Best Jacob Tong Podcasts (2025)

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336 | Anil Ananthaswamy on the Mathematics of Neural Nets and AI 1:14:11

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4d ago1:14:11

1:14:11

Machine learning using neural networks has led to a remarkable leap forward in artificial intelligence, and the technological and social ramifications have been discussed at great length. To understand the origin and nature of this progress, it is useful to dig at least a little bit into the mathematical and algorithmic structures underlying these …

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AMA | November 2025 3:34:18

10d ago3:34:18

3:34:18

Welcome to the November 2025 Ask Me Anything episode of Mindscape! These monthly excursions are funded by Patreon supporters (who are also the ones asking the questions). We take questions asked by Patreons, whittle them down to a more manageable number -- based primarily on whether I have anything interesting to say about them, not whether the que…

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335 | Andrew Jaffe on Models, Probability, and the Universe 1:17:38

17d ago1:17:38

1:17:38

Science has an incredibly impressive track record of uncovering nonintuitive ideas about the universe that turn out to be surprisingly accurate. It can be tempting to think of scientific discoveries as being carefully constructed atop a rock-solid foundation. In reality, scientific progress is tentative and fallible. Scientists propose models, assi…

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334 | Daniel Whiteson on the Physics of and by Aliens 1:14:21

25d ago1:14:21

1:14:21

The universe as revealed by physics is objective: it's out there, existing and behaving in ways that are completely independent of human thought. But the process by which we learn about the universe, and the language with which we talk about it, is extremely human-dependent. Does that mean that aliens would do science differently, and even think di…

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333 | Gordon Pennycook on Unthinkingness, Conspiracies, and What to Do About Them 1:10:20

1M ago1:10:20

1:10:20

Why are people wrong all the time, anyway? Is it because we human beings are too good at being irrational, using our biases and motivated reasoning to convince ourselves of something that isn't quite accurate? Or is it something different -- unmotivated reasoning, or "unthinkingness," an unwillingness to do the cognitive work that most of us are ac…

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332 | Dmitri Tymoczko on the Mathematics Behind Music 1:21:11

1M ago1:21:11

1:21:11

Music is math that you can dance to. The fact that certain notes sound good when played together, or in succession, is related to the mathematical properties of the frequencies to which they correspond, an idea that goes back as far as Pythagoras himself. These days we have a much more intricate understanding of these relationships and how to manip…

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AMA | October 2025 3:37:18

2M ago3:37:18

3:37:18

Welcome to the October 2025 Ask Me Anything episode of Mindscape! These monthly excursions are funded by Patreon supporters (who are also the ones asking the questions). We take questions asked by Patreons, whittle them down to a more manageable number -- based primarily on whether I have anything interesting to say about them, not whether the ques…

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Earn While You Learn: How Germany’s Dual Study Model Combines Vocational Education and a University Degree 25:02

2M ago25:02

25:02

In this episode, Jacob explores Germany’s dual study model at DHBW (Duale Hochschule Baden-Württemberg) — the country’s largest university that focuses on dual study programs. Joined by Chuck Caster, International Relations Officer at DHBW, Jacob explores Germany’s dual study program, an “earn while you learn” system that blends academic study with…

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331 | Solo: Fine-Tuning, God, and the Multiverse 1:54:45

2M ago1:54:45

1:54:45

Certain features of our universe seem unnatural to us. These include "constants of nature" such as the cosmological constant and the mass of the Higgs boson, as well as features of the initial conditions like the curvature of space and the initial entropy. But they can't truly be "unnatural" -- they are literally features of Nature itself. Some hav…

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330 | Petter Törnberg on the Dynamics of (Mis)Information 1:12:01

2M ago1:12:01

1:12:01

A characteristic of complex systems is that individual components combine to exhibit large-scale emergent behavior even when the components were not specifically designed for any particular purpose within the collective. Sometimes those individual components are us -- people interacting within societies or online communities. Studying the dynamics …

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Education in Finland: International Students at Aalto University, Helsinki 11:40

2M ago11:40

11:40

I sit down with three international students — Aloka, Malhar, and Yijuan — who are currently studying at Aalto University in Helsinki, Finland. We dive into their personal journeys: why they chose Aalto, what the application process and tuition were like, and the challenges they’ve faced along the way. If you’re curious about study abroad experienc…

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329 | Steven Pinker on Rationality and Common Knowledge 1:16:32

2M ago1:16:32

1:16:32

Getting along in society requires that we mostly adhere to certainly shared norms and customs. Often it's not enough that we all know what the rules are, but also that everyone else knows the rules, and that they know that we know the rules, and so on. Philosophers and game theorists refer to this as common knowledge. In Steven Pinker's new book, W…

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328 | Mary Roach on Replacing Parts of Our Bodies 1:07:20

