The Quanta Podcast
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 curiosity, discovery and the overwhelming desire to know why and how. Join us every Tuesday for a stimulating conversation about the biggest ideas and the tiniest details.
(If you've been a fan of the Quanta Science Podcast, it will continue here. You'll see those episodes marked as audio edition episodes every two weeks.)
- Update frequency
- every 11 days
- Average duration
- 19 minutes
- Episodes
- 286
- Years Active
- 2015 - 2025
Finally, a Problem That Only Quantum Computers Will Ever Be Able to Solve
Computer scientists have been searching for years for a type of problem that a quantum computer can solve but that any possible future classical computer cannot. Now they’ve found one.
The post Final…
00:11:50 |
Thu 25 Apr 2019
Why Earth’s Cracked Crust May Be Essential for Life
Life needs more than water alone. Recent discoveries suggest that plate tectonics has played a critical role in nourishing life on Earth. The findings carry major consequences for the search for life…
00:26:49 |
Thu 11 Apr 2019
Overtaxed Working Memory Knocks the Brain Out of Sync
Researchers find that when working memory gets overburdened, dialogue between three brain regions breaks down. The discovery provides new support for a larger concept about how the brain works.
The p…
00:13:52 |
Thu 28 Mar 2019
A New World’s Extraordinary Orbit Points to Planet Nine
Astronomers argue that there’s an undiscovered giant planet far beyond the orbit of Neptune. A newly discovered rocky body has added evidence to the circumstantial case for it.
The post A New World’s…
00:09:11 |
Thu 14 Mar 2019
A Thermodynamic Answer to Why Birds Migrate
New modeling studies suggest that birds migrate to strike a favorable balance between their input and output of energy.
The post A Thermodynamic Answer to Why Birds Migrate first appeared on Quanta M…
00:17:20 |
Thu 28 Feb 2019
Machine Learning’s ‘Amazing’ Ability to Predict Chaos
In new computer experiments, artificial-intelligence algorithms can tell the future of chaotic systems.
The post Machine Learning’s ‘Amazing’ Ability to Predict Chaos first appeared on Quanta Magazin…
00:20:09 |
Thu 14 Feb 2019
Decades-Old Graph Problem Yields to Amateur Mathematician
By making the first progress on the “chromatic number of the plane” problem in over 60 years, an anti-aging pundit has achieved mathematical immortality.
The post Decades-Old Graph Problem Yields to …
00:08:59 |
Thu 31 Jan 2019
To Test Einstein’s Equations, Poke a Black Hole
Two teams of researchers have made significant progress toward proving the black hole stability conjecture, a critical mathematical test of Einstein’s theory of general relativity.
The post To Test E…
00:16:31 |
Thu 03 Jan 2019
Oxygen and Stem Cells May Have Reshaped Early Complex Animals
An unlikely team offers a controversial hypothesis about what enabled animal life to get more complex during the Cambrian explosion.
The post Oxygen and Stem Cells May Have Reshaped Early Complex Ani…
00:16:31 |
Thu 03 Jan 2019
Physicists Find a Way to See the ‘Grin’ of Quantum Gravity
A recently proposed experiment would confirm that gravity is a quantum force.
The post Physicists Find a Way to See the ‘Grin’ of Quantum Gravity first appeared on Quanta Magazine
00:20:58 |
Thu 06 Dec 2018
Quanta Writers and Editors Discuss Trends in Science and Math
On November 16, 2018, more than 200 readers joined writers and editors from Quanta Magazine for a wide-ranging panel discussion that examined the newest ideas in fundamental physics, biology and math…
01:05:39 |
Thu 22 Nov 2018
Why Don’t Patients Get Sick in Sync? Modelers Find Statistical Clues.
The long, variable times that some diseases incubate after infection defies simple explanation. An idealized model of tumor growth offers a statistical solution.
The post Why Don’t Patients Get Sick …
00:11:22 |
Thu 08 Nov 2018
Why Artificial Intelligence Like AlphaZero Has Trouble With the Real World
The latest artificial intelligence systems start from zero knowledge of a game and grow to world-beating in a matter of hours. But researchers are struggling to apply these systems beyond the arcade.…
00:20:39 |
Thu 25 Oct 2018
Scant Evidence of Power Laws Found in Real-World Networks
A new study challenges one of the most celebrated and controversial ideas in network science.
The post Scant Evidence of Power Laws Found in Real-World Networks first appeared on Quanta Magazine
00:21:48 |
Thu 11 Oct 2018
Smart Swarms Seek New Ways to Cooperate
New algorithms show how swarms of very simple robots can be made to work together as a group.
The post Smart Swarms Seek New Ways to Cooperate first appeared on Quanta Magazine
00:16:07 |
Thu 27 Sep 2018
How the Universe Got Its Bounce Back
Cosmologists have shown that it’s theoretically possible for a contracting universe to bounce and expand. The new work resuscitates an old idea that directly challenges the Big Bang theory of cosmic …
00:22:19 |
Thu 30 Aug 2018
A Domesticated Dingo? No, but Some Are Getting Less Wild
Near an Australian desert mining camp, wild dingoes are losing their fear of humans. Their genetic and behavioral changes may echo those from the domestication of dogs.
The post A Domesticated Dingo?…
00:17:03 |
Thu 09 Aug 2018
Fossil Discoveries Challenge Ideas About Earth’s Start
A series of fossil finds suggests that life on Earth started earlier than anyone thought, calling into question a widely held theory of the solar system’s beginnings.
The post Fossil Discoveries Chal…
00:19:40 |
Thu 05 Jul 2018
Mathematicians Find Wrinkle in Famed Fluid Equations
Two mathematicians prove that under certain extreme conditions, the Navier-Stokes equations output nonsense.
The post Mathematicians Find Wrinkle in Famed Fluid Equations first appeared on Quanta Mag…
00:16:31 |
Thu 21 Jun 2018
Light-Triggered Genes Reveal the Hidden Workings of Memory
Nobel laureate Susumu Tonegawa’s lab is overturning old assumptions about how memories form, how recall works and whether lost memories might be restored from "silent engrams."
The post Light-Trigger…
00:15:57 |
Thu 07 Jun 2018
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