Themes and summary (AI-generated based on podcaster-provided show and episode descriptions):
➤ Physics news • quantum technologies: computing, sensing, metrology, gravity/info theory • CERN particle physics • materials/2D metals, semiconductors • biomedical physics, radiotherapy AI • space/planetary science, asteroid defence • careers, policy, sustainability
This podcast is a current-affairs and interview series from physics journalism that surveys developments across research, technology, and the institutions that shape science. Conversations frequently focus on quantum science and engineering, including efforts to make quantum sensors practical, to build and standardize quantum computing and metrology, and to connect quantum information ideas to foundational problems such as quantum gravity. Alongside quantum topics, the show tracks major programmes in particle physics and astronomy, with attention to how large collaborations and space missions generate data, upgrade instruments, and navigate funding and policy decisions.
A strong thread is physics translated into applications and products. Guests describe biomedical optics, ultrasound-based methods for handling living cells, AI-assisted radiotherapy planning, simulation-driven approaches to diagnosing disease, and drug-delivery concepts designed for spaceflight. Materials and computing also feature prominently, from advances in two-dimensional materials and chip design constraints to lower-energy paradigms such as reversible computing, often framed in terms of commercialization pathways and collaboration between academia, national laboratories, and industry.
The podcast also explores physics in broader culture and professional life. Episodes address career transitions for physicists (into startups, venture capital, journalism, healthcare, and communication), the role of physicists in politics and public problem-solving, and efforts to improve inclusion in STEMM. Periodic discussions interpret prizes and notable research highlights, while occasional book-focused conversations use everyday phenomena or speculative scenarios—such as exoplanet worlds or communicating science with alien civilizations—to examine what physics can explain and how it is communicated.
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Episodes:
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Quantum sensors benefit from miniaturized ultrahigh vacuum
2026-Apr-23
26 minutes
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Proteins on manuscript reveal how Renaissance medicines were made
2026-Apr-16
49 minutes
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Backing winners in deep tech: physicist and venture capitalist Alexandra Vidyuk
2026-Apr-09
32 minutes
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Biomedical optics play crucial roles across medicine
2026-Apr-02
34 minutes
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How IOP Publishing cut its carbon footprint by 36% since 2020
2026-Mar-26
27 minutes
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From the classroom to the committee room: Dave Robertson MP on politics and physics
2026-Mar-19
28 minutes
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Droplet scientists push the boundary between living and non-living matter
2026-Mar-12
41 minutes
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Ultrasound system solves the ‘unsticking problem’ in biomedical research
2026-Mar-05
31 minutes
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LHCb upgrade: CERN collaboration responds to UK funding cut
2026-Feb-26
33 minutes
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Quantum Systems Accelerator focuses on technologies for computing
2026-Feb-19
34 minutes
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Asteroid deflection: why we need to get it right the first time
2026-Feb-12
22 minutes
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Physics‑based simulations help diagnose and treat disease
2026-Feb-05
27 minutes
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AI-based tool improves the quality of radiation therapy plans for cancer treatment
2026-Jan-29
38 minutes
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Laser fusion: Focused Energy charts a course to commercial viability
2026-Jan-22
32 minutes
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Quantum metrology at NPL: we explore the challenges and opportunities
2026-Jan-14
25 minutes
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Quantum information theory sheds light on quantum gravity
2026-Jan-08
25 minutes
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Oscar-winning computer scientist on the physics of computer animation
2025-Dec-23
23 minutes
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How to make 2D metals: Guangyu Zhang on his team’s award-winning research
2025-Dec-18
35 minutes
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Exploring this year’s best physics research in our Top 10 Breakthroughs of 2025
2025-Dec-11
31 minutes
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Building a quantum future using topological phases of matter and error correction
2025-Dec-04
25 minutes
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Quantum gravity: we explore spin foams and other potential solutions to this enduring challenge
2025-Nov-27
29 minutes
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Talking physics with an alien civilization: what could we learn?
