The Stephen Wolfram Podcast

by Wolfram Research

NewWhat’s the Future for Pure Math Research in the Age of AI?October 9, 2026 · 1 h 15 min

Episodes: 553
Released: several times a week
Latest episode: Oct 9, 2026

About the podcast

Stephen Wolfram is the creator of Mathematica, Wolfram|Alpha and Wolfram Language; the author of A New Kind of Science; and the founder and CEO of Wolfram Research. Over the course of nearly four decades, he has been a pioneer in the development and application of computational thinking—and has been responsible for many discoveries, inventions and innovations in science, technology and business. On his podcast, Stephen discusses topics ranging from the history of science to the future of civilization and ethics of AI.

Episodes 553

What’s the Future for Pure Math Research in the Age of AI?
October 9, 20261 h 15 min
Stephen reads a recent blog from https://writings.stephenwolfram.com and then answers questions live from his viewers.Read the blog along with Stephen …
Show notes
Stephen reads a recent blog from https://writings.stephenwolfram.com and then answers questions live from his viewers.
Read the blog along with Stephen: https://writings.stephenwolfram.com/2026/09/whats-the-future-for-pure-math-research-in-the-age-of-ai/
Watch the original livestream on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPrWX8i1htM
Personal Update & AMA (September 18, 2026)
October 8, 20261 h 51 min
Stephen Wolfram returns with a personal update and Ask Me Anything.Watch the original livestream: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zF5enEPkoNA
2026 Wolfram Summer Research Institute: Opening Keynote
July 16, 20261 h 43 min
Stephen gives his opening keynote for the 2026 Wolfram Summer Research Institute. https://education.wolfram.com/summer-research-institute/
History of Science & Technology Q&A (June 17, 2026)
June 30, 20261 h 42 min
Stephen Wolfram answers questions from his viewers about the history of science and technology as part of an unscripted livestream series, also available on YouTube here …
Show notes
Stephen Wolfram answers questions from his viewers about the history of science and technology as part of an unscripted livestream series, also available on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IE03Z481PVg&list=PLxn-kpJHbPx3IO8b1yvkNyASj9i_Tw4n8&pp=0gcJCdAEOCosWNin
Topics: Lost scientific discoveries and ideas ahead of their time - How quickly civilization can take in new ideas - What it would mean for science to reach a final framework - The status of string theory and its experimental evidence - The November Revolution and the development of particle physics - The origins of quark names and particle-physics terminology
Future of Science and Technology Q&A (June 12, 2026)
June 29, 20261 h 15 min
Stephen Wolfram answers questions from his viewers about the future of science and technology as part of an unscripted livestream series, also available on YouTube here …
Show notes
Stephen Wolfram answers questions from his viewers about the future of science and technology as part of an unscripted livestream series, also available on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wlhZURSQIs8&list=PLxn-kpJHbPx2vIchOwIBRkDeKjuJDYTOQ
Topics discussed: AI shaping human reality and agency - The nature of progress - The future of human biology and health - The boundaries of the brain
Business, Innovation and Managing Life (June 10, 2026)
June 28, 20261 h 18 min
Stephen Wolfram answers questions from his viewers about business, innovation, and managing life as part of an unscripted livestream series, also available on YouTube here …
Show notes
Stephen Wolfram answers questions from his viewers about business, innovation, and managing life as part of an unscripted livestream series, also available on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-704PZz0Uo&list=PLxn-kpJHbPx0UJceDNIMUAcjYGYFnW8yo
Topics discussed: AI and learning - Business ideas and startup strategy - Decision-making in business - Design and product development - Remote work and deciding where to live
History of Science & Technology Q&A (June 3, 2026)
June 27, 20261 h 20 min
Stephen Wolfram answers questions from his viewers about the history of science and technology as part of an unscripted livestream series, also available on YouTube here …
Show notes
Stephen Wolfram answers questions from his viewers about the history of science and technology as part of an unscripted livestream series, also available on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IE03Z481PVg&list=PLxn-kpJHbPx3IO8b1yvkNyASj9i_Tw4n8&pp=0gcJCdAEOCosWNin

Topics: How the idea of discrete space developed - Why personal records matter for the history of science - How people and fields become part of history - Encounters with the past through people, machines and artifacts
Games between Programs: The Ruliology of Competition
June 24, 20261 h 21 min
Stephen reads a recent blog from https://writings.stephenwolfram.com and then answers questions live from his viewers.Read the blog along with Stephen …
Show notes
Stephen reads a recent blog from https://writings.stephenwolfram.com and then answers questions live from his viewers.

