Best Nobel Prize Outreach AB Podcasts (2024)

1
Mario Molina: Encore presentation of Nobel Prize Talks 50:04

5M ago50:04

50:04

"I had decided as a child if it was possible to become a scientist and to do scientific research for a living that's what I wanted to do." – In this episode, we meet physical chemist Mario Molina who spent his life working on climate research. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1995 for his investigations into how CFC gases damage the ozone layer. M…

1
Jody Williams: Encore presentation of Nobel Prize Talks 50:20

5M ago50:20

50:20

”I have been fortunate to be able to live my life doing what I believe in. Not everybody has that fortune" In this podcast episode, peace activist Jody Williams tells us how she has tried to use the power that was given to her after being awarded a Nobel Peace Prize. She is a strong advocate for working across organisations to solve global challeng…

1
John Mather: Encore presentation of Nobel Prize Talks 45:33

5M ago45:33

45:33

”I don't think it's my job or anybody's job to try to convince other people of the righteousness of my opinion. I think it's each person's job to figure out how they look at the world.” – This conversation with astrophysicist John Mather was recorded in 2014, where he speaks to Adam Smith about space and if we will be going to Mars in the future. M…

1
Robert Shiller: Encore presentation of Nobel Prize Talks 48:56

6M ago48:56

48:56

”Pursuing expertise doggedly can't be the goal for everyone because being specialised means losing some breadth of understanding. We need both kinds of people." – In this podcast episode recorded in 2014 economist Robert Shiller speaks about technology and the role he thinks it will have in the future. He also shares his best advice for young econo…

1
Barry Marshall: Encore presentation of Nobel Prize Talks 49:45

6M ago49:45

49:45

”I wasn't interested in learning stuff. I was just interested in understanding, because I could see what a fabulous shortcut it always was.” – Meet 2005 medicine laureate Barry Marshall in a dynamic talk with the Nobel Prize’s Adam Smith. Marshall tells us about his blog (something very few laureates had in 2005), his status as a yo-yo expert and h…

1
Alice Munro: Encore presentation of Nobel Prize Talks 46:10

6M ago46:10

46:10

”It's the insight, the work, the way you give yourself to the story that matters.” – We present a heartwarming chat with Canadian ’master of short stories’ and literature laureate Alice Munro. This conversation between the Nobel Prize’s Adam Smith and Munro took place soon after she was awarded the 2013 Nobel Prize in Literature. In the episode, sh…

1
Calling Claudia Goldin: 2023 economic sciences laureate 6:46

7M ago6:46

6:46

“I have always thought of myself as a detective,” 2023 economic sciences laureate Claudia Goldin tells the Nobel Prize's Adam Smith when speaking about her research: “The detective always believes there is a way of finding the answer!” Recorded shortly after the public announcement of her prize, this conversation begins with Goldin praising Profess…

1
Calling Jon Fosse: 2023 literature laureate 8:13

7M ago8:13

8:13

After the 2023 Nobel Prize in Literature was announced, new laureate Jon Fosse was inundated with messages congratulating him on the award. In this call with the Nobel Prize’s Manisha Lalloo he speaks about one particular reader who told him that his work was “the reason she was still alive.” He also shares what writing means to him and his advice …

1
Calling Louis Brus: 2023 chemistry laureate 9:49

7M ago9:49

9:49

"This is a collaborative effort," says Louis E. Brus when asked for his first reaction to the award of the 2023 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, "partly physics, partly chemistry, partly material science." In this conversation with the Nobel Prize's Adam Smith he pays tribute to the many contributors to the field and discusses his own motivations for expl…

1
Calling Alexei Ekimov: 2023 chemistry laureate 5:11

7M ago5:11

5:11

"It's the middle of the night here!" Alexei Ekimov's first reaction to hearing the news of his 2023 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was reasonable enough: "I woke up," he says! In this call with the Nobel Prize's Adam Smith, made not long afterwards, Ekimov goes on to discuss the experiments he performed over forty years ago producing quantum effects in c…

