Podcast

Point of Discovery

Behind every scientific discovery is a scientist (or 12) and a story. “Point of Discovery” takes you on a journey beyond WHAT we know to HOW we know it. Listeners will meet the sometimes quirky, always passionate people whose curiosity unlocks hidden worlds.

FEATURED ★ Podcast

A Once-in-Many-Centuries Event

In honor of the impending total solar eclipse on April 8th, we present this special eclipse podcast.

A dark disk in the center surrounded by glowing white filaments

The Sun’s corona shining brightly during a total solar eclipse in 2009. This media was created by the National Optical-Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory (NOIRLab). Credit: Miloslav Druckmüller, Peter Aniol, Vojtech Rušin, Ľubomír Klocok, Karel Martišek, Martin Dietzel. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Podcast

Heartbeat of the Estuary

Philip Souza’s research is focused on the sounds that fish along the Texas Gulf Coast make to attract mates or defend territory.

A scientist in a boat wearing headphones and dangles a microphone in the water

Podcast

Brain Activity Decoder Can Reveal Stories in People’s Minds

The work relies in part on a transformer model, similar to the ones that power ChatGPT.

Strings of words spiral out from a brain

Podcast

Right Place, Right Time

Like the Hubble Space Telescope before it, the James Webb Space Telescope has the potential to change the course of astronomy and inspire a new generation of astronomers.

The image is divided horizontally by an undulating line between a cloudscape forming a nebula along the bottom portion and a comparatively clear upper portion. Speckled across both portions is a starfield, showing innumerable stars of many sizes. The smallest of these are small, distant, and faint points of light. The largest of these appear larger, closer, brighter, and more fully resolved with 8-point diffraction spikes.

Podcast

Neutralizing Crazy Ants

Biologist Edward LeBrun is weaponizing a natural pathogen to use as a biocontrol for tawny crazy ants from South America that have become prevalent in the southeastern US.

Scientist walking through grass and brush with an orange bucket

Podcast

A Physicist’s Search for Beauty

Steven Weinberg aimed to distill the rules of physics down to their simplest, most beautiful essence.

Portrait of a man in a suit with arms crossed in front of an illustration of the Standard Model of Physics

Podcast

Remembering Steven Weinberg

Steven Weinberg was best known for his Nobel-prize winning work that unified two fundamental forces of nature — electromagnetism and the weak force.

Portrait of a man in a suit with arms crossed in front of a blackboard

Podcast

Frog Pandemic

Frogs are also struggling through their own pandemic that has several eerie parallels with COVID-19.

A green frog rests on a tree branch

Podcast

Presenting the Texas Podcast Network

Today we're doing something a little different. We're bringing you an excerpt from another great podcast produced here at the University of Texas at Austin, called TX512. It's about all things UT Austin and Texas.

Logo of Texas podcast network

Podcast

The Case Against Spanking

Liz Gershoff thinks that as a society, we should get away from the idea that violence is integral to teaching children.

Portrait of a woman with glasses

Podcast

Do Sick Animals Socially Distance?

According to a new review in the journal Science, when highly social animals — such as ants, mice and bats — get sick, their social interactions change, too.

A group of common vampire bats just hanging around

About the Podcast

Behind every scientific discovery is a scientist (or 12) and a story. “Point of Discovery” takes you on a journey beyond WHAT we know to HOW we know it. Listeners will meet the sometimes quirky, always passionate people whose curiosity unlocks hidden worlds.

Hosted by Marc Airhart

Marc Airhart is the Communications Coordinator for the College of Natural Sciences. A long time member of the National Association of Science Writers, he has written for national publications including Scientific American, Mercury, The Earth Scientist, Environmental Engineer & Scientist, and StarDate Magazine.

Feedback?

Let us know what you think of our show—the good, the bad and the ugly.

Take Our Podcast Survey

Disclaimer

Point of Discovery is part of the Texas Podcast Network, brought to you by The University of Texas at Austin. Podcasts are produced by faculty members and staffers at UT Austin who work with University Communications to craft content that adheres to journalistic best practices. The University of Texas at Austin offers these podcasts at no charge. Podcasts appearing on the network and this webpage represent the views of the hosts, not of The University of Texas at Austin.