
The Stephen Wolfram Podcast
Stephen Wolfram is the creator of Mathematica, Wolfram|Alpha and the Wolfram Language; the author of A New Kind of Science; and the founder and CEO of Wolfram Research. Over the course of nearly four decades, he has been a pioneer in the development and application of computational thinking—and has been responsible for many discoveries, inventions and innovations in science, technology and business.
On his podcast, Stephen discusses topics ranging from the history of science to the future of civilization and ethics of AI.
Latest episodes

Oct 16, 2020 • 51min
Stephen Wolfram Q&A, For Kids (and others) [June 19, 2020]
Stephen Wolfram answers general questions from his viewers about science and technology as part of an unscripted livestream series.
Questions include: Why is the P=NP problem considered so difficult to solve? - How can they solve Fermat's Last Theorem? - How many hours do you spend reading everyday? - How do I learn something? - Do you prefer to read on paper or on a screen? - How often do you use the book "A latin Dictionary Lewis and short" doing science? Is it useful?
See the full Q&A video playlist: https://wolfr.am/youtube-sw-qa

Oct 16, 2020 • 1h 44min
Stephen Wolfram Q&A, For Kids (and others) [June 11, 2020]
Stephen Wolfram answers general questions from his viewers about science and technology as part of an unscripted livestream series.
Questions include: Considering the Star Trek Universal Translator, what size samples of an unknown language would be needed to begin to understand it? - Is the best way to profit off mars exploration the selling of intellectual property gained from research done there? Can you think of any other ways? - Do you have an advice for all those teenagers who want to discover a new kind of Science? Just as you did! - How do you feel about: Academia vs. Self made men. Is there a place for natural self-taught talent? - Do you think language is evolutionary inevitability of consciousness, i.e if you find sentient life, you will find a language that the consciousness communicates in? As a corollary, given a language can you find a consciousness behind it? - Hello, I am a physics teacher, what is your opinion about teaching physics today? - What's your take on autonomous cars and how long till they become feasible? - What books would you recommend to a curious teen, looking forward to learning more about science and getting more concrete knowledge? - How do you go about building a team around you to solve the problems you want to work on? - Could you share some of your business knowledge with us, maybe writing some blog posts about it? - What's the future of fiat currency?
See the full Q&A video playlist: https://wolfr.am/youtube-sw-qa

Sep 28, 2020 • 1h 36min
Stephen Wolfram Q&A, For Kids (and others) [May 29, 2020]
Stephen Wolfram answers general questions from his viewers about science and technology as part of an unscripted livestream series.
Questions include: What is imaginary about imaginary numbers and what do they represent? - How can you split an atom and why is it difficult? - Is making an arc reactor (iron man) possible? - Beryllium experiment resulted in a 5th force -> what is that and how does it work? - Are there more substances or elements that work like palladium? - Where does the energy come from to emit all these virtual gluons? - Are helium3 and moon minerals useful for fusion? - If a matter black hole collided with an antimatter black hole of the same mass, would the explosion be contained to a new black hole? - Is there anything special about the size of animals on earth that makes us conscious? Could the weather system on large planets, or galaxies be conscious? - How is something like a physical push or friction force explained in terms of the 4 fundamental forces? - Has a question about "hard light" been asked? As in keeping photons still. (not a light saber, or laser beam, but like hard light that you could "walk on". Something along those lines) - But it is still unknown whether antimatter gravitates or anti gravitates for certain? - Thank you for streaming Stephen! Do you prefer Stephen or Steve or something else?

