Intellectually Curious
Intellectually Curious is a podcast by Mike Breault featuring over 1,600 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
Qhapaq Ñan: The Royal Inca Road and the Art of Connecting an Empire
An engineering marvel built without iron tools or wheels, the Qhapaq Ñan spanned 40,000 kilometers from Colombia to Chile and Argentina. We explore how the Incas carved stairs into mountains, engineered drainage, and relied on runners and llamas to move information and cargo, all within a social system that rebuilt grass bridges each year through mita labor. From vertical archipelago trade to kolkas and apuchates, the road stitched diverse ecologies into a single empire and its legacy still shapes communities along the route.
Note: This podcast was AI-generated, and sometimes AI can make mistakes. Please double-check any critical information.
Sponsored by Embersilk LLC