Read the blog along with Stephen: https://writings.stephenwolfram.com/2026/06/games-between-programs-the-ruliology-of-competition/

Watch the original livestream on YouTube: https://youtu.be/4-CTOXSlYik
Future of Science and Technology Q&A (May 29, 2026)
June 9, 20261 h 25 min
Stephen Wolfram answers questions from his viewers about the future of science and technology as part of an unscripted livestream series, also available on YouTube here …
Show notes
Stephen Wolfram answers questions from his viewers about the future of science and technology as part of an unscripted livestream series, also available on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wlhZURSQIs8&list=PLxn-kpJHbPx2vIchOwIBRkDeKjuJDYTOQ

Topics discussed: How much control should we give AI? - AI's use in biology Future transportation - How robots could help explore the Moon and deep ocean Why underwater communication is so difficult - Future cities and microclimates
Science & Technology Q&A for Kids (and others) [May 22, 2026]
May 28, 202652 min
Stephen Wolfram answers general questions from his viewers about science and technology as part of an unscripted livestream series, also available on YouTube here: https://wolfr.am/youtube-sw-qaTopics: Why …
Show notes
Stephen Wolfram answers general questions from his viewers about science and technology as part of an unscripted livestream series, also available on YouTube here: https://wolfr.am/youtube-sw-qa

Topics: Why perpetual motion machines fail - What might be driving the universe's expansion - How particles emerge from the structure of space - Entropy and the Big Bang theory - How temperature can become negative
Future of Science and Technology Q&A (May 15, 2026)
May 28, 20261 h 26 min
Stephen Wolfram answers questions from his viewers about the future of science and technology as part of an unscripted livestream series, also available on YouTube here …
Show notes
Stephen Wolfram answers questions from his viewers about the future of science and technology as part of an unscripted livestream series, also available on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wlhZURSQIs8&list=PLxn-kpJHbPx2vIchOwIBRkDeKjuJDYTOQ

Topics discussed: How human understanding evolves - The future of the scientific method - Restoring movement after paralysis - Using physics to look back at Earth's history - Life in virtual worlds - Space-based data centers - AI for verifying code
Business, Innovation and Managing Life (May 13, 2026)
May 28, 20261 h 22 min
Stephen Wolfram answers questions from his viewers about business, innovation, and managing life as part of an unscripted livestream series, also available on YouTube here …
Show notes
Stephen Wolfram answers questions from his viewers about business, innovation, and managing life as part of an unscripted livestream series, also available on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-704PZz0Uo&list=PLxn-kpJHbPx0UJceDNIMUAcjYGYFnW8yo

Topics discussed: Open source in the age of AI - Making AI useful without being fooled by it - Accountability for ownerless AI - Deploying AI in the real world
History of Science & Technology Q&A (May 6, 2026)
May 28, 20261 h 13 min
Stephen Wolfram answers questions from his viewers about the history of science and technology as part of an unscripted livestream series, also available on YouTube here …
Show notes
Stephen Wolfram answers questions from his viewers about the history of science and technology as part of an unscripted livestream series, also available on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IE03Z481PVg&list=PLxn-kpJHbPx3IO8b1yvkNyASj9i_Tw4n8&pp=0gcJCdAEOCosWNin

Topics: Lessons from the history of science - Why scientific progress isn't linear - Ancient inefficiencies and bad inventions - AI, automation and human motivation - Why humans started doing math
Science & Technology Q&A for Kids (and others) [May 1, 2026]
May 15, 20261 h 22 min
Stephen Wolfram answers general questions from his viewers about science and technology as part of an unscripted livestream series, also available on YouTube here: https://wolfr.am/youtube-sw-qaTopics: Why …
Show notes
Stephen Wolfram answers general questions from his viewers about science and technology as part of an unscripted livestream series, also available on YouTube here: https://wolfr.am/youtube-sw-qa

