Nobel Prize Conversations
by Nobel Prize Outreach
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. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer
Episodes
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First reactions | Michael Woodford, prize in economic sciences 2026 | Telephone interview
“They're probably hoping I'll cancel the exam.” – Michael Woodford was scheduled to be setting his economics students an exam on the morning of October 12th, when he was woken by a call from Stockholm at 4:30am. Just after listening to the announcement of the 2026 prize in economic sciences,...
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First reactions | Navi Pillay, Nobel Peace Prize 2026 | Telephone interview
In this call with the Nobel Prize soon after the announcement, Pillay says she feels overwhelmed about being a Nobel Peace Prize laureate. “A total surprise, I’m deeply honoured and touched.” – Navi Pillay received the news about her 2026 peace prize at an international conference in the…
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First reactions | Anne Carson, Nobel Prize in Literature 2026 | telephone interview
“Start in the middle, I always say” – Anne Carson was sweeping the kitchen floor at her home in Reykjavík, Iceland, when the phone rang and she learned that she had been awarded the 2026 Nobel Prize in Literature. “It seems a little insane,” Carson says in this conversation with the Nobel Prize...
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First reactions | Kenso Soai, Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2026 | telephone interview
"I'm very excited to hear the news. Good news. Very good news." – In this brief conversation, recorded shortly after the announcement of his Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Kenso Soai speaks of how happy he is to have his group's work recognised. He tells the Nobel Prize's Adam Smith how the search for...
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First reactions | Francis Halzen, Nobel Prize in Physics 2026 | telephone interview
"In retrospect, the most amazing thing is that we got funded for this project." – Francis Halzen recalls greeting each milestone in the creation of the massive IceCube neutrino detector under the South Pole not with pride, but with surprise. In this conversation with the Nobel Prize's Adam Smith,...
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First reactions | Peter Hegemann, Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2026 | telephone interview
"Call me back, I have something important for you." – Belatedly recognising the Swedish prefix to the number he was asked to dial, Peter Hegemann called back to discover that he had been awarded the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. Here, in this conversation with the Nobel Prize's Adam...
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First reactions | Georg Nagel, Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2026 | telephone interview
“I didn't expect this, really... I thought it's still too early to get this prize in medicine optogenetics.” – Georg Nagel's surprise upon learning that he was to be awarded the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was evident. He received the news in Italy on a sun-drenched terrace,...
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First reactions | Karl Deisseroth, Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2026 | telephone interview
"So much mystery now finally seems on the brink of elucidation." – Karl Deisseroth was working on a paper, late into the night, and had just gone to bed when the call came from Stockholm breaking the news that he had been awarded the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. In this interview...
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'Translating the infinite sentence' Examining the work of László Krasznahorkai with translator Daniel Gustafsson
In this episode we discuss the work of 2025 literature laureate Lázsló Krasznahorkai with literary translator Daniel Gustaffson. Having translated many of Krasznahorkai's novels from Hungarian to Swedish, Gustafsson is an expert on his depictions of apocalyptic terror and long, winding sentences....
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'Living through the AI revolution' Discussing our changing world with Nobel Prize laureates
"There's very few cases of more intelligent things being controlled by less intelligent things. Once they're a lot smarter than us, I don't think they'll put up with that." – Geoffrey Hinton Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly developing and changing the world around us. In this special bonus...
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'The art of collaboration' with 2025 physics laureates: John Clarke, Michel Devoret and John Martinis
Forty years ago, a series of experiments demonstrated that the bizarre properties of the quantum world can be made concrete in a system big enough to be held in your hand. John Clarke, Michel Devoret and John Martinis – all at different points in their careers – collaborated to make this...
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'What have we learned so far?' Mid-season reflections with Adam and Karin
At the halfway point of the season, Karin Svensson and Adam Smith reflect on what they have learned from conversations with Nobel Prize laureates and why there is no single mould for a successful scientist. They discuss the challenge of explaining complex ideas, the importance of embracing...
