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
Is Cosmology in Crisis?
A panel of physicists and astronomers grapple with possible cracks in our modern creation myth, the standard model of cosmology.
JWST’s image of spiral galaxy NGC 628, which is 32 million light-years away in the constellation Pisces. Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Janice Lee (STScI), Thomas Williams (Oxford), and the PHANGS team.
You Belong Here: What It Takes for Success in College
Why do so many first-year students struggle in college? Who is most likely to fail? And what can professors and staff do to help them get over the hump?
Experimental Vaccine Against Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) Elicits Strong Immune Response
After decades of research, an effective RSV vaccine now seems within reach
New AI Sees Like a Human, Filling in the Blanks
An artificial intelligence agent that can glance quickly at parts of a new environment and infer the full scene might be more effective on dangerous missions.
A Machine That Understands Language Like a Human
Alex Huth is trying to build an intelligent computer system that can predict the patterns of brain activity in a human listening to someone speaking.
A Love Letter from Texas Scientists to the Periodic Table
We're celebrating the 150th anniversary of the periodic table. Join us as we tour the cosmos, from the microscopic to the telescopic, with four scientists studying the role of four elements—zinc, oxygen, palladium and gold—in life, the universe and everything.
All in the (Scientific) Family
Scientists often talk about the people who mentored them, and the students and postdocs they supervise, in ways that sound like a family.
Bringing Real Science to the Big Screen
Scientist Kip Thorne talks with his former graduate student Bill Press about what it's like to work on a major Hollywood film.
A Big Week in Science
The first full week of October is like a science-lover's World Series: Each year, the spotlight falls on high-impact science, when day after day, a series of Nobel Prizes and other prestigious awards are announced one after another.
Of Fruit Flies, Nobel Prizes and Genetic Discoveries that Change the World
Last year, University of Texas at Austin alumnus Michael Young won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for discovering the molecular mechanism behind circadian rhythms.
Can We Build Machines that are Less Biased Than We Are?
Think about some of the most important decisions people make – who to hire for a job, which kind of treatment to give a cancer patient, how much jail time to give a criminal. Statistics and Data Sciences faculty member James Scott says we humans are pretty lousy at making them.
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.
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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.