x

75% of people globally want unbiased news (Pew Research) but are concerned they're not getting that.

Get balanced coverage with Symby. See how stories are covered across diverse outlets and spot when one side covers a story the other skips.

PODCAST

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

science life sciences

All Episodes

29:28

‘It’s a Mess’: A Brain-Bending Trip to Quantum...

The Quanta Podcast ·

2025/08/12

As far as we know, quantum mechanics is a universal theory that explains matter and light more or less perfectly. It shows us why atoms don't collapse and why electrons don't spiral into the nucleus of the atom. It explains why glass is clear, why grass is green, why the sky is blue. But no one fully understands how the math of quantum mechanics connects with the reality we live in. One could spend a lifetime getting into the weeds and still have unanswered questions. In honor of quantum

en-us

22:16

How Smell Guides Our Inner World

The Quanta Podcast ·

2025/08/05

When some people smell the molecule benzyl acetate, they identify a distinctly banana-y scent. But when others sniff the same compound, they get hints of nail polish remover. How can this be? Smell is a tricky sensory process to pin down. Our perception of scents is wide-ranging and often depends on lived experience. But researchers are building a deeper understanding of the processes underlying our noses’ elusive machinery. In this episode, host Samir Patel and 𝘘𝘶𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘢 biology staff

en-us

24:58

Audio Edition: How ‘Event Scripts’ Structure Our...

The Quanta Podcast ·

2025/07/31

By screening films in a brain scanner, neuroscientists discovered a rich library of neural scripts — from a trip through an airport to a marriage proposal — that form scaffolds for memories of our experiences.The story How ‘Event Scripts’ Structure Our Personal Memories first appeared on Quanta Magazine.

en-us

29:50

When ChatGPT Broke an Entire Field

The Quanta Podcast ·

2025/07/29

The study of natural language processing, or NLP, dates back to the 1940s. It gave Stephen Hawking a voice, Siri a brain and social media companies another way to target us with ads. In less than five years, large language models broke NLP and made it anew.In 2019, Quanta reported on a then-groundbreaking NLP system called BERT without once using the phrase “large language model.” A mere five and a half years later, LLMs are everywhere, igniting discovery, disruption and debate in whatever

en-us

27:50

Is Mathematics Mostly Chaos or Mostly Order?

The Quanta Podcast ·

2025/07/22

As weird as it sounds, infinity comes in many shapes and sizes. And attempting to quantify it is sort of like a dog chasing its own tail. Or like infinities chasing infinities infinite numbers of times. But some mathematicians are obsessed with the quest.In this episode, host Samir Patel and 𝘘𝘶𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘢 math editor Jordana Cepelewicz probe the bizarre edges of the mathematical universe, a realm *almost* impossible to put into words. This topic was covered by Greg Barber in a recent story

en-us

17:24

Audio Edition: After 20 Years, Math Couple Solves...

The Quanta Podcast ·

2025/07/17

Britta Späth has dedicated her career to proving a single, central conjecture. She’s finally succeeded, alongside her partner, Marc Cabanes.The story After 20 Years, Math Couple Solves Major Group Theory Problem first appeared on Quanta Magazine.

en-us

20:46

When Did Nature Burst Into Vivid Color?

The Quanta Podcast ·

2025/07/15

Colorful messages are constantly being exchanged across the natural world, to communicate everything from sexual attraction to self defense. But which came first: these evocative signals or the sophisticated vision needed to see them? In this episode, host Samir Patel speaks with contributing writer Molly Herring about free diving, mantis shrimp, and the challenges of tracking coloration through evolutionary history. This topic was covered in a recent story for Quanta Magazine.Each week on

en-us

29:16

Is Gravity Just Rising Entropy?

The Quanta Podcast ·

2025/07/08

Where does gravity come from? In both general relativity and quantum mechanics, this question is a big problem. One controversial theory proposes that the force arises from the universe's tendency toward disorder, or entropy. In this episode, host Samir Patel speaks with contributing writer George Musser about the long-shot idea called "entropic gravity," which Musser covered in a recent story for Quanta Magazine.Each week on The Quanta Podcast, Quanta Magazine editor in chief Samir Patel

en-us

07:48

Audio Edition: How Noether’s Theorem Revolutionized...

The Quanta Podcast ·

2025/07/03

Emmy Noether showed that fundamental physical laws are just a consequence of simple symmetries. A century later, her insights continue to shape physics.“The post How Noether’s Theorem Revolutionized Physics first appeared on Quanta Magazine.

en-us

24:40

How Amateurs Solved a Major Computer Science Puzzle

The Quanta Podcast ·

2025/07/01

The Busy Beaver Challenge, an open online collaboration, started in 2022 to finally solve a major problem in theoretical computer science. Over time, the online community grew to include more than 20 contributors from around the world, most of them without traditional academic credentials. In July 2024, the group announced that they finally solved the puzzle, bringing a conclusion to over 40 years of effort.On this week’s episode of The Quanta Podcast, computer science staff writer Ben

en-us

26:12

New ‘Superdiffusion’ Proof Probes the Mysterious Math...

