The Quanta Podcast

Quanta Magazine

Exploring the distant universe, the insides of cells, the abstractions of math, the complexity of information itself, and much more, The Quanta Podcast is a tour of the frontier between the known and the unknown. In each episode, Quanta Magazine Editor-in-Chief Samir Patel speaks with the minds behind the award-winning publication to navigate through some of the most important and mind-expanding questions in science and math. Quanta specifically covers fundamental research — driven by curiosity, discovery and the overwhelming desire to know why and how. Join us every Tuesday for a stimulating conversation about the biggest ideas and the tiniest details.

(If you've been a fan of the Quanta Science Podcast, it will continue here. You'll see those episodes marked as audio edition episodes every two weeks.)

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355 episodes
Updated Thursday

Episodes355

Newest first

Thursday · 21 min
Audio Edition: Old ‘Ghost’ Theory of Quantum Gravity Makes a Comeback
In a theory called quadratic gravity, “ghost” particles violate physicists’ intuition of quantum fields. This made the theory unpopular for decades. Now, it’s experiencing a resurgence.
Tuesday · 29 min
A Dark Dimension Could Link Two of the Universe’s Great Unknowns
Generally, dark energy and dark matter are regarded as separate entities. But what if the two are in fact physically intertwined?
July 21 · 35 min
Is Life Just Different?
Living things have goals: to find food, to reproduce, and to survive. Are those just genetically programmed, or do organisms have actual agency?
July 16 · 9 min
Audio Edition: ‘World Models,’ an Old Idea in AI, Mount a Comeback
AI understands discrete tasks, and can often extrapolate its training to other tasks, but it still lacks a full model of the real world. Researchers are racing to construct a ‘world model’ that would bring about more general artificial intelligence.
July 14 · 29 min
How Many Shuffles Do You Really Need to Randomize Your Deck?
Sloppy shufflers, fret not: A new proof confirms how many shuffles it takes to randomize an imprecisely cut deck.
July 7 · 22 min
Will We Ever Be Able To Forecast Volcanic Eruptions Like Weather?
Volcano forecasting can save countless lives. But most of the time warnings are more like educated guesses.
July 2 · 13 min
Audio Edition: Tiny Tubes Reveal Clues to the Evolution of Complex Life
Ancient cells called Asgard archaea were first discovered at the hydrothermal vent site called Loki's Castle in 2010. Their discovery has shaken up our view of the Tree of Life.
June 30 · 32 min
Are Memories Transferable — or Edible?
Decades ago, scientists allegedly fed a memory to a worm. Then, 36 labs reported similar results. But today, when scientists tried to recreate the experiments, using the same protocol and with the help of the 1960s scientists, they came up empty. What happened?
June 23 · 36 min
How Many Elementary Particles Are There, Really?
We have a full tally of the elementary particles, but the deeper you go into that count, the more complicated — and weirder — the answer becomes.
June 18 · 12 min
Audio Edition: What Is the Fourier Transform?
The Fourier transform breaks tricky functions down into their wavelike building blocks. This has made it a crucial tool for mathematicians: If they are stumped by a problem, they can try transforming it.
June 16 · 33 min
The 'Truth Machine' That Is Changing Math
The computer program Lean might revolutionize mathematics. It has verified more than a quarter of a million theorems and led to new insights. But does it change what math is, or can be?
June 9 · 27 min
Ecotypes Make the Idea of a Species Even Fuzzier
Remarkably, some species can flip between two ecotypes after just a few generations — far shorter than the typically lengthy course of natural selection.
June 2 · 21 min
What Actually Causes Lightning?
Chains of high-energy electron avalanches may very likely be what makes clouds glow, flicker, and flash with gamma rays. But are they the elusive cause of lightning?
May 28 · 12 min
Audio Edition: Astrophysicists Find No ‘Hair’ on Black Holes
Hundreds of signals from colliding black holes over the past decade show that if black holes are sporting quantum “hair," it must be very short.
May 26 · 30 min
The AI Revolution in Math Has Arrived
AI is rapidly changing how mathematicians do math. They must now reckon with why they do it.
May 19 · 24 min
Ice Is Way More Complex Than It Seems
Ice comes in many more forms than the cubes in your water glass. Scientists have found about 20 phases of ice, including hot ice and bendy ice and ice that conducts electricity. And according to simulations, there could be many more out there.
May 14 · 8 min
Audio Edition: How Distillation Makes AI Models Smaller and Cheaper
The field of AI is utilizing the handy technique of distillation to make smaller and cheaper neural networks.
May 12 · 29 min
Our Immune Systems Are Full of Ancient Weapons
Your immune system fights off today’s viruses with machinery that is billions of years old.
May 5 · 30 min
What Can We Gain by Losing Infinity?
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.
April 30 · 13 min
Audio Edition: The Cells That Breathe Two Ways
Deep in a hot spring at Yellowstone National Park resides a bacterium that does what life really shouldn’t be able to do: It breathes oxygen and sulfur at the same time.

The Quanta Podcast

Audio Edition: Old ‘Ghost’ Theory of Quantum Gravity Makes a Comeback

A Dark Dimension Could Link Two of the Universe’s Great Unknowns

Is Life Just Different?

Audio Edition: ‘World Models,’ an Old Idea in AI, Mount a Comeback

How Many Shuffles Do You Really Need to Randomize Your Deck?

Will We Ever Be Able To Forecast Volcanic Eruptions Like Weather?

Audio Edition: Tiny Tubes Reveal Clues to the Evolution of Complex Life

Are Memories Transferable — or Edible?

How Many Elementary Particles Are There, Really?

Audio Edition: What Is the Fourier Transform?

The 'Truth Machine' That Is Changing Math

Ecotypes Make the Idea of a Species Even Fuzzier

What Actually Causes Lightning?

Audio Edition: Astrophysicists Find No ‘Hair’ on Black Holes

The AI Revolution in Math Has Arrived

Ice Is Way More Complex Than It Seems

Audio Edition: How Distillation Makes AI Models Smaller and Cheaper

Our Immune Systems Are Full of Ancient Weapons

What Can We Gain by Losing Infinity?

Audio Edition: The Cells That Breathe Two Ways