Episodes

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Biology's Biggest Chicken and Egg Problem | Jacob Fine

Biology's Biggest Chicken and Egg Problem | Jacob Fine

Episode 31 · · 01:31:04

Life’s First Blueprint Wasn’t DNA; it was RNA.Read Jacob Fine’s latest publication here: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022283625001901Today we spoke with Jacob ...

The Final Interview with MIT Physicist Keith Johnson

The Final Interview with MIT Physicist Keith Johnson

Episode 30 · · 02:15:37

One of Keith Johnson’s final interviews: a brilliant mind on dark matter, water, and fusion.Read about Keith’s legacy here: https://news.mit.edu/2025/keith-johnson-materials-scientis...

How We Build Telescopes to Explore the Early Cosmos | Brian Keating

How We Build Telescopes to Explore the Early Cosmos | Brian Keating

Episode 29 · · 01:43:30

Did the Big Bang really happen? Telescopes, dark matter & cosmic origins explored.Join cosmologist Brian Keating as we explore the mysteries of the universe, from building telescopes...

Quantum Complexity: Scott Aaronson on P vs NP and the Future

Quantum Complexity: Scott Aaronson on P vs NP and the Future

Episode 28 · · 02:01:49

In this episode of the 632nm podcast, Scott Aaronson shares his early fascination with calculus at age 11 and how “rediscovering” old mathematics led him toward groundbreaking work i...

Science Memes, Epigenetic Inheritance, and Rethinking Peer Review

Science Memes, Epigenetic Inheritance, and Rethinking Peer Review

Episode 27 · · 01:33:09

In this episode of the 632nm podcast, we explore cutting-edge ideas in epigenetics and academic publishing. Oded Rechavi reveals how C. elegans worms defy conventional genetics by pa...

Quantum Diamond Sensing: The Surprising Power of NV Centers

Quantum Diamond Sensing: The Surprising Power of NV Centers

Episode 26 · · 02:21:20

In this episode of the 632nm podcast, we explore how diamond-based nitrogen vacancy (NV) centers went from being a curiosity in gemstone physics to a transformative tool for precisio...

Origin of Life, Thermodynamics, and God: Jeremy England

Origin of Life, Thermodynamics, and God: Jeremy England

Episode 25 · · 02:19:27

In this episode, Jeremy England reframes the origin of life debate by applying non-equilibrium physics, challenging the notion that life’s emergence must be purely biological or chem...

Flux Grant by 1517 Fund: Backing Garage Science and Sci-Fi Tech

Flux Grant by 1517 Fund: Backing Garage Science and Sci-Fi Tech

Episode 24 · · 47:01

In this episode of the 632nm podcast, we sit down with 1517 Fund’s Danielle Strachman and Michael Gibson to explore their Flux program, a unique pre-seed fellowship backing wild, uno...

Trapped Ion Quantum Computing: Christopher Monroe of IonQ

Trapped Ion Quantum Computing: Christopher Monroe of IonQ

Episode 23 · · 02:25:12

In this episode of the 632nm podcast, our guest traces the evolution from the early days of Bose-Einstein condensation experiments to pioneering trapped ion quantum gateways. He reve...

Maintaining Moore's Law: Lithography, Semiconductors, and Chip Fabrication with Mordechai Rothschild

Maintaining Moore's Law: Lithography, Semiconductors, and Chip Fabrication with Mordechai Rothschild

Episode 22 · · 02:07:52

In this episode of the 632nm podcast, we explore how 193nm lasers unexpectedly overtook x-ray approaches and reshaped semiconductor manufacturing. Physicist Mordechai Rothschild desc...

Quantum Cascade Lasers: Federico Capasso on Curiosity and Bell Labs

Quantum Cascade Lasers: Federico Capasso on Curiosity and Bell Labs

Episode 21 · · 01:32:38

In this episode, physicist Federico Capasso recounts his winding path from struggling undergrad to pioneering inventor of the quantum cascade laser. He reveals how openness, daring i...

How Edison Inspired Eli Yablonovitch to Create Four World-Changing Inventions

How Edison Inspired Eli Yablonovitch to Create Four World-Changing Inventions

Episode 20 · · 03:00:34

Eli Yablonovitch shares how Thomas Edison's approach of requiring "a thousand failed discoveries for every one that works" shaped his scientific philosophy. From solar cells to semic...

From Failed PhD to Nobel Prize | John Mather’s Journey to Revolutionize Astronomy

From Failed PhD to Nobel Prize | John Mather’s Journey to Revolutionize Astronomy

Episode 19 · · 01:53:34

Join the 632nm team as we sit down with Nobel laureate Dr. John Mather. From his childhood days of building radios and telescopes to leading NASA's groundbreaking COBE mission, learn...

Hunting for Alien Artifacts | Avi Loeb

Hunting for Alien Artifacts | Avi Loeb

Episode 18 · · 03:37:27

Join the 632nm team as we sit down with Harvard Professor Avi Loeb, in this fascinating exploration of astronomy, alien life, and the intersection of science and politics. From discu...

Are We Doomed? | Dan Aronovich on Norbert Wiener's 1948 “Cybernetics”

Are We Doomed? | Dan Aronovich on Norbert Wiener's 1948 “Cybernetics”

Episode 17 · · 58:34

In this episode, the 632nm team sits down with Dan Aronovich (Data Science Decoded Podcast) to explore predictions about technology and society, starting with MIT pioneer Norbert Wie...

Information, Entropy & Reality | MIT Professor Seth Lloyd on Quantum Computing

Information, Entropy & Reality | MIT Professor Seth Lloyd on Quantum Computing

Episode 16 · · 02:03:02

The 632nm team sat down with MIT professor Seth Lloyd for a mind-bending journey through quantum mechanics, information theory, and the early days of quantum computing. Lloyd shares ...

From Medieval Glass to Nobel Prize | Moungi Bawendi on Mastering Quantum Dots

From Medieval Glass to Nobel Prize | Moungi Bawendi on Mastering Quantum Dots

Episode 15 · · 01:31:15

In this episode, the 632 team interviewed Nobel laureate Moungi Bawendi, revealing his serendipitous journey to the discovery and development of quantum dots. From a summer internshi...

How a Vision Disorder Led to Shocking Brain Science Discoveries | Mark Bear on Neuroplasticity

How a Vision Disorder Led to Shocking Brain Science Discoveries | Mark Bear on Neuroplasticity

Episode 14 · · 01:35:36

In this captivating episode, we explore how Mark Bear's personal experience with congenital nystagmus sparked a revolutionary career in neuroscience. Mark shares his remarkable journ...

The Current Reality of Quantum Computing | Yudong Cao on Deploying Quantum for Real-Life Problems

The Current Reality of Quantum Computing | Yudong Cao on Deploying Quantum for Real-Life Problems

Episode 13 · · 01:52:41

In this eye-opening episode, former Zapata Computing CEO Yudong Chen reveals the sobering truth about quantum computing's potential impact on drug discovery and the industry's inflat...

From Failed Project to 40 Million Eye Scans: David Huang on the Birth of OCT

From Failed Project to 40 Million Eye Scans: David Huang on the Birth of OCT

Episode 12 · · 01:29:04

Dr. David Huang shares the remarkable journey of how a failed laser surgery project during his MD-PhD studies at MIT led to the invention of Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT), now u...