Topics: Why brains matter in biology - Evolution beyond biology - Why evolution builds life the way it does
Business, Innovation and Managing Life (April 29, 2026)
May 15, 20261 h 15 min
Stephen Wolfram answers questions from his viewers about business, innovation, and managing life as part of an unscripted livestream series, also available on YouTube here …
Show notes
Stephen Wolfram answers questions from his viewers about business, innovation, and managing life as part of an unscripted livestream series, also available on YouTube here: https://wolfr.am/youtube-sw-business-qa

Topics discussed: Product strategy & company focus - AI's impact on business & society - Productive leadership & paradigm-shifting ideas
Future of Science and Technology Q&A (April 24, 2026)
May 14, 20261 h 30 min
Stephen Wolfram answers questions from his viewers about the future of science and technology as part of an unscripted livestream series, also available on YouTube here: https://wolfr.am/youtube-sw-qaTopics …
Show notes
Stephen Wolfram answers questions from his viewers about the future of science and technology as part of an unscripted livestream series, also available on YouTube here: https://wolfr.am/youtube-sw-qa

Topics discussed: Quantum biology - Mass spectrometers on the Moon - Quantum algorithms vs. traditional algorithms - Future advances in chemotherapy and stem cells
Science & Technology Q&A for Kids (and others) [April 10, 2026]
May 14, 20261 h 13 min
Stephen Wolfram answers general questions from his viewers about science and technology as part of an unscripted livestream series, also available on YouTube here: https://wolfr.am/youtube-sw-qaTopics: Proofs …
Show notes
Stephen Wolfram answers general questions from his viewers about science and technology as part of an unscripted livestream series, also available on YouTube here: https://wolfr.am/youtube-sw-qa

Topics: Proofs in the age of AI - Learning and communicating proofs - How AI handles errors and bugs
Ep 2: Philosophy Discussion with Stephen Wolfram and Luz Christopher Seiberth
April 17, 20261 h 22 min
Stephen Wolfram plays the role of Salonnière in this ongoing series of intellectual explorations with philosophers.
Future of Science and Technology Q&A (April 3, 2026)
April 17, 20261 h 26 min
Stephen Wolfram answers questions from his viewers about the future of science and technology as part of an unscripted livestream series, also available on YouTube here: https://wolfr.am/youtube-sw-qaTopics …
Show notes
Stephen Wolfram answers questions from his viewers about the future of science and technology as part of an unscripted livestream series, also available on YouTube here: https://wolfr.am/youtube-sw-qa

Topics discussed: What counts as knowledge with AI? - Machine curiosity and new ways of thinking - How will future humans look at our science? - AI's final form - Exploring space and beyond
Science & Technology Q&A for Kids (and others) [March 13, 2026]
March 27, 20261 h 13 min
Stephen Wolfram answers general questions from his viewers about science and technology as part of an unscripted livestream series, also available on YouTube here: https://wolfr.am/youtube-sw-qaTopics: Bugs in …
Show notes
Stephen Wolfram answers general questions from his viewers about science and technology as part of an unscripted livestream series, also available on YouTube here: https://wolfr.am/youtube-sw-qa

Topics: Bugs in software and whether the universe could have bugs - Why restarting a system can restore order - How wireless signals manage to coexist - How radio sound gets encoded onto a signal
Future of Science and Technology Q&A (March 6, 2026)
March 19, 20261 h 12 min
Stephen Wolfram answers questions from his viewers about the future of science and technology as part of an unscripted livestream series, also available on YouTube here: https://wolfr.am/youtube-sw-qaTopics …
Show notes
Stephen Wolfram answers questions from his viewers about the future of science and technology as part of an unscripted livestream series, also available on YouTube here: https://wolfr.am/youtube-sw-qa

Topics discussed: Human senses effect on science and research - AI automation and the future of work - AI hype cycles and real progress - Machine intelligence and consciousness - Automated visualization and interfaces - Genetic engineering and molecular manufacturing between plants and humans
History of Science & Technology Q&A (March 4, 2026)
March 19, 20261 h 25 min
Stephen Wolfram answers questions from his viewers about the history of science and technology as part of an unscripted livestream series, also available on YouTube here: https://wolfr.am/youtube-sw-qaTopics …
Show notes
Stephen Wolfram answers questions from his viewers about the history of science and technology as part of an unscripted livestream series, also available on YouTube here: https://wolfr.am/youtube-sw-qa

Topics: The beginning of science and physics - How people in the past understood nature - Celebrity status of scientists - Forces that drive scientific progress - History of logic
Ep 1: Philosophy Discussion with Stephen Wolfram and Mark Jago
March 17, 20262 h 6 min
Stephen Wolfram plays the role of Salonnière in this new series of intellectual explorations with philosophers.
What Ultimately Is There? Metaphysics and the Ruliad
March 7, 20262 h 12 min
Stephen reads a recent blog from https://writings.stephenwolfram.com and then answers questions live from his viewers.Read the blog along with Stephen …
Show notes
Stephen reads a recent blog from https://writings.stephenwolfram.com and then answers questions live from his viewers.

