Physics Magazine launches a new series of short podcasts, called Inside Physics, in which the magazine’s editors take a deep-dive into a result they highlighted. In the inaugural episode of the series, researchers with the Berkeley Lab Laser Accelerator Center (BELLA) share sounds and experiences from their laboratory, explain how they achieved a new laser-acceleration milestone, and discuss their plans for the future.

Podcast host Julie Gould and Physics Magazine Editor Matteo Rini speaks with research scientist Alexander Picksley and PhD student Joshua Stackhouse, both with Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California.

Music credit: Lunga by Sofia Ribeiro. Sofia is a singer, composer and educator from Portugal. She taught at Bobby McFerrin’s CircleSongSchool and was an artist in residence at Carnegie Hall in New York.

Produced by Julie Gould

Physics Magazine speaks with scientists who are relying on senses other than their sight, such as hearing and touch, to interpret data, communicate their research, and make art. For example, they use sonification—the transformation of data into sound—to “listen” to hydrogen bonds and interpret gravitational-wave signals and other astrophysical data. Sonification also offers tools for visually impaired researchers and scientific outreach.

Podcast host Julie Gould speaks with the following guests: Martin Gruebele, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, US; Carla Scaletti; Scott Hughes, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, US; Garry Foran, Swinburne University of Technology, Australia; Beatriz Garcia, National Technological University, Argentina; Anita Zanella, National Institute for Astrophysics, Italy; Nigel Meredith, British Antarctic Survey, UK; Diana Scarborough, University of Cambridge, UK.

Music credit: Sounds of Space project by Nigel Meredith, Diana Scarborough, and Kim Cunio. Excerpts from Celestial Incantations: Stone Age Ice; Aurora Musicalis: The Ending of the Symphony of the Harmony of Celestial Revelations; and Sunconscious: Sunset Phosphorescence.

Image credit: APS/Alan Stonebraker

Produced by Julie Gould.

In this episode of This is Physics, Physics Magazine speaks with two researchers and a chef who have spent the entire polar night at the Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station. The two researchers work with telescopes observing the cosmic microwave background.

Podcast host Julie Gould speaks with the following guests: Thomas Leps, BICEP/NSF/University of Minnesota; Allen Foster, SPT/NSF/Case Western Reserve University; Kelly Murphy, breakfast/pastry sous chef, NSF.

Music credit: Symphony Antarctica (excerpts from The Seasons: I. Summer and IV. Spring; Telescopes to the Stars: III. Cosmic Strings and IV. Quiet Nights), by Valmar Kurol and Michael Stibor. The symphony is the duo’s fourth album inspired by Antarctica. Kurol is a director of the Antarctican Society.

Image credit: Artsiom P/stock.adobe.com

Produced by Julie Gould.