PODCAST

632nm

Misha Shalaginov, Michael Dubrovsky, Xinghui Yin

Technical interviews with the greatest scientists in the world.

science natural sciences

All Episodes

97:34

The Real Economics of Data Centers in Space |...

632nm ·

2026/04/01

Are data centers in space physically possible, or just another overhyped idea?In this episode, we speak with Philip Johnston, CEO of Starcloud, about the technical and economic case for putting AI infrastructure in orbit. The idea has gone viral in recent months, drawing strong criticism from science communicators like Scott Manley, Kyle Hill, and Hank Green, but rarely with detailed engagement on the underlying assumptions.We examine whether space-based data centers can compete with

123:47

How To Make Quantum Algorithms Cheaper | Craig Gidney...

632nm ·

2026/03/27

How do you actually make quantum algorithms work on real hardware?Build your own quantum circuits in Crumble: https://algassert.com/crumbleIn this episode, we speak with Craig Gidney of Google Quantum AI, whose work focuses on the practical realities of building fault-tolerant quantum computers. Gidney explains how seemingly small implementation choices, like how you perform arithmetic, can dominate the cost of entire quantum algorithms.We explore why factoring small numbers like 15 in

90:27

How Neurons Translate Electricity into Chemistry |...

632nm ·

2026/03/10

How do neurons convert electrical signals into chemical messages in under a millisecond?In this episode, we speak with Thomas Südhof, Stanford neuroscientist and Nobel laureate whose discoveries revealed the molecular machinery that allows neurons to communicate at synapses. Südhof explains how an electrical impulse traveling down a neuron triggers the rapid release of neurotransmitters, transforming an electrical signal into a chemical one that can be received by the next cell.We explore

123:45

How Engineers Solve “Impossible” Problems | Dan Gelbart

632nm ·

2026/02/17

How do engineers solve problems that seem to violate the laws of physics?In this episode, we speak with Dan Gelbart, a prolific inventor and precision engineer, about what it really means to work at the limits of physical law. From lasers and optical systems to ultra-precision manufacturing and semiconductor tools, Gelbart has spent decades designing systems where nanometers, noise, and nonlinearities matter, and where small misunderstandings of physics can block real progress.We discuss

115:42

How Visual Experience Rewires the Brain | Mark Bear...

632nm ·

2026/02/03

How does experience rewire the brain—and why is vision the ideal system for understanding neuroplasticity?In this episode, we speak with Mark Bear, MIT neuroscientist and a pioneer in the study of experience-dependent plasticity. Bear explains how the visual cortex became a model system for uncovering the synaptic mechanisms that allow the brain to change, adapt, and learn, especially during early development.We explore how visual experience shapes neural circuits, why the brain undergoes

133:09

Snell's Law, Metasurfaces, and Metalenses | Federico...

632nm ·

2026/01/20

How can flat surfaces shape light as powerfully as bulky lenses?In this episode, we speak with Federico Capasso, Harvard physicist and pioneer of metasurfaces, metalenses, and nanophotonics. Capasso traces the path from his work at Bell Labs on quantum cascade lasers to the invention of metasurface optics, showing how a practical challenge—collimating light without traditional lenses—sparked a new way to control light.We explore the physics behind metasurfaces and generalized Snell’s law,

167:03

Graphene, Nanotubes, and Quantum Hall Physics |...

632nm ·

2026/01/06

How do electrons behave when they’re confined to a single layer, and why do entirely new laws of physics emerge when dimensions shrink?Papers discussed in this episode:Experimental observation of the quantum Hall effect and Berry's phase in graphene: https://www.nature.com/articles/nature04235Tunable Fractional Quantum Hall Phases in Bilayer Graphene: https://arxiv.org/abs/1403.2112Room-Temperature Quantum Hall Effect in Graphene: https://arxiv.org/abs/cond-mat/0702408In this episode, we

154:48

Quantum Matter, Super-conductors, and Black Holes |...

632nm ·

2025/12/23

What makes high-temperature superconductors and “strange metals” some of the most perplexing systems in modern physics?In this episode, we speak with Dr. Subir Sachdev: Harvard physicist and one of the leading architects of today’s understanding of quantum matter. Sachdev explains why strange metals refuse to behave like ordinary conductors, how quantum entanglement reshapes the landscape of many-body physics, and why the quest to understand cuprate superconductors continues to push both

110:14

How to Build Fault-Tolerant Quantum Computers |...

632nm ·

2025/12/09

Would we get a quantum computer sooner if everything was open source?In this episode, we speak with Austin Fowler, one of the architects of quantum error correction and a pioneer of the surface code used in today’s leading quantum computers. Fowler helped lay the groundwork for scalable, fault-tolerant computation at Google Quantum AI, before leaving to advocate for a more open and collaborative model of research.He explains why building a useful quantum computer will require millions of

124:26

Why Syncing Atomic Clocks is Virtually Impossible |...

632nm ·

2025/11/26

Why is syncing atomic clocks still one of the hardest problems in physics and engineering?In this episode, we speak with Judah Levine—legendary NIST physicist and one of the key architects of modern timekeeping—about the invisible systems that hold the digital world together. Levine explains why synchronizing atomic clocks across the planet is far more complex than the clocks themselves, and why seemingly simple ideas like “round-trip delay” break down in real-world media such as fiber

78:29

Can We Predict History Like the Weather? | Peter...

