The Curiosity Unbounded podcast brings you behind the scenes at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (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.
Quantum Computing: Promise, Hype and Reality — William D. Oliver
Quantum computers promise to tackle problems that are beyond the reach of today’s most powerful computers—but how close are we to making that promise a reality? MIT quantum engineer Will Oliver joins President Sally Kornbluth to explain what makes quantum computing different, why scaling quantum computers is so difficult, and what these machines could eventually mean for fields from drug discovery to materials science. They also explore the role of AI, MIT’s growing quantum ecosystem, and why Oliver believes we’ve already had our “Wright brothers moment” in quantum computing.
11 Mar 2026
Inside Efficient AI: From GPUs to GPTs — Song Han
Song Han is an associate professor in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science whose research focuses on efficient AI computing. His work spans high-resolution computer vision for autonomous vehicles, more efficient image generation, improved GPT performance, and novel methods for training machine learning models. He also leads the Efficient AI team at NVIDIA Research, focused on optimizing GPU-accelerated AI systems.Show notes and transcript:https://news.mit.edu/podcast/podcast-curiosity-unbounded-episode-18-inside-efficient-ai-gpus-gpts (https://news.mit.edu/podcast/podcast-curiosity-unbounded-episode-18-inside-efficient-ai-gpus-gpts)Join the mailing list or send us feedback:https://eepurl.com/ixPQPA (https://eepurl.com/ixPQPA)
11 Feb 2026
From boom to bust, the workings of financial crises — Emil Verner
Emil Verner is the Jerome and Dorthy Lemelson Professor of Management and Financial Economics at the MIT Sloan School of Management. His research examines how finance and the broader economy interact, with a focus on the causes and consequences of financial crises — from bank runs and insolvency to debt booms, economic volatility, and political polarization.Show notes and transcript:https://news.mit.edu/podcast/podcast-curiosity-unbounded-episode-17-boom-bust-workings-financial-crises (https://news.mit.edu/podcast/podcast-curiosity-unbounded-episode-17-boom-bust-workings-financial-crises)Join the mailing list or send us feedback:https://eepurl.com/ixPQPA (https://eepurl.com/ixPQPA)
14 Jan 2026
Toxoplasma and the Human Host — Sebastian Lourido
Sebastian Lourido is an associate professor of biology and a member of the Whitehead Institute. Sebastian studies human pathogens and seeks to unravel the genetic pathways that help parasites like Toxoplasma gondii exist in human cells. He hopes that his work will lead to new treatments for toxoplasmosis as well as drugs that could treat diseases caused by similar parasites.Show notes and transcript:https://news.mit.edu/podcast/podcast-curiosity-unbounded-episode-16-toxoplasma-and-human-host (https://news.mit.edu/podcast/podcast-curiosity-unbounded-episode-16-toxoplasma-and-human-host)Join the mailing list or send us feedback:https://eepurl.com/ixPQPA (https://eepurl.com/ixPQPA)
1 Apr 2025
Making sense of your dollars — Christopher Palmer
Host interviews Christopher Palmer, Associate Professor of Finance at MIT Sloan, about understanding consumer credit and household financial decisions.
25 Feb 2025
Putting a glacier in its place — Brent Minchew
Host [Host Name] interviews MIT Associate Professor of Geophysics Brent Minchew about stabilizing ice sheets and understanding sea level rise.
28 Jan 2025
The future of customizable 3D printing — Stefanie Mueller
Stefanie Mueller, an MIT associate professor, discusses the future of customizable 3D printing and its potential for personal fabrication.
17 Dec 2024
Making sense of cities — Andres Sevtsuk
MIT Associate Professor Andres Sevtsuk discusses how urban design shapes city life and travel behavior, offering insights for creating more sustainable and equitable urban environments in this interview.
19 Nov 2024
Get out the vote — Ariel White
Host [Host Name] interviews MIT Associate Professor Ariel White about how punitive government policies impact voter registration and re-enfranchisement.
