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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

29:16

ICYMI: Is Gravity Just Rising Entropy?

The Quanta Podcast ·

2025/12/23

(This episode first aired in July, 2025.) 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,

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13:11

Audio Edition: The Core of Fermat’s Last Theorem Just...

The Quanta Podcast ·

2025/12/18

By extending the scope of the key insight behind Fermat’s Last Theorem, four mathematicians have made great strides toward building a “grand unified theory” of math.The story The Core of Fermat’s Last Theorem Just Got Superpowered first appeared on Quanta Magazine.

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24:36

Taking the Temperature of Quantum Entanglement

The Quanta Podcast ·

2025/12/16

We all know that hot coffee cools down. But quantum mechanics can enable heat to flow the “wrong” way, making hot objects hotter and cold objects colder. Now physicists think this might have an ingenious use. On this week’s episode, host Samir Patel speaks with writer Philip Ball about how a new "quantum demon” may allow information to be processed in ways that classical physics does not permit. This topic was covered in a recent story for Quanta Magazine. Each week on The Quanta Podcast,

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25:42

How Hard Is It to Untie a Knot?

The Quanta Podcast ·

2025/12/09

In math and science, knots do far more than keep shoes on feet. For more than a century, mathematicians have studied the properties of different knots and been rewarded by a wide range of useful applications across science. Classifying how some knots are different from others is an important part of this work. Earlier this year, two mathematicians found that a theory for how to differentiate between knots is false. In fact, they found infinitely many counterexamples that prove that this

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09:14

Audio Edition: How a Problem About Pigeons Powers...

The Quanta Podcast ·

2025/12/04

When pigeons outnumber pigeonholes, some birds must double up. This obvious statement — and its inverse — have deep connections to many areas of math and computer science.The story How a Problem About Pigeons Powers Complexity Theory first appeared on Quanta Magazine.

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30:26

What Happens When Lakes Stop Mixing

The Quanta Podcast ·

2025/12/02

Every summer since 1983, scientists at Crater Lake National Park have gathered data about the lake’s famous clarity. This past summer, Quanta contributing writer Rachel Nuwer journeyed with them as they conducted their annual tests. On this week’s episode, Nuwer and host Samir Patel discuss what gives the lake its vivid blue color, and what its data can tell us about the way water moves through a deep temperate lake.Each week on The Quanta Podcast, Quanta Magazine editor in chief Samir

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29:57

Game Theory, Algorithms and High Prices

The Quanta Podcast ·

2025/11/25

How do sellers decide how to price their goods? Competition should keep prices down, while collusion can rig higher prices (and break the law). On this week’s episode, host Samir Patel speaks with staff writer Ben Brubaker about how computer scientists are using game theory to see how algorithms might result in high prices without shady backroom deals. This topic was covered in a recent story for Quanta Magazine. Each week on The Quanta Podcast, Quanta Magazine editor in chief Samir Patel

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27:29

Why Are Waves So Hard to Grasp?

The Quanta Podcast ·

2025/11/18

At first glance, studying the math of waves seems like it should be smooth sailing. But the equations that describe even the gentlest rolling waves are a mathematical nightmare to solve. On this week’s episode, host Samir Patel speaks with math staff writer Joseph Howlett why waves are so elusive, even in a simplified world of equations. 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

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27:21

Sleep Is Not All or Nothing

The Quanta Podcast ·

2025/11/11

Salvador Dalí, Thomas Edison and Edgar Allan Poe all took inspiration from the state between sleep and waking life. On this week’s episode, host Samir Patel speaks with biology staff writer Yasemin Saplakoglu about how brain systems dictate the strange transitions into and out of sleep. 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

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13:17

Audio Edition: A New Proof Smooths Out the Math of...

The Quanta Podcast ·

2025/11/06

A powerful mathematical technique is used to model melting ice and other phenomena. But it has long been imperiled by certain “nightmare scenarios.” A new proof has removed that obstacle.The story A New Proof Smooths Out the Math of Melting first appeared on Quanta Magazine.

