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PODCAST

Where What If Becomes What"s Next

Carnegie Mellon University

Welcome to Season 3 of WHERE WHAT IF BECOMES WHAT’S NEXT. As Carnegie Mellon University celebrates its 125th anniversary, we’re spotlighting 15 CMU inventions that changed the world. From the origins of AI and robotics to innovations in the arts and sciences, join us as we trace the journey from “what if” to “what’s next.” With host Randy Scott, every other Thursday we’re going behind the scenes with CMU makers and visionaries to bring you the stories you may know and the ones you won"t believe

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All Episodes

00:34:25

Designing for the Planet: The Clever Thermostat and...

Where What If Becomes What"s Next ·

2026/04/16

What if the secret to saving the planet was hiding in your hallway and under your kitchen sink? Matt Rogers, Carnegie Mellon University electrical and computer engineering alumnus, joins us to trace a remarkable career path — from engineering iPods and iPhones at Apple to co-founding Nest, the learning thermostat now in millions of homes, to his current venture Mill, a food waste technology company.Matt shares how his CMU robotics training shaped his instinct for systems thinking, and how working

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00:30:39

Watching the Universe Change: A New Era in Astronomy...

Where What If Becomes What"s Next ·

2026/04/01

The Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile is now operational, and humanity's view of the universe will never be the same. In this episode, we return to Carnegie Mellon University’s Rachel Mandelbaum, professor and head of the physics department – and a key architect of the observatory's data infrastructure — to hear what's happened since the revolutionary telescope first opened its eye to the sky.Mandelbaum walks us through the observatory's first scientific data release, the launch of

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00:27:43

The Birth of the Hashtag: How a Simple Symbol Changed...

Where What If Becomes What"s Next ·

2026/03/18

In 2007, an unused key on the phone keypad became the internet's most powerful organizing tool. In this episode, we sit down with Chris Messina, the Carnegie Mellon University alumnus who invented the hashtag – now used more than three billion times a day – and famously gave it away for free.Messina shares the fascinating journey of the hashtag, from its roots in early "nerd centers" like his BarCamp meetup to its rejection by Twitter’s founders as "too nerdy." You’ll hear

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00:01:54

Season 3 Trailer: Where What If Becomes What’s Next

Where What If Becomes What"s Next ·

2026/03/05

The smiley face in your last text, the Kevlar protecting first responders, and the Wi-Fi signal connecting us all—where did they actually come from?Welcome to Season 3 of Where What If Becomes What's Next, where we take you on a journey through 125 years of innovation at Carnegie Mellon University. To celebrate this milestone anniversary, we’re digging into the university archives to reveal the definitive stories behind 15 breakthroughs that didn't just advance technology—they redefined our

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00:25:53

Guiding a Safe Future for AI – Part 2

Where What If Becomes What"s Next ·

2025/10/22

What if machines could reason like humans? We're racing toward that reality. It's called artificial general intelligence. The question is, can we build it safely?In the second part of our conversation with Dr. Zico Kolter, head of Carnegie Mellon University's Machine Learning Department and OpenAI board member, where he chairs their Safety and Security Committee, we explore the critical challenges facing AI development today.Dr. Kolter addresses deepfakes and the erosion of trust in

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00:22:43

Guiding a Safe Future for AI – Part 1

Where What If Becomes What"s Next ·

2025/10/08

What if AI is automating the one thing that's always made us human—Intelligence itself? And how do we ensure that it's developed safely?In this first of a two-part series, we speak with Dr. Zico Kolter, head of Carnegie Mellon University's Machine Learning Department and newly appointed OpenAI board member, where he chairs their Safety and Security Committee, to explore the critical challenge of developing artificial intelligence safely. Dr. Kolter discusses CMU's pioneering machine

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00:23:05

Unlocking the Future of Gene Therapy

Where What If Becomes What"s Next ·

2025/09/24

What if AI could help design gene therapies so precise they eliminate chronic pain while leaving other senses completely intact? And what if the secret to treating Parkinson's Disease lies hidden in the genome of a mouse?In this episode, we explore groundbreaking advances in genetic medicine with Andreas Pfenning, Associate Professor in Carnegie Mellon University's Computational Biology Department and School of Computer Science. Professor Pfenning discusses research in his experimental lab,

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00:28:33

Critical Choices: AI in Disaster Management and...

Where What If Becomes What"s Next ·

2025/09/10

What if AI could help emergency responders make split-second decisions that save lives during disasters? And what if that same technology could be used in healthcare to identify which patients desperately need care before it's too late?In this episode, we explore how artificial intelligence is revolutionizing emergency response and healthcare decision-making. Host Randy Scott interviews Aarti Singh, a professor in the Machine Learning Department at Carnegie Mellon University and the director of

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00:30:44

Farm to Future: How Robotics and AI are...

Where What If Becomes What"s Next ·

2025/08/27

What if robots could pick apples without bruising them, detect diseases in tomatoes before farmers can see them, or even help prevent catastrophic wildfires?In this episode, host Randy Scott speaks with Professor George Kantor from Carnegie Mellon University's Robotics Institute. Professor Kantor’s two decades of pioneering work in agricultural robotics are shaping the future of food and sustainability.As the global population races toward 10 billion by 2050, robotics and AI may be key to

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00:20:27

Cracking the Cosmic Code: How Software Powers the...

