Skip to content ↓

Podcasts

With the Curiosity Unbounded podcast, President Sally Kornbluth gives us a behind-the-scenes introduction to some of the fascinating people who make MIT MIT. In these lively conversations, Sally’s guests explore some of humanity's toughest challenges, share their pioneering ideas and solutions, explain what inspires them and what keeps them up at night, and offer a vivid portrait of the delights and challenges of life at the Institute.

  • Podcast

    Episode #7: Staying radical and relevant

    Skylar Tibbits is a designer and computer scientist whose research focuses on self-assembling and programmable materials, and 3D and 4D printing. He is the founder of the MIT Self-Assembly Lab and director of undergraduate design programs in the Department of Architecture.

    In this episode,  MIT President Sally Kornbluth talks with Tibbits about the inspiration for his lab’s projects, why design at MIT is unique, and the magic in combining the creative with the technical.

  • Podcast

    Episode #6: Healing the ailing heart

    Ellen Roche is an associate professor of mechanical engineering and the associate head of the Department of Mechanical Engineering at MIT. Her research team develops new devices and therapeutic strategies for repairing the heart and other tissues. Here, she speaks with MIT President Sally Kornbluth about her work, the advantages of taking a nonlinear route to one’s chosen career, and the importance of saying “yes” to unexpected opportunities.

  • Podcast

    Episode #5: Beyond words

    Joshua Bennett is a professor of literature and distinguished chair of the humanities at MIT. Additionally, he is an accomplished spoken word artist, and author of several books. Here, he speaks with MIT President Sally Kornbluth about the power of words, the beauty of quiet things, and about the value in learning for its own sake. Plus, we hear him perform his poetry.

  • Podcast

    Episode #4: Build your own superpower, then share it with the world

    MIT President Sally Kornbluth talks with Fadel Adib, associate professor at the MIT Media Lab and Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, about his work and how he’s inspired to solve pressing global issues. Along the way, they discuss his belief in the importance of inspiring others and democratizing advanced tools and technologies, as well as his early life in Lebanon and his family-held belief that education has the power to change lives.

  • Podcast

    Episode #3: Decoding the tree of life

    MIT President Sally Kornbluth talks with Associate Professor Greg Fournier about fine-tuning our understanding of evolution, life in the lab, and advice for those just beginning a career in science. 

  • Podcast

    Episode #2: Bureaucracies, dictatorships, and the power of Africa’s people

    President Kornbluth sits down with Mai Hassan, a newly tenured associate professor of political science. Hassan’s work investigates the bureaucratic state as well as democratization efforts in Kenya and elsewhere in the East Africa region, including her native Sudan.