Particles of Thought

Glacier Rescue

Brent Minchew has a plan that could  stop the “Doomsday Glacier” in its tracks, and we don’t even need new technology to do it. The Caltech glaciologist returns to unveil

The Glacier That Could Change the World

Brent Minchew is an expert on the glacier that could devastate the world’s coastlines. As a glaciologist at Caltech, he's spent his career tracking Thwaites Glacier, AKA

The Hidden Math Behind Everything

Jordan Ellenberg tells Hakeem that math isn't just about numbers. It's about everything. The mathematician and bestselling author shares how AI models are trained through

Certainty Is Overrated

Jordan Ellenberg finds mathematical certainty overrated. Calming our fear of the unknown, the mathematician joins Hakeem to explore why math, contrary to popular belief,

Next Dimension Geometry

Jordan Ellenberg says geometry isn’t about shapes. It’s about distance. In a tour of geometry far stranger than anything from high school, the mathematician breaks down h

AI’s Hidden Math

Jordan Ellenberg has good news: artificial intelligence is just math you can actually understand. The mathematician joins Hakeem to pull back the curtain on how large lan

Hobbits, Neanderthals, and Dragon Man

Ella Al-Shamahi explores what it means to be human. She reveals the surprising truth that our ancestors shared the planet with at least seven other human species as recen

Creationist to Evolutionary Biologist

Ella Al-Shamahi set out to disprove the theory of evolution. Now she’s one of its greatest advocates. In this deeply personal conversation, Ella tells Hakeem her story. S

Rethinking Neanderthals

Ella Al-Shamahi thinks Neanderthals have a reputation problem, and the science backs her up. For decades, the word "Neanderthal" has been shorthand for something primitiv

Real Hobbits?

Ella Al-Shamahi says the iconic picture of human evolution is all wrong. She joins Hakeem to take apart the conventional image of the straight-line march of evolution fro

Full Interview: The Future of AI and Us

Daniela Rus brings robots and AI together, and as a computer scientist and roboticist at MIT, she's here to set the record straight. She's not just studying AI from the o

AI Origins

Daniela Rus is cutting through the AI hype and headlines to give us a real understanding of its future. As Director of MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence

AI Robots

Daniela Rus has built a robot you can swallow, and that is one of the less surprising things her lab is working on. At MIT's CSAIL, she is leading research at the frontie

When AI Escapes the Data Center

Daniela Rus wants to put AI in your pocket, your car, and your dishwasher. In fact, she has already started. As one of the world's leading AI and robotics researchers, sh

Full Interview: Anxiety Hacking

Wendy Suzuki hopes you have anxiety—good anxiety. She thinks that feeling you try to avoid could actually be your edge! Wendy joins Hakeem to explore how anxiety can be h

Your Brain Needs Friends

Wendy Suzuki says the key to a beautiful brain is friendship, and she joins Hakeem to discuss why human connection can extend your life. By studying certain animals, like

Neuroscience of Exercise

Wendy Suzuki says just 10 minutes of movement can change your brain.But how? What’s actually happening in your head during a walk—or a workout—and why does it matter so m

Good Anxiety

Neuroscientist Wendy Suzuki thinks your anxiety could be a superpower. What if you stopped trying to shut it down—and started using it? Wendy joins Hakeem to reframe anxi

Full Interview: T. rex to Birds

Steve Brusatte has the dirt on dinosaurs and joins Hakeem to trace the full 100-million-year history of the tyrannosaur dynasty, the asteroid that ended it, and the remar

Real World vs “Jurassic World"

Steve Brusatte, a real paleontologist, contributed to the Jurassic World franchise, but what really happens when science meets cinema? In this episode, Steve joins Hakeem