“I make discoveries just because of very unique juxtapositions that I have never seen before. So there is some kind of resonance there.” – The creative and poetic chemistry laureate Joachim Frank always aspires to solve problems by looking at places no one has looked before. In this episode he describes how creative endeavours like "Poetry boxing" and photography have been essential to his successes in scientific research. He also relates how his life was shaped by his experiences growing up in ...
Oct 27, 2021•36 min
Medicine laureate Elizabeth Blackburn has strong feelings about the value of science. In this conversation with Adam Smith, she speaks openly about how society must begin to understand just how important science is in our lives. She also discusses the climate crisis and shares her experiences from a recent visit to Antartica, where she found herself reminded of the severe consequences of climate change. They also take time for an exploration of the future of science, including the future of Blac...
Oct 13, 2021•42 min
“The only sad thing is there aren’t more hours in the day!” – After a busy, tiring Sunday, mountain biking with the family, Guido Imbens’ Monday morning wake-up call came a little after 2am with the news from Stockholm. “I’m sure that the adrenaline will get me through,” he says in this conversation with Adam Smith recorded shortly afterwards, with the excitement building around him: “Things have been hectic here!” He speaks about the benefits of the social side of research, the enjoyment of wor...
Oct 11, 2021•9 min
“I saw that my phone was flooded with text messages,” says Joshua Angrist, having slept through the calls from Stockholm. In this brief interview he describes how he therefore called the MIT Press Department to check, and discovered it was true! The conversation turns to his work on the assumed benefits of elite schooling, his working relationship with his co-Laureates and what lies behind his productive collaboration with Guido Imbens. From October 4-11, don't miss our mini-season that will sho...
Oct 11, 2021•8 min
“I was kinda hoping I might go to sleep!” – David Card had just got his pyjamas on and was heading for bed, after a very late night arrival from a trip, when the call from Stockholm came. This interview with Adam Smith was recorded just moments later and he talks about his work on immigration, the setting of the minimum wage, and the relationship between those studies and public policy. Meanwhile his wife, Cynthia Gessele, snaps his portrait as he chats in his dressing gown, a picture Adam Smith...
Oct 11, 2021•9 min
World exclusive: The call from Oslo. Hear Maria Ressa’s reaction when she hears the news from Olav Njølstad, Secretary of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, on being awarded the 2021 Nobel peace Prize just before the public announcement. "I'm speechless!" From October 4-11, don't miss our mini-season that will showcase the absolute freshest interviews with the new 2021 Nobel Prize laureates. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Oct 08, 2021•3 min
“As if there isn’t enough to go around” – “A kind of miserliness,” is how Abdulrazak Gurnah describes the attitude of some in Europe to refugees. After all, he says, “Europeans streaming out into the world is nothing new” and he suggests those seeking succour also be seen as “talented, energetic people, who have something to give.” In this brief conversation with Adam Smith, recorded just after he had heard the news, his surprise at receiving the Nobel Prize in Literature is evident. “I was just...
Oct 07, 2021•7 min
“We thought it had a very low probability of success” – The best ideas in science are often the ones with the least chance of succeeding, says David MacMillan: “It’s the stuff that should never work which is where all the good stuff is!” As he tells Adam Smith in this conversation recorded on the morning of the announcement, the thrill of discovery is also open to any undergraduate embarking in organic chemistry: “the very first day they build a molecule, it has never been made in the universe b...
Oct 06, 2021•7 min
“Making molecules is like creating something beautiful” – Benjamin List was sitting in a café with his wife, Dr Sabine List, when the call from Stockholm came. “We looked at each other in disbelief,” he says, and jokingly asked, “Is this the call?” To his amazement, it was! In this interview with Adam Smith, recorded outside that café, he reflects on the beauty of building molecules, the importance of freedom in research and the joy of working with his team: “To work with these amazing, happy an...
Oct 06, 2021•8 min
“Fundamental science is crucial.” – In this short conversation, recorded shortly after his Nobel Prize in Physics was announced, Giorgio Parisi reflects on the value of asking basic questions. But what sort of questions does he address? “My mentor, Nicola Cabibbo,” he says, “was usually saying that we should work on a problem only if work on that problem is fun!” He then talks with Adam Smith about his hopes for science funding and the need to communicate. “It’s important that the people who in ...
