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Explore every episode of the podcast MIT News
Dive into the complete episode list for MIT News. Each episode is cataloged with detailed descriptions, making it easy to find and explore specific topics. Keep track of all episodes from your favorite podcast and never miss a moment of insightful content.
| Title | Pub. Date | Duration | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Curiosity Unbounded, Ep 2: Bureaucracies, dictatorships, and the power of Africa's people — Mai Hassan | 08 May 2023 | 00:32:41 | |
In this episode, MIT President Sally Kornbluth sits down with associate professor of political science and faculty co-director of MIT-Africa, Mai Hassan. Her work looks at bureaucracy, public administration, and the state in Africa, and more recently, how people mobilize against repressive dictatorships. Show notes and transcript: https://news.mit.edu/podcast/bureaucracies-dictatorships-and-power-africas-people-mai-hassan The Curiosity Unbounded podcast brings you behind the scenes at MIT through conversations between MIT President Sally Kornbluth and the people working in its labs and in the field. Along the way, Sally and her guests discuss pressing issues, as well as what inspires the people running at the world’s toughest challenges at one of the most innovative institutions on the planet. | |||
| Curiosity Unbounded, Ep 1: How a free-range kid from Maine is helping green-up industrial practices — Desirée Plata | 19 Apr 2023 | 00:22:13 | |
In this episode, MIT President Sally Kornbluth sits down with newly tenured associate professor of civil and environmental engineering, Desirée Plata. Her work focuses on making industrial processes more environmentally friendly, and removing methane (a key factor in global warming) from the air. Show notes and transcript: The Curiosity Unbounded podcast brings you behind the scenes at MIT through conversations between MIT President Sally Kornbluth and the people working in its labs and in the field. Along the way, Sally and her guests discuss pressing issues, as well as what inspires the people running at the world’s toughest challenges at one of the most innovative institutions on the planet. | |||
| Audio Article: Babies can tell who has close relationships based on one clue: saliva | 04 Feb 2022 | 00:05:32 | |
MIT neuroscientists have identified a specific signal that young children and even babies can use to determine whether two people have a strong relationship and a mutual obligation to help each other: whether those two people kiss, share food, or have other interactions that involve sharing saliva.
Read the article: https://news.mit.edu/2022/babies-relationships-saliva-0120 | |||
| Audio Article: Deploying machine learning to improve mental health | 02 Feb 2022 | 00:06:44 | |
A machine-learning expert from MIT and a psychology researcher/clinician from Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) have teamed up to develop tools for mental health care delivery. They hope that their algorithms will eventually equip physicians and patients with useful information about individual disease trajectory and effective treatment.
Read the article: https://news.mit.edu/2022/deploying-machine-learning-improve-mental-health-rosalind-picard-0126 | |||
| Audio Article: Reducing food waste to increase access to affordable foods | 26 Jan 2022 | 00:07:48 | |
Spoiler Alert, a company founded by two MIT alumni, is helping companies bridge the gap between food waste and food insecurity with a platform connecting major food and beverage brands with discount grocers, retailers, and nonprofits. The platform helps brands discount or donate excess and short-dated inventory days, weeks, and months before it expires.
Read the article: https://news.mit.edu/2022/spoiler-alert-food-waste-0105 | |||
| Audio Article: Scientists build new atlas of ocean’s oxygen-starved waters | 05 Jan 2022 | 00:06:48 | |
A team of MIT scientists have generated a detailed, three-dimensional "atlas" of the largest oxygen-deficient zones (ODZ) in the tropical Pacific. And though these ODZs make up less than 1 percent of the ocean’s total volume, they are a significant source of nitrous oxide, a potent greenhouse gas.
Read the article: https://news.mit.edu/2021/oxygen-deficient-ocean-map-1227 | |||
| Audio Article: Sensor based on quantum physics could detect SARS-CoV-2 virus | 21 Dec 2021 | 00:05:11 | |
A novel approach to testing for the presence of the virus that causes Covid-19 may lead to tests that are faster, less expensive, and potentially less prone to erroneous results than existing detection methods. Though the work, based on quantum effects, is still theoretical, these detectors could potentially be adapted to detect virtually any virus, the researchers say.
