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The Quanta Podcast

Quanta Magazine
Mathematics
Neuroscience
Artificial Intelligence
Quantum Mechanics
Quantum Computing
Mitochondria
Climate Change
Bird Migration
Memory
Black Holes
Evolution
Computer Science
James Webb Space Telescope
Infinity
General Relativity
Dark Matter
Cryptography
Dark Energy
Quantum Cryptography
Galium Anomaly

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 q... more

PublishesTwice weeklyEpisodes368Founded11 years ago
Number of ListenersCategories
Life SciencesPhysicsScience

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Artwork for The Quanta Podcast

Latest Episodes

You might imagine that the DNA in your cells has a simple history. But that’s not the entire story. Nearly half of your genome is a wild drama, thanks to a genetic material called transposons that can clip itself out of the DNA sequence, float off, a... more

Focus, commitment, and insight resulted in a “once in a century” proof. Hong Wang is now just the third woman to win a Fields Medal.

The article Living Fully in the Math World Means Threading the Needle first appeared on Quanta Magazine.

When all you can see is a speck, it’s hard to tell what you’re looking at. Astronomers first argued that little red dots spotted by the James Webb Space Telescope in 2022 were distant galaxies on the cosmic horizon, mainly because of their brightness... more

In 1852, the mathematician Francis Guthrie was coloring in a map of English counties when he noticed that he needed only four colors. Was this always true, he wondered? The question captured the imagination of hobbyists and professionals alike — and ... more

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The Joy of Why
The Joy of WhySteven Strogatz, Janna Levin and Quanta Magazine
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Why This Universe?Dan Hooper, Shalma Wegsman
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The Supermassive PodcastThe Royal Astronomical Society

Recent Guests

Charlie Wood
Quanta physics writer
Quanta Magazine
Episode: Are the Little Red Dots Actually Black Hole Suns?
Conor Feehly
Writer for Quanta Magazine who covered the story on categorization
Quanta Magazine
Episode: How the Brain Compresses Our Noisy World
Takuro Nakayama
Evolutionary microbiologist leading the team
University of Tsukuba, Japan
Episode: Audio Edition: A Cell So Minimal That It Challenges Definitions of Life
Puri Lopez-Garcia
Microbial ecologist
French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS)
Episode: Audio Edition: A Cell So Minimal That It Challenges Definitions of Life
Brett Baker
Microbial ecologist
University of Texas at Austin
Episode: Audio Edition: A Cell So Minimal That It Challenges Definitions of Life
Tim Williams
Microbiologist
University of Technology Sydney
Episode: Audio Edition: A Cell So Minimal That It Challenges Definitions of Life
Thijs Edema
Evolutionary microbiologist, archaeal genomics expert
Wageningen University & Research
Episode: Audio Edition: A Cell So Minimal That It Challenges Definitions of Life
Max Levy
Award-winning science journalist and regular contributor to Quanta Magazine
Quanta Magazine
Episode: Picking Teams With the Math of Imbalance
Jihan Wang
Researcher from Cornell University
Cornell University
Episode: Audio Edition: New Proofs Probe Soap-Film Singularities

Hosts

Susan Vallott
Host of the episode, guiding discussion and presenting science stories.
Samir Patel
Host of The Quanta Podcast; lead interviewer bringing editorial perspective.

Reviews

4.8 out of 5 stars from 1.5k ratings
  • More!

    I really like how interesting and accessible this is. It would be great if they were longer.

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    Dadai5m
    Australia21 days ago
  • Thank you for a fantastic podcast

    It helps me break out of my own and small world of science, as fascinating as it is to me, to see the much broader horizons of all the different fields.

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    polarizationman
    United Statesa month ago
  • Content great, background music very distracting

    I was so happy to have found this great podcast. The topics are exactly what I was looking for. Unfortunately, every time a guest starts to explain a complex topic there is very distracting background played. It makes it impossible to listen to what is said.

    Apple Podcasts
    3
    zhdjk
    Irelanda month ago
  • Dissapointimg

    I ordinarily love this podcast and have previously written great reviews. I particularly enjoy the format of discussions with the various editors who are well informed and engaging. Hence my extreme disappointment with this latest episode which was apparently an AI generated reading of the article that I’d already read in the online magazine version of Quanta. I respectfully ask that you not mix these AI generated readings with the interview formatted episodes.

