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373 afleveringen, van nieuw naar oud
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Audio Edition: The Quietest Mathematician Has Always Been Worth Listening To
22 oktober 2026 · 25 min
John Pardon sees connections between different areas of math that others don’t. For that vision, he’s now been awarded a Fields Medal. Lees meer
The article The Quietest Mathematician Has Always Been Worth Listening To first appeared on Quanta Magazine.
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'Ghostly' Galaxies and the Mystery of Dark Matter
20 oktober 2026 · 26 min
In 2018, using the Keck Observatory in Hawaiʻi, astronomers discovered the first known dark matter-deficient galaxy, DF2. It’s about the same size as the Milky Way, but way dimmer, with 200 times fewer stars. Since then, two more phantom galaxies (DF4 and DF9) have been spotted. All three of these strange galaxies exist along a line. Why? Lees meer
On this episode of The Quanta Podcast, host Samir Patel speaks with writer Robin George Andrews about this triplet of ‘ghostly’ galaxies and what they can tell us about the mystery of dark matter.
This topic was covered in a recent story for Quanta Magazine.
Each week on The Quanta Podcast, Quanta Magazine editor-in-chief Samir Patel and Senior Editor Hannah Waters speak with the people behind the award-winning publication to navigate through some of the most important and mind-expanding questions in science and math.
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How Math Brings Together Classical Chaos, Quantum Mechanics, and Fractals
13 oktober 2026 · 29 min
The uncertainty principle tells us that the more you know about where a quantum particle is, the less you can know about how fast it’s moving, and vice versa. In 2023, graduate student Alex Cohen stunned the math world when he posted a proof of the fractal uncertainty principle. The math, which combines chaos, quantum theory, and infinitely complex fractal structures, has been called a “foundational result.” Lees meer
On this episode of The Quanta Podcast, host Samir Patel speaks with writer Shalma Wegsman on this incredible breakthrough and how this principle has revealed a new deep way that quantum particles differ from classical ones.
This topic was covered in a recent story for Quanta Magazine.
Each week on The Quanta Podcast, Quanta Magazine editor-in-chief Samir Patel and Senior Editor Hannah Waters speak with the people behind the award-winning publication to navigate through some of the most important and mind-expanding questions in science and math.
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Audio Edition: Sometimes Being First Means Seeing the End Before Anyone Else
8 oktober 2026 · 25 min
Determination and effort propelled Jacob Tsimerman to the top of the math world. But now that he’s won a Fields Medal, he worries that the field is in jeopardy. Lees meer
The article Sometimes Being First Means Seeing the End Before Anyone Else first appeared on Quanta Magazine.
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Sea Monkeys, Jupiter, and the Mystery of Turbulence
6 oktober 2026 · 28 min
Turbulence is all around us: bumping our planes, roiling our rivers, swirling milk into our coffee. These systems quickly become extremely chaotic and complex. On this episode of The Quanta Podcast, host Samir Patel speaks with contributing writer Stephen Ornes about a recent study that used sea monkeys to complicate one of turbulence’s many mysteries. This topic was covered in a recent story for Quanta Magazine. Lees meer
Each week on The Quanta Podcast, hear the people behind the award-winning publication navigate through some of the most important and mind-expanding questions in science and math.
We've been nominated for a few Signal Awards, including Best Science Show, Best Host, and Best Show Artwork! Visit the links below to vote for us:
https://vote.signalaward.com/PublicVoting#/2026/shows/genre/science
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‘Jumping Genes’ Are More Than Parasitic DNA
29 september 2026 · 27 min
You might imagine that the DNA in your cells has a simple history. But that’s not the entire story. Nearly half of your genome is a wild drama, thanks to a genetic material called transposons that can clip itself out of the DNA sequence, float off, and paste itself somewhere else. While these “jumping genes” may seem pathological, they’re more than just junk. Lees meer
On this episode of The Quanta Podcast, host Hannah Waters speaks with writer Jake Buehler about these unruly genetic fragments and their connections to the evolution of everything from moths to wombs.
This topic was covered in a recent story for Quanta Magazine.