Read the article: http://news.mit.edu/2021/quantum-sensor-detect-covid-1220 | |||
| Audio Article: Timber or steel? | 02 Dec 2021 | 00:04:47 | |
Researchers at MIT have done a detailed analysis and created a set of computational tools to enable architects and engineers to design truss structures in a way that can minimize their embodied carbon while maintaining all needed properties for a given building application.
Read the article: https://news.mit.edu/2021/truss-structure-carbon-materials-1129 | |||
| Audio Article: Giving robots social skills | 12 Nov 2021 | 00:07:58 | |
MIT researchers have now incorporated certain social interactions into a framework for robotics, enabling machines to understand what it means to help or hinder one another, and to learn to perform these social behaviors on their own.
Read the article: https://news.mit.edu/2021/robots-social-skills-1105 | |||
| Audio Article: Dragging your feet? Lack of sleep affects your walk, new study finds | 05 Nov 2021 | 00:06:36 | |
Good sleep can be hard to come by. But a new study by researchers at MIT and the University of São Paulo in Brazil finds that if you can make up for lost sleep, even for just a few weekend hours, the extra zzz’s could help reduce fatigue-induced clumsiness, at least in how you walk.
Read the article: https://news.mit.edu/2021/lack-sleep-walk-1026 | |||
| Audio Article: How marsh grass protects shorelines | 20 Oct 2021 | 00:05:38 | |
As climate change brings greater threats to coastal ecosystems, new research can help planners leverage the wave-damping benefits of marsh plants.
Read the article: https://news.mit.edu/2021/how-marsh-grass-protects-shorelines-1018 | |||
| Audio Article: Toward a smarter electronic health record | 01 Oct 2021 | 00:08:12 | |
Researchers at MIT and the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center are combining machine learning and human-computer interaction to create a better electronic health record (EHR). They developed MedKnowts, a system that unifies the processes of looking up medical records and documenting patient information into a single, interactive interface.
Read the article: http://news.mit.edu/2021/medknowts-electronic-health-record-0923 | |||
| Audio Article: Low-cost device can measure air pollution anywhere | 27 Mar 2023 | 00:05:37 | |
MIT researchers have made an open-source version of the “City Scanner” mobile pollution detector that lets people check air quality anywhere, cheaply. Pictured are some examples of the latest version of the device, called Flatburn, as well as a researcher attaching a prototype to a car.
Read the article: https://news.mit.edu/2023/low-cost-device-can-measure-air-pollution-anywhere-0316 | |||
| Audio Article: A new method for removing lead from drinking water | 24 Sep 2021 | 00:06:31 | |
Engineers at MIT have developed a new approach to removing lead or other heavy-metal contaminants from water, in a process that they say is far more energy-efficient than any other currently used system, though there are others under development that come close. Ultimately, it might be used to treat lead-contaminated water supplies at the home level, or to treat contaminated water from some chemical or industrial processes.
Read the article: http://news.mit.edu/2021/removing-lead-water-electrodialysis-0922 | |||
| Audio Article: Comparing seniors who relocate shows where you live affects your longevity | 20 Sep 2021 | 00:08:34 | |
Would you like to live longer? It turns out that where you live, not just how you live, can make a big difference. That’s the finding of an innovative study co-authored by an MIT economist, which examines senior citizens across the U.S. and concludes that some locations enhance longevity more than others, potentially for multiple reasons.
Read the article: https://news.mit.edu/2021/seniors-relocate-longevity-0901 | |||
| Audio Article: Making catalytic surfaces more active to help decarbonize fuels and chemicals | 09 Sep 2021 | 00:06:10 | |
Electrochemical reactions that are accelerated using catalysts lie at the heart of many processes for making and using fuels, chemicals, and materials — including storing electricity from renewable energy sources in chemical bonds, an important capability for decarbonizing transportation fuels. Now, research at MIT could open the door to ways of making certain catalysts more active, and thus enhancing the efficiency of such processes.
