About this episode

Astrophysicist Moiya McTier discusses her book on the history of human creativity and the implications of AI on originality.

Astrophysicist, folklorist and author Moiya McTier joins Science Quickly to discuss her new book Mothers of Invention, a sweeping look at the history of human creativity. From the Greek muses and the invention of writing to the rise of generative artificial intelligence, McTier explores how people create, innovate and tell stories and what today’s “creativity crisis” might mean for the future of art and originality. Recommended Reading: Mothers of Invention. Moiya McTier. Grand Central Publishing, 2026 Join our Summer Reading Challenge  E-mail us at sciencequickly@sciam.com if you have any questions, comments or ideas for stories we should cover! Discover something new everyday: subscribe to Scientific American and sign up for Today in Science, our daily newsletter. Science Quickly is produced by Rachel Feltman, Fonda Mwangi and Jeff DelViscio. This episode was edited by Alex Sugiura, with fact-checking by Marielle Issa and Aaron Shattuck. Our theme music was composed by Dominic Smith. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

People in this episode

Hosts: Rachel Feltman, Fonda Mwangi, Jeff DelViscio

Guest: Moiya McTier

Topics covered

• creativity
• art
• artificial intelligence
• innovation
• storytelling
• history of creativity

Keywords

• creativity crisis
• generative AI
• human creativity
• innovation
• storytelling
• Mothers of Invention

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Scientific American, Grand Central Publishing

Books & works: Mothers of Invention

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