The audio coda this week is a piece of music called Transposon. It's a musical sonification of transposable elements from the human genome by composer and sound artist Sam Nester. He created it in collaboration with genomicist Stéphane Boissinot as part of a year-long artist-in-residence at the Center for Genomics and Systems Biology at NYU Abu Dhabi.
Each week on The Quanta Podcast, Quanta Magazine editor-in-chief Samir Patel and Senior Editor Hannah Waters speak with the people behind the award-winning publication to navigate through some of the most important and mind-expanding questions in science and math.
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Audio Edition: For Hong Wang, Living Fully in the Math World Means Threading the Needle
24 september 2026 · 27 min
Focus, commitment, and insight resulted in a “once in a century” proof. Hong Wang is now just the third woman to win a Fields Medal. Lees meer
The article Living Fully in the Math World Means Threading the Needle first appeared on Quanta Magazine.
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Are the Little Red Dots Actually Black Hole Suns?
22 september 2026 · 34 min
When all you can see is a speck, it’s hard to tell what you’re looking at. Astronomers first argued that little red dots spotted by the James Webb Space Telescope in 2022 were distant galaxies on the cosmic horizon, mainly because of their brightness. Later, they concluded that little red dots look more like the supermassive black holes that sit at the heart of most galaxies. But in the spring of 2025, two teams of astronomers simultaneously announced observations of a pair of little red dots that were unlike all the rest. In fact, they were unlike any object ever seen. Lees meer
On this episode of The Quanta Podcast, host Samir Patel speaks with writer Charlie Wood to talk about the new celestial body that may have just dropped, what some astronomers are calling “black hole stars.”This topic was covered in a recent story for Quanta Magazine.
Each week on The Quanta Podcast, Quanta Magazine editor-in-chief Samir Patel and Senior Editor Hannah Waters speak with the people behind the award-winning publication to navigate through some of the most important and mind-expanding questions in science and math.
This week's coda is a sonification of data from a device known as the NIRSpec integral field unit on NASA's Webb telescope. Here, the pitch of the sound represents the velocity of hydrogen gas moving around the black hole. The higher the pitch, the faster it is moving toward the telescope. This data enabled the first direct mass measurement of a black hole from the first billion years of the universe.
Coda Credit - Sonification: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Christopher Britt (STScI), Ralf Crawford (STScI), Alyssa Pagan (STScI), Margaret Carruthers (STScI); Science: Ignas Juodžbalis (Cambridge), Cosimo Marconcini (University of Florence), Roberto Maiolino (Cambridge), Francesco D'Eugenio (Cambridge), Hannah Übler (MPE)
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Four-Color Theorem Is Still a Math Favorite
15 september 2026 · 30 min
In 1852, the mathematician Francis Guthrie was coloring in a map of English counties when he noticed that he needed only four colors. Was this always true, he wondered? The question captured the imagination of hobbyists and professionals alike — and in 1976, the mathematicians Kenneth Appel and Wolfgang Haken proved it, rather controversially using computers. Recently, mathematicians have revisited the four-color theorem and found a more efficient way to color maps with just four colors. Lees meer
On this episode of The Quanta Podcast, host Samir Patel speaks with writer Greg Barber about the “four-color disease,” its history of false starts and dashed hopes, and what modern mathematicians have learned about graphs by revisiting this famous problem.
This topic was covered in a recent story for Quanta Magazine.
Each week on The Quanta Podcast, Quanta Magazine editor-in-chief Samir Patel and Senior Editor Hannah Waters speak with the people behind the award-winning publication to navigate through some of the most important and mind-expanding questions in science and math.
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Audio Edition: ‘Reverse Mathematics’ Illuminates Why Hard Problems Are Hard
10 september 2026 · 12 min
Researchers have used metamathematical techniques to show that certain theorems that look superficially distinct are in fact logically equivalent. Lees meer
The article ‘Reverse Mathematics’ Illuminates Why Hard Problems Are Hard first appeared on Quanta Magazine.
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Does Computer Science Need Computers?
8 september 2026 · 30 min
In popular culture, computer science is practically synonymous with programming. There are obviously branches of computer science in which computer hardware and software are essential, such as in the design of operating systems or the study of memory management. But in the theoretical side of the field, researchers need not ever touch a real, physical computer. Do computers play an essential conceptual role in that kind of theoretical work? Lees meer
On this episode of The Quanta Podcast, host Samir Patel wades into an age-old debate with writer Ben Brubaker: If computer science isn’t about computers, then what is it about?
