Nobel Prize Conversations

John Martinis, a pioneer in quantum computing and 2025 Nobel Prize laureate, shares his delightful learning curve after receiving the award. He humorously recounts how his wife broke the news while he slept. In a fascinating discussion, Martinis reflects on his collaboration with fellow scientists, the evolution of quantum research into practical applications, and the engineering hurdles in building scalable quantum computers. He emphasizes the vital need for collaboration among researchers and companies to achieve commercial viability in the quantum technology landscape.

“I was out walking the dogs and she started yelling, and I thought there was a grizzly bear nearby.” Actually, what Fred Ramsdell’s wife was telling him, while on a hiking trip together, was that he had been awarded the 2025 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. In this conversation with the Nobel Prize’s Adam Smith, recorded early the following day, Ramsdell recall how the realisation dawned on them. He goes on to speak about the benefits of working in the environment of biotech, the joy of finding talented collaborators, and the importance of celebrating the dedication of those that nurtured hundreds of generations of the all-important scurfy mouse, in which he and Mary Brunkow discovered the FOXP3 gene: “I'm really in awe of the fact that they were able to do that for so long. It's incredible.” © Nobel Prize Outreach.First reactions terms of use: https://www.nobelprize.org/ceremonies/streams-terms-of-use Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“I could not imagine accepting the prize without the two of them,” says John Clarke of his fellow Nobel Prize laureates in physics, John Martinis and Michel Devoret. In this short conversation with the Nobel Prize’s Adam Smith, recorded just after the public announcement of the 2025 Nobel Prize in Physics, Clarke recalls the electric atmosphere in the lab, 40 years ago, during their experiments in which they first demonstrated macroscopic quantum tunnelling. Clarke also reflects on others who inspired his thinking at the start of his career. © Nobel Prize Outreach.First reactions terms of use: https://www.nobelprize.org/ceremonies/streams-terms-of-use Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“My phone rang, and I saw a number from Sweden and thought, well that’s just spam of some sort, so I disabled the phone and went back to sleep.” Mary Brunkow clearly wasn’t expecting the call from Stockholm. This brief conversation with the Nobel Prize’s Adam Smith catches the new medicine laureate at her dining table at 4:30am, an hour and a half after she had heard the news. She talks about the power of genetics to unravel biology and how she feels it was an honour to have been one of the contributors to solving the puzzle of immune tolerance: “It takes a bunch of different brains, all working on it together, for sure!” © Nobel Prize Outreach.First Reactions terms of use: https://www.nobelprize.org/ceremonies/streams-terms-of-use Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"I believe this will encourage immunologists and physicians to apply the T regulatory cells to treat various immunological diseases.” Shimon Sakaguchi, 2025 Nobel Prize laureate in physiology or medicine, has always been driven by the desire to find new ways to combat disease. In this conversation with the Nobel Prize’s Adam Smith, recorded just after the prize announcement, Sakaguchi speaks briefly about his surprise at the news and reflects on the fundamental research question that kept him dedicated to the field after many others abandoned it, a question that took over two decades to answer.© Nobel Prize Outreach.First Reactions terms of use: https://www.nobelprize.org/ceremonies/streams-terms-of-use Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this enlightening conversation, Adam Smith, Chief Scientific Officer at Nobel Prize Outreach, explores the vibrant celebrations surrounding scientific achievements. He shares how these honors resonate within families and communities, emphasizing the joy and pride they inspire. Smith discusses the rituals of Nobel Week, the unique institutional traditions, and the personal stories behind late-night breakthroughs. Through laughter, music, and heartfelt moments, he highlights the significance of celebrating not just discoveries, but the collaborative spirits that drive them.

John Hopfield, a groundbreaking theoretical physicist and neuroscientist awarded the 2024 Nobel Prize in Physics, shares his unique journey and insights. He discusses the significance of interdisciplinary collaboration between chemists and physicists. With a sense of urgency, Hopfield expresses his fears about opaque AI systems and advocates for more public debate on the topic. He also reflects on his shift from condensed-matter physics to neuroscience, highlighting the complex challenges of understanding the brain and the need for new revolutionary ideas.

Simon Johnson, a Nobel Prize laureate and MIT professor, dives into the intertwining of history and science fiction, asserting that one is often a reflection of the other. He shares insights on the responsibility that comes with technological advancement and the importance of inclusive institutions for long-term prosperity. Johnson discusses how colonial experiences provide lessons for modern economic outcomes, critiques recent anti-science trends, and reveals his plans for a science fiction novel and graphic adaptation to engage wider audiences.

“When we're doing genetics, we are tapping into that mythic power of change.” — In this conversation with molecular biologist Gary Ruvkun, we discover his scientific journey and find out that the world of genetics still has many fields left to explore.A natural storyteller, Ruvkun also shares some of his favourite tales with us – from his gap year in Latin America to how his grandparents emigrated to the United States. For Ruvkun, travelling has given him more stories than he could have ever imagined – and he tries to share them whenever he has the chance.Through their lives and work, failures and successes – get to know the individuals who have been awarded the Nobel Prize on the Nobel Prize Conversations podcast. Find it on Acast, or wherever you listen to pods. https://linktr.ee/NobelPrizeConversations© Nobel Prize Outreach. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

”I really love the notion of contributing something to physics.” — Chemistry laureate John Jumper has always been passionate about science and understanding the world. With the AI tool AlphaFold, he and his co-laureate Demis Hassabis have provided a possibility to predict protein structures. In this podcast conversation, Jumper speaks about the excitement of seeing how AI can help us more in the future.Jumper also shares his scientific journey and how he ended up working with AlphaFold. He describes a special memory from the 2018 CASP conference where AlphaFold was presented for the first time. Another life-changing moment was the announcement of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in October 2024 – Jumper tells us how his life has changed since then. Through their lives and work, failures and successes – get to know the individuals who have been awarded the Nobel Prize on the Nobel Prize Conversations podcast. Find it on Acast, or wherever you listen to pods. https://linktr.ee/NobelPrizeConversations© Nobel Prize Outreach. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.