1
Calling Moungi Bawendi: 2023 chemistry laureate 5:29

7M ago5:29

5:29

"I'm supposed to teach at 9 this morning," say Moungi Bawendi in this call recorded in the early morning, just after the news of his 2023 Nobel Prize in Chemistry had reached him, "and I'm not sure what's going to happen!" Bawendi tells the Nobel Prize's Adam Smith how he received the call, speaks about his co-laureate and mentor Louis E. Brus, and…

1
Calling Pierre Agostini: 2023 physics laureate 6:34

7M ago6:34

6:34

“My daughter called me asking, ‘Is that true, I see it on Google?’” That was how Pierre Agostini found out he had been awarded the 2023 Nobel Prize in Physics. In this conversation with the Nobel Prize's Adam Smith, kindly facilitated by Dawn Larzelere of The Ohio State University (whose voice is heard at the start and end), Agostini talks of his s…

1
Calling Anne L'Huillier: 2023 physics laureate 4:24

7M ago4:24

4:24

In what was surely understatement, 2023 physics laureate Anne L'Huillier described herself as "A little bit busy" when the Nobel Prize's Adam Smith reached her a couple of hours after she had received the news. In this brief call she describes how special it feels to receive the prize and how her research into the overtones of light, which she reve…

1
Calling Ferenc Krausz: 2023 physics laureate 6:33

7M ago6:33

6:33

Ferenc Krausz was preparing to give lab tours at his Institute when a call from Stockholm reached him at home. “I was not sure whether I was dreaming, or whether it’s reality,” he tells the Nobel Prize’s Adam Smith in this call recorded just after the physics prize was announced. “It’s always exciting to see something that no-one could see before,”…

1
Calling Drew Weissman: 2023 medicine laureate 6:38

7M ago6:38

6:38

“We weren’t sure it was true!” Drew Weissman’s research partner and co-laureate Katalin Karikó called him early this morning with some incredible news – they had both been awarded the 2023 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. The two have a 20 year history of working together. "We both have sleep disturbances," he says in this conversation with t…

1
Calling Katalin Karikó: 2023 medicine laureate 7:49

7M ago7:49

7:49

The call from Stockholm woke Katalin Karikó at her home outside Philadelphia. Initially in disbelief, in this interview with Adam Smith, recorded soon after she had learnt of the award of the Nobel Prize for discoveries that accelerated the introduction of vaccines for Covid-19, she recalls her journey from Hungary and some of the setbacks on the p…

1
Behind the scenes: Adam Smith presents more October interviews with the new Nobel Prize laureates 37:43

7M ago37:43

37:43

Each year in October, Adam Smith takes on the challenge of reaching the brand new Nobel Prize laureates for a telephone interview. In this new bonus episode of Nobel Prize Conversations, Adam takes us behind the scenes for even more of these calls and his favourite moments. The host for this episode is Karin Svensson, the producer of Nobel Prize Co…

1
Barry Sharpless: Nobel Prize Conversations 29:06

10M ago29:06

29:06

“If you're interested in something, you'd be amazed what interest can do.” – So says Barry Sharpless, the only living individual that has been awarded two Nobel Prizes. In this rare and uniquely wide-ranging conversation, Sharpless opens up about curiosity, creativity and how he comes up with all these new ideas. The host of this podcast is Adam Sm…

1
Anton Zeilinger: Nobel Prize Conversations 35:50

11M ago35:50

35:50

”You have to reinvent yourself every couple of years. It's absolutely important. It's necessary for me to make my life interesting. Life is too short.” – Meet physics laureate Anton Zeilinger. With an endlessly curious mind, he loves exploring new paths in the scientific field of quantum physics. He also speaks about his love of sailing and why the…

1
Alain Aspect: Nobel Prize Conversations 41:13

11M ago41:13

41:13

"I settled a debate between Bohr and Einstein – which is not bad!" – Meet physicist and 2022 Nobel Prize laureate Alain Aspect, who speaks of his respect for both of these giants of physics. He also opens up about his love of teaching and explaining difficult things and shares how his teachers as well as Jules Verne's novel L'île Misterieuse sparke…

