Intellectually Curious
Intellectually Curious is a podcast by Mike Breault featuring over 1,200 AI-powered explorations across science, mathematics, philosophy, and personal growth. Each short-form episode is generated, refined, and published with the help of large language models—turning curiosity into an ongoing audio encyclopedia. Designed for anyone who loves learning, it offers quick dives into everything from combinatorics and cryptography to systems thinking and psychology.
Inspiration for this podcast:
“Muad'Dib learned rapidly because his first training was in how to learn. And the first lesson of all was the basic trust that he could learn. It's shocking to find how many people do not believe they can learn, and how many more believe learning to be difficult. Muad'Dib knew that every experience carries its lesson.”
― Frank Herbert, Dune
Note: These podcasts were made with NotebookLM. AI can make mistakes. Please double-check any critical information.
- Update frequency
- every day
- Average duration
- 12 minutes
- Episodes
- 1391
- Years Active
- 2024 - 2025
Iodine Unmasked: The Hidden Power of an Everyday Element
A fast-paced tour of iodine—from thyroid health and goiters to CT scans, seaweed, photography, LCD screens, and industrial chemistry. We trace its discovery, explore everyday uses, and dive into the …
00:09:28 |
Thu 07 Nov 2024
OEIS A000030: Leading digits of natural numbers
Explore A000030, the sequence of leading digits of natural numbers. We uncover its surprising structure—how initial digits cluster into patterns—and how this tiny pattern connects to Benford's Law, f…
00:12:41 |
Wed 06 Nov 2024
Tellurium: The Shapeshifting Semiconductor
A quick tour of tellurium—from its quirky discovery to its pivotal role in modern tech. Learn how this element powers cadmium telluride solar cells, infrared detectors, phase‑change data storage, and…
00:13:52 |
Wed 06 Nov 2024
Antimony: From Eye Kohl to Microchips
A deep dive into the mysterious metalloid antimony: from ancient cosmetics and alchemical mystique to battlefield alloys, wartime mining in Alaska, and the high-tech world of today. Explore why a onc…
00:15:31 |
Tue 05 Nov 2024
Periodic Necklaces and the Mobius Switch: Counting Primitive Colorings
We dive into the rebel side of necklace counting: aperiodic (period-n) colorings that stay unique under every nontrivial rotation. Using Burnside’s lemma and the Möbius function, we derive the primit…
00:15:30 |
Tue 05 Nov 2024
Tin: From Bronze to Batteries — A Curious Metal’s Big Story
Join us as we trace tin’s journey—from ancient Bronze Age breakthroughs that shaped civilizations to its quiet workhorse role in today’s electronics, coatings, and energy tech. We’ll explore its mini…
00:12:51 |
Mon 04 Nov 2024
Probabilistic Numerics: Turning Uncertainty into Insight
In this Deep Dive, we explore probabilistic numerics—the blend of numerical analysis, probability, and machine learning that outputs distributions rather than single numbers. We’ll unpack why uncerta…
00:13:00 |
Mon 04 Nov 2024
OEIS A000028: Next term and membership test
Continuing our deep dive into A000028, the rule says a number n is in the sequence if the total number of 1s in the binary representations of the exponents in n's prime factorization is odd. The next…
00:09:59 |
Mon 04 Nov 2024
Indium Unveiled: The Soft Metal Powering Screens and Beyond
Join us for a deep dive into indium—the silvery, ultra-soft metal behind touchscreens and more. We trace how it’s a byproduct of zinc refining, why it’s in demand despite rarity, and what the future …
00:09:26 |
Mon 04 Nov 2024
Natural Numbers: From Fingers to Infinity
We trace natural numbers from counting on our fingers and ancient tallying to the big ideas that reshape math—zero, the Peano axioms, well-ordering, and the jump to infinity. Along the way we’ll see …
00:14:26 |
Mon 04 Nov 2024
The Bunk Bed Conjecture: Intuition, AI, and the Hunt for a Counterexample
A deceptively simple math conjecture about stacked graphs turns out to be false. This episode follows Igor Pack and his students as they chase a counterexample using AI-guided search, wrestle with th…
00:15:03 |
Sat 02 Nov 2024
Cadmium: A Colorful, Controversial Element
This episode traces cadmium's journey from its accidental 1817 discovery to its vibrant pigments, batteries, and high‑tech roles in quantum dots and nuclear control rods. We unpack its chemistry, hea…
00:13:36 |
Sat 02 Nov 2024
Almost Surely: The Infinite Monkey Theorem and the Shape of Chance
A deep dive into how infinity turns randomness into certainty, and what that means for math, evolution, and art. We untangle the idea of monkeys typing Shakespeare, substrings, and cumulative selecti…
00:14:52 |
Sat 02 Nov 2024
OEIS A000026: Mosaic Numbers
Great question about the term ‘shadow.’ In mosaic numbers, the mosaic of n is a projection of n’s prime-factor data: it keeps the primes and their exponents, but compresses that information into a si…
00:13:54 |
Sat 02 Nov 2024
Shining Through Time: The History and Surprising Uses of Silver
Trace silver’s journey from ancient money and cupellation to modern tech, medicine, and nanotech. We explore its science, its unexpected applications—from electronics and antimicrobial fabrics to edi…
00:09:03 |
Fri 01 Nov 2024
OEIS A000025: Partitions, ranks, and mock theta connections
We explore OEIS A000025, the sequence that records the difference between the number of partitions of n with even rank and those with odd rank. The rank is defined as the largest part minus the numbe…
00:17:09 |
Fri 01 Nov 2024
Palladium Unmasked: The Superhero Metal Powering Clean Energy and Modern Tech
From its asteroid-inspired name to its role in catalytic converters, hydrogen fuel cells, and a wide array of everyday tech, palladium is more than a shiny metal. This episode explores its place in t…
00:15:09 |
Thu 31 Oct 2024
OEIS A00024: Population of the quadratic form x^2 + 10y^2
We explore A00024, the sequence counting how many integers can be written as x^2 + 10y^2 within ranges up to 2^n. We trace its connection to the population of a quadratic form, Landau's theorem, and …
00:07:41 |
Thu 31 Oct 2024
The Heavyweight Quest: Synthesis, Decay, and the Islands of Stability
We venture past uranium into the realm of superheavy elements—atoms with more protons than any found in nature. Learn how researchers smash nuclei, chase tiny cross sections, and read decay chains wi…
00:10:35 |
Thu 31 Oct 2024
Rhodium Unmasked: The Hidden Gem Behind Clean Cars and Shiny Jewelry
In this Deep Dive, we trace rhodium from its 1803 discovery to its everyday roles in catalytic converters, jewelry plating, and industrial catalysis. We’ll unpack why this rare metal is so pivotal, w…
00:15:06 |
Wed 30 Oct 2024
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