Read the blog along with Stephen: https://writings.stephenwolfram.com/2026/02/what-ultimately-is-there-metaphysics-and-the-ruliad/

Watch the original livestream on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brL8Ty0jXM0
Business, Innovation and Managing Life (February 18, 2026)
March 5, 20261 h 19 min
Stephen Wolfram answers questions from his viewers about business, innovation, and managing life as part of an unscripted livestream series, also available on YouTube here …
Show notes
Stephen Wolfram answers questions from his viewers about business, innovation, and managing life as part of an unscripted livestream series, also available on YouTube here: https://wolfr.am/youtube-sw-business-qa

Topics discussed: Business ideas using AI - Value of AI in business - Prompting and human interaction with AI - Possibilities for AI infrastructure - Reasoning, logic and benchmarks for LLMS - Advanced AI behavior and communication
Future of Science and Technology Q&A (February 13, 2026)
February 24, 20261 h 17 min
Stephen Wolfram answers questions from his viewers about the future of science and technology as part of an unscripted livestream series, also available on YouTube here: https://wolfr.am/youtube-sw-qaTopics …
Show notes
Stephen Wolfram answers questions from his viewers about the future of science and technology as part of an unscripted livestream series, also available on YouTube here: https://wolfr.am/youtube-sw-qa

Topics discussed: Technology that changes how we think - How humans might change over time - Exploring space and oceans - Why the physical world changes slowly vs. the digital world - Flying cars and houses
History of Science & Technology Q&A (February 11, 2026)
February 24, 20261 h 12 min
Stephen Wolfram answers questions from his viewers about the history of science and technology as part of an unscripted livestream series, also available on YouTube here: wolfr.am/youtube-sw-qaTopics: Early …
Show notes
Stephen Wolfram answers questions from his viewers about the history of science and technology as part of an unscripted livestream series, also available on YouTube here: wolfr.am/youtube-sw-qa

Topics: Early science communication - Accuracy vs. accessibility in science communication - Science communication with modern tools - Writing and recording science before modern tools - Scientific disagreement and challenges to authority - Economic status of scientists
Science & Technology Q&A for Kids (and others) [January 30, 2026]
February 22, 20261 h 16 min
Stephen Wolfram answers general questions from his viewers about science and technology as part of an unscripted livestream series, also available on YouTube here: https://wolfr.am/youtube-sw-qaTopics: How …
Show notes
Stephen Wolfram answers general questions from his viewers about science and technology as part of an unscripted livestream series, also available on YouTube here: https://wolfr.am/youtube-sw-qa

Topics: How light is generated and structured - What it means to see color - Constraints of human vision - How the brain interprets visual signals - Designing visual effects with AI
What Is Ruliology?
February 12, 20261 h 8 min
Stephen reads a recent blog from https://writings.stephenwolfram.com and then answers questions live from his viewers.Read the blog along with Stephen …
Show notes
Stephen reads a recent blog from https://writings.stephenwolfram.com and then answers questions live from his viewers.
Read the blog along with Stephen: https://writings.stephenwolfram.com/2026/01/what-is-ruliology/
Watch the original livestream on YouTube: https://youtu.be/dPMg8Rkl9n4
Future of Science and Technology Q&A (January 23, 2026)
February 3, 20261 h 25 min
Stephen Wolfram answers questions from his viewers about the future of science and technology as part of an unscripted livestream series, also available on YouTube here: https://wolfr.am/youtube-sw-qaTopics …
Show notes
Stephen Wolfram answers questions from his viewers about the future of science and technology as part of an unscripted livestream series, also available on YouTube here: https://wolfr.am/youtube-sw-qa

Topics discussed: Engineering the human body - Life beyond biological definitions - Biology as a computational science - The future of psychology as a science

These are the latest 40 of 553 episodes. You’ll find older episodes in the podcast’s feed.

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