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25:11

The Mystery of Early Universe’s Little Red Dots

The Quanta Podcast ·

2025/11/04

Recently, astrophysicists identified something peculiar: An enormous “naked” black hole with no galaxy in sight. On this week’s episode, host Samir Patel speaks with physics staff writer Charlie Wood about how the strange little red dot is upending our assumptions of the first billion years of cosmic history. 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

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26:59

A Biography of Earth Across the Age of Animals

The Quanta Podcast ·

2025/10/28

Thanks to a delicate interplay between plate tectonics and life, Earth’s thermostat has kept animal life thriving on our planet for half a billion years. On this week’s episode, host Samir Patel speaks with contributing writer Peter Brannen about our planetary highs and lows, and the precarious goldilocks zone our animal-filled finds itself in now. This topic was covered in a recent story for Quanta Magazine. Each week on The Quanta Podcast, Quanta Magazine editor in chief Samir Patel

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13:32

Audio Edition: ‘Paraparticles’ Would Be a Third...

The Quanta Podcast ·

2025/10/23

A new proposal makes the case that paraparticles — a new category of quantum particle — could be created in exotic materials.The story ‘Paraparticles’ Would Be a Third Kingdom of Quantum Particle first appeared on Quanta Magazine.

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24:51

What We Learn From Running ‘Life’ in Reverse

The Quanta Podcast ·

2025/10/21

Imagine a set of simple building blocks that can self-assemble into any shape you want. The possibilities for such a technology could be boundless. Inspired by nature, “complexity engineering” seeks to design such blocks, building on a classic computer simulation. On this week’s episode, host Samir Patel speaks with contributing writer George Musser about recent developments in so-called cellular automata. This topic was covered in a recent story for Quanta Magazine. Each week on The

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27:35

The Math of Catastrophe

The Quanta Podcast ·

2025/10/14

Around 6,000 years ago, the Sahara was a lush grassland. Then, as if a switch flipped, it began to dry out, becoming the desert that we know today. Tipping points are moments in Earth’s history where gradual change suddenly becomes rapid and forms a new equilibrium.They’re one of the most alarming threats of our planet’s near future — and one of the most uncertain.When will a tipping point occur? Mathematicians are attempting to turn vague, apocalyptic visions into something that we can

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11:37

Audio Edition: Quantum Speedup Found for Huge Class...

The Quanta Podcast ·

2025/10/09

It’s been difficult to find important questions that quantum computers can answer faster than classical machines, but a new algorithm appears to do it for some critical optimization tasks.The story Quantum Speedup Found for Huge Class of Hard Problems first appeared on Quanta Magazine.

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23:55

What Can a Cell Remember?

The Quanta Podcast ·

2025/10/07

“Memory” means many things to many people, and in many fields. We tend to understand memory to be a phenomenon that happens primarily in the brain, but in recent years, researchers have understood memory as a physical phenomenon that can occur in plenty of systems. On this episode, contributing writer Claire L. Evans tells host Samir Patel about how neuroscientists are probing the memory of individual cells.Audio coda courtesy of YACHT.

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27:00

Climate Modeling Is at a Crossroads

The Quanta Podcast ·

2025/09/30

The climate is changing. So is the way we understand the climate. On this week's episode, contributing writer Zack Savitsky joins host Samir Patel to discuss his recent reporting on the rich history and uncertain future of climate modeling, the field of science that blends math, physics, and earth science to predict the behavior of our planet's complex climate system.Audio coda courtesy of Princeton University

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15:15

Audio Edition: A New, Chemical View of Ecosystems

The Quanta Podcast ·

2025/09/25

Rare and powerful compounds, known as keystone molecules, can build a web of invisible interactions among species.The story A New, Chemical View of Ecosystems first appeared on Quanta Magazine.

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24:08

AI's Dark Side Is Only a Nudge Away

The Quanta Podcast ·

2025/09/23

In order to trust machines with important jobs, we need a high level of confidence that they share our values and goals. Recent work shows that this “alignment” can be brittle, superficial, even unstable. In one study, a few training adjustments led a popular chatbot to recommend murder. On this episode, contributing writer Stephen Ornes tells host Samir Patel about what this research reveals.Audio coda from The National Archives and Records Administration.

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311 results

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