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Quanta Podcast

Susan Valot narrates in-depth news episodes based on Quanta Magazine's articles about mathematics, physics, biology and computer science.

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Illustration of a black hole

The Most Famous Paradox in Physics Nears Its End

Particle going through a barrier

Quantum Tunnels Show How Particles Can Break the Speed of Light

An illustration of computer scientists looking down a new road that breaks open a traveling salesperson route.

Computer Scientists Break Traveling Salesperson Record

Illustration of anxious woman surrounded by mitochondria.

Mitochondria May Hold Keys to Anxiety and Mental Health

Magnetic fields in the universe.

The Hidden Magnetic Universe Begins to Come Into View

Graduate Student Solves Decades-Old Conway Knot Problem

A rogue wave and a sailboat.

The Grand Unified Theory of Rogue Waves

Micrograph of a cortical neuron, showing its many dendrites.

Hidden Computational Power Found in the Arms of Neurons

Neutrinos and matrices

Neutrinos Lead to Unexpected Discovery in Basic Math

Illustration of cartoon characters working alongside a machine.

Machines Beat Humans on a Reading Test. But Do They Understand?

Scanning electron micrograph of a cluster of coccolithophores.

How Jurassic Plankton Stole Control of the Ocean’s Chemistry

The illustration shows ghostly hands partially obstructing a person’s sight and hearing.

To Pay Attention, the Brain Uses Filters, Not a Spotlight

3D illustration of three human skulls, split into left and right halves and nested one inside the next.

Fossil DNA Reveals New Twists in Modern Human Origins

An illustration of a machine with two mechanical arms sorts cells by size into processing lines marked “Asymmetric Division” and “Symmetric Division.”

For Embryo’s Cells, Size Can Determine Fate

Scientists Debate the Origin of Cell Types in the First Animals

Wandering Space Rocks Help Solve Mysteries of Planet Formation