Particles of Thought

A sinkhole can become a time capsule full of skeletons - layers upon layers of beasts that once walked the Earth - and Florida’s landscape is full of them. Discover the surprising science of how Florida’s sinkholes form, what they really are, and what can be found inside them. Come along with Dr. Kirk Johnson, Sant Director of the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Natural History, as he d...

In a world flooded with fake videos and voice recordings that seem real, how can you detect deepfakes? Turns out, there are some aspects of the physical world that are not yet known to artificial intelligence - and those gaps are the key. Expert Hany Farid reveals techniques that can be used to detect AI-generated media. For more, check out the extended interview with Hany Farid.  Learn more about...

What do deep-sea microbes and Martian “leopard spots” have in common? Marine biologist Peter Girguis thinks they might both hold clues to finding life beyond Earth. In this episode, he joins Hakeem for a journey from the ocean floor to outer space, sharing stories from his dives aboard the Alvin submersible and exploring how Earth’s most extreme lifeforms could help us find the first ETs. Along th...

Talking, singing, even dancing — they all trace back to a rare superpower: vocal learning. But humans aren’t the only animals that have it. Neuroscientist Erich Jarvis has spent his career decoding the mysterious ability to imitate sounds, a key ingredient in spoken language. In this episode, he joins Hakeem to explore why only a handful of species — like parrots, dolphins, and bats — can do it, h...

Your brain does all kinds of strange things — and neuroscientist Heather Berlin wants to explain how it works. In this episode, she joins Hakeem to explore the mysteries of the mind: how consciousness works, how your brain constructs reality, and how you might be able to hack it to live a better life. They dive into the effects of psychedelics and meditation, and explore the future of thought in a...

The universe loves making things complicated. From minerals and microbes to languages and societies, complexity keeps showing up — but why? Astrobiologist Mike Wong and mineralogist Bob Hazen think we’re missing a law of nature to explain this phenomenon. Hakeem sits down with them to understand – and kick the tires on – their bold new idea: what they call a Law of Increasing Functional Informatio...

Black holes get a bad rap. They’ve been cast as the monsters of the cosmos — gobbling up stars and stretching anything that gets too close into cosmic spaghetti. But Black Hole expert Janna Levin has spent her career decoding these mysterious objects, and she thinks they’re just misunderstood. In this episode, she dives into the strange physics of black holes: what they are, what they sound like,...

In a world flooded with fake images, manipulated videos, and AI-generated voices, how do we know what’s real anymore? Hany Farid has made it his mission to find out. A leading voice in AI research and digital forensics, Hany works to authenticate digital media and expose the fakes. In this episode, Hakeem and Hany dive into how we got here. How does AI really work? How are deepfakes detected? And...

What do fossilized leaves, an asteroid, and Florida sinkholes have in common? Dr. Kirk Johnson oversees one of the largest natural history collections on the planet, and he has the answers. He’s spent his career digging into the story of life on Earth across millions (and billions) of years. In this episode, Hakeem and Kirk explore the science of “deep time,” how fossils actually form, and the sur...

What happens when brilliant minds collide? In Particles of Thought , astrophysicist Hakeem Oluseyi is obsessed with understanding not just what the world's greatest scientists know, but how they think. From quantum mechanics clashing with general relativity to fossil memories written in ancient rocks, each conversation captures those electrifying moments when curiosity sparks new understanding. Jo...