Oct 05, 2021•6 min
"Why is this happening?" – Establishing a firm scientific basis for predicting what will happen to the climate, and in the shorter term to weather, has been the challenge that has occupied Syukuro Manabe's entire working life. In the interview with Adam Smith, recorded amidst the happy chaos resulting from the early morning announcement of his Nobel Prize in Physics, Manabe reflects on the importance of fundamental research. As he says, "The prediction of climate change without accompanying unde...
Oct 05, 2021•7 min
"We've been warning against climate change for about 50 years or so" – Caught entirely unawares by the call from Stockholm, Klaus Hasselmann's surprise is evident in this brief interview with Adam Smith, recorded just minutes after the news of his Nobel Prize in Physics had been announced. "I'll wake up tomorrow morning and find out," he says! Pleased that the prize focuses attention on the problem, he discusses the challenges in convincing people that "something that is going to happen in 20 or...
Oct 05, 2021•6 min
"The reason that we were able to do it is because we started looking at the natural world." – Turning to some natural product pharmacology was one key to David Julius' success in unlocking the mysteries of how we sense temperature. As he describes in this brief interview with Adam Smith, news that Stockholm was calling reached him in a rather roundabout route in the middle of the night, via a call from his sister-in-law and then a message sent to his wife, Holly Ingraham. Here, to the backdrop o...
Oct 04, 2021•8 min
"In science many times it’s the things that we take for granted that are of high interest." – As Ardem Patapoutian says, sometimes the familiar can yield the best surprises. When it comes to figuring out how our senses work, the sense of touch "was kind of the big elephant in the room." Patapoutian had his phone on Do Not Disturb when Stockholm tried to call him but got the news, via his Dad, just in time to watch the press conference, sitting in bed with his son Luca. Adam Smith caught him ther...
Oct 04, 2021•5 min
Each year in October, Adam Smith takes on the challenge of reaching the brand new Nobel Prize laureates for a telephone interview. In this bonus episode of Nobel Prize Conversations, Adam takes us behind the scenes of these calls and has collected some of his favourite moments. The host for this episode is Karin Svensson, the producer of Nobel Prize Conversations. From October 4-11, don't miss our mini-season that will showcase the absolute freshest interviews with the new 2021 Nobel Prize laure...
Sep 29, 2021•36 min
“I guess I was halfway content with the idea that somehow I’d become an economist.” – 2020 Laureate in Economic Sciences Robert Wilson didn’t really see himself as an economist until he reached the age of 50. Hear Wilson speak about his journey to becoming an economist. In this ‘Nobel Prize Conversations’ episode, Wilson also speaks about how he received the news about his Prize in Economic Sciences and the culture shock he experienced when he started to study at Harvard University. Hosted on Ac...
Mar 31, 2021•38 min
In the newest episode of ‘Nobel Prize Conversations’, physics laureate Frank Wilczek tells us about his hope to make a mark on the world. Wilzcek recently released a new book, ‘Fundamentals: Ten Keys to Reality’, where the readers get to follow Wilzcek on a “simple yet profound exploration of reality”. In this podcast episode, he discusses his new book. Another topic that is up for discussion is how to reach scientific results and Wilzcek shares his thoughts on the matter. Hosted on Acast. See a...
Mar 17, 2021•40 min
2018 Nobel Physics Laureate Donna Strickland knew she wanted to get a PhD, even as a kid. She didn’t know what it was, but if it was the ultimate in education she was going to get it! In the newest episode of ‘Nobel Prize Conversations’ we meet Donna Strickland and talk about her childhood dream of a PhD, dealing with failure, being a woman in science and being awarded the Nobel Prize. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Mar 03, 2021•32 min
“Failure is an inevitable part of doing science.” – Even as one of the best-of-the-best young doctors in the country, Robert Lefkowitz’s research career kicked off in 1968 with a demoralizing string of failures at the now-legendary NIH Associates Training Program. Together with Adam Smith, 2012 Chemistry Laureate Robert Lefkowitz shares his experience of dealing with failure. In addition, they discuss the importance of mentoring, the crucial role of collaboration in scientific development and th...
