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Big Ideas Lab

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Your exploration inside Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Hear untold stories, meet boundary-pushing pioneers and get unparalleled access to groundbreaking science and technology. From national security challenges to computing revolutions, discover the innovations that are shaping tomorrow, today.

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  • 23 episodes
  • fortnightly
  • Avg 18 min
  • English
Counted on this page — what you have heard stays on this device, so it is not something the list can be paged by.
  • #60
    Tuesday · 24 min

    CODA Telescope

    The breakthrough wasn’t a new telescope. It was a new way to build one.

  • #58
    August 18 · 18 min

    NIF Diagnostics

    Lawrence Livermore turns an event too fast, too hot, and too dense to touch into knowledge.

  • #57
    August 4 · 21 min

    STARMOC

    The number of objects in orbit is doubling every two years, and the systems built to keep watch still run on formats designed around 1960s punch cards.

  • #56
    June 30 · 15 min

    The Postdoc Journey

    What happens after a PhD, but before a scientist is fully established?

  • #55
    June 16 · 21 min

    SLAM

    Scientists from all 17 national laboratories get three minutes to explain years of complex research.

  • #54
    June 2 · 17 min

    The Bennu Asteroid

    A delivery four and a half billion years in the making.

  • #53
    May 19 · 24 min

    Genesis Mission

    AI, supercomputing, experiments, and the infrastructure of the national laboratories unite under one mission to accelerate discovery.

  • #52
    May 5 · 16 min

    Skyfall

    Scientists are simulating cyber attacks and system failures on real-world energy infrastructure.

  • #51
    April 21 · 16 min

    JASPER

    Scientists at JASPER study one of the most consequential materials on Earth: plutonium.

  • #50
    April 7 · 20 min

    HPC4EI

    Today’s toughest industrial challenges are being solved without ever touching the factory floor.

  • #48
    March 10 · 14 min

    Target Fabrication

    A tiny, precisely engineered object built to withstand the intensity of the world’s highest energy laser system.

  • #47
    February 24 · 11 min

    24 Hour Operations

    The world’s most demanding science never sleeps.

  • #46
    February 10 · 14 min

    Discovery Science at NIF

    Researchers and students gain access to the most extreme conditions in the universe.

  • #45
    January 27 · 15 min

    Drones

    When humans can’t go first, another kind of responder takes the lead.

  • #44
    January 13 · 18 min

    Dark Matter

    The silent majority of the material universe. Dark matter.

  • #43
    Dec 30, 2025 · 17 min

    Neutrinos

    Neutrinos are particles that defy expectations.

  • #42
    Dec 16, 2025 · 18 min

    Offsite Assignments

    Every decision in national security hinges on knowledge, insight, and expertise - some of that expertise starts in a lab in Livermore.

  • #41
    Dec 2, 2025 · 15 min

    Energy Flow Charts

    Discover the charts that show where America’s power comes from and where it goes.

Showing 1–20 of 23 episodes