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'The technological drivers of progress' with economic sciences laureates: Joel Mokyr, Philippe Aghion and Peter Howitt
We are living during a period of economic growth, but that hasn't always been the case. Throughout history, even during eras of technological advancements – economic growth was not a given. The 2025 laureates in economic sciences – Joel Mokyr, Philippe Aghion and Peter Howitt – help us to...
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'Decoding the immune system' with 2025 medicine laureates: Mary Brunkow, Fred Ramsdell and Shimon Sakaguchi
Patience, persistence and a strong will for never giving up. Discovering how the immune system is kept in check demanded a lot of our 2025 medicine laureates. Mary Brunkow, Fred Ramsdell and Shimon Sakaguchi spent years finding out how our body's powerful immune system is regulated – leading to…
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'Where do ideas come from?' with 2025 chemistry laureates: Susumu Kitagawa, Richard Robson and Omar Yaghi
Have you heard of MOFs? A new field of chemistry opened up with the discovery of Metal organic frameworks and the scientists behind it were awarded the 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Richard Robson, Omar Yaghi and Susumu Kitagawa all let their minds wander to unplanned places and changed…
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First reactions | Peter Howitt, prize in economic sciences 2025 | Telephone interview
“I’m not one of these people who keeps the phone on, and the champagne in the fridge.” Peter Howitt certainly didn’t seem to be expecting the news of his 2025 prize in economic sciences. In this call recorded just after the announcement, he talks to the Nobel Prize’s Adam Smith about his...
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First reactions | Philippe Aghion, prize in economic sciences 2025 | Telephone interview
“Peter, Peter, make yourself available, your phone, they’re trying to reach you!” Listen to Philippe Aghion telling Peter Howitt that the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has been attempting to call him, captured as part of this call made shortly after the public announcement of their joint 2025...
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First reactions | Joel Mokyr, prize in economic sciences 2025 | Telephone interview
“I had a whole list of people that I thought were going to win,” says Joel Mokyr, “And I wasn’t on it.” Waking early, he opened up his computer to find out who had been awarded the 2025 prize in economic sciences, and found emails saying ’Congratulations.’ Then, as Mokyr tells the Nobel Prize’s...
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First reactions | Michel Devoret, Nobel Prize in Physics 2025 | Telephone interview
“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...
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First reactions | Maria Corina Machado, Nobel Peace Prize 2025 | Telephone interview
“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…
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Finding out the news | Maria Corina Machado, Nobel Peace Prize 2025
“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…
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First reactions | László Krasznahorkai, Nobel Prize in Literature 2025 | Telephone interview
“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...
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First reactions | Susumu Kitagawa, Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2025 | Telephone interview
“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...
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First reactions | Richard Robson, Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2025 | Telephone interview
“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…
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First reactions | Omar Yaghi, Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2025 | Telephone interview
“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…
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First reactions | John Martinis, Nobel Prize in Physics 2025 | Telephone interview
“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…
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First reactions | Fred Ramsdell, Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine | telephone interview
“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…
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First reactions | John Clarke, Nobel Prize in Physics 2025 | Telephone interview
“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…
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First reactions | Mary Brunkow, Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2025 | Telephone interview
“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…
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First reactions | Shimon Sakaguchi, Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2025 | Telephone interview
"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…
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A Time for Celebration: Adam Smith reveals what really gets our laureates celebrating
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...
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John Hopfield: Nobel Prize Conversations
“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...
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Simon Johnson: Nobel Prize Conversations
"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...
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Gary Ruvkun: Nobel Prize Conversations
“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…
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John Jumper: Nobel Prize Conversations
”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...
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Victor Ambros: Nobel Prize Conversations
“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...
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Daron Acemoglu: Nobel Prize Conversations
"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…
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David Baker: Nobel Prize Conversations
"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...
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James Robinson: Nobel Prize Conversations
"I just think a book can change your life." 2024 economic sciences laureate James Robinson loves books – he has about 10 000 at home. Growing up without a TV, he and his mother spent evenings discussing news from the newspaper and reading. It's no wonder his interest for social sciences, politics...
