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
Can Tiny Bubbles Help Save the Planet?
Seagrasses store a lot of carbon in their tissues, making them a potential counterweight to rising levels of atmospheric CO2.
“AI for the Rest of Us” Brings Expert Conversations on Artificial Intelligence to UT Community
For the Year of AI, University experts and guests offer up key lessons about AI across disciplines.
Is Cosmology in Crisis?
A panel of physicists and astronomers grapple with possible cracks in our modern creation myth, the standard model of cosmology.
A Once-in-Many-Centuries Event
In honor of the impending total solar eclipse on April 8th, we present this special eclipse 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.
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.
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.
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.
A Physicist’s Search for Beauty
Steven Weinberg aimed to distill the rules of physics down to their simplest, most beautiful essence.
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.
Frog Pandemic
Frogs are also struggling through their own pandemic that has several eerie parallels with COVID-19.
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.