The Quanta Podcast ·

2025/06/24

Turbulence is a notoriously difficult phenomenon to study. Mathematicians are now starting to untangle it at its smallest scales.This is the sixth episode of The Quanta Podcast. 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.Audio coda provided by Mount Washington Observatory

en-us

19:34

Audio Edition: Concept Cells Help Your Brain Abstract...

The Quanta Podcast ·

2025/06/19

Individual cells in the brain light up for specific ideas. These concept neurons, once known as “Jennifer Aniston cells,” help us think, imagine and remember episodes from our lives.

en-us

19:31

‘Turbocharged’ Mitochondria Power Birds’ Epic...

The Quanta Podcast ·

2025/06/17

Changes in the number, shape, efficiency and interconnectedness of organelles in the cells of flight muscles provide extra energy for birds’ continent-spanning feats.This is the fifth episode of The Quanta Podcast. 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.

en-us

23:38

Singularities in Space-Time Prove Hard to Kill

The Quanta Podcast ·

2025/06/10

Black hole and Big Bang singularities break our best theory of gravity. A trilogy of theorems hints that physicists must go to the ends of space and time to find a fix.This is the fourth episode of The Quanta Podcast. 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.

en-us

08:41

Audio Edition: Heat Destroys All Order. Except for in...

The Quanta Podcast ·

2025/06/05

Heat is supposed to ruin anything it touches. But physicists have shown that an idealized form of magnetism is heatproof.

en-us

19:17

In Computers, Memory Is More Useful Than Time

The Quanta Podcast ·

2025/06/03

One computer scientist’s “stunning” proof is the first progress in 50 years on one of the most famous questions in computer science.This is the third episode of our new weekly series The Quanta Podcast, hosted by Quanta Magazine editor in chief Samir Patel. This week's guest is Ben Brubaker; he recently published "For Algorithms, a Little Memory Outweighs a Lot of Time.”(If you've been a fan of Quanta Science Podcast, it will continue as 'audio edition episodes' in this same feed every

en-us

20:46

Math and Beauty in the Age of AI

The Quanta Podcast ·

2025/05/27

Mathematicians have started to prepare for a profound shift in what it means to do math.This is the second episode of our new weekly series The Quanta Podcast, hosted by Quanta magazine Editor-in-Chief Samir Patel. This week's guest is Jordana Cepelewicz; she recently published "Mathematical Beauty, Truth and Proof in the Age of AI" for Quanta's AI special package.(If you've been a fan of Quanta Science Podcast, it will continue as 'audio edition episodes' in this same feed every other

en-us

18:44

Audio Edition: Can AI Models Show Us How People...

The Quanta Podcast ·

2025/05/22

Certain grammatical rules never appear in any known language. By constructing artificial languages that have these rules, linguists can use neural networks to explore how people learn.The post Can AI Models Show Us How People Learn? Impossible Languages Point a Way first appeared on Quanta Magazine

en-us

18:49

AI Is Nothing Like a Brain, and That’s OK

The Quanta Podcast ·

2025/05/20

The brain’s astounding cellular diversity and networked complexity could show how to make AI better.This is the first episode of our new weekly series The Quanta Podcast, hosted by Quanta magazine Editor-in-Chief Samir Patel. This week's guest is Yasemin Saplakoglu; she recently published "AI Is Nothing Like a Brain, and That’s OK" for Quanta's AI special package.(If you've been a fan of Quanta Science Podcast, it will continue as 'audio edition episodes' in this same feed every other

en-us

12:24

Introducing The Quanta Podcast

The Quanta Podcast ·

2025/05/13

The Quanta Podcast is your weekly dispatch from the frontiers of science and mathematics. In each episode, editor in chief Samir Patel will talk to the writers and editors behind our most popular, interesting and thought-provoking stories. The first episode of The Quanta Podcast will be live on May 20. In this trailer episode, Patel talks to executive editor Michael Moyer about what Quanta covers, how it has changed over time and our recent special series on “Science, Promise and Peril in

en-us

303 results

Similar Podcasts

Classic Radio Science Fiction

solgoodmedia.com

Mission to Mars

Inception Point Ai

The 365 Days of Astronomy

365DaysOfAstronomy.org

Creek Devil

william Jevning

UFO Chronicles Podcast

Nik Hunter