This topic was covered in a recent story for Quanta Magazine.
Each week on The Quanta Podcast, Quanta Magazine editor-in-chief Samir Patel speaks with the people behind the award-winning publication to navigate through some of the most important and mind-expanding questions in science and math.
The audio coda clip comes from the Computer History Museum. The use of this audio clip shall not be used to show or imply CHM endorsements of any commercial product or enterprise, or to indicate that the CHM concurs with the opinions expressed in the podcast.
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How the Brain Compresses Our Noisy World
1 september 2026 · 31 min
If you are well rested and full, your brain tells you that a bruised overripe apple is a piece of subpar fruit to be passed over. However, if you are exhausted and hungry, an overripe apple is categorized as much-needed food. But how is the brain able to categorize that same apple in these situations? On this episode of The Quanta Podcast, co-host Hannah Waters speaks with contributing writer Conor Feehly about how the brain manages to categorize similar sets of sensory signals in radically different ways. This topic was covered in a recent story for Quanta Magazine. Lees meer
Each week on The Quanta Podcast, hear the people behind the award-winning publication navigate through some of the most important and mind-expanding questions in science and math.
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Audio Edition: A Cell So Minimal That It Challenges Definitions of Life
27 augustus 2026 · 17 min
The newly described microbe represents a world of parasitic, intercellular biodiversity only beginning to be revealed by genome sequencing. Lees meer
The article A Cell So Minimal That It Challenges Definitions of Life first appeared on Quanta Magazine.
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Picking Teams With the Math of Imbalance
25 augustus 2026 · 31 min
Combinatorial discrepancy theory is a branch of mathematics concerned with balance. If you’re making two teams — sports, trivia, you name it — how can you make sure that they’re perfectly balanced and fair, skill-wise? You start with vectors. Lees meer
On this episode of The Quanta Podcast, host Samir Patel speaks with award-winning science journalist and regular contributor Max Levy on an “absurd,” “holy grail” conjecture, and the major breakthrough made in fall 2025 by two theoretical computer scientists.
This topic was covered in a recent story for Quanta Magazine.
Each week on The Quanta Podcast, Quanta Magazine editor in chief Samir Patel and Senior Editor Hannah Waters speak with the people behind the award-winning publication to navigate through some of the most important and mind-expanding questions in science and math.
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What Makes a Fluid a Fluid?
18 augustus 2026 · 36 min
The Navier-Stokes equations are enormously successful at predicting how fluids flow and swirl. But they fail to account for the microscopic bits that make up matter. But now math based on symmetries offers a new conception of fluids and why they behave the way that they do. Lees meer
On this episode of The Quanta Podcast, host Samir Patel speaks with writer Charlie Wood on the longstanding effort to rebuild the theory of fluids from the bottom up, including a strange connection to black holes and models that simultaneously run time forward and backward.
This topic was covered in a recent story for Quanta Magazine.
Each week on The Quanta Podcast, Quanta Magazine editor in chief Samir Patel and Senior Editor Hannah Waters speak with the people behind the award-winning publication to navigate through some of the most important and mind-expanding questions in science and math.
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Audio Edition: New Proofs Probe Soap-Film Singularities
13 augustus 2026 · 14 min
Mathematicians have broken through a long-standing barrier in the study of “minimizing surfaces,” which play an important role in both math and physics. Lees meer
The article New Proofs Probe Soap-Film Singularities first appeared on Quanta Magazine.
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Is AI Reasoning Right for the Wrong Reasons?
11 augustus 2026 · 38 min
Reasoning comes in many technically defined forms, but the basic procedure is easily recognizable: arriving at a sound conclusion by linking together intermediate steps that logically follow from each other. But when it comes to artificial intelligence, it appears AI can either solve famous mathematical research problems in one shot — or experience a “complete accuracy collapse” under the simplest conditions. So which is it: Can AI reason reliably or not? Lees meer
On this episode of The Quanta Podcast, host Samir Patel speaks with writer John Pavlus on the intellectual whiplash surrounding artificial intelligence’s ability to reason.
This topic was covered in a recent story for Quanta Magazine.
