FT Tech Tonic

In this episode, Tech Tonic dives into the science at the heart of quantum computing. How do technologists use unexplained subatomic phenomena to build powerful computers?

FT artificial intelligence editor Madhumita Murgia tells the story of quantum physics with the help of Sean Carroll, a theoretical physicist at Johns Hopkins University and hears from University of New South Wales professor Michelle Simmons to understand how engineers exploit weird quantum physics.

Presented by Madhumita Murgia and John Thornhill, produced by Josh Gabert-Doyon and Edwin Lane. Executive producer is Manuela Saragosa. Sound design by Breen Turner and Samantha Giovinco. The FT’s head of audio is Cheryl Brumley.

We're keen to hear more from our listeners about this show and want to know what you'd like to hear more of, so we're running a survey which you can find at ft.com/techtonicsurvey. It takes about 10 minutes to complete and you will be in with a chance to win a pair of Bose QuietComfort Earbuds.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

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Tech companies including Google, Microsoft and IBM are all working on plans for a commercially viable quantum computer. They say that these machines will be able to solve climate change, help develop new pharmaceutical drugs and transform our economy. But harnessing quantum physics requires overcoming massive challenges. 

As researchers tinker away on uber-sensitive, ultra-cold quantum computers and investors become increasingly interested in the potential commercial applications – some people in the quantum computing world aren’t buying the hype.

In this episode, FT innovation editor John Thornhill travels to the West Coast to visit Julie Love and Krysta Svore, both of Microsoft’s quantum computing programme, and tours Google’s quantum computing lab with engineer Erik Lucero. We hear from Bessemer Venture Partners’ investor David Cowan, and FT artificial intelligence editor Madhumita Murgia talks to long-time quantum computing researcher Sankar Das Sarma.

Presented by Madhumita Murgia and John Thornhill, produced by Josh Gabert-Doyon and Edwin Lane. Executive producer is Manuela Saragosa. Sound design by Breen Turner and Samantha Giovinco. The FT’s head of audio is Cheryl Brumley.

We're keen to hear more from our listeners about this show and want to know what you'd like to hear more of, so we're running a survey which you can find at ft.com/techtonicsurvey. It takes about 10 minutes to complete and you will be in with a chance to win a pair of Bose QuietComfort Earbuds.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the cybersecurity world they call it Q-Day, the day when a quantum computer will be built that can break the encryption of the internet.

John Thornhill and Madhumita Murgia speak to cybersecurity expert and former professional hacker Mark Carney about password cracking, and why quantum computers would be so good at it.

Renowned mathematician Peter Shor recounts how he became the first person to discover that quantum computers could upturn the encryption that underpins much of the internet. Jack Hidary, boss of the quantum technology company Sandbox AQ, tells us how quantum computers already pose a threat today, even if it’s decades before one powerful enough to threaten encryption will be built. And cryptographer Dan Bernstein explains why protecting ourselves from the quantum threat might just be down to better maths.

Presented by Madhumita Murgia and John Thornhill, produced by Josh Gabert-Doyon and Edwin Lane. Executive producer is Manuela Saragosa. Sound design by Breen Turner and Samantha Giovinco. The FT’s head of audio is Cheryl Brumley.

We're keen to hear more from our listeners about this show and want to know what you'd like to hear more of, so we're running a survey which you can find at ft.com/techtonicsurvey. It takes about 10 minutes to complete and you will be in with a chance to win a pair of Bose QuietComfort Earbuds.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tech companies and labs around the world are building a revolutionary new computer. Quantum computers harness the mysteries of quantum physics to perform calculations that seem impossible. The people building them say they’re going to change the world.

In a new season of Tech Tonic, FT tech journalists Madhumita Murgia and John Thornhill investigate the race to build a quantum computer, the impact they could have on security, innovation and business, and the confounding physics of the quantum world.

Are we really on the brink of a quantum revolution? And what will a future powered by quantum computing look like?

Check out stories and up-to-the-minute news from the Technology team at ft.com/technology

Presented by Madhumita Murgia and John Thornhill, produced by Josh Gabert-Doyon and Edwin Lane. Executive producer is Manuela Saragosa. Sound design by Breen Turner and Samantha Giovinco. The FT’s head of audio is Cheryl Brumley.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Billions of dollars are being spent by tech companies and investors on new technology to fight climate change. In the final episode of this series of Tech Tonic, Eric Toone, from Bill Gates’ Breakthrough Energy Ventures fund, tells FT columnist and host Pilita Clark why he believes technologies such as carbon capture and nuclear fusion can make a difference. But climate academic Mark Jacobson of Stanford University argues that renewables such as wind and solar mean we already have all the technology we need and the rest of climate tech is a dangerous distraction.

Want more?

