ETH Podcast
For the past four years, we have featured conversations with experts on current research topics in the ETH podcast. At the moment the podcast is taking an indefinite break.
Until we launch a new podcast format, 43 exciting episodes are available for you to listen to. The podcast is in English and you can subscribe through any of the usual podcast platforms or listen to it here.
Episode 43: Looking back - How ETH has shaped my life
In the ETH podcast two former students look back on how their time at ETH shaped them. Looking back, the impossible is somehow possible, you just have to take one step at a time.
Agnieszka Rozniak and Hanno Kappen. What do the former students do today? How did their time at ETH shape them, what have they learned for life when they look back, and what advice would they give to young ETH students?
Dialogue partners: Agnieszka Rozniak, former ETH Geomatics Engineering student and Product Engineer on the ArcGIS Urban, and Hanno Kappen, former ETH Information Technology and Electrical Engineering student and Vehicle Software and Electronics Lead at Stellar Pizza (FKA Serve Automation)
Duration: 20:11 min.
Published: 22.12.22022
A needle and some blood are usually needed for medical diagnostics. ETH scientists are part of a consortium called Zurich Exhalomics – a large team working on the future of diagnostics, where illnesses can be diagnosed using no more than a breath sample. In this ETH Podcast, Renato Zenobi and Bettina Streckenbach, both of whom are involved in this project, talk to host Jennifer Khakshouri about breath analysis and what it takes to revolutionise medical diagnostics.
Dialogue partners: Bettina Streckenbach, a doctoral student in the Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences, and Renato Zenobi, Professor of Analytical Chemistry
Duration: 18:30 min.
Published: 25.11.22022
In this ETH Podcast, research assistant Ludwig Berger talks about adopting the sonic approach to landscape architecture, capturing sounds with students, and recording a selection on records. Ludwig also talks about the new publication entitled “Bodies of Water - A Swiss Landscape Trilogy”, a collection from collective sonic and photographic research spanning the years 2015–2021.
Benno Zogg and Névine Schepers - scientists at the ETH Center for Security Studies- talk about balancing media appearances with their work on Eastern European History and Nuclear Power. They also discuss how they communicate complex content and navigate short answers to big questions.
Dialogue partners: Névine Schepers (Senior Researcher in the Swiss and Euro-Atlantic Security-Team at the Center for Security Studies) and Benno Zogg (Senior Researcher and Team Head of the Swiss and Euro-Atlantic Security Team at the Center for Security Studies)
Duration: 24:49 Min
Published: 15.9.22
Before it reaches our plates, the food we eat usually has travelled a long way. In this episode of the ETH podcast, we talk about how far a breakfast travels and the resulting political and ecological significance. Chair of the World Food System Center Professor Robert Finger and ETH researcher, lecturer and outreach coordinator Kenza Benabderrazik speak about the many layers of the system that feeds people around the globe.
Dialogue partners: Kenza Benabderrazik (ETH researcher, lecturer and outreach coordinator) and Robert Finger (Chair of the World Food System Center)
Duration: 26 Min
Published: 27.05.2022
Due to political differences, Switzerland is now largely excluded from Horizon Europe, the importang European Union’s research programme. Robert-Jan Smits is the former Director-General of Research and Innovation at the European Commission and wants research to reunite. Stick to Science is not only a petition that he and many others signed. ETH professor Andreas Wallraff and ERC Grant recipient Katharina Gapp also talk about their frustration at the impact that politics is having on their research, namely quantum and neuroscience.
Dialogue partners: Katharina Gapp (ERC Grant recipient), Andreas Wallraff (ETH Professor) and Robert-Jan Smits (former Director-General of Research and Innovation at the European Commission)
Duration: 19.00 Min
Published: 08.03.2022
On International Women’s Day, the ETH podcast has a close look at facts and figures regarding gender equality at ETH. Rachael Garrett, a professor in the Department of Humanities, Social and Political Science, tells her story about working full-time and criticism she gets from those minding her children. We also ask two male professors a few biased questions that only women usually get to hear, and Julia Dannath, one of ETH’s Vice Presidents, explains how things are speeding up when it comes to achieving more equality, in professorships, for instance.
Dialogue partners: Rachael Garrett (ETH Professor) and Julia Dannath (ETH’s Vice President)
Duration: 19.00 min
Published: 08.03.2022
Usually, failure is something shameful, or at least it used to be. Nowadays, people rather talk about how crucial failure is for success. Sascha Stocker, who used to be on the board of the ETH Entrepreneur Club, talks about organising “FuckUp Nights,” and ETH Professor Manu Kapur explains how he discovered the power of failure for teaching mathematics.