632nm ·

2025/11/04

Why do civilizations rise, prosper, and then collapse? Here's what the math tells us.In this episode, we sit down with Peter Turchin, complexity scientist and founder of the field of cliodynamics, which uses data and mathematical models to study the long-term cycles of history. Turchin explains his theory of elite overproduction, how societies generate too many ambitious, educated elites competing for too few positions, and why this dynamic reliably leads to polarization, inequality, and

60:47

Why Do Quantum Computers Make So Many Mistakes? |...

632nm ·

2025/10/21

You can’t copy a qubit. So how do quantum computers remember anything?In this episode, we sit down with Mikhail Lukin, Harvard physicist and co-director of the Harvard Quantum Initiative, whose lab is building quantum computers from arrays of individually trapped atoms. Lukin explains the paradox of quantum error correction—how you can safeguard quantum information even though it can’t be copied or measured directly—and why this breakthrough may be the key to making large-scale quantum

65:36

We Interviewed the Winners of the Ig Nobel Prize | Ig...

632nm ·

2025/10/09

The scientific stories behind this year's research that made people LAUGH, then THINK.Watch the 2025 Ig Nobel Ceremony here: https://youtu.be/z1cP4xKd_L4In this episode, we bring together three of this year’s Ig Nobel winners whose research spans psychology, food science and human biology. You’ll hear how a team of psychologists devised a counter-intuitive way to boost a narcissist’s self-confidence; how two physicists uncovered the “mozzarella phase” of pecorino cheese while perfecting

101:22

What Science can Learn from Startups | Adam...

632nm ·

2025/10/07

Science has stalled. And Adam Marblestone thinks he knows why.Check out the Research Gap Map here: https://www.gap-map.org/?sort=rankIn this episode, we sit down with Adam Marblestone, neuroscientist, nanotechnologist, and founder of Convergent Research, to explore how new “Focused Research Organizations” (FROs) could reignite scientific progress. From DNA “ticker-tape” neural recording to optical connectomics and Neuralink, Marblestone explains how emerging neurotechnologies reveal both

30:40

The Perfect Pasta Sauce According to Italian...

632nm ·

2025/09/27

Cheese is serious stuff. The physics behind cacio e pepe.Watch the 2025 Ig Nobel Ceremony here: https://youtu.be/z1cP4xKd_L4In this episode, we sit down with Daniel Busiello and Ivan Di Terlizzi, physicists whose playful kitchen experiments on the classic Roman pasta dish cacio e pepe just earned them the 2025 Ig Nobel Prize. What started as a Friday-night cooking ritual turned into a full-blown study of the “mozzarella phase” of pecorino cheese — revealing how heat, proteins, and

14:53

Babies Love When Mom’s Milk Tastes Like Garlic | Ig...

632nm ·

2025/09/26

Your milk tastes like garlic. And babies love it.Watch the 2025 Ig Nobel Ceremony here: https://youtu.be/z1cP4xKd_L4In this episode, we sit down with Julie Mennella and Gary Beauchamp, winners of the 2025 Ig Nobel Prize and longtime researchers at the Monell Chemical Senses Center, whose experiments revealed that the flavors mothers eat—from garlic and carrots to alcohol—can pass into amniotic fluid and breast milk, shaping babies’ earliest taste experiences. Their work overturns decades of

21:24

How to Boost a Narcissist’s Self-Confidence | Ig...

632nm ·

2025/09/25

What happens to our sense of self when someone tells us we’re smart—or not so smart?Watch the 2025 Ig Nobel Ceremony here: https://youtu.be/z1cP4xKd_L4In this episode, we sit down with Marcin Zajenkowski, professor of psychology at the University of Warsaw and co-winner of the 2025 Ig Nobel Prize in Psychology, for his study on how intelligence feedback affects temporary narcissism. Along with his collaborator Gilles Gignac of the University of Western Australia, Zajenkowski showed that

112:35

What Optical Atomic Clocks Tell Us About Space-Time |...

632nm ·

2025/09/23

Times have changed. And cesium clocks can't keep up.In this episode, we sit down with Jun Ye, Joint Institute for Laboratory Astrophysics (JILA) Fellow and pioneer of optical lattice clocks, whose work has pushed timekeeping far beyond traditional cesium atomic clocks. Ye explains how combining ultra-stable lasers, frequency combs, and ultra-cold atoms produces clocks more than 100× more precise than today’s standards: so sensitive they can detect gravitational time dilation across the

144:10

Laser Cooling and Quantum Timekeeping | Bill Phillips

632nm ·

2025/09/09

How did cooling atoms with lasers revolutionize our understanding of time?In this episode, we speak with Bill Phillips, Nobel Laureate in Physics, about his groundbreaking work on laser cooling and trapping of atoms: research that not only won him the Nobel Prize but also transformed modern timekeeping and technology. Phillips explains why breaking the Doppler cooling limit changed physics forever and what it means that today’s clocks can measure time differences caused by moving a device

158:02

Inside the Battle for Psychedelic Therapy | Rick Doblin

632nm ·

2025/08/26

What does it take to turn a banned psychedelic into an FDA-approved medicine?Visit MAPS to read about the latest progress is psychedelic research: https://maps.org/In this episode, we speak with Rick Doblin, founder of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS), about the decades-long mission to make MDMA-assisted therapy a legal treatment for PTSD and other mental health conditions. Rick received his PhD from Harvard's Kennedy School of Government in public policy

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