Read the article: http://news.mit.edu/2021/elecrochemical-reaction-catalyst-efficiency-0908 | |||
| Audio Article: Crowds can wise up to fake news | 07 Sep 2021 | 00:07:27 | |
In the face of grave concerns about misinformation, social media networks and news organizations often employ fact-checkers to sort the real from the false. But fact-checkers can only assess a small portion of the stories floating around online. A new study by MIT researchers suggests an alternate approach: Crowdsourced accuracy judgements from groups of normal readers can be virtually as effective as the work of professional fact-checkers.
Read the article: https://news.mit.edu/2021/crowd-source-fact-checking-0901 | |||
| Audio Article: A method to assess Covid-19 transmission risks in indoor settings | 20 Apr 2021 | 00:09:10 | |
Two MIT professors have proposed a new approach to estimating the risks of exposure to Covid-19 under different indoor settings based on the number of people, the size of the space, the kinds of activity, whether masks are worn, and the ventilation and filtration rates.
Read the article: https://news.mit.edu/2021/covid-19-risks-indoor-0415 | |||
| Audio Article: Counting pedestrians to make pedestrians count | 15 Apr 2021 | 00:05:36 | |
MIT Associate Professor Andrews Sevtsuk has developed a model of pedestrian movement that could help planners and developers better grasp the flow of foot traffic in all cities. His work emphasizes the functionality of a neighborhood's elements, above and beyond its physical form, making the model one that could be used from Cambridge to Cape Town.
Read the article: https://news.mit.edu/2021/counting-pedestrian-traffic-0415 | |||
| Audio Article: How industrialized life remodels the microbiome | 05 Apr 2021 | 00:06:25 | |
Thousands of different bacterial species live within the human gut. Most are beneficial, while others can be harmful. A new study from an MIT-led team has revealed that these bacterial populations can remake themselves within the lifetime of their host, by passing genes back and forth. They also found for people in industrialized societies this happens at much higher rates.
Read the article: https://news.mit.edu/2021/microbiome-industrialized-gene-transfer-0331 | |||
| Audio Article: A remedy for the spread of false news? | 17 Mar 2021 | 00:08:08 | |
Stopping the spread of political misinformation on social media may seem like an impossible task. But a new study co-authored by MIT scholars finds that most people who share false news stories online do so unintentionally, and that their sharing habits can be modified through reminders about accuracy.
Read the article: https://news.mit.edu/2021/social-media-false-news-reminders-0317 | |||
| Audio Article: Study predicts the oceans will start emitting ozone-depleting CFCs | 15 Mar 2021 | 00:07:23 | |
The world’s oceans are a vast repository for gases including ozone-depleting chlorofluorocarbons, or CFCs. They absorb these gases from the atmosphere and draw them down to the deep, where they can remain sequestered for centuries and more.
Marine CFCs have long been used as tracers to study ocean currents, but their impact on atmospheric concentrations was assumed to be negligible. Now, MIT researchers have found the oceanic fluxes of at least one type of CFC, known as CFC-11, do in fact affect atmospheric concentrations.
Read the article: https://news.mit.edu/2021/oceans-emitting-cfc-ozone-0315 | |||
| Audio Article: Could we recycle plastic bags into fabrics of the future? | 15 Mar 2021 | 00:08:36 | |
MIT engineers have spun polyethylene into fibers and yarns designed to wick away moisture. They wove the yarns into silky, lightweight fabrics that absorb and evaporate water more quickly than common textiles such as cotton, nylon, and polyester.
Read the article: https://news.mit.edu/2021/plastic-bags-recycle-fabrics-0315 | |||
| Audio Article: Minimizing electric vehicles’ impact on the grid | 23 Mar 2023 | 00:06:50 | |
In a new study, MIT researchers have developed strategies for beneficial electric vehicle charging to reduce peak electricity demand and store solar energy.