1
Ben Bernanke: Nobel Prize Conversations 42:37

11M ago42:37

42:37

“As an economist, I'm looking at that number and trying to think about how it fits into a broader economic picture. But on the other hand, having grown up in a small town, not a very rich town, economically very stressed place I could think about the real families, real people that those numbers represented. That was important to me.” – Meet econom…

1
Svante Pääbo: Nobel Prize Conversations 42:01

11M ago42:01

42:01

"The first thing I did to see if it at all would have a chance was to buy a piece of liver in the food store close to the Institute and just dry it in the laboratory." – In this episode, 2022 medicine laureate Svante Pääbo describes the start of his scientific career. He also speaks warmly about his mother and how she encouraged him to pursue his c…

1
Philip Dybvig: Nobel Prize Conversations 35:39

12M ago35:39

35:39

”I was just curious about everything. Everything was interesting and I always felt like I didn't have enough time to learn all the interesting things. And I think that was a big strength that I had.” – In our newest podcast episode, economist Philip Dybvig tells us how his parents encouraged his interest in the world. He shared the 2022 economic sc…

1
Carolyn Bertozzi: Nobel Prize Conversations 43:41

12M ago43:41

43:41

“Your purpose as a scientist is not to achieve fame or money, that is not your purpose, those might be side effects and good for you, that could be wonderful for you but it is a side effect, it is not the main goal. The main goal is to make discoveries and gift them to humanity. And those discoveries and that knowledge stays with humanity long afte…

1
Douglas Diamond: Nobel Prize Conversations 38:04

12M ago38:04

38:04

“I think economics is getting closer and closer to being a respectable science. Even when we were not the most respectable science, we still needed to keep pushing forward because the topic actually matters to the planet, to the humans on the planet, and to the animals on the planet.” Douglas Diamond is a strong advocate for economics as a scientif…

1
Morten Meldal: Nobel Prize Conversations 38:35

1y ago38:35

38:35

“My daughter was sitting on the second or third row and I could see that she was crying. And tears actually are contagious. So I was almost crying when I had to go up and receive the prize because of that.” — This is how Morten Meldal recalled the moment he crossed the stage in Stockholm to receive his Nobel Prize medal. Host Adam Smith speaks to 2…

1
Leymah Gbowee: Encore presentation of Nobel Prize Conversations 40:16

1+ y ago40:16

40:16

"One minute I was a teenager and the next minute I was a woman.” – Leymah Gbowee shares her heartbreaking life story of a happy childhood cruelly interrupted by the Liberian civil war. Nobel Prize Outreach's Adam Smith is your host in this encore presentation as Gbowee also talks about her constant and tireless struggle for women’s rights and peace…

1
Roger Penrose: Encore presentation of Nobel Prize Conversations 53:34

1+ y ago53:34

53:34

“I am very bad at giving up.” – Get to know one of the greatest minds of today, physicist Roger Penrose. Even beyond his 90th birthday he seems to be working more than ever and is engaged in various research projects. In an intimate conversation with the Nobel Prize’s Adam Smith, Penrose speaks about how 2020 was a year that gave him time to reflec…

1
Emmanuelle Charpentier: Encore presentation of Nobel Prize Conversations 31:16

1+ y ago31:16

31:16

"It's a mixture of obsession, passion, and a sense that this is my mission." In this episode we hear 2020 chemistry laureate Emmanuelle Charpentier speak about the drive you need as a researcher and what impact awards can have on a career. Her road to the Nobel Prize was a winding journey, and she recalls how science was her stability. Charpentier …

1
Richard Thaler: Encore presentation of Nobel Prize Conversations 33:45

1+ y ago33:45

33:45

Nudges, sludges, and the connection between stubbornness and success. Join us for this encore presentation of our first episode of Nobel Prize Conversations, as host Adam Smith picks the brain of Richard Thaler, the 2017 laureate in Economic Sciences. Thaler's work has helped us to understand how people make choices in the real world and has also g…