Each week on The Quanta Podcast, Quanta Magazine editor in chief Samir Patel and Senior Editor Hannah Waters speak with the people behind the award-winning publication to navigate through some of the most important and mind-expanding questions in science and math.
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Why Am I Left-Handed?
4 augustus 2026 · 26 min
Why are only 10% of people left-handed? Geneticists, developmental biologists, neuroscientists, and evolutionary biologists have all sought explanations, resulting in an astronomical amount of research into the mystery of handedness. No one has put all the pieces together yet, but over the last few years, some major new clues have emerged. Lees meer
On this episode of The Quanta Podcast, host Hannah Waters speaks with writer Natalie Wolchover and traces these new clues to uncover the mystery of human handedness.
This topic was covered in a recent story for Quanta Magazine.
Each week on The Quanta Podcast, Quanta Magazine editor in chief Samir Patel and Senior Editor Hannah Waters speak with the people behind the award-winning publication to navigate through some of the most important and mind-expanding questions in science and math.
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Audio Edition: Old ‘Ghost’ Theory of Quantum Gravity Makes a Comeback
30 juli 2026 · 21 min
Has the secret to understanding gravity been hiding in plain sight for nearly 50 years? Lees meer
The article Old ‘Ghost’ Theory of Quantum Gravity Makes a Comeback first appeared on Quanta Magazine.
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A Dark Dimension Could Link Two of the Universe’s Great Unknowns
28 juli 2026 · 30 min
Generally, dark energy and dark matter are regarded as separate entities, but recent astronomical observations have spurred scientists to look further into a less widespread idea — that the two are in fact physically intertwined. Lees meer
On this episode of The Quanta Podcast, host Samir Patel speaks with Physics Editor Kathryn Jepsen about the theories surrounding dark energy’s ties to dark matter and the possibility of a shared dark universe.
This topic was covered in a recent story for Quanta Magazine.
Each week on The Quanta Podcast, Quanta Magazine editor in chief Samir Patel and Senior Editor Hannah Waters speak with the people behind the award-winning publication to navigate through some of the most important and mind-expanding questions in science and math.
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Is Life Just Different?
21 juli 2026 · 36 min
There’s no scientific consensus about what makes living things so different from inorganic material. Some scientists cite replication or metabolism. Others have another answer: Living organisms are different because they do stuff — for reasons. On this episode of The Quanta Podcast, host Samir Patel speaks with writer Philip Ball on the hotly contested idea of “biological agency” and what it means to be alive. Lees meer
This topic was covered in a recent story for Quanta Magazine.
Each week on The Quanta Podcast, Quanta Magazine editor in chief Samir Patel and Senior Editor Hannah Waters speak with the people behind the award-winning publication to navigate through some of the most important and mind-expanding questions in science and math.
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Audio Edition: ‘World Models,’ an Old Idea in AI, Mount a Comeback
16 juli 2026 · 10 min
You’re carrying around in your head a model of how the world works. Will AI systems need to do the same? Lees meer
The article ‘World Models,’ an Old Idea in AI, Mount a Comeback first appeared on Quanta Magazine.
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How Many Shuffles Do You Really Need to Randomize Your Deck?
14 juli 2026 · 30 min
In 1992, mathematicians Dave Bayer and Persi Diaconis proved that seven riffle shuffles are enough to shuffle a deck of cards — but only if you can cut your deck with precision. Decades later, a new proof has finally extended the finding to less precise cuts. On this episode of The Quanta Podcast, host Samir Patel speaks with math editor Jordana Cepelewicz about how a mathematical cutoff phenomenon still exists for riffle shuffling — randomness seems to happen all at once. Lees meer
This topic was covered in a recent story for Quanta Magazine.
Each week on The Quanta Podcast, Quanta Magazine editor in chief Samir Patel and Senior Editor Hannah Waters speak with the people behind the award-winning publication to navigate through some of the most important and mind-expanding questions in science and math.
In "The Best (and Worst) Ways to Shuffle Cards" from the YouTube channel Numberphile, Persi Diaconis demonstrates different kinds of shuffles, why you might want to stick with a classic riffle shuffle instead of what is called the overhand method and explains his seven shuffles result: https://youtu.be/AxJubaijQbI?si=WctYYRtCZVupMldO
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Will We Ever Be Able To Forecast Volcanic Eruptions Like Weather?
