Physics World Stories Podcast

What do pulsars, nuclear politics and hypothetical love particles have in common? They’ve all inspired songs by Lynda Williams – physicist, performer and self-styled “Physics Chanteuse”. In this month’s Physics World Stories podcast, host Andrew Glester is in conversation with Williams, whose unique approach to science communication blends physics with cabaret and satire. You’ll be treated to a selection of her songs, including a toe-tapping tribute to Jocelyn Bell Burnell, the Northern Irish physicist who discovered pulsars. Williams discusses her writing process, which includes a full-blooded commitment to getting the science right. She describes how her shows evolve throughout the course of a tour, how she balances life on the road with other life commitments, and how Kip Thorne once arranged for her to perform at a birthday celebration for Stephen Hawking. (Yes, really.) Her latest show, Atomic Cabaret, dives into the existential risks of the nuclear age, marking 80 years since Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The one-woman musical kicks off in Belfast on 18 June and heads to the Edinburgh Festival in August. If you like your physics with a side of showbiz and social activism, this episode hits all the right notes. Find out more at Lynda’s website.

Artificial intelligence is transforming physics at an unprecedented pace. In the latest episode of Physics World Stories, host Andrew Glester is joined by three expert guests to explore AI’s impact on discovery, research and the future of the field. Tony Hey, a physicist who worked with Richard Feynman and Murray Gell-Mann at Caltech in the 1970s, shares his perspective on AI’s role in computation and discovery. A former vice-president of Microsoft Research Connections, he also edited the Feynman Lectures on Computation (Anniversary Edition), a key text on physics and computing. Caterina Doglioni, a particle physicist at the University of Manchester and part of CERN’s ATLAS collaboration, explains how AI is unlocking new physics at the Large Hadron Collider. She sees big potential but warns against relying too much on AI’s “black box” models without truly understanding nature’s behaviour. Felice Frankel, a science photographer and MIT research scientist, discusses AI’s promise for visualizing science. However, she is concerned about its potential to manipulate scientific data and imagery – distorting reality. Frankel wrote about the need for an ethical code of conduct for AI in science imagery in this recent Nature essay. The episode also questions the environmental cost of AI’s vast energy demands. As AI becomes central to physics, should researchers worry about its sustainability? What responsibility do physicists have in managing its impact? Hey and Doglioni were advisers for the IOP report Physics and AI: A Physics Community Perspective, which explores the opportunities and challenges at the intersection of AI and physics. Listen now for a lively discussion on AI’s evolving role in physics.

In this episode of Physics World Stories, we celebrate the 100th anniversary of Werner Heisenberg’s trip to the North Sea island of Helgoland, where he developed the first formulation of quantum theory. Listen to the podcast as we delve into the latest advances in quantum science and technology with three researchers who will be attending a 6-day workshop on Helgoland in June 2025. Featuring in the episode are: Nathalie De Leon of Princeton University, Ana Maria Rey from the University of Colorado Boulder, and Jack Harris from Yale University, a member of the programme committee. These experts share their insights on the current state of quantum science and technology: discussing the latest developments in quantum sensing, quantum information and quantum computing. They also reflect on the significance of attending a conference at a location that is so deeply ingrained in the story of quantum mechanics. Talks at the event will span the science and the history of quantum theory, as well as the nature of scientific revolutions. This episode is part of Physics World’s quantum coverage throughout 2025, designated by the UN as the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology (IYQ). Check out this article, for all you need to know about IYQ. This article forms part of Physics World‘s contribution to the 2025 International Year of Quantum Science and Technology (IYQ), which aims to raise global awareness of quantum physics and its applications. Stayed tuned to Physics World and our international partners throughout the next 12 months for more coverage of the IYQ. Find out more on our quantum channel.

In this episode of Physics World Stories, astronaut Eileen Collins shares her extraordinary journey as the first woman to pilot and command a spacecraft. Collins broke barriers in space exploration, inspiring generations with her courage and commitment to discovery. Reflecting on her career, she discusses not only her time in space but also her lifelong sense of adventure and her recent passion for reading history books. Today, Collins frequently shares her experiences with audiences around the world, encouraging curiosity and inspiring others to pursue their dreams. Joining the conversation is Hannah Berryman, director of the new documentary SPACEWOMAN, which is based on Collins’ memoir Through the Glass Ceiling to the Stars, co-written with Jonathan H Ward. The British filmmaker describes what attracted her to Collins’ story and the universal messages it reveals. Hosted by science communicator Andrew Glester, this episode offers a glimpse into the life of a true explorer – one whose spirit of adventure knows no bounds. SPACEWOMAN has its world premiere on 16 November 2024 at DOC NYC. Keep an eye on the documentary’s website for details of how you can watch the film wherever you are.

