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Through their lives and work, failures and successes – get to know the individuals who have been awarded the Nobel Prize. The host for this podcast is Adam Smith, who has the happy task of interviewing our Nobel Prize laureates.
Sit in on our conversations as we delve into how these personalities found their fields of interest — often by coincidence — how they view collaboration, curiosity and failure, and what keeps them going. The laureates share what they have learned from their career and what they like to do outside of their work – from music to fly-fishing. We let the discussions flow freely, resulting in richly varied stories on topics ranging from poverty prevention to the science of black holes and the importance of being a role model.
Don't miss the First Reactions from our 2025 Nobel Prize laureates coming up in October.
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139 Episodes
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“I would say a fundamental discovery really becomes true when you can apply it to something concrete.” In this conversation, recorded after two hectic days following the prize announcement, new physics laureate Michel Devoret reflects on the excitement of seeing the fruits of research. He also talks about his co-laureate John Clarke, one of his role models, together with Lord Kelvin. Devoret describes how he woke on announcement day to find that the world already knew the news: “I had completely forgotten that October was the Nobel Prize month!” © Nobel Prize Outreach. First reactions terms of use: https://www.nobelprize.org/ceremonies/streams-terms-of-use Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
“I am just part of a huge movement. I’m humbled, I’m grateful and I’m honoured.” – The announcement of the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize came as a huge surprise to Maria Corina Machado. In this interview, recorded directly after the news was broken, she describes how honoured she feels, and highlights the strength of her fellow Venezuelans. “I accept this is as a recognition to our people, to the millions of Venezuelans that are anonymous and are risking everything they have for freedom, justice and peace and I’m absolutely convinced that we will achieve it.”Maria Corina Machado was interviewed by Robyn E. Hardy, Assistant Research Manager at the Norwegian Nobel Institute. © Nobel Prize Outreach.First reactions terms of use: https://www.nobelprize.org/ceremonies/streams-terms-of-use Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
“Oh my god… I have no words.” – Listen to the emotional moment this year’s laureate Maria Corina Machado finds out she has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.Kristian Berg Harpviken, Director of the Norwegian Nobel Institute, shared the news with her directly before it was announced to the world. The Nobel Peace Prize 2025 was awarded to Maria Corina Machado "for her tireless work promoting democratic rights for the people of Venezuela and for her struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy" © Nobel Prize Outreach.First reactions terms of use: https://www.nobelprize.org/ceremonies/streams-terms-of-use Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
“I’m very proud to be in the line of some really great writers and poets.” In this interview, new literature laureate László Krasznahorkai shares his happiness about his Nobel Prize, which came as a surprise. Krasznahorkai speaks about how bitterness is an important driver for him, and also highlights the importance of using your fantasy. “Without fantasy, it’s an absolute different life. To read books gives us more power to survive these very difficult times on Earth.” © Nobel Prize Outreach. First reactions terms of use: https://www.nobelprize.org/ceremonies/streams-terms-of-use Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
“This is the mind of the researcher in Japan,” says Susumu Kitagawa, “Don’t switch off the light, even at night.” In this short conversation recorded the day after the announcement of his Nobel Prize in Physics, Kitagawa talks to the Nobel Prize’s Adam Smith about his approach to tackling grand challenges, and how to keep a lookout for the unexpected. He also explains how his perspective on research has a lineage that extends back to other Japanese Nobel Prize laureates Kenichi Fukui, Akira Yoshino and even Hideki Yukawa, the very first Nobel Prize laureate from Japan.© Nobel Prize Outreach.First reactions terms of use: https://www.nobelprize.org/ceremonies/streams-terms-of-use Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
“Some people thought it was a whole load of rubbish. But it didn’t turn out that way.” Richard Robson’s new concept for molecular architecture, which occurred to him while building models for teaching, was the starting point for the burgeoning field of metal–organic frameworks. In this conversation with the Nobel Prize’s Adam Smith, recorded just after his Nobel Prize in Chemistry was announced, he recounts how this new idea emerged and how, in the end, he just had to do something about it. He also offers some modest reflections on a long life in chemistry, which he says wasn’t exactly a vocation: “I sort of drifted into it, I couldn’t think of anything better to do.”© Nobel Prize Outreach.First reactions terms of use: https://www.nobelprize.org/ceremonies/streams-terms-of-use Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