2025-Nov-20
46 minutes
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Better coffee, easier parking and more: the fascinating physics of daily life
2025-Nov-18
57 minutes
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Designing better semiconductor chips: NP hard problems and forever chemicals
2025-Nov-13
40 minutes
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Unlocking the potential of 2D materials: graphene and much more
2025-Nov-06
38 minutes
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Quantum steampunk: we explore the art and science
2025-Oct-30
40 minutes
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Quantum computing and AI join forces for particle physics
2025-Oct-23
25 minutes
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Astronauts could soon benefit from dissolvable eye insert
2025-Oct-16
41 minutes
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From quantum curiosity to quantum computers: the 2025 Nobel Prize for Physics
2025-Oct-09
33 minutes
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The curious history of Nobel prizes: from lighthouses to gravitational waves
2025-Oct-02
47 minutes
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Imagining alien worlds: we explore the science and fiction of exoplanets
2025-Sep-25
42 minutes
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Peer review in the age of artificial intelligence
2025-Sep-18
28 minutes
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Juno: the spacecraft that is revolutionizing our understanding of Jupiter
2025-Sep-11
36 minutes
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Artificial intelligence predicts future directions in quantum science
2025-Sep-04
36 minutes
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From a laser lab to the Economist: physicist Jason Palmer on his move to journalism
2025-Aug-28
41 minutes
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Cosmic chemistry: Ewine van Dishoeck shares her zeal for astrochemistry
2025-Aug-21
36 minutes
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Building a quantum powerhouse in the US Midwest
2025-Aug-14
47 minutes
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Building a career from a passion for science communication
2025-Aug-07
38 minutes
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Third age careers for physicists: writing and the arts beckon
2025-Jul-31
45 minutes
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From rabbits and foxes to the human gut microbiome, physics is helping us understand the natural world
2025-Jul-24
40 minutes
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Oak Ridge’s Quantum Science Center takes a multidisciplinary approach to developing quantum materials and technologies
2025-Jul-17
39 minutes
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Inside ATLAS: Sara Alderweireldt explains how the CERN experiment homes in on new physics
2025-Jul-10
19 minutes
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Making science careers more accessible to people with disabilities
2025-Jul-03
32 minutes
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Reversible computing could help solve AI’s looming energy crisis
2025-Jun-26
27 minutes
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Helgoland: leading scientists reflect on 100 years of quantum physics and look to the future
2025-Jun-19
37 minutes
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Exploring careers in healthcare for physicists and engineers
2025-Jun-12
25 minutes
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Richard Bond and George Efstathiou: meet the astrophysicists who are shaping our understanding of the early universe
2025-Jun-05
55 minutes
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Teaching quantum physics to everyone: pictures offer a new way of understanding
2025-May-29
35 minutes
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A Martian aurora, how the universe fades away, Heisenberg on holiday, physics of fake coins
2025-May-22
42 minutes
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Quantum computing for artists, musicians and game designers
2025-May-15
32 minutes
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Molecular engineering and battery recycling: developing new technologies in quantum, medicine and energy
2025-May-08
35 minutes
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Ferenc Krausz explains how ultrashort laser pulses could help detect disease
2025-May-01
30 minutes
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Driving skills and innovation in the UK’s semiconductor industry
2025-Apr-24
33 minutes
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Radiosurgery made easy: the role of the Gamma Knife in modern radiotherapy
2025-Apr-17
32 minutes
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Non-invasive pressure sensor could revolutionize how brain injuries are diagnosed
2025-Apr-10
26 minutes
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William Phillips: Nobel laureate talks about his passion for quantum physics
2025-Apr-04
63 minutes
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Microsoft’s Chetan Nayak on topological qubits, the physics of bigger splashes
2025-Mar-27
32 minutes
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Artur Ekert explains how Albert Einstein and John Bell inspired quantum cryptography
2025-Mar-20
55 minutes
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Ionizing radiation: its biological impacts and how it is used to treat disease
2025-Mar-13
37 minutes
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New materials for quantum technology, how ultrasound can help detect breast cancer
2025-Mar-06
35 minutes
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Exploring CERN: Physics World visits the world’s leading particle-physics lab
2025-Feb-27
28 minutes
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Jim Gates updates his theorist’s bucket list and surveys the damage being done to US science and society