7 juli 2026 · 22 min
Volcano forecasting can save countless lives. But most of the time warnings are more like educated guesses. How close are we to forecasting volcano behavior the way we forecast the weather? On this episode of The Quanta Podcast, host Hannah Waters speaks with writer and volcano expert Robin George Andrews about just how close we are to accurately forecasting volcanic eruptions. Lees meer
This topic was covered in a recent story for Quanta Magazine.
Each week on The Quanta Podcast, Quanta Magazine editor in chief Samir Patel and Senior Editor Hannah Waters speak with the people behind the award-winning publication to navigate through some of the most important and mind-expanding questions in science and math.
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Audio Edition: Tiny Tubes Reveal Clues to the Evolution of Complex Life
2 juli 2026 · 14 min
Scientists have identified tubulin structures in primitive Asgard archea that may have been the precursor of our own cellular skeletons. Lees meer
The article Tiny Tubes Reveal Clues to the Evolution of Complex Life first appeared on Quanta Magazine.
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Are Memories Transferable — or Edible?
30 juni 2026 · 32 min
In the 60s, an eccentric behavioral psychologist pureed a bunch of planarian worms and fed them to other ones. For years after, he claimed that the cannibal worms learned the ground-up worms’ memories. Could he have been… right? On this episode of The Quanta Podcast, host Samir Patel and columnist Claire L. Evans discuss the weird history of memory transfer experiments, and their recent resurgence — and some them appear to be working. This topic was covered in a recent story for Quanta Magazine. Lees meer
Each week on The Quanta Podcast, Quanta Magazine editor in chief Samir Patel speaks with the people behind the award-winning publication to navigate through some of the most important and mind-expanding questions in science and math.
At the end of the episode is a clip from a 1966 Sound Seminars lecture by Dr. James V. McConnell called Cannibals, Chemicals and Memory, where he describes how his experimental work led to the conclusion that flatworms can learn.
Audio coda credit: The Drs. Nicholas and Dorothy Cummings Center for the History of Psychology, The University of Akron, Ohio.
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How Many Elementary Particles Are There, Really?
23 juni 2026 · 36 min
How many pieces are there in the Standard Model of particle physics? 17, 30, 37, 61, 118? Or is the true answer much larger — and not even an integer? It depends on your taste for complexity — and mystery. On this episode of The Quanta Podcast, host Samir Patel and columnist Natalie Wolchover plummet down another rabbit hole, and this one goes down to the very building blocks of our reality. This topic was covered in a recent story for Quanta Magazine. Lees meer
Each week on The Quanta Podcast, Quanta Magazine editor in chief Samir Patel speaks with the people behind the award-winning publication to navigate through some of the most important and mind-expanding questions in science and math.
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Audio Edition: What Is the Fourier Transform?
18 juni 2026 · 13 min
Amid the chaos of revolutionary France, one man’s mathematical obsession gave way to a calculation that now underpins much of mathematics and physics. The calculation, called the Fourier transform, decomposes any function into its parts. Lees meer
The story What Is the Fourier Transform? first appeared on Quanta Magazine.
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The 'Truth Machine' That Is Changing Math
16 juni 2026 · 34 min
The groundbreaking proof assistant Lean acts as a sort of automatic quality control. It’s gaining ground in the math world — in part because it can interact with AI to open new avenues of inquiry. But there are concerns, too. On this episode of The Quanta Podcast, host Samir Patel speaks with author Kevin Harnett about his new book, the first release from Quanta Books, “The Proof in the Code.” It was featured in a recent excerpt for Quanta Magazine. Lees meer
Each week on The Quanta Podcast, Quanta Magazine editor in chief Samir Patel speaks with the people behind the award-winning publication to navigate through some of the most important and mind-expanding questions in science and math.
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Ecotypes Make the Idea of a Species Even Fuzzier
9 juni 2026 · 27 min
How do you define a species? The question has been controversial since the days of Darwin. On this episode of The Quanta Podcast, host Samir Patel speaks with writer Marlowe Starling about how recent advances in genomics have both clarified and complicated the picture. This topic was covered in a recent story for Quanta Magazine. Lees meer
Each week on The Quanta Podcast, Quanta Magazine editor in chief Samir Patel speaks with the people behind the award-winning publication to navigate through some of the most important and mind-expanding questions in science and math.