5 Nov 2024
Making medicine easier to swallow — Giovanni Traverso
MIT President Sally Kornbluth interviews Dr. Giovanni Traverso, a professor and gastroenterologist, about innovative drug delivery solutions and overcoming medication adherence challenges.
24 Sept 2024
Silk, the fabric of more sustainable agriculture — Benedetto Marelli
MIT President Sally Kornbluth interviews biomedical engineer Benedetto Marelli about silk's potential for sustainable agriculture and water filtration, highlighting bold innovation.
9 Apr 2024
Hard facts on soft skills — Namrata Kala
MIT President Sally Kornbluth interviews Namrata Kala, Associate Professor at MIT Sloan, about the crucial value of soft skills training and direct communication for professional success.
5 Mar 2024
Staying radical and relevant — Skylar Tibbits
MIT President Sally Kornbluth interviews designer and computer scientist Skylar Tibbits about his innovative work in self-assembling materials and the unique intersection of creativity and technology at MIT.
14 Nov 2023
Healing the ailing heart — Ellen Roche
MIT President Sally Kornbluth interviews MIT Associate Professor Ellen Roche about her groundbreaking work in developing new devices and therapeutic strategies for repairing the heart.
10 Oct 2023
Beyond words — Joshua Bennett
Joshua Bennett is a professor of literature and distinguished chair of the humanities at MIT. Additionally, he is an accomplished spoken word artist, and author of several books. Here, he speaks with MIT President Sally Kornbluth about the power of words, the beauty of quiet things, and about the value in learning for its own sake. Plus, we hear him perform his poetry.
Links:
drjoshuabennett.com (https://drjoshuabennett.com)
Tamara's Opus (https://youtube.com/watch?v=_U5BwD8zOeM)
Reading Poetry: Social Poetics (https://lit.mit.edu/academics/subject-offerings/?semester=spring+2023#21L.004-56361)
African Diaspora Studies program (https://shass.mit.edu/undergraduate/interdisciplinary/majors/african)
Timestamps:
(08:38) - On AI
(13:40) - The benefits and joy of learning for its own sake
(20:01) - The distinction between poetry on the page and on the stage
Show notes and transcript:
https://news.mit.edu/podcast/podcast-curiosity-unbounded-episode-5-beyond-words (https://news.mit.edu/podcast/podcast-curiosity-unbounded-episode-5-beyond-words)
Join the mailing list or send us feedback:
https://eepurl.com/ixPQPA (https://eepurl.com/ixPQPA)
12 Sept 2023
Build your own superpower, then share it with the world — Fadel Adib
Fadel Adib is an associate professor at the MIT Media Lab and Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. His work pushes the limits of wireless sensing: to monitor climate change in the oceans; to impact food production, health, and space exploration; and to see through walls.
In this episode, MIT President Sally Kornbluth talks with Adib about his work and how he’s inspired to solve pressing global issues. Along the way, they discuss his belief in the importance of inspiring others and democratizing advanced tools and technologies, as well as his early life in Lebanon and his family-held belief that education has the power to change lives.
Links:
Fadel Adib (https://www.mit.edu/~fadel/)
The Big Bang Theory episode (https://youtube.com/watch?v=-7hJsis-Kpg)
Emerald Innovations (https://emeraldinno.com)
Signal Kinetics group (https://signal-kinetics.media.mit.edu)
Cartesian Systems (https://cartesian.systems)
MIT 100k Entrepreneurship Competition (https://mit100k.org)
Sensea (https://sensea.ai)
Timestamps:
(01:38) - The superpower question
(07:48) - Detecting emotions through walls and The Big Bang Theory episode
(09:00) - Ocean work and implications for aquaculture, climate change, and space exploration
(17:50) - Early life in Lebanon
(21:10) - Democratization of technology
(25:52) - Family and the importance of education
(28:26) - Local impact
(29:24) - Public education through videos
Show notes and transcript:
https://news.mit.edu/podcast/podcast-curiosity-unbounded-episode-4-build-your-own-superpower-then-share-it-world (https://news.mit.edu/podcast/podcast-curiosity-unbounded-episode-4-build-your-own-superpower-then-share-it-world)
Join the mailing list or send us feedback:
https://eepurl.com/ixPQPA (https://eepurl.com/ixPQPA)
14 Jul 2023
Decoding the tree of life — Greg Fournier
Greg Fournier is an associate professor of geobiology at MIT. Greg’s work focuses on the microbial world, and by studying the evolution of microbes, he and his team further our understanding of the history of life on Earth.