    Apple Podcasts
    1
    Kyoung21b
    United States2 months ago
  • Thought provoking and accessible

    I love the format and the way that the host and guest erect the scaffolding of the topic in a way surfaces the key points

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    MartaJane
    United States3 months ago

Listeners Say

Key themes from listener reviews, highlighting what works and what could be improved about the show.

Signal-rich discussions around math and physics consistently praised for depth.
Thoughtful, rigorous science storytelling that makes complex topics accessible.
Listeners appreciate the mix of math, physics, and biology with strong editorial voice.
High-quality guests and expert explanations, though some listeners wish for more dynamic delivery.

Chart Rankings

How this podcast ranks in the Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube charts.

Talking Points

Recent interactions between the hosts and their guests.

Are the Little Red Dots Actually Black Hole Suns?
Q: So what's the big idea?
The big idea is that the James Webb observations of very red, very bright single-pixel sources in the early universe could be either young, rapidly growing black holes with surrounding star-like gas shells (black-hole stars) or traditional black holes veiled by a dusty doughnut, and that each interpretation has supporting spectral features and distinct predictions for how these objects evolve over time.
How the Brain Compresses Our Noisy World
Q: What is their proposal? What is their new view of categorization?
Barrett and Miller propose that categorization is driven by the brain's predictive goal to maintain bodily energy and homeostasis, integrating interoceptive signals, memory, and sensory inputs across the nervous system to determine how we label and respond to stimuli.
How the Brain Compresses Our Noisy World
Q: So Conor, what's the big idea here in your story?
Psychologically, the categories we use to divide up the world exist in part as a function of our bodily context and goals, not as fixed, external labels; the brain functions as a predictive engine that shapes how we perceive and label the world.
What Makes a Fluid a Fluid?
Q: So, Charlie, what's the big idea?
The big idea is to redefine what a fluid is not by intuition alone, but through a principled framework of symmetries and effective field theory, which can derive the familiar equations like Euler and Navier–Stokes from deeper, universal constraints.
Picking Teams With the Math of Imbalance
Q: What is the new advance that allows surpassing previous bounds?
The advance comes from combining algorithmic techniques with fractional splits and random perturbations to strategically fix the worst imbalance while adjusting the rest, enabling a ceiling around the fourth root of log n and opening a path to go beyond earlier limits.

Audience Metrics

Listeners, social reach, demographics and more for this podcast.

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Gender Skew
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Social Media Reach

Frequently Asked Questions About The Quanta Podcast

What is The Quanta Podcast about and what kind of topics does it cover?

The show leans into deep-dive conversations at the intersection of physics, mathematics, and biology, hosted by a consistently expert lineup from a prestigious science publication. Across episodes, listeners encounter rigorous explorations of foundational ideas — from geometric regularity and high-dimensional topology to AI reasoning, quantum gravity, and the biology of memory and agency — all framed with clear explanations and guest-led perspectives. The format often features guest editors, mathematicians, physicists, and science journalists who bring both historical context and cutting-edge research, making it a strong fit for audiences that crave thorough, concept-heavy storytelling and expert synthesis of complex topics. A standout qual... more

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Which podcasts are similar to The Quanta Podcast?

These podcasts share a similar audience with The Quanta Podcast:

1. The Joy of Why
2. Why This Universe?
3. Sean Carroll's Mindscape: Science, Society, Philosophy, Culture, Arts, and Ideas
4. Physics World Weekly Podcast
5. The Supermassive Podcast

How many episodes of The Quanta Podcast are there?

The Quanta Podcast launched 11 years ago and published 368 episodes to date. You can find more information about this podcast including rankings, audience demographics and engagement in our podcast database.

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What guests have appeared on The Quanta Podcast?

Recent guests on The Quanta Podcast include:

1. Charlie Wood
2. Conor Feehly
3. Takuro Nakayama
4. Puri Lopez-Garcia
5. Brett Baker
6. Tim Williams
7. Thijs Edema
8. Max Levy

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