2M ago1:07:20

1:07:20

Like any machine, bodies occasionally break down, and it's natural to go in search of a replacement part. Ancient societies featured simple prosthetics for teeth, noses, and limbs, while modern medicine pursues more advanced ways of replacing internal organs and microbiomes. But what is striking is not just the impressive ingenuity of our attempts …

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AMA | September 2025 3:30:04

3M ago3:30:04

3:30:04

Welcome to the September 2025 Ask Me Anything episode of Mindscape! These monthly excursions are funded by Patreon supporters (who are also the ones asking the questions). We take questions asked by Patreons, whittle them down to a more manageable number -- based primarily on whether I have anything interesting to say about them, not whether the qu…

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327 | Cass Sunstein on Liberalism 1:10:15

3M ago1:10:15

1:10:15

"Liberalism," divorced from its particular connotations in this or that modern political context, refers broadly to a philosophy of individual rights, liberties, and responsibilities, coupled with respect for institutions and rule of law over personalized power. As Cass Sunstein construes the term, liberalism encompasses a broad tent, from Ronald R…

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326 | Natalie Batalha on What We Know and Will Learn About Exoplanets 1:12:12

3M ago1:12:12

1:12:12

In a relatively short period of time, exoplanets (planets around stars other than our Sun) have gone from an intriguing conjecture to an active field of scientific study, with over 5,000 confirmed discoveries. The task now is to move beyond merely accumulating new examples, and embarking on systematic studies of their properties. What fraction of s…

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325 | Alvy Ray Smith on Pixar, Pixels, and the Great Digital Convergence 1:26:40

3M ago1:26:40

1:26:40

The world is becoming pixelated. As computers and other digital devices become ubiquitous, human knowledge and communication and information is gradually being converted into, and manipulated as, strings of bits. What does that really mean, and what are the ramifications going forward? Alvy Ray Smith is a computer scientist, co-founder of Pixar, an…

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324 | Elizabeth Mynatt on Universities and the Importance of Basic Research 1:13:31

4M ago1:13:31

1:13:31

It is not manifestly obvious that universities should be where most scholarly research is performed. One could imagine systems that separated out the tasks of "teaching students" and "generating new knowledge." But it turns out that combining them yields spectacular synergies, both from letting students experience cutting-edge research and from kee…

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AMA | August 2025 3:39:58

4M ago3:39:58

3:39:58

Welcome to the August 2025 Ask Me Anything episode of Mindscape! These monthly excursions are funded by Patreon supporters (who are also the ones asking the questions). We take questions asked by Patreons, whittle them down to a more manageable number -- based primarily on whether I have anything interesting to say about them, not whether the quest…

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323 | Jacob Barandes on Indivisible Stochastic Quantum Mechanics 2:58:21

4M ago2:58:21

2:58:21

The search for a foundational theory of quantum mechanics that all physicists can agree on remains active. Over the last century a number of contenders have emerged, including Many-Worlds, pilot-wave theories, and others, but all of them have aspects that many people object to. Jacob Barandes has taken up the challenge, proposing a new formulation …

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322 | Philip Pettit on Language, Agency, Politics, and Freedom 1:20:47

4M ago1:20:47

1:20:47

When we think of the capacities that distinguish humans from other species, we generally turn to intelligence and its byproducts, including our technological prowess. But our intelligence is highly connected to our ability to use language, which is in turn closely related to our capacities as social creatures. Philosopher Philip Pettit would encour…

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321 | David Tong on Open Questions in Quantum Field Theory 1:19:25

5M ago1:19:25

1:19:25

Quantum field theory is the basis for our most successful theories of fundamental physics. And yet, there are things we don't understand about it. Some of these puzzles are relatively well-known, while others are less celebrated. David Tong joins us to talk about some of the more interesting and perplexing aspects of quantum field theory. He also d…

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AMA | July 2025 4:03:26

5M ago4:03:26

4:03:26

Welcome to the July 2025 Ask Me Anything episode of Mindscape! These monthly excursions are funded by Patreon supporters (who are also the ones asking the questions). We take questions asked by Patreons, whittle them down to a more manageable number -- based primarily on whether I have anything interesting to say about them, not whether the questio…

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320 | Solo: Complexity and the Universe 2:14:44

5M ago2:14:44

2:14:44

Our universe started out looking very simple: hot, dense, smooth, rapidly expanding. According to our best current model, it will end up looking simple once again: cold, dark, empty. It's in between -- now, roughly speaking -- that things look complex. I have been working to understand the stages by which complexity comes into existence, thrives, a…

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319 | Bryan Van Norden on Philosophy From the Rest of the World 1:12:39