The quantum industry in booming. An estimated $42bn was invested in the sector in 2023 and is projected to rise to $106 billion by 2040. In this episode of Physics World Stories, two experts from the quantum industry share their experiences, and give advice on how to enter this blossoming sector. Quantum technologies – including computing, communications and sensing – could vastly outperform today’s technology for certain applications, such as efficient and scalable artificial intelligence. Our first guest is Matthew Hutchings, chief product officer and co-founder of SEEQC. Based in New York and with facilities in Europe, SEEQC is developing a digital quantum computing platform with a broad industrial market due to its combination of classical and quantum technologies. Hutchings speaks about the increasing need for engineering positions in a sector that to date has been dominated by workers with a PhD in quantum information science. The second guest is Araceli Venegas-Gomez, founder and CEO of QURECA, which helps to train and recruit individuals, while also providing business development services. Venegas-Gomez’s journey into the sector began with her reading about quantum mechanics as a hobby while working in aerospace engineering. In launching QURECA, she realized there was an important gap to be filled between quantum information science and business – two communities that have tended to speak entirely different languages. Get even more tips and advice in the recent feature article ‘Taking the leap – how to prepare for your future in the quantum workforce’.

With the 2024 Paris Olympics just days away, sports fans are braced to see who will run, jump, row, fight and dance themselves into the history books. One of the most exciting moments will be the 100 m sprint finals, when athletes compete to become the fastest man or woman on Earth. Over the years we have seen jaw-dropping performances from the likes of Usain Bolt and Florence Griffith-Joyner. Scientists have been captivated by top sprinters – trying to understand how physique, technique and nutritional intake can help athletes push the limits of human ability. In this episode of the Physics World Stories podcast, we tackle the more speculative question: could an Olympic-level athlete ever run on water? Grappling with this question is our guest Nicole Sharp, engineer and science communicator specializing in fluid dynamics. She runs the fluid dynamics blog FYFD and authored the recent Physics World feature “Could athletes mimic basilisk lizards and turn water-running into an Olympic sport?“. Basilisk lizards are famed for their ability to skitter across water surfaces, usually to escape predators. It won’t surprise you to know that scientists have already grappled with this question. For instance, a team in Italy studied whether it was possible in reduced gravity conditions equivalent to the Moon. Sadly, a water race on the Moon is unlikely due to the absence of pools of liquid on the lunar surface. One place that could provide the setting for a liquid sprint are the ethane and methane lakes on Saturn’s moon Titan. These are the only large stable bodies of surface liquid in our solar system found outside Earth. If such an event were to happen tomorrow, perhaps the gold medal favourite would be US sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson – the current 100 m world champion who weighs just 45 kg. Listen to the podcast to discover whether Richardson would sprint or sink at the inaugural Titan Olympics.

Whether you’re a Swiftie, a devout metalhead, or a 1980s synth pop aficionado, there is something for every musical taste in this month’s Physics World Stories. In part one, podcast host Andrew Glester is joined by Jacqueline Caplan-Auerbach, a geophysicist at Western Washington University, US. She has analysed “Swift quakes”, a seismological phenomenon during Taylor Swift’s Eras tour, answering two important questions. Are the quakes triggered by the music or the crowd? And how does their magnitude compare with similar events like the 2011 “Beast quake” triggered by celebrations at an American Football game between the Seattle Seahawks and the New Orleans Saints. It turns out that Swifties (dedicated Taylor Swift fans) are queuing up to share data for geophysics research. Regular listeners will notice that this month’s episode has a new podcast jingle. In part two, Glester is joined by the song’s creator Philip Moriarty, a physicist and science communicator at the University of Nottingham, UK. Titled 137, the song is inspired by the fine-structure constant, and is packed with cheeky references to this dimensionless constant and the physicists closely associated with it. (Yes, you can expect bongos!) Moriarty reveals even more about the song in his article “H1dd3n variab7es: the fundamental constant on which the new Physics World podcast music is built“, where you can also listen to the tune in full.