Episodios
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“Get up, you need to get up! You’ve won the Nobel Prize.” That’s how James Robinson discovered he was a 2024 economic sciences laureate, as his wife, Maria Angélica Bautista, woke him up. In this brief call with the Nobel Prize’s Adam Smith he talks about the root causes of poverty and how to build the types of political structures that enhance prosperity: “Inclusive institutions are not created by well-meaning elites. They’re created by people who fight for their rights.”
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“There’s nothing natural about 30-, 40-, 50- fold differences in income per capita in a globalised, connected world.” Daron Acemoglu, economic sciences laureate 2024, speaks about the root causes of persistent poverty among the poorest nations and how to build the types of inclusive institution that can support prosperity. In this conversation with the Nobel Prize’s Adam Smith, recorded shortly after the prize announcement, Acemoglu also highlights the importance of democracy and his fears regarding AI, and how its misuse could result in a two-tier society.
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“True, genuine, inclusive democracy matters, very clearly.” Simon Johnson, economic sciences laureate 2024, learnt of the award from the congratulatory text messages piling-up on his phone. In this short conversation with the Nobel Prize’s Adam Smith, recorded just moments after he had heard the news, he highlights the importance of participatory decision-making in making the most of human potential.
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“The dream came true!” The prize came as a big surprise, says Masako Wada, a representative from the Japanese organisation Nihon Hidankyo, which works to achieve a world free of nuclear weapons. In this interview shortly after learning about the Nobel Peace Prize 2024, she shares her deep concerns on the world’s backlash on nuclear disarmament, not least after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. “Rather than anger, I feel sorrow and fear how deep humans will fall into darkness.”
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”I’m so surprised and honoured.” 2024 literature laureate Han Kang had just finished dinner with her son at her home in Seoul when she received the news. In this interview with the Nobel Prize, she reflects on being the first South Korean literature laureate and talks about how writers as a collective have influenced her. “All their efforts and strengths have been my inspiration.” Han Kang also talks about her writing process on the international hit “The Vegetarian”, and recommends her most recent book “We Do Not Part” for anyone who’s curious to start reading her books.
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“I got the phone call and my wife promptly started screaming.” News of the 2024 Nobel Prize in Chemistry gave David Baker’s household a very early wake up call. Here, just after the prize announcement, Baker speaks to the Nobel Prize’s Adam Smith about the exciting potential of building brand new proteins, the inspirational effect his fellow laureates have had on his field and whether it is necessary to understand how predictive algorithms work.
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“It’s absolutely extraordinary.” John Jumper had just heard the news of his 2024 Nobel Prize in Chemistry when he spoke to the Nobel Prize’s Adam Smith. “I thought I had a 10 % chance,” he reveals. To save his nerves, his plan had been to sleep in until after the announcement, which didn’t quite work out. In the interview, he talks about being the youngest chemistry laureate in over 70 years, and about AI’s role in science. “What I love about all this is that we can draw a straight line from what we do to people being healthy.”
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“The best scientists paired with these kinds of tools will be able to do incredible things.” Demis Hassabis, 2024 Nobel Prize laureate in Chemistry, reflects on building the right research environment and the interplay between AI and individual scientists. This short conversation with Nobel Prize’s Adam Smith was recorded just after he had received the call from Stockholm.
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“You have to build up from the bottom.” In this interview shortly after the announcement, 2024 physics laureate John Hopfield talks about how he found out about the prize when he was going through his e-mails. ”It didn't sink it until I got to the fourth e-mail!” Hopfield reflects on how to tackle big questions, such as how the mind works, in this conversation. He and his wife Mary Waltham spoke to the Nobel Prize’s Adam Smith from his cottage in the village of Selborne in England, which was home to the 18th century naturalist Gilbert White.
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“How could I be sure it wasn’t a spoof call?” 2024 physics laureate Geoffrey Hinton received the phone call from Stockholm at around 2am in a hotel room in California, and multiple Swedish accents helped reassure him that his Nobel Prize in Physics was real. Greatly surprised, he talks to the Nobel Prize’s Adam Smith about the state of machine learning, the pressing need for safety research, and his hopes that the award might make people take the fears he voices more seriously.
