Are you smarter than an ant swarm?

In this classic episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, Robert and Joe discuss the Great Red Spot of Jupiter. What actually is this great storm? How has it changed during the short history of its human observation? Find out… (part 1 of 2) (originally published 5/8/2025)See omnystudio ... Show More

In this special Star Wars Week episode of Weirdhouse Cinema, Rob and Joe discuss the 1978 Star Wars-knockoff “StarCrash,” directed by Luigi Cozzi and starring Caroline Munro, David Hasselhoff, Christopher Plummer and Joe Spinell.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information ... Show More

This week on Stuff to Blow Your Mind, Robert and Joe celebrate Star Wars Week with various looks at science and culture connections in a galaxy far, far away…See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. 

<p>Today, Ashay Aswale and Tony Lopez shared their work on swarm robotics and what they have learned from ants. Robotic swarms must solve the same problems that eusocial insects do. What if your pheromone trail goes cold? What if you're getting bad information from a bad-actor wi ... Show More

Artificial intelligence is powerful, but what about natural intelligence? This hour, TED speakers explore the intrinsic genius in animal language, insect behavior, plant anatomy and our immune system. Guests include neuroscientist Greg Gage, computational neuroscientist Frances C ... Show More

You ant gonna believe this! A new ant species has been discovered in the jungles of Southeast Asia! And while these tiny insects may look similar to the ants we know, they are literally BURSTING surprises! Join Mindy and Guy Raz as they get up close -too close- to explore the Who ... Show More

Join us for our capstone episode on the Animal Intelligence season. We recap what we loved, what we learned, and things we wish we had gotten to spend more time on. This is a great episode to see how the podcast is produced. Now that the season is ending, our current co-host, Bec ... Show More

Step inside DeepMind's laboratories and you'll find researchers studying DNA to understand the mysteries of life, seeking new ways to use nuclear energy, or putting AI to the test in mind-bending areas of maths. In this episode, Hannah meets Pushmeet Kohli, the head of science at ... Show More

In this episode, we explore the fascinating world of ants and learn about their impressive communication skills and unique behaviours. We discover that ants communicate through pheromones, antenna touching, vibrations, alarm signals, and trail marking to share important informati ... Show More

In this special episode, Scott welcomes the legendary Dr. Howard Gardner, a developmental psychologist and professor at Harvard’s Graduate School of Education. Best known for his groundbreaking Theory of Multiple Intelligences, Dr. Gardner’s 1983 book Frames of Mind challenged th ... Show More

This is a rebroadcast of one of our favorite episodes from Season 8! When did smartness begin? We’ll find out how a neuroscientist blends up brains, and cracks the case of the Tyrannosaurus Rex smarts! Suzana Herculano-Houzel helps us answer listener Penny’s question by explainin ... Show More

S2 Ep18. Snap! The trap-jaw ant’s amazing jaws can move faster than a speeding bullet, snapping shut at a top speed of 230km per hour. When the ant bites down, the force is so great that it launches the insect high into the air. Their powerful spring mechanism is being copied by ... Show More

Recent research — and one surprising season of The Biggest Loser — has scientists wondering whether some of the most basic things they know about metabolism are wrong. Guest: Julia Belluz, author of Food Intelligence For show transcripts, go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠vox.com/unxtranscripts ... Show More