The Quanta Podcast

For decades, mathematicians have struggled to understand matrices that reflect both order and randomness, like those that model semiconductors. A new method could change that.
The story New Physics-Inspired Proof Probes the Borders of Disorder first appeared on Quanta Magazine.

At the center of little holes in cell nuclei is a mystery. Here, clumps of proteins wiggle disordered tails around like seaweed. They drive a molecular machine that moves countless molecules in and out of the nucleus efficiently, with little room for error. On this episode of The Quanta Podcast, host Samir Patel speaks with biology writer Yasemin Saplakoglu about how new high-def microscopy is revealing the intricacies of these nuclear pore complexes like never before. This topic was covered in a recent story for Quanta Magazine.  
Each week on The Quanta Podcast, Quanta Magazine editor in chief Samir Patel speaks with the people behind the award-winning publication to navigate through some of the most important and mind-expanding questions in science and math.

We tend to think of math as all about logic and rigor. But what “rigor” actually means has been shaken up quite a few times over the past few centuries. The newest attempt to formalize math comes in the form of the computer program Lean. Mathematicians have mixed feelings. On this episode of The Quanta Podcast, host Samir Patel speaks with math editor Jordana Cepelewicz about how mathematicians today are navigating the tricky balancing act between creativity and formalization. This topic was covered in a recent story for Quanta Magazine.  
Each week on The Quanta Podcast, Quanta Magazine editor in chief Samir Patel speaks with the people behind the award-winning publication to navigate through some of the most important and mind-expanding questions in science and math.

Artificial intelligence software is designing novel experimental protocols that improve upon the work of human physicists, although the humans are still “doing a lot of baby-sitting.”
The story AI Comes Up With Bizarre Physics Experiments. But They Work. first appeared on Quanta Magazine.

Humanoid robots can run, crawl, and sort objects in flashy demos. So why can’t they reliably climb stairs or open doors? On this episode of The Quanta Podcast, host Samir Patel speaks with contributing writer John Pavlus on why robots still struggle with the messy physics of the real world. This topic was covered in a recent story for Quanta Magazine.  
Each week on The Quanta Podcast, Quanta Magazine editor in chief Samir Patel speaks with the people behind the award-winning publication to navigate through some of the most important and mind-expanding questions in science and math.
In this video, Atlas walks, runs and crawls using reinforcement learning. This work was done as part of a research partnership between Boston Dynamics and the Robots and AI (RAI) Institute:
https://youtu.be/I44_zbEwz_w?si=KuKC34o_PiKs8zJP