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What Actually Causes Lightning?
2 juni 2026 · 22 min
Thunderstorms have captivated humanity for millennia, and yet their inner workings remain deeply mysterious. On this episode of The Quanta Podcast, guest host and Quanta senior editor Hannah Waters speaks with staff writer Charlie Wood about the new technologies that are helping physicists better understand the phenomena. This topic was covered in a recent story for Quanta Magazine. Lees meer
Each week on The Quanta Podcast, hear the people behind the award-winning publication navigate through some of the most important and mind-expanding questions in science and math.
At the end of the episode, listen to an excerpt of the fourth movement of Beethoven's Sixth Symphony, which depicts a violent thunderstorm. Piccolo represents lightning and timpani represents thunder. Courtesy of Symphony Orchestra.
Deed - Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported - Creative Commons
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Audio Edition: Astrophysicists Find No ‘Hair’ on Black Holes
28 mei 2026 · 13 min
According to Einstein’s theory of gravity, black holes have only a small handful of distinguishing characteristics. Quantum theory implies they may have more. Now an experimental search finds that any of this extra ‘hair’ has to be pretty short. Lees meer
The story Astrophysicists Find No ‘Hair’ on Black Holes first appeared on Quanta Magazine.
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The AI Revolution in Math Has Arrived
26 mei 2026 · 30 min
In 2026, shock at AI’s growing mathematical abilities turned into something more like wonder — and concern. On this episode of The Quanta Podcast, host Samir Patel speaks with writer Konstantin Kakaes about how AI is changing not only how mathematicians do math, but also why they do it. This topic was covered in a recent story for Quanta Magazine. Lees meer
Each week on The Quanta Podcast, Quanta Magazine editor in chief Samir Patel speaks with the people behind the award-winning publication to navigate through some of the most important and mind-expanding questions in science and math.
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Ice Is Way More Complex Than It Seems
19 mei 2026 · 25 min
Over the past decade, computer simulations have predicted tens of thousands of possible forms of ice. Though uncommon on our planet, exotic ice may exist in off-Earth environments, from cold and amorphous comet tails to the hot and crushing cores of icy planets. On this episode of The Quanta Podcast, host Samir Patel speaks with math writer Shalma Wegsman about why water is exceptionally versatile under pressure. This topic was covered in a recent story for Quanta Magazine. Lees meer
Each week on The Quanta Podcast, Quanta Magazine editor in chief Samir Patel speaks with the people behind the award-winning publication to navigate through some of the most important and mind-expanding questions in science and math.
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Audio Edition: How Distillation Makes AI Models Smaller and Cheaper
14 mei 2026 · 8 min
Fundamental technique lets researchers use a big, expensive “teacher” model to train a “student” model for less. Lees meer
The story How Distillation Makes AI Models Smaller and Cheaper first appeared on Quanta Magazine.
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Our Immune Systems Are Full of Ancient Weapons
12 mei 2026 · 30 min
Billions of years ago, battles between bacteria and viruses wrote the rulebook for how hosts and pathogens behave. Today, our immune system follows suit. On this episode of The Quanta Podcast, host Samir Patel speaks with writer Viviane Callier about how recent discoveries could shape how we think about the evolution of immunity. This topic was covered in a recent story for Quanta Magazine. Lees meer
Each week on The Quanta Podcast, Quanta Magazine editor in chief Samir Patel speaks with the people behind the award-winning publication to navigate through some of the most important and mind-expanding questions in science and math.
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What Can We Gain by Losing Infinity?
5 mei 2026 · 30 min
Most mathematicians take the notion of infinity for granted — it’s deeply rooted in math’s most fundamental assumptions. But a small group of researchers hopes to banish infinity completely. On this episode of The Quanta Podcast, host Samir Patel speaks with math editor Jordana Cepelewicz about the philosophy of ultrafinitism. This topic was covered in a recent story for Quanta Magazine. Lees meer
Each week on The Quanta Podcast, Quanta Magazine editor in chief Samir Patel speaks with the people behind the award-winning publication to navigate through some of the most important and mind-expanding questions in science and math.
