Stochasticity

Radiolab

WNYC Studios

Science, Natural Sciences, History, Society & Culture, Documentary

4.6 • 43.5K Ratings

🗓️ 5 January 2024

⏱️ 52 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

First aired way back in 2009, this episode is all about a wonderfully slippery and smarty-pants word for randomness, Stochasticity, and how it may be at the very foundation of our lives. Along the way, we talk to a woman suddenly consumed by a frenzied gambling addiction, hear from two friends whose meeting seems to defy pure chance, and take a close look at some very noisy bacteria.

EPISODE CITATIONS:

Videos - Stochasticity Music Video (https://zpr.io/uZiH9j9ZU6be)

Our newsletter comes out every Wednesday. It includes short essays, recommendations, and details about other ways to interact with the show. Sign up (https://radiolab.org/newsletter)!

Radiolab is supported by listeners like you. Support Radiolab by becoming a member of The Lab (https://members.radiolab.org/) today.

Follow our show on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook @radiolab, and share your thoughts with us by emailing [email protected].

Leadership support for Radiolab’s science programming is provided by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, Science Sandbox, a Simons Foundation Initiative, and the John Templeton Foundation. Foundational support for Radiolab was provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Hey, it's a lot of happy new year. Look at you, so fresh it's a new you and a new me and a new page and a new lease on life for all of us and as we start to chart out our new year I wanted to
0:18.8	play an episode from the archives that asks an important question that I think is helpful to consider, you know, as we make
0:26.4	plans and goals and set expectations.
0:30.0	So here's the question.
0:31.4	Here's the question. how much can we control what happens in our lives?
0:38.0	And how much is it just whatever you want to call it, luck or fate or just the random and fickle universe having its way with
0:46.6	us this is an episode about that how that applies to E. coli bacteria, how it applies to dimes and quarters,
0:55.6	how it applies to blades of grass on a golf course,
0:58.6	and of course how it applies to you.
1:03.4	I hope you enjoy.
1:04.7	This is stochasticity.
1:07.3	Yeah, wait, you're a, wait, you're a,
1:08.6	you're a, okay.
1:10.2	All right.
1:11.5	Okay. All right. You're listening to Radio Lab.
1:17.0	Radio Lab.
1:18.0	From WNYC.
1:20.0	See?
1:21.0	Yeah.
1:22.0	Rewind. See? Which at least initially involves this girl right here.
1:32.6	Um, hello, I'm Laura Buxton.
1:35.0	Laura Buxton is her name, remember that name.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from WNYC Studios, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of WNYC Studios and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.