Consequences of Rapid Policy Changes on Research

What happens when a government abruptly cuts off the lifeline of pure science?

Imagine canceling Albert Einstein just before he published [E = mc².

Terence Tao, the “Mozart of Mathematics,” was one of the unlucky researchers hit when the Trump administration suddenly terminated his federal research funding.

Today, I walk and talk with Tao at UCLA to understand how America’s greatest living mathematician found himself blindsided by a bureaucratic earthquake — and what it means for the future of discovery.

This is Part 1 of our deep dive into Tao’s work, his warnings about the collapse of U.S. research infrastructure, and why mathematics is the unseen root system supporting all of modern technology.

🕒 TIMESTAMPS

00:00 – *“Canceling Einstein”* — Tao’s funding cut

00:22 – Who is Terence Tao?

01:17 – Grants suspended without warning

01:27 – New hurdles for international scholars

01:38 – UCLA’s sudden funding freeze

03:00 – Was Tao targeted?

03:38 – Arbitrary rule-changing

04:01 – Trivial reasons for cancellations

04:18 – Policy without process

05:06 – Do we need new funding models?

05:27 – Why federal stability matters

05:52 – The limits of philanthropy

08:42 – Math as the root of modern tech

09:11 – Prizes and public perception

11:35 – The seven great unsolved problems

12:13 – The Navier–Stokes question

12:57 – The problem with prize-driven secrecy

13:37 – Collaboration over competition

If you care about ideas, discovery, and the future of knowledge itself — this conversation matters.

Part 2 drops soon. Subscribe so you don't miss it.

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