1
Andrea Ghez: Encore presentation of Nobel Prize Conversations 41:02

1+ y ago41:02

41:02

Meet astrophysicist Andrea Ghez, recipient of the 2020 Nobel Prize in Physics "for the discovery of a supermassive compact object at the centre of our galaxy." In this energy-packed conversation with Adam Smith, you can hear about prima donna galaxies, Ghez’s personal pet star, and how she overcame one of her biggest childhood fears. Hosted on Acas…

1
Kip Thorne: Encore presentation of Nobel Prize Conversations 37:03

1+ y ago37:03

37:03

What costs a billion dollars and takes 50 years to build and perfect? LIGO: A machine to detect gravitational waves. In this encore presentation of a conversation from Season 2, Kip Thorne confides, ”In the 70’s I thought we would have this done within one decade ... two decades at the most.” Predicted by Einstein’s theory of general relativity, gr…

1
Calling Ben Bernanke, 2022 economic sciences laureate 13:43

1+ y ago13:43

13:43

“What we’re talking about here is credit.” — In this conversation, recorded the day after the announcement from Stockholm, Ben Bernanke stresses the importance of the financial system as a critical part of the broader economy, not just a 'side show'. “That’s the real insight,” he says, “that credit can help provide growth, but if the credit mechani…

1
Calling Philip Dybvig, 2022 economic sciences laureate 5:51

1+ y ago5:51

5:51

“When I woke up I had what seemed like thousands of messages” — Philip Dybvig’s phone was on silent, so he missed the call from Stockholm. When, half asleep, he did confirm the news, he recalls that his initial response was one of stress: “What’s this going to do to my life?” In this call recorded a few hours later he talks briefly to Adam Smith ab…

1
Calling Douglas Diamond, 2022 economic sciences laureate 10:54

1+ y ago10:54

10:54

“There are very few people in the world I’d rather be sitting next to when discussing these issues” — In this interview recorded just after the public announcement, Douglas Diamond, the first of the three laureates to hear the news, speaks about his happiness at receiving the economic sciences prize together with Philip Dybvig and Ben Bernanke. He …

1
Calling Oleksandra Matviychuk, Center for Civil Liberties: 2022 Nobel Peace Prize 10:28

1+ y ago10:28

10:28

“Common people have a much greater impact than they can even imagine” — When asked what brings her hope, Oleksandra Matviychuk replies, “Ordinary people.” Although the challenges faced might seem insurmountable, she sees first hand how people have the power to change the status quo: “Mobilisation of common people can change world history quicker th…

1
The Call from Oslo to Center for Civil Liberties, 2022 Nobel Peace Prize laureate 3:04

1+ y ago3:04

3:04

"It is incredible" — Before the public announcement of the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize Olav Njølstad, Secretary of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, called Oleksandra Romantsova, Executive Director of Center for Civil Liberties to inform her that her organisation was one of the three Nobel Peace Prize laureates for 2022. Today the Norwegian Nobel Committee…

1
Calling Barry Sharpless: 2022 chemistry laureate 10:54

1+ y ago10:54

10:54

“You should be drawn to uncertainty” — Barry Sharpless quotes Einstein when asked about his daring approach to choosing problems: “If at first the idea is not absurd, then there’s no hope for it”. Ever inventive, he starts this conversation with Adam Smith not by talking about the work that led to his first Nobel Prize, or even to his second, but h…

1
Calling Carolyn Bertozzi, 2022 chemistry laureate 7:48

1+ y ago7:48

7:48

“When the world is in trouble, chemistry comes to the rescue” - As just illustrated by the Covid pandemic, says Carolyn Bertozzi, “Chemistry is such an exciting area of science for people who want to have an impact.” This call with Adam Smith, recorded immediately after the public announcement of her Nobel Prize, caught her just before the world st…

1
Calling Morten Meldal, 2022 chemistry laureate 7:21

1+ y ago7:21

7:21

“Reality is much more complex than we, as chemists, are able to imagine” — In the call recorded just after he had heard that he had been awarded the Nobel Prize, Morten Meldal describes how he views chemistry as a way of describing reality. It’s a field that should appeal to the young, he says, since “Understanding how everything works is a very ch…

