Big Ideas Lab

00:21:22

Rare Earth Elements

Big Ideas Lab ·

2026/09/29

Rare-earth elements are hidden inside nearly every piece of modern technology - your phone, electric vehicles, fighter jets. They aren't scarce in number. They're scarce because pulling them apart is one of the hardest problems in chemistry, and the United States depends almost entirely on other countries to do it.At Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, scientists are borrowing a solution nature spent millions of years perfecting - and inventing new materials that could make overlooked elements

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00:24:05

CODA Telescope

Big Ideas Lab ·

2026/09/15

The breakthrough wasn’t a new telescope. It was a new way to build one.For decades, space telescopes were built as exquisite, one-of-a-kind instruments. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory took a different approach: design for “good enough” instead of perfect, and rethink how a telescope is manufactured, engineered and integrated for space.The result was CODA, an easily manufacturable, lower-cost telescope that helped turn a small NASA exoplanet mission called Pandora from an idea into something

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00:19:52

Science of Scale-Up

Big Ideas Lab ·

2026/09/01

A scientific breakthrough is only the beginning.World-changing technologies can take decades to move from a successful experiment to something people can actually use. In this episode, Lawrence Livermore researchers explain the science of scale-up. From durability, cost, manufacturing, and unexpected changes in performance to the risks that can stall a promising idea, LLNL combines modeling, experimentation, risk assessment, and industry partnerships to help breakthroughs reach the real world

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00:18:47

NIF Diagnostics

Big Ideas Lab ·

2026/08/18

Inside the National Ignition Facility, scientists create bursts of fusion hotter than the center of the sun that vanish in 100 trillionths of a second. The only way to trust what happened is to measure it - and Lawrence Livermore has spent decades building the instruments that can see the unseeable, the same instruments that proved the world's first fusion ignition was real.This is the story of NIF's diagnostics: how Lawrence Livermore learned to photograph a dying star, prove a nuclear stockpile

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00:21:28

STARMOC

Big Ideas Lab ·

2026/08/04

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. At Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, a mission operations center called STARMOC is proving that the future of space operations can be built fast, affordable and in-house - by testing new ways to fly satellites, train AI and stay ahead in a crowded, contested sky.This is STARMOC at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Guests featured (in

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00:15:19

The Postdoc Journey

Big Ideas Lab ·

2026/06/30

What happens after a PhD, but before a scientist is fully established?At Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, that in-between stage is treated as a proving ground. LLNL postdocs are given rare facilities, hard problems, mentorship, career development time, and a community built around collaboration. The result is more than professional development. It’s the moment a scientist starts becoming the person others look to for answers. Guests featured (in order of appearance): Tomi Akindele -

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00:21:49

SLAM

Big Ideas Lab ·

2026/06/16

At the National Lab Research SLAM, scientists from all 17 Department of Energy national laboratories get three minutes and a single slide to explain years of complex research to people who aren't scientists. This is the story of how Lawrence Livermore built a program to teach its researchers a skill that turns out to be as essential as the science itself: making the work understandable.Guests featured (in order of appearance): Brandon Zimmerman - Staff Scientist, LLNL Christine Zachow -

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00:17:08

The Bennu Asteroid

Big Ideas Lab ·

2026/06/02

In September 2023, a small NASA capsule streaked through Earth’s atmosphere and landed in the Utah desert, carrying 122 grams of material from the asteroid Bennu. That material has existed for more than four and a half billion years, preserving clues from the earliest moments of the solar system. At Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, a team of scientists is now studying tiny fragments of the sample with extraordinary precision, examining isotopes and microscopic minerals to read the stories

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00:24:24

Genesis Mission

Big Ideas Lab ·

2026/05/19

The Genesis Mission is a national effort to accelerate discovery by uniting AI, supercomputing, experiments, and the infrastructure of the national laboratories. This episode explores the problem Genesis is trying to solve, the growing gap between the pace of scientific discovery and the scale of the challenges facing the nation. At Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, this vision is turning into a reality through infrastructure, workforce training, and governance. Guests featured (in order of

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00:16:56

Skyfall

Big Ideas Lab ·

2026/05/05

Scientists are simulating cyber attacks and system failures on real-world energy infrastructure - without ever putting the actual grid at risk.This is Skyfall at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. From real-world incidents like the Ukraine power grid cyberattack 2015 to cascading failures across interconnected systems, this episode explores how cyber-physical incidents can disrupt critical infrastructure in the United States - and how scientists at Skyfall are working to understand and prepare

