The Quanta Podcast
Quanta Magazine
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.)
Episodes
Mentioned books
May 12, 2016 • 11min
Tiny Tests Seek the Universe’s Big Mysteries
The search for exotic new physical phenomena is being led by huge experiments like the Large Hadron Collider. But at the other end of the spectrum lie tabletop experiments — small-scale probes of hidden dimensions, dark matter and dark energy. The post Tiny Tests Seek the Universe’s Big Mysteries first appeared on Quanta Magazine
May 5, 2016 • 12min
A Secret Flexibility Found in Life’s Blueprints
A new study reveals that individual genes can create many different versions of the molecular machinery that powers the cell. The post A Secret Flexibility Found in Life’s Blueprints first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Apr 28, 2016 • 26min
Physicists Hunt for the Big Bang’s Triangles
The story of the universe’s birth — and evidence for string theory — could be found in triangles and myriad other shapes in the sky. The post Physicists Hunt for the Big Bang’s Triangles first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Apr 21, 2016 • 14min
Debate Intensifies Over Dark Disk Theory
In the new, free-for-all era of dark matter research, the controversial idea that dark matter is concentrated in thin disks is being rescued from scientific oblivion. The post Debate Intensifies Over Dark Disk Theory first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Apr 14, 2016 • 25min
Mapping the Brain to Build Better Machines
A project to decipher the brain’s learning rules could revolutionize machine learning. The post Mapping the Brain to Build Better Machines first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Apr 7, 2016 • 22min
Sphere Packing Solved in Higher Dimensions
The Ukrainian mathematician Maryna Viazovska has solved the centuries-old sphere-packing problem in dimensions eight and 24. The post Sphere Packing Solved in Higher Dimensions first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Mar 31, 2016 • 22min
The Beasts That Keep the Beat
New insights from neuroscience — aided by a small zoo’s worth of dancing animals — are revealing the biological origins of rhythm. The post The Beasts That Keep the Beat first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Mar 24, 2016 • 26min
Mathematicians Discover Prime Conspiracy
A previously unnoticed property of prime numbers seems to violate a long-standing assumption about how they behave. The post Mathematicians Discover Prime Conspiracy first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Mar 24, 2016 • 34min
A Life in Games
The mathematician John Horton Conway’s myriad accomplishments — including the Game of Life, sprouts and the surreal numbers — are the product of a mind at play. The post A Life in Games first appeared on Quanta Magazine
Mar 10, 2016 • 22min
After Black Holes Collide, a Puzzling Flash
A satellite spotted a burst of light just as gravitational waves rolled in from the collision of two black holes. Was the flash a cosmic coincidence, or do astrophysicists need to rethink what black holes can do? The post After Black Holes Collide, a Puzzling Flash first appeared on Quanta Magazine