Sep 25, 2020 • 1h 21min
Stephen Wolfram Q&A, For Kids (and others) [May 22, 2020]
Stephen Wolfram answers general questions from his viewers about science and technology as part of an unscripted livestream series.
Questions include: How far away are we from a new propulsion system that could take us to another galaxy? - What about a "railgun" in space that also launches rockets? - Micro nuclear explosions? - Does the sun emit EMP pulses, and if so how are satellites protected? - If light is made of light, how can it go around anything? - Can you build a satellite with off the shelf electronics (such as raspberry pi) by providing enough CPU redundancy and some basic shielding? - What additional shielding technologies do you think we need to best overcome space radiation that astronauts face when headed to Mars? - What are the unique properties of element 115? - How do I win the fight against the fear of learning something if it looks really intimidating? - Gravity affects photons but photons have no mass? Or is this a case of energy equals mass?
See the full Q&A video playlist: https://wolfr.am/youtube-sw-qa

Sep 18, 2020 • 2h 11min
Wolfram Physics Project: A Discussion about Physics Built by Alien Intelligences
Stephen Wolfram discusses the new Wolfram Physics Project, this time specifically for what physics might look like built by aliens. See the full Wolfram Physics Project video playlist on YouTube: https://wolfr.am/youtube-wpp

Sep 8, 2020 • 59min
Stephen Wolfram Q&A, Can Sci-Fi be Real: Episode 3
Stephen Wolfram answers audience questions about science fiction concepts as part of an unscripted livestream series.
Questions include: What will sci-fi look like in 20 years? How does the past compare to today? - Will there be a "Golden Age" for science? - Russia and the USA are only a few miles apart at some locations, still it takes more than 10 hours of flight time. Why? - Why and how do you know all this? - Do you think that we will have brain implants that allow us to access the internet anytime soon? - Is it true that only left-handed people are in their "right" minds? - Have you given any thought to adding augmented reality features into Wolfram|Alpha for Android?
See the full Q&A video playlist: https://wolfr.am/youtube-sw-qa

Sep 8, 2020 • 1h 25min
Stephen Wolfram Q&A, Can Sci-Fi be Real: Episode 2
Stephen Wolfram answers audience questions about science fiction concepts as part of an unscripted livestream series.
Questions include: How long before we colonize Mars? - Why isn't a Tricorder available yet? - How would teleportation work if we could make it happen? - Why don't we have flying cars yet? - Can you explain the physical difference between a 1 volt and a 2 volt battery? - Can we manipulate the weather and formation of clouds in quantum state or create new kind of quantum equipment? - Is there any merit to discussion about such questions, given that actualization of our sci-fi dreams is never literal? - What are your thoughts on starshot projects that will attempt shooting satellites to the Alpha Centauri system with lasers? - Could a technologically advanced civilization arise on a planet completely covered in water? - Can a tardigrade survive on Mars? - Why aren't prehistoric animals resurrected yet? - Can you engineer a seed to grow a house?
See the full Q&A video playlist: https://wolfr.am/youtube-sw-qa

Sep 8, 2020 • 1h 32min
Stephen Wolfram Q&A, Can Sci-Fi be Real: Episode 1
Stephen Wolfram answers audience questions about science fiction concepts as part of an unscripted livestream series.
Questions include: Could our pets become intelligent enough to take over the world? - What would faster-than-light travel look like (visually)? - How could we make a force field? - Does your physics model allow me to build a warp drive? -
Are there any practical 'exploits' that you think may be possible as a result of your model? -
Do you think an organism living through its whole evolution in 3D space can survive entering a higher dimensional area? - How can we use dark matter to accelerate the expansion of the universe and/or stretch space like inside the TARDIS? - Is simulated consciousness the logical endpoint for humanity as a whole? - Would it be possible for an intelligent species to create the conditions of a new universe?
See the full Q&A video playlist: https://wolfr.am/youtube-sw-qa

Aug 10, 2020 • 31min
Stephen Wolfram Q&A: How Does the Internet Work?
Stephen Wolfram answers audience questions about science and technology as part of an unscripted livestream series.
Questions include: How can you connect to the internet without wifi? How does 5G technology work?
See the full Q&A video playlist: https://wolfr.am/youtube-sw-qa

Aug 10, 2020 • 41min
Stephen Wolfram Q&A: How Do Computers Work?
Stephen Wolfram answers audience questions about science and technology as part of an unscripted livestream series.
Questions include: Should we teach kids how computers work? How does a computer work inside?
See the full Q&A video playlist: https://wolfr.am/youtube-sw-qa
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