Intellectually Curious
Intellectually Curious is a podcast by Mike Breault featuring over 1,400 AI-powered explorations across science, mathematics, philosophy, and personal growth. Each short-form episode is generated, refined, and published with the help of large language models—turning curiosity into an ongoing audio encyclopedia. Designed for anyone who loves learning, it offers quick dives into everything from combinatorics and cryptography to systems thinking and psychology.
Inspiration for this podcast:
"Muad'Dib learned rapidly because his first training was in how to learn. And the first lesson of all was the basic trust that he could learn. It's shocking to find how many people do not believe they can learn, and how many more believe learning to be difficult. Muad'Dib knew that every experience carries its lesson."
― Frank Herbert, Dune
Note: These podcasts were made with NotebookLM. AI can make mistakes. Please double-check any critical information.
Intellectually Curious
HD 20794 d: An Eccentric Super-Earth's Route to Water and Habitability
On this episode, we dive into HD 20794 d, a ~5.8 Earth-mass super-Earth just about 20 light-years away. Its highly eccentric 647-day orbit swings from scorching close approaches to cooler distant phases, yet climate simulations suggest it can remain temperate long enough to retain its oceans. The trade-off is faster long-term water loss, but that very process boosts high-altitude water vapor, making the world a prime target for detection with next-generation telescopes via transmission spectroscopy. If confirmed, these systems could reveal water—and perhaps long-lived habitability on larger rocky worlds—thanks to vigorous plate tectonics and stable climates.
Note: This podcast was AI-generated, and sometimes AI can make mistakes. Please double-check any critical information.
Sponsored by Embersilk LLC