In this episode, MIT President Sally Kornbluth and Fournier discuss fine-tuning our understanding of evolution; lab life and how research surprises often lead to new discoveries; and advice for those just beginning a career in science.
Links:
Greg Fournier (https://eapsweb.mit.edu/people/g4nier)
Fournier Lab (https://fournierlab.scripts.mit.edu/web)
Craters of the Moon (https://nps.gov/crmo/index.htm)
Wind Cave (https://nps.gov/wica/index.htm)
Permian–Triassic mass extinction (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Permian%E2%80%93Triassic_extinction_event)
Purgatory Chasm (https://mass.gov/locations/purgatory-chasm-state-reservation)
NASA postdoctoral fellowship (https://astrobiology.nasa.gov/nai/directory/fournier-greg/index.html)
Course 1 (http://catalog.mit.edu/subjects/1/)
EAPS (Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences) (https://eapsweb.mit.edu)
Show notes and transcript:
https://news.mit.edu/podcast/podcast-curiosity-unbounded-episode-3-decoding-tree-life (https://news.mit.edu/podcast/podcast-curiosity-unbounded-episode-3-decoding-tree-life)
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https://eepurl.com/ixPQPA (https://eepurl.com/ixPQPA)
8 May 2023
Bureaucracies, dictatorships, and the power of Africa's people — Mai Hassan
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.
Links:
Mai Hassan (https://maihassan.mit.edu)
MIT-Africa (https://misti.mit.edu/mit-africa)
Regime Threats and State Solutions (https://amazon.com/dp/1108796494)
Show notes and transcript:
https://news.mit.edu/podcast/podcast-curiosity-unbounded-episode-2-bureaucracies-dictatorships-and-power-africas-people (https://news.mit.edu/podcast/podcast-curiosity-unbounded-episode-2-bureaucracies-dictatorships-and-power-africas-people)
Join the mailing list or send us feedback:
https://eepurl.com/ixPQPA (https://eepurl.com/ixPQPA)
19 Apr 2023
How a free-range kid from Maine is helping green-up industrial practices — Desirée Plata
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.
Links:
Desirée Plata (https://cee.mit.edu/people_individual/desiree-plata)
Woods Hole Oceanographic (https://whoi.edu)
Plata Lab (https://platalab.mit.edu)
Global Methane Pledge (https://globalmethanepledge.org)
2.00b Toy Product Design (http://web.mit.edu/2.00b/www/index.html)
Show notes and transcript:
https://news.mit.edu/podcast/podcast-curiosity-unbounded-episode-1-how-free-range-kid-maine-helping-green-industrial (https://news.mit.edu/podcast/podcast-curiosity-unbounded-episode-1-how-free-range-kid-maine-helping-green-industrial)
Join the mailing list or send us feedback:
https://eepurl.com/ixPQPA (https://eepurl.com/ixPQPA)
Who has been a guest on Curiosity Unbounded
Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.
Christopher Palmer
Brent Minchew
Stefanie Mueller
Andres Sevtsuk
Ariel White
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
YouTube views
492,414,533
Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025
Apple Podcasts (US)
5.0 / 5
14 ratings
Spotify
5.0 / 5
6 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 38 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
6
Social presence
0
YouTube
93
Engagement
82
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