Why Are You Backing Into That Parking Spot? episode artwork

EPISODE · Feb 20, 2026 · 43 MIN

Why Are You Backing Into That Parking Spot?

from The Curiosity Desk · host GBH News

In a parking lot, everyone has a go-to method -- you either pull into a parking space, or back into it. Practitioners of each method tend to outrage the other. We ask Daniel Findley and Bryan Northrop help settle – once and for all – which is more efficient. Findley’s a civil engineer at NC State's Institute for Transportation Research and Education, and Northrop is vice president at Skanska, a construction management firm that builds parking garage and parking lots. Then, controversy policy moves have brought mRNA vaccines back into the headlines. Stirling Churchman helps us refamiliarize ourselves with how an mRNA vaccines works, why they're particularly useful for quickly mutating viruses, and how the potential mRNA technology compares to previous major breakthroughs in health science. Churchman is an associate professor of genetics at Harvard Medical School. 

In a parking lot, everyone has a go-to method -- you either pull into a parking space, or back into it. Practitioners of each method tend to outrage the other. We ask Daniel Findley and Bryan Northrop help settle – once and for all – which is more efficient. Findley’s a civil engineer at NC State's Institute for Transportation Research and Education, and Northrop is vice president at Skanska, a construction management firm that builds parking garage and parking lots.  Then, controversy policy moves have brought mRNA vaccines back into the headlines. Stirling Churchman helps us refamiliarize ourselves with how an mRNA vaccines works, why they're particularly useful for quickly mutating viruses, and how the potential mRNA technology compares to previous major breakthroughs in health science. Churchman is an associate professor of genetics at Harvard Medical School.

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Why Are You Backing Into That Parking Spot?

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This episode is 43 minutes long.

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This episode was published on February 20, 2026.

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In a parking lot, everyone has a go-to method -- you either pull into a parking space, or back into it. Practitioners of each method tend to outrage the other. We ask Daniel Findley and Bryan Northrop help settle – once and for all – which is more...

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