Curiosity Daily Podcast: A New Robot Can Imagine Itself, Williams Syndrome, and The Great Compression

Learn about why engineers designed a robot that can imagine itself; why the Great Compression was the best time to be alive, financially speaking; and the ups and downs of a rare genetic condition that makes you incredibly loving.

February 20, 2019

Episode Show Notes:

In this podcast, Cody Gough and Ashley Hamer discuss the following stories from Curiosity.com to help you get smarter and learn something new in just a few minutes:

If you love our show and you're interested in hearing full-length interviews, then please consider supporting us on Patreon. You'll get exclusive episodes and access to our archives as soon as you become a Patron! https://www.patreon.com/curiositydotcom

Download the FREE 5-star Curiosity app for Android and iOS at https://curiosity.im/podcast-app. And Amazon smart speaker users: you can listen to our podcast as part of your Amazon Alexa Flash Briefing — just click “enable” here: https://curiosity.im/podcast-flash-briefing.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Next Up

NFL SUPER STADIUMS Follows the Epic Journey of Building SoFi Stadium

In partnership with the NFL, Discovery and Science Channel go behind the scenes and follow the remarkable journey of constructing SoFi Stadium in an all-new, two-hour special, NFL SUPER STADIUMS premiering Wednesday, September 9 at 8P on Science Channel and Saturday, September 12 at 11A on Discovery.

Curiosity Daily Podcast: Why Bugs Are Basically Robots (w/ Alie Ward)

Learn about how AI could help predict which drugs won’t agree with women, and why Point Nemo is considered planet Earth’s spacecraft graveyard. But first, Ologies podcast host Alie Ward is back to tell us about her favorite ologie.

Curiosity Daily Podcast: Communicating with Cell-Sized Robots (w/ Cornell University) and Uncanny Valley Science

Learn from Cornell University physicists Paul McEuen and Itai Cohen how cell-sized robots actually communicate with each other and move around. You’ll also learn about the “uncanny valley” and how scientists figured out what part of your brain gets creeped out by human-like robots.

Curiosity Daily Podcast: A Robot That Talks to Itself Might Be Easier to Interact With

Learn about interacting with robots that talk to themselves; “mad honey,” a rare, dangerous hallucinogen; and “alief.”

Curiosity Daily Podcast: Katherine Johnson’s Legacy, The World’s First Living Robots, and Zinc Doesn’t Cure Colds

Learn about the legacy of the trailblazing NASA mathematician Katherine Johnson; how scientists recently built xenobots, the world’s first living robots; and why zinc probably isn’t as good for colds as you think.

Curiosity Daily Podcast: Future of Cell-Sized Robots (w/ Cornell University) and Transferring Data Through Music

Learn about how scientists found a way to transfer data through music. Then, learn about the world of possibilities for cell-sized robots, in the final edition of our Microscale Mondays mini-series with Cornell physicists Itai Cohen and Paul McEuen.

Curiosity Daily Podcast: Why We Won’t Have “Robot Butlers” Any Time Soon (w/ AI Researcher Michael Wooldridge)

Learn about "iconic sounds" of language. Plus: artificial intelligence’s limitations, with AI pioneer Michael Wooldridge.

Curiosity Daily Podcast: Cell-Sized Robots (w/ Cornell University), Learning Styles Don’t Exist, and Why Pulsars Matter

Learn about the woman who discovered pulsars and why they matter; and, why learning styles don’t exist. You’ll also learn about cell-sized robots, in the the first edition of our Microscale Mondays mini-series with Cornell physicists Itai Cohen and Paul McEuen.

Curiosity Daily Podcast: Nobel Prize Winner Richard Thaler on How Nudge Changed the World — Plus, Squirrel-Inspired Robots

Nobel Prize-winning economist Richard Thaler explains how “Nudge” has changed the world. Plus: squirrel-inspired robots!

Curiosity Daily Podcast: Adult Bedtime Benefits, Cerberin Toxin, and A Word to Convince Others You’re Not A Robot

Learn about why regular bedtimes aren’t just for kids; a toxin in the pong pong seeds of the Cerbera odollam tree that’s been called the perfect murder weapon; and the best word you can say to convince people you’re not a robot.