Read the article: https://news.mit.edu/2023/minimizing-electric-vehicles-impact-grid-0315 | |||
| Audio Article: New science blooms after star researchers die, study finds | 05 Sep 2019 | 00:05:08 | |
A new study co-authored by MIT economist Pierre Azoulay, an expert on the dynamics of scientific research, finds deaths of prominent life scientists tend to be followed by a surge in highly cited research by newcomers.
Read the story: http://news.mit.edu/2019/life-science-funding-researchers-die-0829 | |||
| Audio Article: How to push, wiggle, or drill an object through granular material | 30 Jan 2023 | 00:06:49 | |
Predicting what it takes to push through sand, gravel, or other soft media can help engineers drive a rover over Martian soil, anchor a ship in rough seas, and walk a robot through sand and mud. But modeling the forces involved in such processes is a huge computational challenge that often takes days to weeks to solve.
Now, engineers at MIT and Georgia Tech have found a faster and simpler way to model intrusion through any soft, flowable material. Their new method quickly maps the forces it would take to push, wiggle, and drill an object through granular material in real-time. The method can apply to objects and grains of any size and shape, and does not require complex computational tools as other methods do.
Read the article: https://news.mit.edu/2023/soft-push-granular-intrusion-0119 | |||
| Audio Article: A new method boosts wind farms’ energy output, without new equipment | 19 Aug 2022 | 00:09:24 | |
By modeling the conditions of an entire wind farm rather than individual turbines, engineers can squeeze more power out of existing installations.
Read the article: https://news.mit.edu/2022/wind-farm-optimization-energy-flow-0811 | |||
| Audio Article: Startup lets doctors classify skin conditions with the snap of a picture | 11 Jul 2022 | 00:07:12 | |
Piction Health, a startup founded by Susan Conover SM '15, lets doctors classify skin conditions with the snap of a picture. Their app uses machine learning to help physicians identify and manage skin diseases.
Read the article on MIT News: https://news.mit.edu/2022/piction-health-skin-app-0706 | |||
| Audio Article: Keeping web-browsing data safe from hackers | 22 Jun 2022 | 00:08:02 | |
Studying a powerful type of cyberattack, researchers identified a flaw in how it’s been analyzed before, then developed new techniques that stop it in its tracks.
Read the article: https://news.mit.edu/2022/side-channel-attacks-detection-0609 | |||
| Audio Article: The sound of a sunset | 09 Feb 2022 | 00:07:20 | |
What does a sunset sound like? With the Sonification Toolkit, almost anything can be transformed into sound that is aesthetically satisfying and analytically illuminating. The newly released prototype, a work in progress with cutting-edge capabilities, is a robust exploratory foray into possibilities for sonification.
Read the article: https://news.mit.edu/2022/sound-sunset-sonification-toolkit-0209 | |||
| What does a sunrise and sunset sound like? | 08 Feb 2022 | 00:01:13 | |
Using a new sonification toolkit, designed but MIT's Digital Humanities Lab, senior Moises Trejo was able to turn a sunrise and a sunset into sound. What the toolkit does is convert the annual times of sunrises and sunsets in a particular location and turns them into a simple soundwork. Depending on the settings it either becomes a two-voice melody (in a strange tuning) or a gradual modification of an evolving sound, or somewhere in between. In this piece the lower tone of the chord is the sunrise time, and the higher tone is the sunset time. The time course of the piece represents the days in the year, as sunrise and sunset gradually move further apart from each other (as the days get longer) and then move towards each other (as the days get shorter).
Listen to the article: https://soundcloud.com/mitnewsoffice/audio-article-the-sound-of-a-sunset?si=76714eafe06742f698b283a79d713750&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing
Read the article: https://news.mit.edu/2022/sound-sunset-sonification-toolkit-0209 | |||
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