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“We see it as a celebration of the way of doing science,” says Victor Ambros of his Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. In this call with the Nobel Prize’s Adam Smith, Ambros speaks about the joy of basic research and the ever-expanding fascination of RNA. Recorded just after Ambros found out about the prize, we also discover how the news was broken to the new laureate by his son, who began with the leading question, “Have you been getting calls from Sweden?”
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“I heard what sounded like an authentic call from the Nobel Committee!” New medicine laureate Gary Ruvkun might have received a prank call or two in the past, but today’s was genuine. He talked to the Nobel Prize’s Adam Smith minutes after hearing the news, about the pleasure of finding things out, the electrifying growth of the microRNA field over the years, and the benefits of taking time out. And as for what’s about to follow: “It’s going to be a fun ride!”
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Is the creative process different in the fields of art, literature and music? In a podcast conversation, literature laureate Jon Fosse speaks about all three fields and how they are similar in many ways. American painter Mark Rothko is mentioned as a source of inspiration as well as art in general. We also get insights into Fosse's childhood where music was large part of his life.
Today Jon Fosse enjoys a world of silence and avoids the noise of the world if possible. He describes his writing process, how he enjoys writing by hand with fountain pens and how a reader can tell if a book is written by hand or not. He also speaks about his relationship to God and religion.
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Hear physics laureate Pierre Agostini describe how he found his love of science: ”It was only when I started doing research that I discovered the fun of physics." Together with podcast host Adam Smith, he talks about multiphoton ionisation, Planck time and contradicting Einstein.
Agostini also tells us about how his life has changed after being awarded the 2023 physics prize and how it has taken him some time to get used to his new role as a Nobel Prize laureate.
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Is it possible to 'see' quantum mechanics in action? In a podcast conversation, chemistry laureate Moungi Bawendi speaks about the incredible gratification of visualising quantum mechanics and how his collaboration with co-laureate Louis Brus started.
He also shares his love of music and speaks about how his lab's yearly ski trip helps his group work better together. Intuition and diversity in science are two more topics that are up for discussion.
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Some words of wisdom from chemistry laureate Louis Brus: "You recognise opportunity and then you have to take advantage of it. Seize the opportunity basically. It takes some struggle."
In a conversation with podcast host Adam Smith, Louis Brus speaks about the process of discovery and his own scientific path.
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What are the benefits of creating a diverse laboratory? In this podcast episode with physicist Anne L’Huillier, we speak about the importance of diversity and how she herself speaks and thinks in three languages. From cultures and countries to gender, we discuss the advantages of bringing together people with a variety of backgrounds and experiences and how to promote this.
Also up for discussion are the consequences of becoming a Nobel Prize laureate. L’Huillier sees both the good and bad sides, including being a source of inspiration while having less time to write her new scientific textbook.
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How can we ensure that knowledge and science are spread globally? Medicine laureate Drew Weissman is an advocate for creating research centres around the world to give local researchers the means to have ownership and solve health issues by themselves. As Weissman puts it: ”A lot of people set up a clinic in a city somewhere, collect samples, take them home, and study them. To me, that compounds the problem, because it doesn't teach people. It doesn't make scientists better.”
Weissman also tells host Adam Smith about how his interest in science was sparked and how he has maintained that curiosity for the rest of his life.
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There are many roads one can take in life. But to what extent will your life choices decide what kind of person you become? In this podcast conversation with economist and laureate Claudia Goldin, we discuss the choices that brought her to this moment in time.
Our podcast host Adam Smith, who meets Goldin in the year after she received the prize in economic science, also talks with her about the definition of a good teacher and Goldin’s pioneering research in women’s labour market.
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Meet 2023 physics laureate Ferenc Krausz in conversation with podcast host Adam Smith, as they discuss a scientific journey which has spanned three countries – and to which Krausz attributes his Nobel Prize.
”These particles were discovered more than a hundred years before. It took an utter century to develop the tools to actually capture them in motion. It was an indescribable moment.”, he says as he recalls how this moment of discovery was a long time in the making. Krausz was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for giving humanity new tools to exploring the world of electrons inside atoms and molecules.
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