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00:16:30

JASPER

Big Ideas Lab ·

2026/04/21

In a remote corner of the Nevada desert, scientists at JASPER study one of the most consequential materials on Earth: plutonium. This is the story of how a bold experimental concept became a trusted national asset. By utilizing a two-stage gas gun, researchers create extreme conditions for less than a microsecond, generating the precise data that helps to validate and strengthen U.S. science-based stockpile stewardship. The work demands extraordinary precision, complete containment, and an

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00:20:59

HPC4EI

Big Ideas Lab ·

2026/04/07

From corrosion-resistant coatings to next-generation batteries and stronger wind turbines, some of today’s toughest industrial challenges share a surprising common thread: they’re being solved inside a computer. In this episode, we explore the High Performance Computing for Energy Innovation program. This collaboration between U.S. national laboratories and private industry uses advanced supercomputing to tackle real-world problems in manufacturing, energy, and materials science. With nearly 200

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00:22:25

Energetic Materials

Big Ideas Lab ·

2026/03/24

Behind every safeguard of national security lies a world few ever see. Inside Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, scientists and engineers are redefining how explosions are developed, modeled, and tested to ensure the United States maintains a safe, secure, and reliable deterrent. From molecule-level physics to exascale computing systems, the Energetic Materials Center is the hub of subject matter expertise in explosive science at LLNL. EMC is partnering in global scientific collaborations aimed

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00:14:06

Target Fabrication

Big Ideas Lab ·

2026/03/10

At the center of every experiment at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s National Ignition Facility is a target - a tiny, precisely engineered object built to withstand the intensity of the world’s highest energy laser system. Join us as we explore target fabrication: the craft behind capsules made of diamond, their intricate assemblies, and cross continental journeys that make fusion experiments possible. Guests featured (in order of appearance): Michael Stadermann, Target Fabrication

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00:11:41

24 Hour Operations

Big Ideas Lab ·

2026/02/24

The world’s most demanding science never sleeps.From facilities that operate around the clock to the people monitoring safety, power, and infrastructure overnight, this episode goes behind the scenes of the invisible operations at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory that keep critical science moving forward - even when nothing appears to be happening. Guests featured (in order of appearance): Cynthia Rivera, Principal Associate Director of Operations & Business, LLNL Robert Scripp, Emergency

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00:14:48

Discovery Science at NIF

Big Ideas Lab ·

2026/02/10

At Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s National Ignition Facility, scientists recreate the most extreme conditions in the universe. Through the Discovery Science Program, researchers and students from around the world gain rare access to this machine to run experiments that exist for only a fraction of a second, yet reshape what we know about stars, planets, and matter itself. These experiments don’t just explore the cosmos; they create a shared laboratory for discovery and the training ground

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00:15:18

Drones

Big Ideas Lab ·

2026/01/27

Drones, or autonomous sensing systems, step in where humans can’t. At Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, scientists are developing machines that can see, decide and act in real time. In this episode, we explore how drones expand the frontier of possibility: scanning hidden pipelines underground, navigating dangerous terrain and coordinating swarms across land, air, and water. These aren’t just flying cameras. They’re intelligence-gathering systems, force multipliers and life-saving tools.Guests

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00:18:17

Dark Matter

Big Ideas Lab ·

2026/01/13

Dark matter is one of the universe’s greatest mysteries. It’s the invisible force that glues galaxies together and sculpts cosmic structure. In this episode, we trace the journey of discovery from massive objects in the Milky Way to particle-scale experiments designed to reveal what dark matter really is. From gravitational microlensing to cutting-edge detectors at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, scientists are pushing the limits of technology and imagination to uncover the unseen and

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00:17:09

Neutrinos

Big Ideas Lab ·

2025/12/30

Neutrinos are particles that defy expectations. They slip through matter effortlessly, changing identities and traveling vast cosmic distances. In this episode, we explore the surprising ways they connect the tiniest scales of physics to the grandest structures in the universe. From deep underground detectors to experiments designed to observe the unobservable, scientists at Lawrence Livermore are working to uncover secrets that could reshape our understanding of matter, energy, and the origins of

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00:18:19

Offsite Assignments

Big Ideas Lab ·

2025/12/16

Every decision in national security hinges on knowledge, insight, and expertise - some of that expertise starts in a lab in Livermore. The Offsite Fellows Program places Lawrence Livermore scientists inside government agencies, where their work helps shape policy, strategy and the future of national defense.In this episode, we dive deep into the Offsite Fellows Program (OFP) and how it positions Lab researchers shoulder to shoulder with government leaders who bring critical scientific insight

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