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Geoffrey Hinton: Nobel Prize Conversations
"When we remember, what we're doing is just making up a story that sounds plausible to us. That's what memories are." Join your host Adam Smith as he speaks to physicist Geoffrey Hinton, often called the godfather of AI. They discuss Hinton's childhood memories and how his family legacy of...
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First reactions | James Robinson, prize in economic sciences 2024 | Telephone interview
“Get up, you need to get up! You’ve won the Nobel Prize.” That’s how James Robinson discovered he was a 2024 economic sciences laureate, as his wife, Maria Angélica Bautista, woke him up. In this brief call with the Nobel Prize’s Adam Smith he talks about the root causes of poverty and how to…
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First reactions | Daron Acemoglu, prize in economic sciences 2024 | Telephone interview
“There’s nothing natural about 30-, 40-, 50- fold differences in income per capita in a globalised, connected world.” Daron Acemoglu, economic sciences laureate 2024, speaks about the root causes of persistent poverty among the poorest nations and how to build the types of inclusive institution...
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First reactions | Simon Johnson, prize in economic sciences 2024 | Telephone interview
“True, genuine, inclusive democracy matters, very clearly.” Simon Johnson, economic sciences laureate 2024, learnt of the award from the congratulatory text messages piling-up on his phone. In this short conversation with the Nobel Prize’s Adam Smith, recorded just moments after he had heard the...
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First reactions | Nihon Hidankyo, Nobel Peace Prize 2024 | Telephone interview
“The dream came true!” The prize came as a big surprise, says Masako Wada, a representative from the Japanese organisation Nihon Hidankyo, which works to achieve a world free of nuclear weapons. In this interview shortly after learning about the Nobel Peace Prize 2024, she shares her deep…
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First reactions | Han Kang, Nobel Prize in Literature 2024 | Telephone interview
”I’m so surprised and honoured.” 2024 literature laureate Han Kang had just finished dinner with her son at her home in Seoul when she received the news. In this interview with the Nobel Prize, she reflects on being the first South Korean literature laureate and talks about how writers as a...
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First reactions | David Baker, Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2024 | Telephone interview
“I got the phone call and my wife promptly started screaming.” News of the 2024 Nobel Prize in Chemistry gave David Baker’s household a very early wake up call. Here, just after the prize announcement, Baker speaks to the Nobel Prize’s Adam Smith about the exciting potential of building brand new...
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First reactions | John Jumper, Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2024 | Telephone interview
“It’s absolutely extraordinary.” John Jumper had just heard the news of his 2024 Nobel Prize in Chemistry when he spoke to the Nobel Prize’s Adam Smith. “I thought I had a 10 % chance,” he reveals. To save his nerves, his plan had been to sleep in until after the announcement, which didn’t quite...
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First reactions | Demis Hassabis, Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2024 | Telephone interview
“The best scientists paired with these kinds of tools will be able to do incredible things.” Demis Hassabis, 2024 Nobel Prize laureate in Chemistry, reflects on building the right research environment and the interplay between AI and individual scientists. This short conversation with Nobel…
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First reactions | John Hopfield, Nobel Prize in Physics 2024 | Telephone interview
“You have to build up from the bottom.” In this interview shortly after the announcement, 2024 physics laureate John Hopfield talks about how he found out about the prize when he was going through his e-mails. ”It didn't sink it until I got to the fourth e-mail!” Hopfield reflects on how to…
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First reactions | Geoffrey Hinton, Nobel Prize in Physics 2024 | Telephone interview
“How could I be sure it wasn’t a spoof call?” 2024 physics laureate Geoffrey Hinton received the phone call from Stockholm at around 2am in a hotel room in California, and multiple Swedish accents helped reassure him that his Nobel Prize in Physics was real. Greatly surprised, he talks to the…
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About this show
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.
See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer
Hosted by
Nobel Prize Outreach