every Radiolab has comments about how "I used to love Radiolab but this episode was the WORST". Are Radiolab listeners prone to long negative proclamations?

Those shrimp are pretty rad.

There's a fine line between an engaging, narrative story and a cutesy obnoxious one. Commenters are picking on Molly and the kids but even Robert's disingenuous "oooh"s contributed. The content was great, but the "mystery" was so forced at the beginning, and delivered in such a cutesy way, that it distracted from the content. I like Molly, I don't mind the kids, I like the style of the show, but this was horribly over produced and trying too hard to be clever. What made Radiolab great in the past was a perfect sense of that balance. Entertaining without overtaking the lesson. Subject matter, not spectacle, should always come first.

I have been listening to This American Life how am I only finding out about this podcast now!

The whole bubble process is called cavitation. It also leads to failures on ship propellers and electric turbines.

You have wonderful story, but you guys are getting too carried away in the editing room and it's all end too 'chopped off'...

oh my god the kids voices were so annoying.

As much as I enjoyed the show. Hearing her use the word "like" every 15 seconds was more that I could bear.

PLEASE RADIOLAB, tell me where the Bubble music came from.

Regarding the kids:

I think that they did add to to episode. They added to a sense of wonder and delight for discovery that most kid have, but which seems to evaporate during adolescence in most people.

The story about the shrimps was fascinating and mind-boggling. What made me sit up straight however (if I hadn't been walking the dog) is that I have a very dear friend walking around with an inoperable brain-tumor the size of a pigeon egg! It's in the prefrontal area and cannot be reached without destroying vital brain area's.
So of course I wonder what progress has been made.
The New Scientist article you supplied is from June 2014 and before the first trial. In the podcast last December is mentioned...
There are several other articles online from November 2015, saying the first patient was recently treated and nine patients would be next.
I'm anxious to know what has happened since and what indications there are for success...
A follow-up on this is clearly warranted!

Hi. I appreciate the story and don't mind the conversational tone, but I don't feel like the banter with the children added much to the story. I don't hate kids, but I don't think it's an appropriate way to frame the story. In my opinion, it was a little jarring to be hearing the science interspersed with baby talk. I'd be okay if it were limited to just a segment, but I didn't find it necessary to get their theories reactions on everything, especially when it added nothing to the story. After all, this is a science podcast, not a Molly Webster babysitting podcast.

I loved this episode. As a former submariner who has listen to snapping shrimp for countless hours, you finally unravelled the mystery of "how" those shrimp make so much noise. Thanks!

I love Radiolab but the children's voices got highly annoying. Turned it off in the middle.

Absolutely loved the episode. And I found the narration from kids in the episode cute. That made the episode much more fun. I am not sure why so many folks here are feeling bad about it.

Great story. Love the humor, the science, the unpretentious discussion. The nitpickers in the comments section need to lighten up. My 15 year old daughter -- who's leery of science -- loved this, mainly because of Molly's easy-to-relate-to conversational tone (including the use of "like"). Thank you for making science so accessible and interesting.

Radiolab is, by nature, a conversational podcast. That's part of what makes it so engaging and distinct from straighter NPR reporting like All Things Considered. What it also means, however, is that listeners, by deciding to listen, are also deciding to hear how people actually speak to each other. That includes the use of the word "like." Terrifying, I know - but if it bothers you, stop listening. How is that not obvious by now? I applaud the show for having the resolve to report what they want, how they want. It's what keep radiolab from sounding like some awful reflection of the grievances of pedants.

TLDR: language police are icky worms

Fantastic story telling. I'm a Biology teacher so I already knew all the science, but it was still great fun to listen to. I really admire the way you guys paint such a vivid picture with words. Love the music too!
Good job Molly.

Robert, you have done a piece on Mantis Shrimp before so I was a little surprised at your incredulity regarding this shrimp's ability to pretty much do something similar.

Our whole family loves radiolab. I am not being mean with this comment just surprised that someone allowed it to happen. Molly Webster needs to correct her use of "like" when she speaks. While this was a fun episode can you imagine reporting on a war or famine with this speech pattern. We look to NPR and shows such as yours to be role models for our teenage son and daughter on many things including public speaking.

