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Watching a ski jumper fly through the air might get you wondering, “How do they do that?” The answer is – physics!
That’s why this episode, we have two physicists – Amy Pope, a physicist from Clemson University and host Regina G. Barber – break down the science at play across some of the sports at the 2026 Winter Olympics. Because what’s a sport without a little friction, lift and conservation of energy? They also get into the new sport this year, ski mountaineering - or “skimo” as many call it - and the recent scandal involving the men’s ski jump suits.
Watching a ski jumper fly through the air might get you wondering, “How do they do that?” The answer is – physics!
That’s why this episode, we have two physicists – Amy Pope, a physicist from Clemson University and host Regina G. Barber – break down the science at play across some of the sports at the 2026 Winter Olympics. Because what’s a sport without a little friction, lift and conservation of energy? They also get into the new sport this year, ski mountaineering - or “skimo” as many call it - and the recent scandal involving the men’s ski jump suits.
Interested in more science behind Olympic sports? Check out our episodes on how extreme G-forces affect Olympic bobsledders, the physics of figure skating and the science behind Simone Biles' Olympic gold.
Also, we’d love to know what science questions have you stumped. Email us your questions at shortwave@npr.org – we may solve it for you on a future episode!
Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave.
See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.
NPR Privacy Policy
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This is an episodic podcast, so you can listen to it in any order, but episode one is a great place to start.
Listen to episode one hereWatching a ski jumper fly through the air might get you wondering, “How do they do that?” The answer is – physics!
That’s why this episode, we have two physicists – Amy Pope, a physicist from Clemson University and host Regina G. Barber – break down the science at play across some of the sports at the 2026 Winter Olympics. Because what’s a sport without a little friction, lift and conservation of energy? They also get into the new sport this year, ski mountaineering - or “skimo” as many call it - and the recent scandal involving the men’s ski jump suits.
Interested in more science behind Olympic sports? Check out our episodes on how extreme G-forces affect Olympic bobsledders, the physics of figure skating and the science behind Simone Biles' Olympic gold.
Also, we’d love to know what science questions have you stumped. Email us your questions at shortwave@npr.org – we may solve it for you on a future episode!
Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave.
See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.
NPR Privacy Policy
Sound Carrot is your source for Family Podcast Discovery. Verified awesome, 0% boring.
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(Some shows do contain their own ads however).
At first I made this site for my kids, but like any dad I got a little over excited. I hope you find it as useful as they do.
Whether you want to listen to them together in the car, or alone in your room - the content is all safe for younger ears.