5M ago1:12:39

1:12:39

It is common to refer to philosophy as "a series of footnotes to Plato." But in the original quote, Alfred North Whitehead was more careful: he limited his characterization to "the European philosophical tradition." There are other traditions, both ancient and ongoing: Chinese philosophy, Indian philosophy, Africana philosophy, and various indigeno…

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318 | Edward Miguel on the Developing Practice of Development Economics 1:20:39

5M ago1:20:39

1:20:39

Economics is seeing an upsurge in the importance of controlled, reproducible empirical studies. One area where this has had a great impact is on development economics, which studies the economies of low- and middle-income societies. Edward Miguel has been at the forefront of both the revolution in empirical methods, and in applying those techniques…

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317 | Nicole Rust on Why Neuroscience Hasn't Solved Brain Disorders 1:14:50

6M ago1:14:50

1:14:50

The human brain is extremely complicated, but decades of careful neuroscientific research have revealed quite a bit about how it works, including how certain genes affect particular brain behaviors. Nevertheless, this progress has not led to quite as much improvement in the treatment of brain disorders as we might expect. I talk with neuroscientist…

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AMA | June 2025 3:23:07

6M ago3:23:07

3:23:07

Welcome to the June 2025 Ask Me Anything episode of Mindscape! These monthly excursions are funded by Patreon supporters (who are also the ones asking the questions). We take questions asked by Patreons, whittle them down to a more manageable number -- based primarily on whether I have anything interesting to say about them, not whether the questio…

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316 | Niayesh Afshordi and Phil Halper 1:28:50

6M ago1:28:50

1:28:50

Einstein's general theory of relativity, plus some reasonable assumptions about the universe and what it's made of, has a remarkable implication: that as we trace cosmic evolution into the far past, we ultimately hit a singularity of infinite density and curvature, the Big Bang. Did that really happen? Einstein's theory is classical, after all, and…

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315 | Branden Fitelson on the Logic and Use of Probability 1:28:55

6M ago1:28:55

1:28:55

Every time you see an apple spontaneously break away from a tree, it falls downward. You therefore claim that there is a law of physics: apples fall downward from trees. But how can you really know? After all, tomorrow you might see an apple that falls upward. How is science possible at all? Philosophers, as you might expect, have thought hard abou…

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314 | Karen Lloyd on the Deep Underground Biosphere 1:09:18

7M ago1:09:18

1:09:18

There are living creatures dwelling deep below the surface of the Earth, as deep as we are able to drill. These hearty microorganisms are related to more familiar life forms on land and under water, but the operate and survive in ways that are quite different from what we're familiar with. They live off of nutrients that have penetrated from the su…

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Pursuing a College Degree in Paris, France 34:12

7M ago34:12

34:12

In this episode, Jacob chats with Görkem, a student currently studying in Paris, about the real-life experience of navigating the French education system as an international student. From France’s remarkably low tuition fees to the essential guidance provided by Campus France, Görkem unpacks the perks and challenges of studying abroad. They explore…

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313 | Eric Topol on the Changing Face of Medicine and Aging 1:12:03

7M ago1:12:03

1:12:03

Medical science is advancing at an astonishing rate. Today we talk with leading expert Eric Topol about two aspects of this story. First, the use of artificial intelligence in medicine, especially in diagnostics. This is an area that is a perfect match between an important question and the capabilities of machine learning, to the point where AI can…

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AMA | May 2025 3:38:06

7M ago3:38:06

3:38:06

Welcome to the May 2025 Ask Me Anything episode of Mindscape! These monthly excursions are funded by Patreon supporters (who are also the ones asking the questions). We take questions asked by Patreons, whittle them down to a more manageable number -- based primarily on whether I have anything interesting to say about them, not whether the question…

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312 | Thomas Levenson on the Mutual History of Humans and Germs 1:31:28

7M ago1:31:28

1:31:28

The germ theory of disease is a crowning achievement of science, up there with modern physics, continental drift, and evolution via natural selection. (Even if there will always be cranky skeptics.) But the road to widespread acceptance isn't always an easy one. Why did it take so long between Anton van Leeuwenhoek seeing "animalcules" in a microsc…

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Liberal Arts Program at Amsterdam University College 30:57

7M ago30:57

30:57

For non-EU/EEA students, tuition at Amsterdam University College (AUC) is €15,420 per year for the 2025–2026 academic year, totaling €46,260 over the three-year program. In this episode, we dive into the real experiences of students at Amsterdam University College — from the price tag to personal growth. Our speakers come from diverse backgrounds a…

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311 | Annaka Harris on Whether Consciousness is Fundamental 1:09:58

8M ago1:09:58

1:09:58

Questions about consciousness range from the precise and empirical -- what neurons fire when I have some particular experience -- to the deeply profound -- does consciousness emerge from matter, or does matter emerge from consciousness? While it might be straightforward to think that consciousness arises from the collective behavior of atoms in the…