1
Calling John Clauser, 2022 physics laureate 9:24

1+ y ago9:24

9:24

“What a waste of time, now start doing some real physics!” – As a young man, John Clauser set out to topple quantum mechanics, but all his faculty thought he was crazy. "I thought it was important at the time, even though I was going to ruin my career by doing it, and in some sense I did: I’ve never been a professor!" But, as he tells Adam Smith in…

1
Calling Anton Zeilinger, 2022 physics laureate 8:16

1+ y ago8:16

8:16

"It’s probably one of the most beautiful theories ever invented.” – Anton Zeilinger conveys his love for the elegant simplicity of quantum mechanics in this call recorded shortly after the public announcement of his Nobel Prize. “With very few symbols”, he explains, “you can explain a whole lot of things from the smallest quantum particles up to th…

1
Calling Alain Aspect, 2022 physics laureate 8:19

1+ y ago8:19

8:19

“The conclusion is, yes, quantum mechanics resists all possible attacks!” — Alain Aspect was trying to find the limit of quantum mechanics, but, as he says in this call with Adam Smith, “I didn’t find it!”. Recorded just after he had received news of his Nobel Prize, this conversation captures his thoughts about the place of his work in the long hi…

1
Calling Svante Pääbo, 2022 medicine laureate 9:34

1+ y ago9:34

9:34

“There were almost always other types of humans around.” In this telephone conversation recorded just after he had heard news of the award of his Nobel Prize, Svante Pääbo reflects on our relationship to extinct species of early hominins and how his exploration of their genetics might influence our view of ourselves and our place in nature. He also…

1
Laureate origin stories: Adam Smith explores what factors make a Nobel Prize laureate 47:16

1+ y ago47:16

47:16

How do you make a Nobel Prize laureate? In this special bonus episode of Nobel Prize Conversations, we explore the origin stories of these remarkable individuals. This bonus episode features the Nobel Prize's Adam Smith, who shares some of his insights after speaking to more than 150 laureates. He is interviewed by the producer of Nobel Prize Conve…

1
Maria Ressa: Nobel Prize Conversations 39:14

2y ago39:14

39:14

"We must get up, we must work like maniacs – because time is running out." Maria Ressa speaks passionately as she discusses how authoritarians exploit social media to unravel democracy, what needs to be done to fight this and when she thinks the damage might become irreversible. 2021 Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Ressa is one of the founders of …

1
Abdulrazak Gurnah: Nobel Prize Conversations 34:48

2y ago34:48

34:48

Abdulrazak Gurnah is the author of ten novels and an emeritus professor of English and postcolonial literatures at the university of Kent. He has been hailed for his ability to convey the immigrant experience – but to him, literature is much more than just social commentry. "We also read because it gives us pleasure – sometimes completely distracts…

1
Guido Imbens: Nobel Prize Conversations 30:29

2y ago30:29

30:29

In an increasingly chaotic world, how can you learn to concentrate deeply on a single problem? Economic Sciences laureate Guido Imbens found his powers of concentration while getting lost in chess games as a child. ”For four or five hours you would just shut out the rest of the world, you would be focused on one task.” Your host is Adam Smith, Chie…

1
Hartmut Michel: Nobel Prize Conversations 31:30

2y ago31:30

31:30

"If somebody tells me 'this is impossible', I always think that it still might be possible – and try to find a way around." Where would the world be, without the scientists who look beyond the conventional wisdom and try to solve the unsolvable problems? Hartmut Michel speaks about his working class background, discovering his love of science – and…

1
David Julius: Nobel Prize Conversations 32:36

2y ago32:36

32:36

"I didn't really like school very much. And I was always like a little bit nervous about not doing well." David Julius, the 2021 physiology or medicine laureate, talks about his journey from anxious pupil to confident researcher, the importance of diversity in science, and how his research is connected to how different species experience the world …

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