I thought the episode, especially the children, was as interesting and entertaining as all of your shows! Thank you for being you Radiolab and Molly Webster... You guys ROCK!

Very interesting episode as usual. Amazing storytelling.

Agree with all the comments, please no more Molly Webster or her kids, super distracting and annoying.

Great episode, as fascinating as always. Please keep up the superb work, RadioLab folks.

It's a minor point, but I am compelled to clarify that many drugs are capable of crossing the blood brain barrier, without any assistance from tiny shrimp. Caffeine, alcohol, THC, Benadryl, nicotine, are some that spring immediately to mind; and truthfully, any chemical that has an effect on the brain must necessarily be capacity of crossing the blood brain barrier all on its own.

What this technology might revolutionize, is providing the capability for drugs that we would like to have work in the brain that are currently excluded.

I would have enjoyed this episode weren't for the children's voices. Not everyone finds those pleasant.

I thought this episode did a great job of unfolding an unexpected connection from a seemingly arcane scientific discovery. science has applications far beyond what we anticipate.

who cares if it's big tent? let's get people interested in science folks. this isn't supposed to be CSPAN for science.

Here I thought a more sciencey episode would have appeased the commenters who decry any episode that doesn't feature someone with an advanced degree in a hard science, but nope! It's always a good time to nitpick a female reporter, even one who doesn't have "vocal fry." I thought Molly did a great job.

So hard to actually pay attention to this episode, I kept zoning out whenever I had to listen to the kids.

OMG! We live on a boat in Florida and the shrimp are SO LOUD!! At first we thought the sound was something wrong with the boat. They crackle like popcorn.

This was neat, I didn't know shrimp were used to hide subs during the war. Also very cool how these bubbles work!

Not my favourite episode but still interesting

Good job! I didn't even notice Mollys use of "like", I think people are focusing on the wrong thing...

Really cool about the shrimp though! I never knew about sonoluminescence before.

I thought I was the only one who hated Molly Webster's overuse of the word "like"! Glad to see I'm not alone.

Radiolab used to be interesting. Now the comments section is filled with "hey, what's that music at the X:XX mark?"

Also, can we all just shut up about bacon already?

So the blood brain barrier is just like the wall in The Game of Thrones. Got it. Thank you for that in-depth scientific reporting.
Seriously though, I've been a regular listener since "09". Please bring back the old Radio Lab

I hope I never hear Molly Webster report again. The use of the word "like" made me think I was back in middle school and all the cuts back and forth between her voice and the true scientist behind this story was cringeworthy. Missed on this episode

Went back and listened to the description a second time and confirmed that, as best I can tell, the term "cavitation" is never actually uttered in this episode. The imaginative description is fun storytelling and is one of the reasons I love RadioLab, but I feel like not identifying the process by its name, especially one so well known, was rather irresponsible. ...If I'm wrong and the term is in there somewhere, then I will bow as corrected.

I love your show! Very creative how you overlap the comments to tell a story more quickly. Including the kids in this week's show was adorable. On top of that, a great story! You always have such different topics to discuss. Keep up the good work!!

Wonderful feature. I've heard this crackling anytime I went diving or snorkeling. The only question I have is, where does the air come from in the cavitation bubble? Is it possible that it really is water vapor, and not air?

Quantum Foam 3D Foil wallpaper!! http://www.beware-the-moon.com/3d-foils-quantum-foam-wallpaper/

All this talk of tiny shrimp, walls and bubbles to save the day

Yes, music list please!

You have a broken link to the youtube video, although it's easy to figure out what it really is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zg10Et8FEWc

I also want the bubble dance song! The music in this episode was phenomenal.

Wow, the whole bubble creation from these little shrimp take me back to your Color episode, with the mantis shrimp. Don't they strike prey so fast that they create a weird bubbly burst of energy with their claws, too? Cavitation bubbles? Why are shrimp so cool?

^Also, I agree with Nik about the bubble dance song. What is that song?

Can we please see a the songs used in this episode!? I really want to found out the bubble dance party song. Thanks!