The Surprising Science Of Why Sneakers Squeak

March Madness is almost upon us, which means basketball arenas across the country will be filled with the thunderous roar of fans and the surprisingly loud squeaks of basketball shoes. At his first NBA game, physicist Adel Djellouli was surprised by the constant noise from the court and wondered, why do basketball shoes squeak? Turns out, the physics of a squeak involves lightning bolts and earthquakes.

Host Flora Lichtman talks with Djellouli about his research and the joy of investigating seemingly simple questions.

Guest: Dr. Adel Djellouli is an experimental physicist at Harvard University.

Transcripts for each episode are available within 1-3 days at sciencefriday.com.

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