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AMA | April 2025 3:30:22

8M ago3:30:22

3:30:22

Welcome to the April 2025 Ask Me Anything episode of Mindscape! These monthly excursions are funded by Patreon supporters (who are also the ones asking the questions). We take questions asked by Patreons, whittle them down to a more manageable number -- based primarily on whether I have anything interesting to say about them, not whether the questi…

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310 | Marc Kamionkowski on Dark Energy and Cosmic Anomalies 1:26:14

8M ago1:26:14

1:26:14

Cosmologists were, let us be honest, pretty stunned in 1998 when observations revealed that the universe is accelerating. There was an obvious plausible explanation, the cosmological constant proposed by Einstein, which is equivalent to a constant vacuum energy pervading space. But the cosmological constant was known to be enormously smaller than i…

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309 | Christof Koch on Consciousness and Integrated Information 1:20:46

8M ago1:20:46

1:20:46

Consciousness is easier to possess than to define. One thing we can do is to look into the brain and see what lights up when conscious awareness is taking place. A complete understanding of this would be known as the "neural correlates of consciousness." Once we have that, we could hopefully make progress on developing a theoretical picture of what…

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308 | Alison Gopnik on Children, AI, and Modes of Thinking 1:09:56

9M ago1:09:56

1:09:56

We often study cognition in other species, in part to learn about modes of thinking that are different from our own. Today's guest, psychologist/philosopher Alison Gopnik, argues that we needn't look that far: human children aren't simply undeveloped adults, they have a way of thinking that is importantly distinct from that of grownups. Children ar…

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AMA | March 2025 2:58:00

9M ago2:58:00

2:58:00

Welcome to the March 2025 Ask Me Anything episode of Mindscape! These monthly excursions are funded by Patreon supporters (who are also the ones asking the questions). We take questions asked by Patreons, whittle them down to a more manageable number -- based primarily on whether I have anything interesting to say about them, not whether the questi…

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307 | Kevin Peterson on the Theory of Cocktails 1:16:36

9M ago1:16:36

1:16:36

A lot of science goes into crafting the perfect cocktail. Balancing sweet and bitter notes, providing the right amount of aeration and dilution, getting it to just the right temperature and keeping it that way. And even if you have no interest in cocktails as such, the general principles extend to other activities in art and in life. I talk to scie…

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306 | Helen Czerski on Our Energetic Oceans 1:12:19

9M ago1:12:19

1:12:19

It is commonplace to refer to the Earth's oceans as vast and largely unexplored. But we do understand some aspects, and improving that understanding is crucial to ensuring the continued viability and success of life on this planet. The oceans are a paradigmatic complex system: there are many components, distinct but mutually interacting, that add u…

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305 | Lilliana Mason on Polarization and Political Psychology 1:17:25

9M ago1:17:25

1:17:25

Political outcomes would be relatively simple to predict and understand if only people were well-informed, entirely rational, and perfectly self-interested. Alas, real human beings are messy, emotional, imperfect creatures, so a successful theory of politics has to account for these features. One phenomenon that has grown in recent years is an alig…

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Bonus | Cuts to Science Funding and Why They Matter 1:10:25

10M ago1:10:25

1:10:25

The Trump administration, led by Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency, has proposed sweeping cuts to spending on science research here in the US, in particular at the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation. I explain a little about what is being cut and why these funds are important to scientific progress…

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304 | James Evans on Innovation, Consolidation, and the Science of Science 1:16:03

10M ago1:16:03

1:16:03

It is a feature of many human activities - sports, cooking, music, interpersonal relations - that being able to do them well doesn't necessarily mean you can accurately describe how to do them well. Science is no different. Many successful scientists are not very good at explaining what goes into successful scientific practice. To understand that, …

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Navigating Higher Education in the Netherlands 37:15

10M ago37:15

37:15

In this episode, I interviewed José, a senior external relations officer at Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences. We discussed the beauty and compactness of Amsterdam, the experiences of living and studying in the city, and the differences between research universities and universities of applied sciences in the Netherlands. The conversation al…

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303 | AMA | February 2025 3:44:12

10M ago3:44:12

3:44:12

Welcome to the February 2025 Ask Me Anything episode of Mindscape! These monthly excursions are funded by Patreon supporters (who are also the ones asking the questions). We take questions asked by Patreons, whittle them down to a more manageable number -- based primarily on whether I have anything interesting to say about them, not whether the que…

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303 | James P. Allison on Fighting Cancer with the Immune System 1:07:38

10M ago1:07:38

1:07:38

A typical human lifespan is approximately three billion heartbeats in duration. Lasting that long requires not only intrinsic stability, but an impressive capacity for self-repair. Nevertheless, things do occasionally break down, and cancer is one of the most dramatic examples of such breakdown. Given that the body is generally so good at protectin…