Do you avoid small talk in the office, or with your neighbor in the elevator? If so, you might want to give it a chance. According to a study just published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, even when participants were primed that a conversation would be boring, it turned out to be more interesting than they anticipated. Today on the show, we get into that, plus why scientists gave lobsters painkillers, and a clue about the formation of the Grand Canyon. 

Interested in more science? Email us your question at shortwave@npr.org.

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U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement acting director Todd Lyons, a key executor of President Donald Trump’s mass deportations agenda, will resign at the end of May, federal officials announced.

The 21-year-old Houston-born singer, whose real name is David Burke, had been under a secret investigation by an LA County grand jury after a 14-year-old girl’s decomposed body was found in his car.

Ten Republicans voted alongside Democrats, in a rebuke to the Trump administration’s immigration policies. Should it pass the Senate, the White House said President Trump would veto the measure.

Lawmakers have been in a stalemate for over 60 days about funding the entire department, which includes agencies that oversee immigration enforcement, disaster relief, cybersecurity and the U.S. Coast Guard.

Los Jornaleros Del Norte play protest songs whose lyrics reflect the hopes and struggles of undocumented workers as they evade immigration agents patrolling the streets.