Dialogue partners: Sascha Stocker (ETH Entrepreneur Club) and Manu Kapur (ETH Professor)
Duration: 19.00 min
Published: 04.02.2022
Albert Einstein is somewhat as famous as a pop star in and outside of the science community.In the ETH Podcast, we talk about why he is still a role model not only for young scientists.
Dialogue partners: Patrick Karpiczenko (author and impersonator) and Marina Krstic Marinkovic (ETH Zurich)
Duration: 15.00 min
Published: 03.12.2021
The two scientists Alexander Puzrin and Johan Gaume solved the mysterious incident this year. They tell us in the ETH podcast why they got interested in the incident and what happened after they published their findings.
Dialogue partners: Alexander Puzrin and Johan Gaume
Duration: 19.00 min
Published: 22.10.2021
The goal of Skintegrity.CH is to understand and treat skin diseases and abnormalities in wound healing. Sabine and Edoardo from the ETH as well as Lukas Sommer from the University of Zürich talk about our largest organ, the skin - from the tiniest particles to its breeding.
Dialogue partners: Sabine, Edoardo and Lukas Sommer
Duration: 20.16 min
Published: 27.08.2021
In this episode Martin Ackermann and Tanja Stadler, both professors at ETH Zurich, talk about what the pandemic taught them about the intersection of science and politics, how they cope with being people of public interest and also about how they hope the task force will become redundant in the future, even though the virus remains.
Dialogue partners: Martin Ackermann and Tanja Stadler
Duration: 26.57 min
Published: 13.08.2021
Domenico Giardini, Professor of Seismology and Geodynamics, and Adrian Glauser, Senior Researcher at the Institute for Astronomy, talk about their work in the ETH Podcast and contemplate the universe's dimension to time on planet earth.
Dialogue partners: Domenico Giardini and Adrian Glauser
Duration: 22.40 min
Published: 22.06.2021
For Claude Nicollier, the dream of flying to space came true four times. Judit Szulágyi - a professor in computational astrophysics at the ETH- has never left the earth's atmosphere so far. She is applying to become one of the next ESA astronauts.
Dialogue partners: Claude Nicollier und Judit Szulágyi
Duration: 18.40 min
Published: 18.05.2021
Nadine Bienefeld, Senior Researcher and Lecturer at the Department of Management, Technology, and Economics at the ETH, and Professor Gudela Grote tell us about their research and talk about how important it is to speak up in teams in stressful working environments.
Dialogue partners: Nadine Bienefeld and Gudela Grote
Duration: 18.25 min
Published: 24.03.2021
ETH senior lecturer Myriam Dunn Cavelty never imagined that cybersecurity would evolve from a niche subject to a big thing. She talks about how cybersecurity and uncertainty come as a pair.
Karin Holzhauser decided to go back to university after having had a career in the business world and having stayed home with her family for a while. Out of all subjects, she chose Computer Science at ETH Zurich as, after all, she wanted to get involved and shape the future.
Dialogue partners: Myriam Dunn Cavelty and Karin Holzhauser
Duration: 21.13 min
Published: 23.02.2021
Tierry Hörmann, the old, and Luca Dahle the new president of VSETH, the umbrella organisation of all students, talk about how they reach out to fellow students. With ETH-Rector Sarah Springman they also talk about the few positive aspects of the crisis.
Dialogue partners: Tierry Hörmann, Luca Dahle and Sarah Springman
Duration: 28.46 min
Published: 22.12.2020
Joachim Schoss, president of Myhandycap, a Foundation for people with disabilities and chronic illnesses, and also an ambassador of the Cybathlon, and ETH-Robotics Professor Robert Riener talk about the idea of a competition for people with physical disabilities and how the competition fuels scientific progress.
Dialogue partners: Joachim Schoss and Robert Riener
Duration: 25.45 min
Published: 04.11.2020
Adina Rom, executive Director of the initiative ETH for Development (ETH4D) and Ph.D. student Churchill Agutu talk about how research and practice can make a difference in fighting poverty. ETH4D wants to tackle poverty by improving certain circumstances, such as access to off-grid electricity.
