| Other names | Quirks |
|---|---|
| Genre | Science news |
| Running time | ca. 50 min. |
| Country | Canada |
| Languages | English |
| Home station | CBC Radio One |
| Hosts | Bob McDonald |
| Producers | Jim Lebans, Mark Crawley |
| Exec. producers | Jim Handman |
| Recording studio | Toronto, Ontario |
| Air dates | since October 8, 1975 |
| Audio format | Monophonic |
| Website | www.cbc.ca/quirks |
| Podcast | Podcast |
Quirks & Quarks (Quirks) is a Canadian weekly science news program heard over CBC Radio One of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC).
Airing since October 8, 1975, Quirks & Quarks is consistently rated among the most popular CBC programs, attracting over 500,000 listeners each Saturday from 12:00 to 13:00.[1] The show is also heard on Sirius Satellite Radio. The show consists of several segments each week, most of which involve the host interviewing a scientist about a recent discovery or publication, combined with in-depth documentaries; however, from time to time the show does a special "Question Show" episode, during which the format consists of scientists answering questions submitted by listeners.
Quirks & Quarks has offered listeners Internet audio streams and downloads since 1993, and today distributes in MP3 and OGG formats. The MP3 audio files have been archived on the program web site since Sept. 2000. In 2005, Quirks became the first major CBC show available as a podcast. Since the program began, it has won more than 70 national and international journalism awards, including the prestigious Walter Sullivan Award (twice) and the Science Writing Award from the American Institute of Physics (twice).
Suzuki went on to host CBC Television's The Nature of Things. Ingram left to become founding host of Discovery Channel Canada's nightly science-news program @discovery.ca. McDonald came to Quirks from having hosted CBC Television's children's science program Wonderstruck.