Audio coda music & lyrics by Michael Tilson Thomas.
Vocals performed by Ben Jones.
Piano performed by John Wilson. -
Audio Edition: The Cells That Breathe Two Ways
30 april 2026 · 13 min
In a hot spring at Yellowstone National Park, a microbe does something that life shouldn’t be able to do: It breathes oxygen and sulfur at the same time. Lees meer
The story The Cells That Breathe Two Ways first appeared on Quanta Magazine.
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Quantum Mechanics Might Be a Secret Key to Secure Communication
28 april 2026 · 27 min
Together, Charles Bennett and Gilles Brassard figured out how to use the laws of quantum physics to keep secret messages safe from eavesdroppers. Their efforts have earned them one of the highest awards in computing and a $1 million prize. On this episode of The Quanta Podcast, host Samir Patel speaks with staff writer Ben Brubaker about this year’s Turing Prize winners, and some of the most important concepts in quantum information science. This topic was covered in a recent column for Quanta Magazine. Lees meer
Each week on The Quanta Podcast, Quanta Magazine editor in chief Samir Patel speaks with the people behind the award-winning publication to navigate through some of the most important and mind-expanding questions in science and math.
Audio coda by Charles Bennett/IBM
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Is String Theory Still Our Best Hope?
21 april 2026 · 26 min
Is string theory the one true “theory of everything?” Some physicists swear it’s a fundamental ingredient of nature. Others wish it would just go away. On this episode of The Quanta Podcast, host Samir Patel speaks with columnist Natalie Wolchover about the mathematical developments that are keeping the theory relevant — much to the chagrin of its rather vocal critics. This topic was covered in a recent column for Quanta Magazine. Lees meer
Each week on The Quanta Podcast, Quanta Magazine editor in chief Samir Patel speaks with the people behind the award-winning publication to navigate through some of the most important and mind-expanding questions in science and math.
This episode's audio coda is a clip from a 2024 live show of Alchemical String Theory (AST), a collective of avant-garde string artists from Atlanta's Improvisational Underground, performing a round at the Red Light Cafe in Atlanta.
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Audio Edition: New Physics-Inspired Proof Probes the Borders of Disorder
16 april 2026 · 14 min
For decades, mathematicians have struggled to understand matrices that reflect both order and randomness, like those that model semiconductors. A new method could change that. Lees meer
The story New Physics-Inspired Proof Probes the Borders of Disorder first appeared on Quanta Magazine.
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One of Nature’s Most Complex Molecular Machines
14 april 2026 · 23 min
At the center of little holes in cell nuclei is a mystery. Here, clumps of proteins wiggle disordered tails around like seaweed. They drive a molecular machine that moves countless molecules in and out of the nucleus efficiently, with little room for error. On this episode of The Quanta Podcast, host Samir Patel speaks with biology writer Yasemin Saplakoglu about how new high-def microscopy is revealing the intricacies of these nuclear pore complexes like never before. This topic was covered in a recent story for Quanta Magazine. Lees meer
Each week on The Quanta Podcast, Quanta Magazine editor in chief Samir Patel speaks with the people behind the award-winning publication to navigate through some of the most important and mind-expanding questions in science and math.
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The Fundamental Tension at the Heart of Math
7 april 2026 · 29 min
We tend to think of math as all about logic and rigor. But what “rigor” actually means has been shaken up quite a few times over the past few centuries. The newest attempt to formalize math comes in the form of the computer program Lean. Mathematicians have mixed feelings. On this episode of The Quanta Podcast, host Samir Patel speaks with math editor Jordana Cepelewicz about how mathematicians today are navigating the tricky balancing act between creativity and formalization. This topic was covered in a recent story for Quanta Magazine. Lees meer
Each week on The Quanta Podcast, Quanta Magazine editor in chief Samir Patel speaks with the people behind the award-winning publication to navigate through some of the most important and mind-expanding questions in science and math.
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Audio Edition: AI Comes Up With Bizarre Physics Experiments. But They Work.