Check out stories and up-to-the-minute news from the Technology team at ft.com/technology and from the Climate team at https://www.ft.com/climate-capital

Presented by Pilita Clark. Edwin Lane is senior producer. Produced by Josh Gabert-Doyon. Executive producer is Manuela Saragosa. Sound design by Samantha Giovinco and Breen Turner, with original music from Metaphor Music. The FT’s head of audio is Cheryl Brumley.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nuclear fusion is the reaction that powers stars and scientists say replicating it on Earth could produce all the energy we’ll ever need without the CO2. But no one has yet made a fusion reactor that actually produces more energy than it uses. Fusion researchers say that’s all about to change, and private fusion start-ups say they’re getting close to building working nuclear fusion power stations. In the latest episode of Tech Tonic’s climate tech series, Pilita Clark visits the UK’s pioneering fusion research reactor and speaks to long-time fusion researcher Professor Ian Chapman about the recent advances. Fusion scientist Dr Melanie Windridge tells us about fusion energy’s potential and Michl Binderbauer, from private fusion company TAE Technologies, outlines the ambitious plans of the private fusion sector. Plus we hear from FT energy correspondent Tom Wilson about how private investment is pouring into the sector.

Want more?

Check out stories and up-to-the-minute news from the Technology team at ft.com/technology

Climate team at https://www.ft.com/climate-capital

Presented by Pilita Clark. Edwin Lane is senior producer. Produced by Josh Gabert-Doyon with production help from Fiona Symon and Leo Schick. Executive producer is Manuela Saragosa. Sound design by Samantha Giovinco and Breen Turner, with original music from Metaphor Music. The FT’s head of audio is Cheryl Brumley.

Clips: Warner Brothers, Iter Project, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, PBS Nova/Horizon

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The joke about hydrogen is that it’s the fuel of the future, and always will be. But green hydrogen is made from renewable energy and emits only water vapour, so amidst the fight to reduce carbon emissions, has green hydrogen’s moment now finally arrived? In the latest episode of Tech Tonic’s climate tech series, Australian billionaire mining mogul Andrew Forrest, the executive chair of Fortescue Metals Group, tells host Pilita Clark why he’s betting green hydrogen will play a key role in decarbonising heavy industry. Pilita also visits ITM Power, manufacturers of key machinery in the making of green hydrogen, while Professor Nigel Brandon at Imperial College London explains what a hydrogen economy might look like and the limits of its applications.

Check out stories and up-to-the-minute news from the Technology team at ft.com/technology and from the Climate team at https://www.ft.com/climate-capital

Presented by Pilita Clark. Edwin Lane is senior producer. Produced by Josh Gabert-Doyon with production help from Persis Love and Leo Schick. Executive producer is Manuela Saragosa. Sound design by Samantha Giovinco and Breen Turner, with original music from Metaphor Music. The FT’s head of audio is Cheryl Brumley.

Clips: SBS News, TikTok, EU Energy, HM Government, US Department of Energy, Northern Gas Networks, France24

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As more people fly, aviation is on track to becoming a much bigger problem for climate change. Host Pilita Clark, FT columnist and climate journalist, looks at the potential for a more sustainable aviation industry, a sector that’s struggled to come up with new technology to cut its emissions. Could we end up being forced to cut back on flying altogether? Producer Josh Gabert-Doyon travels to Farnborough Airshow, and we hear from Zero Petroleum’s Paddy Lowe, Boom Supersonic’s Blake Scholl, and executives from Boeing, Airbus, ADS, United and EasyJet.

Check out stories and up-to-the-minute news from the Technology team at ft.com/technology 

And Climate team at https://www.ft.com/climate-capital 

Presented by Pilita Clark. Edwin Lane is senior producer. Produced by Josh Gabert-Doyon. Executive producer is Manuela Saragosa. Sound design by Breen Turner and Samantha Giovinco, with original music from Metaphor Music. The FT’s head of audio is Cheryl Brumley.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Direct air carbon capture - taking carbon dioxide straight out of the air around us - sounds like science fiction. In this episode Pilita Clark visits Iceland to meet the engineers and scientists at the forefront of this new tech. Can carbon capture scale up quick enough to have an impact on climate change, or is it just an excuse to allow fossil fuel companies and emitters to keep polluting?

Check out stories and up-to-the-minute news from the Technology team at ft.com/technology

Presented by Pilita Clark. Edwin Lane is senior producer. Produced by Josh Gabert-Doyon. Executive producer is Manuela Saragosa. Sound design by Breen Turner and Samantha Giovinco, with original music from Metaphor Music. The FT’s head of audio is Cheryl Brumley.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The climate crisis threatens the future of the planet. But don’t worry, technology will save us. At least that’s the message from startups, innovators and investors. Are they right? FT columnist and climate journalist Pilita Clark discovers the tech scene’s latest moonshot efforts to fight climate change, from sucking carbon straight out of the air to the apparent energy miracle of nuclear fusion. Will these technologies be ready in time, or are they a dangerous waste of money and resource at this most critical moment for our planet?

Check out stories and up-to-the-minute news from the Technology team at ft.com/technology 

Presented by Pilita Clark. Edwin Lane is senior producer. Produced by Josh Gabert-Doyon. Executive producer is Manuela Saragosa. Sound design by Breen Turner and Samantha Giovinco, with original music from Metaphor Music. The FT’s head of audio is Cheryl Brumley.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.