Dialogue partners: Adina Rom and Churchill Agutu
Duration: 32.13 min
Published: 29.09.2020
ETH computer scientists Julia Vogt and Fanny Yang work in the field of Machine Learning and Medicine. In the ETH-Podcast, both researchers talk about what drew them to their field, and why machines will never replace human beings in the medical field.
Dialogue partners: Julia Vogt and Fanny Yang
Duration: 25.10 ,in
Published: 26.08.2020
Samuel Kunz has been a quadriplegic since a swimming accident. Right now he’s preparing to take part in the CYBATHLON 2020. With the support of neuroscientist Rea Lehner and a team from ETH Zurich, Samuel Kunz is training his brain to navigate a car through a computer racecourse via a Brain-Computer Interface (BCI).
Dialogue partners: Samuel Kunz and Rea Lehner
Duration: 18.41 min
Published: 06.02.2020
Joe Paradiso is Professor at the MIT Media Lab in Media Arts and Sciences, and he also plays an important role in the international scene of electronic music. In our Podcast, he explains why it is essential for scientists like him to think out of the box.
Dialogue partner: Joe Paradiso
Duration: 26.04 min
Published: 22.01.2020
As of this semester, it is possible to do a master’s degree in Quantum Engineering at ETH Zürich. We accompany a student, talk to a professor about the curricula and also ask people from the industry what their hopes are in the graduating class in Quantum Engineering from ETH Zurich.
Duration: 16.50 min
Published: 11.11.2019
The Times Higher Education (THE) summit will bring leaders from around the world to ETH Zurich to explore the topics regarding talent. Rector Sarah Springman and Professor Manu Kapur talk about how they seek for talented people and how talents, learning skills, and knowledge can merge.
Dialogue partners: Sarah Springman and Manu Kapur
Duration: 32.22 min
Published: 09.09.2019
We talk to the ETH professors Benjamin Grewe, Simone Schürle and Thomas Hofmann about the advantages and the dangers of Artificial Intelligence. We also take a glimpse into the future and talk about new technologies such as little implants to enhance human brains.
Dialogue partners: Benjamin Grewe, Simone Schürle and Thomas Hofmann
Duration: 18.30 min
Published: 22.08.2019
What do grasshoppers and mealworms taste like? ETH experts Christina Hartman and professor Alexander Mathys talk about whether one can overcome disgust and what the benefits are - for people and the environment - if more insects instead of meat end up on our plates.
Dialogue partners: Christina Hartman and Alexander Mathys
Duration: 20.10 min
Published: 18.07.2019
Many small, local steps may lead more effectively to peace than big dreams of a perfect state. This principle lies at the heart of an innovative approach to conflict mediation developed by the late Kenyan mediator Dekha Ibrahim Abdi and ETH peace researcher Simon Mason.
Dialogue partners: Simon Mason and Kaltuma Hassan Noorow
Duration: 14.04 min
Published: 25.04.2019
Julia Wysling, a 28-year-old mathematics graduate and former VSETH President, and Richard Ernst, the 85-year-old Nobel laureate in chemistry, talk about their alma mater, their experiences abroad – plus the challenges they faced when returning to Switzerland – and what they’re most passionate about (besides science, of course).
Dialogue partners: Julia Wysling and Richard Ernst
Duration: 14.04 min
Published: 25.04.2019
Last November, news from China shook the research community. Scientist He Jiankui claimed he had edited the genomes of twin girls with the CRISPR/Cas technology. Effy Vayena, Professor of Bioethics at ETH Zurich, and Hantao Zhao, a Chinese PhD student at Disney Research and the Chair of Cognitive Science at ETH Zurich, discuss the ethical implications of this case. Does the nationality of researchers play a role in ethical views and how does global competition in science influence ethical decisions?
Dialogue partners: Effy Vayena und Hantao Zhao
Duration: 33.50 min
Published: 28.02.2019
The ETH spin-off ANYboticscall_made offers a very special product: a dog-like robot that goes by the name of ANYmal. In the future, ANYmal is to play a leading role in maintenance work in the sewerage system or on offshore platforms.
Dialogue partners: Péter Fankhauser, Roland Siegwart und Hanspeter Fässler
Duration: 18.50 min
Published: 17.01.2019
Would you be willing to spend four days and nights developing a project with strangers? And what about doing it in public in a glass box? The InCube Challengecall_made organised by the ETH Entrepreneur Clubcall_made, a student-run non-profit organisation, requires participants to do just that.
Dialogue partners: Sebastian Pinegger, Lino Guzzella, Agnieszka Roznia
Duration: 19.15 min
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