Point of Discovery
Point of Discovery
University of Texas at Austin, College of Natural Sciences, Marc Airhart
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. Along the way, listeners will meet the sometimes quirky, always passionate people whose curiosity unlocks hidden worlds. Music by: Podington Bear. Learn more at: http://pointofdiscovery.org DISCLAIMER Point of Discovery is part of the Texas Podcast Network, which is 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.
Can Tiny Bubbles Help Save the Planet?
A marine biologist and an engineer may have found one weird trick to measuring how much carbon a seagrass bed stores. A hint: it involves the sound of tiny bubbles.
May 22, 2025
15 min
Introducing: AI for the Rest of Us
Today on Point of Discovery, we're announcing the launch of a new podcast from The University of Texas at Austin on everything you need to know about artificial intelligence.
May 30, 2024
3 min
Is Cosmology in Crisis?
Astronomers and physicists aren’t freaking out. Okay, well maybe just a little. New data from the James Webb Space Telescope is making them question just about everything.
Apr 11, 2024
15 min
A Once-in-Many-Centuries Event
Austin, Texas was very different the last time a total solar eclipse passed overhead—in 1397. There were bison, wolves and jaguars! Take a trip back in time on the latest Point of Discovery podcast.
Mar 8, 2024
12 min
The Heartbeat of the Estuary
Noisy fish near the Texas coast cry out for mates every night. It’s like a daily heartbeat. But then two years ago, they went silent. Hear what happened on the latest Point of Discovery podcast.
Sep 8, 2023
14 min
I Know What You're Thinking
I know what you’re thinking. No really. A new non-invasive brain decoder can translate your brain activity into a continuous string of words that’s similar to the story you’re hearing or imagining. It also gets the gist of videos you watch. It relies in part on the kind of AI model behind ChatGPT.
May 1, 2023
12 min
Right Time, Right Place
For graduate student Olivia Cooper, the James Webb Space Telescope comes at the perfect time to help launch her career studying galaxy evolution.
Dec 13, 2022
12 min
Neutralizing Crazy Ants
Are invasive crazy ants going to conquer the southeastern U.S.? On the latest episode, we ride along with a biologist who may have found a way to beat back these destructive pests.
Jul 13, 2022
15 min
A Physicist’s Search for Beauty
Here in part 2 of our continuing remembrance of Steven Weinberg, we’re diving a little deeper into what we know because of him. Weinberg was one of the world’s greatest theoretical physicists, and his passing last year was deeply felt not only by us here at The University of Texas at Austin, but by a broad community of scientists and science-loving people. Weinberg summed up the goal of his life’s work as: “to know why things are the way they are.” To him, that meant distilling the rules of physics down to their simplest, most beautiful essence.
Mar 9, 2022
10 min
Remembering Steven Weinberg
Today, in the first of two parts of a special segment, we’re remembering the life and legacy of one of the greatest theoretical physicists of all time — The University of Texas at Austin’s Steven Weinberg, who died in July. We’re exploring who he was as a scientist, writer and mentor — and a deep thinker about our place in the universe. We’ll hear from colleagues who worked with him — fellow UT Austin physicists Katherine Freese, Willy Fischler and Can Kilic — and from his former student John Preskill.
Feb 21, 2022
11 min
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