Where What If Becomes What"s Next ·

2025/08/13

Imagine a telescope so powerful it could give us a whole new picture of the cosmos and help answer some of the biggest questions about the universe–if we can handle the data.From a mountaintop in Chile, the Vera C. Rubin Observatory is revolutionizing astronomy. The Observatory began capturing images of the entire night sky in June 2025, launching the most ambitious astronomical survey in history. This powerful telescope–with the world’s largest digital camera–generates 20 terabytes of data daily,

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00:24:43

The Science of Sound - Part 2

Where What If Becomes What"s Next ·

2025/07/30

The sound of someone chewing can be annoying. But what if only one specific person's chewing bothered you? And what if it went beyond annoyance to actual pain?In this episode, the second of a two-parter on the Science of Sound, host Randy Scott discusses with Professor Laurie Heller what happens when our brain's relationship with sound goes wrong. Heller is a professor of psychology at Carnegie Mellon University, where she runs the Auditory Perception and Cognition Lab. The discussion covers

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00:21:21

The Science of Sound - Part 1

Where What If Becomes What"s Next ·

2025/07/16

We live in an increasingly noisy world. Our cities are louder than ever. Our devices can pump dangerous levels of sound directly into our ears. One in eight kids has permanent hearing damage. And while we count calories and track our steps, most of us have no idea how much acoustic damage we're absorbing every day. In Part 1 of a two-part episode, we explore the Science of Sound and its profound impact on our lives. Host Randy Scott speaks with Laurie Heller, a professor of psychology at

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00:01:55

Happy Fourth of July

Where What If Becomes What"s Next ·

2025/07/02

Happy Fourth of July from the Where What If Becomes What’s Next podcast team and Carnegie Mellon University. As we celebrate independence and look towards the future, our host Randy Scott reflects on the spirit of innovation and forward-thinking embodied by Carnegie Mellon University. For generations, CMU has been a place for questions, like: What if we could teach computers to learn? What if we could create art with algorithms? What if we could build robots that transform industries? These

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00:21:44

The Science of Coping with Stress

Where What If Becomes What"s Next ·

2025/06/18

What if instead of avoiding stress we actually leaned into it – and built resilience for next time?In this episode, we speak with Dr. David Creswell, a psychology and neuroscience professor at Carnegie Mellon University, about reframing our relationship with stress. Creswell argues that modern "comfort culture" contributes to rising stress levels because we avoid discomfort that actually builds resilience. He advocates for "equanimity reps" – deliberately engaging with uncomfortable experiences

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00:21:45

Game Theory Decoded - Part 2

Where What If Becomes What"s Next ·

2025/06/04

In the second part of a special two-part episode on Game Theory, CMU’s Kevin Zollman discusses how the principles of Game Theory can be used for the betterment of humanity – including improving social interactions, addressing complex global challenges like hunger, and improving personal relationships. He emphasizes the importance of changing the game to create positive outcomes and explores the future of Game Theory in relation to AI, technology and social dynamics.Kevin Zollman is the Herbert A

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00:29:57

Game Theory Decoded - Part 1

Where What If Becomes What"s Next ·

2025/05/21

Have you ever been stuck in traffic and switched lanes, only to watch your old lane start moving faster? Or perhaps you've stood in a grocery line, debating whether to move to the shorter line, knowing others are thinking the same thing? Welcome to Game Theory in action. In Part 1 of a two-part episode, we explore the fascinating world of Game Theory with Kevin Zollman, a leading game theorist and professor at Carnegie Mellon University. We discuss the fundamentals of Game Theory, its

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00:30:04

Future of AI: DeepSeek’s Transformative Impact

Where What If Becomes What"s Next ·

2025/05/07

What if a small startup transformed the future of artificial intelligence in the blink of an algorithm?This conversation explores the transformative impact of DeepSeek, a groundbreaking AI chatbot that has disrupted the AI landscape by offering competitive performance at a fraction of the cost of its counterparts. Plus, DeepSeek’s open source model offers transparency and crowdsourced improvements while providing greater access to AI technology for developers and even nations. Experts discuss the

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00:29:21

Curtain Up: What’s Next for Theater Arts

Where What If Becomes What"s Next ·

2025/04/23

What role should new technologies – such as robots, artificial intelligence and virtual reality – play in theatrical arts? And how are educators preparing their students for the future of this art form?This episode explores the future of arts education, particularly in theater, focusing on how educators are preparing students for a tech-driven world. It discusses the importance of arts education for social-emotional learning, the challenges faced by theater programs, and the innovative ways

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00:18:24

Healing with Intelligence Part 2: Quantum Science...

Where What If Becomes What"s Next ·

2025/04/09

What if AI and an emerging new technology called quantum science could save millions of lives from diseases like cancer or pneumonia? In this second part on Healing with Intelligence – we're exploring how quantum science has the potential to transform healthcare by helping doctors to better diagnose, monitor, and treat illness.We meet a pioneer in quantum science and health care – Sridhar Tayur - the Ford Distinguished Research Chair and University Professor of Operations Management at

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00:22:53

Healing with Intelligence Part 1: AI and Robots...

Where What If Becomes What"s Next ·

2025/03/26

In today’s episode – the first of a two-parter on Healing with Intelligence – we're exploring how robots, artificial intelligence, and an emerging new technology called quantum science are transforming healthcare by helping doctors to better diagnose, monitor, and treat illness. In part one, we provide a sampling of some of those new technologies – including a head-worn device that can command a robot to help those with limited motion perform daily tasks ranging from making dinner to scratching

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