“I set out to build beautiful things and solve intellectual problems.” Omar Yaghi was just changing flights when he had heard the news that he had been awarded the 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. For this conversation with the Nobel Prize’s Adam Smith, recorded as he was departing on the next leg of his journey, Yaghi speaks about his early life as a refugee in Jordan, the wonderful way his field has developed, and the overwhelming draw of the beauty of chemistry; “The deeper you dig, the more beautifully you find things are constructed.” © Nobel Prize Outreach. First reactions terms of use: https://www.nobelprize.org/ceremonies/streams-terms-of-use Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
“My wife is very kind to me, so she didn’t wake me up for a couple of hours.” John Martinis was sleeping when news of his Nobel Prize in Physics broke, but his wife Jean was up reading late into the night and received the calls, letting him sleep on. In this conversation with the Nobel Prize’s Adam Smith, he talks about the excitement of learning how to investigate problems with his co-laureates John Clarke and Michel Devoret, four decades ago, and how that experience taught him what to aim for when building labs in academic and industry subsequently. © Nobel Prize Outreach. First reactions terms of use: https://www.nobelprize.org/ceremonies/streams-terms-of-use Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
“I was out walking the dogs and she started yelling, and I thought there was a grizzly bear nearby.” Actually, what Fred Ramsdell’s wife was telling him, while on a hiking trip together, was that he had been awarded the 2025 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. In this conversation with the Nobel Prize’s Adam Smith, recorded early the following day, Ramsdell recall how the realisation dawned on them. He goes on to speak about the benefits of working in the environment of biotech, the joy of finding talented collaborators, and the importance of celebrating the dedication of those that nurtured hundreds of generations of the all-important scurfy mouse, in which he and Mary Brunkow discovered the FOXP3 gene: “I'm really in awe of the fact that they were able to do that for so long. It's incredible.” © Nobel Prize Outreach.First reactions terms of use: https://www.nobelprize.org/ceremonies/streams-terms-of-use Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
“I could not imagine accepting the prize without the two of them,” says John Clarke of his fellow Nobel Prize laureates in physics, John Martinis and Michel Devoret. In this short conversation with the Nobel Prize’s Adam Smith, recorded just after the public announcement of the 2025 Nobel Prize in Physics, Clarke recalls the electric atmosphere in the lab, 40 years ago, during their experiments in which they first demonstrated macroscopic quantum tunnelling. Clarke also reflects on others who inspired his thinking at the start of his career. © Nobel Prize Outreach.First reactions terms of use: https://www.nobelprize.org/ceremonies/streams-terms-of-use Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
“My phone rang, and I saw a number from Sweden and thought, well that’s just spam of some sort, so I disabled the phone and went back to sleep.” Mary Brunkow clearly wasn’t expecting the call from Stockholm. This brief conversation with the Nobel Prize’s Adam Smith catches the new medicine laureate at her dining table at 4:30am, an hour and a half after she had heard the news. She talks about the power of genetics to unravel biology and how she feels it was an honour to have been one of the contributors to solving the puzzle of immune tolerance: “It takes a bunch of different brains, all working on it together, for sure!” © Nobel Prize Outreach.First Reactions terms of use: https://www.nobelprize.org/ceremonies/streams-terms-of-use Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
"I believe this will encourage immunologists and physicians to apply the T regulatory cells to treat various immunological diseases.” Shimon Sakaguchi, 2025 Nobel Prize laureate in physiology or medicine, has always been driven by the desire to find new ways to combat disease. In this conversation with the Nobel Prize’s Adam Smith, recorded just after the prize announcement, Sakaguchi speaks briefly about his surprise at the news and reflects on the fundamental research question that kept him dedicated to the field after many others abandoned it, a question that took over two decades to answer.© Nobel Prize Outreach.First Reactions terms of use: https://www.nobelprize.org/ceremonies/streams-terms-of-use Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
In this special bonus episode of Nobel Prize Conversations, we shine a light on the many ways achievements in science are celebrated — from quiet late-night breakthroughs in the lab to the glittering applause of the Nobel Prize award ceremony. Host Karin Svensson speaks with Adam Smith, Chief Scientific Officer at Nobel Prize Outreach, about why recognition matters, how laureates share their joy with families, colleagues, and entire communities, and how the Nobel Prize captures the world’s attention to honour the spirit of discovery. Along the way, we hear stories of invention, laughter, music, and even unexpected traditions from Nobel Prize laureates Peter Agre, Jim Allison, Frances Arnold, John Jumper, Katalin Karikó, Benjamin List, David McMillan, John O'Keefe, Paul Romer, George Smith and Donna Strickland. Through their lives and work, failures and successes – get to know the individuals who have been awarded the Nobel Prize on the Nobel Prize Conversations podcast. Find it on Acast, or wherever you listen to pods. https://linktr.ee/NobelPrizeConversations Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
“I’ve never been part of the gang. I was a one-man band playing little tunes.” – Meet physics laureate John Hopfield in a podcast recorded at his cottage in Selborne, England. Together with host Adam Smith, he reflects on the value of interdisciplinary work and how chemists and physicists might collaborate more closely. They also discuss the future of AI and Hopfield’s greatest fears about it. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
