Nobel Prize Conversations
Nobel Prize Outreach
Through their lives and work, failures and successes – get to know the individuals who have been awarded the Nobel Prize. The host for this podcast is Adam Smith, who has the happy task of interviewing our Nobel Prize laureates.Sit in on our conversations as we delve into how these personalities found their fields of interest — often by coincidence — how they view collaboration, curiosity and failure, and what keeps them going. The laureates share what they have learned from their career and what they like to do outside of their work – from music to fly-fishing. We let the discussions flow freely, resulting in richly varied stories on topics ranging from poverty prevention to the science of black holes and the importance of being a role model.Our latest season is coming in Spring/Summer 2025 and features the new crop of 2024 laureates, and is produced in cooperation with Fundación Ramón Areces. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Nov 10, 2021 • 34min
Didier Queloz: Nobel Prize Conversations
"When people think about other worlds, they think about other life." Nobel Prize Laureate Didier Queloz was a pioneering explorer of exoplanets – planets outside our own solar system – and now he finds himself at the centre of a new endeavour, the ETH Center for the Origin & Prevalence of Life. Here, scientists from a variety of disciplines will meet to challenge their limits and hopefully make some breakthroughs. "The gaps between disciplines are exploratory places," as Queloz puts it.Didier Queloz speaks to the Nobel Prize's Adam Smith about sending seasoned researchers like himself to scientific boot camp, the importance of science and science communication, and what finding ET might mean for the future of humankind.Queloz received the 2019 Nobel Prize in Physics together with Michel Mayor for their research on exoplanets. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Oct 27, 2021 • 36min
Joachim Frank: Nobel Prize Conversations
“I make discoveries just because of very unique juxtapositions that I have never seen before. So there is some kind of resonance there.” – The creative and poetic chemistry laureate Joachim Frank always aspires to solve problems by looking at places no one has looked before. In this episode he describes how creative endeavours like "Poetry boxing" and photography have been essential to his successes in scientific research. He also relates how his life was shaped by his experiences growing up in the ruins of post-war Germany.Joachim Frank was awarded the chemistry prize in 2017 "for developing cryo-electron microscopy for the high-resolution structure determination of biomolecules in solution." The host of Nobel Prize Conversations is Adam Smith, Chief Scientific Officer at Nobel Prize Outreach. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Oct 13, 2021 • 42min
Elizabeth Blackburn: Nobel Prize Conversations
Medicine laureate Elizabeth Blackburn has strong feelings about the value of science. In this conversation with Adam Smith, she speaks openly about how society must begin to understand just how important science is in our lives. She also discusses the climate crisis and shares her experiences from a recent visit to Antartica, where she found herself reminded of the severe consequences of climate change. They also take time for an exploration of the future of science, including the future of Blackburn's own research. Elizabeth Blackburn was the 2009 Nobel Prize laureate in physiology or medicine. The host of Nobel Prize Conversations is Adam Smith, Chief Scientific Officer at Nobel Prize Outreach. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Oct 11, 2021 • 9min
Calling Guido Imbens, 2021 economic sciences laureate
“The only sad thing is there aren’t more hours in the day!” – After a busy, tiring Sunday, mountain biking with the family, Guido Imbens’ Monday morning wake-up call came a little after 2am with the news from Stockholm. “I’m sure that the adrenaline will get me through,” he says in this conversation with Adam Smith recorded shortly afterwards, with the excitement building around him: “Things have been hectic here!” He speaks about the benefits of the social side of research, the enjoyment of working with bright young minds, and the pure pleasure of just getting up and going to work.From October 4-11, don't miss our mini-season that will showcase the absolute freshest interviews with the new 2021 Nobel Prize laureates. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Oct 11, 2021 • 8min
Calling Joshua Angrist, 2021 economic sciences laureate
“I saw that my phone was flooded with text messages,” says Joshua Angrist, having slept through the calls from Stockholm. In this brief interview he describes how he therefore called the MIT Press Department to check, and discovered it was true! The conversation turns to his work on the assumed benefits of elite schooling, his working relationship with his co-Laureates and what lies behind his productive collaboration with Guido Imbens.From October 4-11, don't miss our mini-season that will showcase the absolute freshest interviews with the new 2021 Nobel Prize laureates. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Oct 11, 2021 • 9min
Calling David Card, 2021 economic sciences laureate
“I was kinda hoping I might go to sleep!” – David Card had just got his pyjamas on and was heading for bed, after a very late night arrival from a trip, when the call from Stockholm came. This interview with Adam Smith was recorded just moments later and he talks about his work on immigration, the setting of the minimum wage, and the relationship between those studies and public policy. Meanwhile his wife, Cynthia Gessele, snaps his portrait as he chats in his dressing gown, a picture Adam Smith immediately requests for nobelprize.org: “This guy wants the picture!” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Oct 8, 2021 • 3min
The call from Oslo to Maria Ressa, 2021 peace laureate
World exclusive: The call from Oslo. Hear Maria Ressa’s reaction when she hears the news from Olav Njølstad, Secretary of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, on being awarded the 2021 Nobel peace Prize just before the public announcement. "I'm speechless!"From October 4-11, don't miss our mini-season that will showcase the absolute freshest interviews with the new 2021 Nobel Prize laureates. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Oct 7, 2021 • 7min
Calling Abdulrazak Gurnah, 2021 literature laureate
“As if there isn’t enough to go around” – “A kind of miserliness,” is how Abdulrazak Gurnah describes the attitude of some in Europe to refugees. After all, he says, “Europeans streaming out into the world is nothing new” and he suggests those seeking succour also be seen as “talented, energetic people, who have something to give.” In this brief conversation with Adam Smith, recorded just after he had heard the news, his surprise at receiving the Nobel Prize in Literature is evident. “I was just thinking ‘I wonder who’ll get it’”, says Gurnah: “I thought it was a prank, I really did.”From October 4-11, don't miss our mini-season that will showcase the absolute freshest interviews with the new 2021 Nobel Prize laureates. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Oct 6, 2021 • 7min
Calling David MacMillan, 2021 chemistry laureate
“We thought it had a very low probability of success” – The best ideas in science are often the ones with the least chance of succeeding, says David MacMillan: “It’s the stuff that should never work which is where all the good stuff is!” As he tells Adam Smith in this conversation recorded on the morning of the announcement, the thrill of discovery is also open to any undergraduate embarking in organic chemistry: “the very first day they build a molecule, it has never been made in the universe before!” And as for the news of his Nobel Prize: he describes how he initially thought it was a prank, bet his co-Laureate, Benjamin List, $1000 that it wasn’t true, and went back to bed!From October 4-11, don't miss our mini-season that will showcase the absolute freshest interviews with the new 2021 Nobel Prize laureates. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Oct 6, 2021 • 8min
Calling Benjamin List, 2021 chemistry laureate
“Making molecules is like creating something beautiful” – Benjamin List was sitting in a café with his wife, Dr Sabine List, when the call from Stockholm came. “We looked at each other in disbelief,” he says, and jokingly asked, “Is this the call?” To his amazement, it was! In this interview with Adam Smith, recorded outside that café, he reflects on the beauty of building molecules, the importance of freedom in research and the joy of working with his team: “To work with these amazing, happy and creative people; it’s such a gift.”From October 4-11, don't miss our mini-season that will showcase the absolute freshest interviews with the new 2021 Nobel Prize laureates. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
