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The Quanta Podcast

Every Tuesday, editor in chief Samir Patel sits down with writers and editors to discuss our most thought-provoking stories in science and math. Audio editions of Quanta’s stories with Susan Valot will appear biweekly on Thursdays.

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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

Random Surfaces Hide an Intricate Order

Where We See Shapes, AI Sees Textures

Art for "What’s in a Name? Taxonomy Problems Vex Biologists"

What’s in a Name? Taxonomy Problems Vex Biologists

Art for "Bacterial Complexity Revises Ideas About ‘Which Came First?’"

Bacterial Complexity Revises Ideas About ‘Which Came First?’

Art for "Ancient DNA Yields Snapshots of Vanished Ecosystems"

Ancient DNA Yields Snapshots of Vanished Ecosystems

Art for "Computer Scientists Expand the Frontier of Verifiable Knowledge"

Computer Scientists Expand the Frontier of Verifiable Knowledge

Animated line drawing of Margaret Hamilton, Ellen Fetter, and a Lorenz attractor

The Hidden Heroines of Chaos

Art for "Dormant Microbes Bide Their Time Over Decades - Old Fires"

Heat-Loving Microbes, Once Dormant, Thrive Over Decades-Old Fire

Art for "Scientists Discover Exotic New Patterns of Synchronization"

Scientists Discover Exotic New Patterns of Synchronization