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Giving coffee a jolt could help assess its quality

NPR | By Emily Kwong,

Rachel Carlson

Published April 30, 2026 at 4:22 PM CDT

NPR's science podcast Short Wave looks at the secrets behind scorpions' weapons, using electricity to measure the quality of a cup of coffee, and what shapes the content of dreams.

Emily Kwong

Emily Kwong (she/her) is the founding reporter and now co-host for Short Wave, NPR's daily science podcast. Her first homework assignment in kindergarten was to bring in a leaf to class. She's been looking at trees ever since.

Rachel Carlson

Rachel Carlson (she/her) is a production assistant at Short Wave, NPR's science podcast. She gets to do a bit of everything: researching, sourcing, writing, fact-checking and cutting episodes.