"With the great power to invent technology comes a great responsibility." – In this lively and energetic podcast conversation, economic sciences laureate Simon Johnson talks about how the past, future and present are interconnected, as well as how science fiction and history are intertwined. He comes to the conclusion that “science fiction is history in reverse or history is science fiction in reverse, whichever way you want to think about it. He also tells us about his family history and how his family was part of the steel industry in Sheffield, England. The industrial revolution is discussed as well as the responsibility that comes with inventing technology. Through their lives and work, failures and successes – get to know the individuals who have been awarded the Nobel Prize on the Nobel Prize Conversations podcast. Find it on Acast, or wherever you listen to pods. https://linktr.ee/NobelPrizeConversations© Nobel Prize Outreach. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
“When we're doing genetics, we are tapping into that mythic power of change.” — In this conversation with molecular biologist Gary Ruvkun, we discover his scientific journey and find out that the world of genetics still has many fields left to explore.A natural storyteller, Ruvkun also shares some of his favourite tales with us – from his gap year in Latin America to how his grandparents emigrated to the United States. For Ruvkun, travelling has given him more stories than he could have ever imagined – and he tries to share them whenever he has the chance.Through their lives and work, failures and successes – get to know the individuals who have been awarded the Nobel Prize on the Nobel Prize Conversations podcast. Find it on Acast, or wherever you listen to pods. https://linktr.ee/NobelPrizeConversations© Nobel Prize Outreach. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
”I really love the notion of contributing something to physics.” — Chemistry laureate John Jumper has always been passionate about science and understanding the world. With the AI tool AlphaFold, he and his co-laureate Demis Hassabis have provided a possibility to predict protein structures. In this podcast conversation, Jumper speaks about the excitement of seeing how AI can help us more in the future.Jumper also shares his scientific journey and how he ended up working with AlphaFold. He describes a special memory from the 2018 CASP conference where AlphaFold was presented for the first time. Another life-changing moment was the announcement of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in October 2024 – Jumper tells us how his life has changed since then. Through their lives and work, failures and successes – get to know the individuals who have been awarded the Nobel Prize on the Nobel Prize Conversations podcast. Find it on Acast, or wherever you listen to pods. https://linktr.ee/NobelPrizeConversations© Nobel Prize Outreach. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
“The reason why I was doing science all these years is because I just love doing it.”– Medicine laureate Victor Ambros grew up on a farm with seven siblings. Throughout his career, he has seen collaboration as a crucial part of science.In this podcast conversation with Adam Smith, Ambros talks about his scientific journey and how much his father has influenced him. He also shares his experiences on imposter syndrome and gives some advice on how to deal with it. Through their lives and work, failures and successes – get to know the individuals who have been awarded the Nobel Prize on the Nobel Prize Conversations podcast. Find it on Acast, or wherever you listen to pods. https://linktr.ee/NobelPrizeConversations© Nobel Prize Outreach. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
"Asking is hard. Once you realise there's an interesting question to develop answers to, it is even harder." – Growing up in Istanbul, Turkey, shaped Daron Acemoglu’s life and career in many ways. It sparked his interest in politics and social sciences and led to a research career investigating the differences in prosperity between nations. Today Acemoglu is exploring the future of AI and how we can use it in the best possible way. In a conversation with Adam Smith he discusses his thoughts on the topic as well as sharing his advice for young researchers, including how to decide which research question to go for. Through their lives and work, failures and successes – get to know the individuals who have been awarded the Nobel Prize on the Nobel Prize Conversations podcast. Find it on Acast, or wherever you listen to pods. https://linktr.ee/NobelPrizeConversations © Nobel Prize Outreach. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
"If you imagine each researcher as a kind of a neuron in the communal brain, then people call me a connection machine.” – David Baker is a true believer in collaboration. He sees mentoring as one of the most essential parts of his job. Baker spends most of his time at his laboratory and his colleagues explain his role as a connection machine as he connects “people who are working on things that are related”. He believes that progress in science is made by working together and sharing ideas.Despite being in high demand since receiving his Nobel Prize, Baker has turned down all work trips to focus on being present in his laboratory and exploring new frontiers in science. The only work trip he has made since the prize announcement in October 2024 is the journey to Stockholm to receive his Nobel Prize. And for that, he brought 200 former students to Sweden celebrate the award with him. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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