2 april 2026 · 15 min
Artificial intelligence software is designing novel experimental protocols that improve upon the work of human physicists, although the humans are still “doing a lot of baby-sitting.” Lees meer
The story AI Comes Up With Bizarre Physics Experiments. But They Work. first appeared on Quanta Magazine.
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Why Do Humanoid Robots Still Struggle With the Small Stuff?
31 maart 2026 · 31 min
Humanoid robots can run, crawl, and sort objects in flashy demos. So why can’t they reliably climb stairs or open doors? On this episode of The Quanta Podcast, host Samir Patel speaks with contributing writer John Pavlus on why robots still struggle with the messy physics of the real world. This topic was covered in a recent story for Quanta Magazine. Lees meer
Each week on The Quanta Podcast, Quanta Magazine editor in chief Samir Patel speaks with the people behind the award-winning publication to navigate through some of the most important and mind-expanding questions in science and math.
In this video, Atlas walks, runs and crawls using reinforcement learning. This work was done as part of a research partnership between Boston Dynamics and the Robots and AI (RAI) Institute:
https://youtu.be/I44_zbEwz_w?si=KuKC34o_PiKs8zJP
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Uniting a Century of Digital and Analog Astronomy
24 maart 2026 · 25 min
To better understand our cosmos, some astronomers and astrophysicists go old school. Preserved beautifully on a hundred years of glass plate photographs are images of our night sky and its ever changing variations. On this episode of The Quanta Podcast, host Samir Patel speaks with writer Liz Kruesi about how these antique plates are updating our modern understanding of the universe. Lees meer
This topic was covered in a recent story for Quanta Magazine.
Each week on The Quanta Podcast, Quanta Magazine editor in chief Samir Patel speaks with the people behind the award-winning publication to navigate through some of the most important and mind-expanding questions in science and math.
Audio coda by Diana Chester. This project by Diana Chester was made possible through a Powerhouse Research Fellowship at the Museum of Arts and Applied Sciences in Sydney, Australia, a collaboration with Dr. Anna Raupach, and with the support of the Sydney Observatory and the New South Wales archives.
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Audio Edition: Researchers Uncover Hidden Ingredients Behind AI Creativity
19 maart 2026 · 12 min
Image generators are designed to mimic their training data, so where does their apparent creativity come from? A recent study suggests that it’s an inevitable by-product of their architecture. Lees meer
The story Researchers Uncover Hidden Ingredients Behind AI Creativity first appeared on Quanta Magazine.
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Astrocytes Might Be in Charge of the Brain
17 maart 2026 · 26 min
We tend to think of neurons as the sole engine of our thoughts, emotions, and everything in between. For decades, a group of large brain cells called astrocytes have been thought of as mere packing peanuts for the brain. But new research suggests otherwise. On this episode of The Quanta Podcast, host Samir Patel speaks with writer Ingrid Wickelgren about these big cells’ big responsibilities, which include controlling brain states like hopelessness, sleep, and hunger. This topic was covered in a recent story for Quanta Magazine. Lees meer
Each week on The Quanta Podcast, Quanta Magazine editor in chief Samir Patel speaks with the people behind the award-winning publication to navigate through some of the most important and mind-expanding questions in science and math.
Audio Coda by NASA.
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The Infinite Heist - Part 2
10 maart 2026 · 25 min
In 1874, Georg Cantor published one of the most important papers in math’s 4,000-year history. Some ideas in it were stolen. On this episode of The Quanta Podcast, the second of a two-parter, host Samir Patel speaks with math editor Jordana Cepelewicz about the fate of Cantor, the myths surrounding math history, and one man's search for the truth. These episodes are based on a recent Quanta story. Explore our new special series, “The Evolving Foundations of Math,” on our website. Lees meer
Each week on The Quanta Podcast, Quanta Magazine editor in chief Samir Patel speaks with the people behind the award-winning publication to navigate through some of the most important and mind-expanding questions in science and math.
Audio coda courtesy of TheAlpineSisters Alphorn Players.
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Audio Edition: The Ecosystem Dynamics That Can Make or Break an Invasion
5 maart 2026 · 16 min
By simulating ecological networks with microbes, researchers revealed properties that may make natural communities susceptible to invasion. Lees meer
The story The Ecosystem Dynamics That Can Make or Break an Invasion first appeared on Quanta Magazine.