2025-Feb-20
47 minutes
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Quantum superstars gather in Paris for the IYQ 2025 opening ceremony
2025-Feb-13
27 minutes
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How the changing environment affects solar-panel efficiency: the Indian perspective
2025-Feb-06
26 minutes
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Mark Thomson looks to the future of CERN and particle physics
2025-Jan-30
38 minutes
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Why electrochemistry lies at the heart of modern technology
2025-Jan-23
35 minutes
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Ceryx Medical: company uses bioelectronics to coordinate the heart and lungs
2025-Jan-16
41 minutes
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Humanitarian engineering can improve cancer treatment in low- and middle-income countries
2025-Jan-09
48 minutes
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International Year of Quantum Science and Technology: our celebrations begin with a look at quantum networks and sensors
2025-Jan-02
37 minutes
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The physics of ice cream: food scientist Douglas Goff talks about this remarkable material
2024-Dec-26
40 minutes
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Mikhail Lukin and Dolev Bluvstein explain how they used trapped atoms to create 48 logical qubits
2024-Dec-19
39 minutes
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Hartmut Neven talks about Google Quantum AI’s breakthrough in quantum error correction
2024-Dec-19
32 minutes
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Exploring this year’s best physics research in our Top 10 Breakthroughs of 2024
2024-Dec-12
28 minutes
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How the UK Metamaterials Network supports scientific and commercial innovation
2024-Dec-05
27 minutes
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Astronomers can play an important role in explaining the causes and consequences of climate change, says astrophysicist
2024-Nov-28
36 minutes
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Top tips for physics outreach from a prize winner, making graphene more sustainable
2024-Nov-21
34 minutes
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Space travel: the health effects of space radiation and building a lunar GPS
2024-Nov-14
53 minutes
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How to boost the sustainability of solar cells
2024-Nov-07
31 minutes
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Peter Hirst: MIT Sloan Executive Education develops leadership skills in STEM employees
2024-Oct-31
36 minutes
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Julia Sutcliffe: chief scientific adviser explains why policymaking must be underpinned by evidence
2024-Oct-24
30 minutes
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Data-intensive PhDs at LIV.INNO prepare students for careers outside of academia
2024-Oct-17
36 minutes
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Deep connections: why two AI pioneers won the Nobel Prize for Physics
2024-Oct-10
28 minutes
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Nobel predictions and humorous encounters with physics laureates
2024-Oct-03
30 minutes
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Science thrives on constructive and respectful peer review
2024-Sep-24
34 minutes
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Diagnosing and treating disease: how physicists keep you safe during healthcare procedures
2024-Sep-19
38 minutes
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Looking to the future of statistical physics, how intense storms can affect your cup of tea
2024-Sep-12
37 minutes
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Hybrid quantum–classical computing chips and neutral-atom qubits both show promise
2024-Sep-05
48 minutes
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The Wow! signal: did a telescope in Ohio receive an extraterrestrial communication in 1977?
2024-Aug-29
41 minutes
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Physics for a better future: mammoth book looks at science and society
2024-Aug-22
33 minutes
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Quantum sensors monitor brain development in children
2024-Aug-15
23 minutes
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Abdus Salam: celebrating a unifying force in global physics
2024-Aug-08
24 minutes
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Non-physicists find opportunity in the quantum industry, improving the university experience
2024-Aug-01
45 minutes
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Zap Energy targets fusion power without magnets, Claudia de Rham on the beauty of gravity
2024-Jul-25
44 minutes
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Diamond dust for MRI, 4D printing creates advanced devices
2024-Jul-19
36 minutes
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Precision medicine: meet two medical physicists who are making it possible
2024-Jul-11
49 minutes
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Shrinivas Kulkarni: 2024 Shaw Prize in Astronomy winner talks about his fascination with variable and transient objects
2024-Jun-27
49 minutes
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Linking silicon T centres with light offers a route to fault-tolerant quantum computing
2024-Jun-20
31 minutes
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The Kavli Prize in Astrophysics: meet the 2024 laureates David Charbonneau and Sara Seager
2024-Jun-13
36 minutes
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Teaching nuclear physics using data rather than models, recovering helium from party balloons
2024-Jun-06
39 minutes
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Baltimore bridge collapse: engineers explain how failures can be avoided
2024-May-30
45 minutes
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