Feb 17, 2021•51 min
“I am very bad at giving up.” – Get to know one of the greatest minds of today, physicist Roger Penrose. At 89, 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 reflect and develop even more research ideas – until he was awarded the Nobel Prize! Black holes, magic blackboards and childhood aspirations are other topics that are up for disc...
Feb 03, 2021•53 min
"This is the first time we have had a completely novel virus infection and we are trying to vaccinate our way out of it." In conversation with Nobel Prize’s Adam Smith, Medicine Laureate Peter Doherty speaks about how we should learn from the current corona pandemic to be better prepared for and preferably prevent future pandemics. Doherty was awarded the 1996 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for research on how the immune system recognises virus-ridden cells. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com...
Jan 20, 2021•34 min
Known for his contagious energy and sometimes unconventional advice, Paul Nurse talks about Brexit and its effects on scientists and research, and why he has heeded the call to leadership in science – the same science that politicians say they're following. He also recalls his early years in biology as a spider hunter and why he thinks it's vital to ponder the big questions like "What is life?" Paul Nurse received the 2001 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine "for discoveries of key regulators ...
Dec 23, 2020•34 min
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 Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Dec 09, 2020•40 min
In this episode we hear 2020 Nobel 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 shared the Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Jennifer Doudna for discovering key aspects of a naturally-occuring defence mechanism in bacteria, called CRISPR/Cas9, and developing it into one of gene technology's sharpest tool...
Dec 09, 2020•30 min
Meet astrophysicist Kip Thorne, who was awarded the 2017 Nobel Prize in Physics "for decisive contributions to the LIGO detector and the observation of gravitational waves.". In a wide-ranging conversation with host Adam Smith they cover Albert Einstein’s importance to the field of science, whether time travel is actually possible, and what it was like to be the physics guru inside the blockbuster film ’Interstellar’. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Nov 25, 2020•37 min
"I was always interested in big problems, and when I see a big problem I say, 'Let’s try to solve it, let’s try to think of a solution!'" Meet Christopher Pissarides, a humble London School of Economics professor who finished his PhD in two years and was awarded the 2010 Prize in Economic Sciences. He and his co-laureates Peter Diamond and Dale Mortensen were awarded the prize for finding ways to incorporate real-world frictions into the mathematical models that describe market behaviour. Their ...
Oct 01, 2020•38 min
Esther Duflo’s research improves our ability to fight global poverty. In just two decades, co-laureates Duflo, Banerjee and Kremer have transformed development economics with their innovative experiment-based approach, which is now a flourishing field of research. Thanks to their work we have clearer perspectives on the core problems within areas such as education and health. In this episode Adam Smith speaks to Esther Duflo about how her drive to understand and fight poverty began at an early a...
Sep 23, 2020•32 min
How does it feel to be one of the most famous behavioural psychologists of our time? Daniel Kahneman says that it is perfectly fine to be famous as long as you don’t let it go to your head. From an early age, Kahneman was interested in people - his mother, both with irony and objectivity, observed and was fascinated with people in her surroundings. In this digital conversation podcast host Adam Smith speaks to Daniel Kahneman in New York on eureka moments, scientific collaborations, stereotypes ...
Sep 16, 2020•34 min
Imagine you’re married, but you never discussed children with your partner beforehand. Then imagine your partner doesn’t want children, but you do. Your wedding day contract made no mention of kids, and legally everything is fine – but you’re still disappointed. Contracts are everywhere in society, and the example of children and marriage is just one example that shows that many contracts are - as Oliver Hart would say - incomplete. In a conversation with The Nobel Prize’s Adam Smith, Hart explo...
Apr 22, 2020•40 min
How important is the money in your pocket? Try buying a sandwich with an IOU and a promise to come back and pay, and you’ll soon understand. Christopher Sims’ research explores topics from the meaning of money to his Prize-awarded work on cause and effect in the macroeconomy. In a conversation with The Nobel Prize’s Adam Smith, Sims touches on sandwich shops, terrific teachers and a horse with a name that’s almost impossible to pronounce. In 2011, Christopher Sims and fellow economist Thomas Sar...
Apr 08, 2020•38 min
