Media Coverage
08 January 2024
From Microchips to Atom Splits
In this interview recorded for the Net-Zero Nuclear Summit at COP28, Nathan discusses his path into the nuclear energy industry and the potential and challenges ahead for this indispensable source of reliable, carbon-free energy.
07 June 2023
Master of All Trades Nathan Myhrvold
Nathan Myhrvold is a voracious intellect: he enrolled in college at the age of 14, he has multiple degrees in mathematics, geophysics and physics, he helped build Microsoft as its Chief Technology Officer, and he has published 16 volumes of encyclopedic, visually arresting books. Martha is a longtime friend and admirer. She connects with him in his lab to talk about his latest book, Food and Drink: Modernist Cuisine Photography, and a range of other projects, from building nuclear reactors to perfecting pastry. Listen in as the sparks fly.
21 March 2023
A Technologist’s Guide to the Future
Visionary technology and business leader Nathan Myhrvold dives deep into some of the most pressing questions facing our world today, including the promise of technology, the perils of self-driving cars, interplanetary travel, and if we can reverse the effects of what we’ve already done to our planet.
17 February 2023
Emission Cuts Will Fail to Stop Climate Change. What to Do Then?
In the Weekend Interview for the Wall St. Journal, Nathan Myhrvold outlines the possibilities for ‘geoengineering’ to cool the Earth and remove CO2 from the atmosphere.
01 February 2021
Nathan Myhrvold on NASA’s lies, Theories of Everything, working with Hawking, and COVID lockdowns
In this 2-1/2 hour-long interview, Nathan discusses Stephen Hawking and the quest to unify general relativity with quantum mechanics, string and supersymmetry theories, and the unreasonable effectiveness of mathematics in physics. Plus what's happening with COVID-19 evolution, herd immunity, and vaccinations. And lighter topics like: myths about nutrition, whether a fast-changing climate might make geoengineering necessary, and ways to judge the trustworthiness of new science. Also available in video form on YouTube: https://youtu.be/YUXHLTlx9DA
01 November 2020
I’m Interested in Lots of Things, and That’s Actually a Bad Strategy
University of Chicago economist and Freakonomics author Steven Levitt interviewed Nathan for the podcast People I (Mostly) Admire. Among the topics they discussed in their wide-ranging conversation: how Nathan met Bill Gates and eventually became Microsoft's first chief technology officer despite never having taken a computer science class, what it was like working with Stephen Hawking and his contributions to physics, the strategies and frustrations of being a prolific inventor, the crucial role that advanced fission power can play in combatting climate change, education of highly gifted children, and Nathan's forthcoming three-volume book on pizza.
20 September 2019
How I Test Bold Ideas
Back in 2005, Nathan Myhrvold, a former Microsoft colleague, showed me a long scientific paper on an innovative nuclear reactor and introduced me to the lead author, an inventive physicist named Lowell Wood who would go on to beat Thomas Edison’s record for the most U.S. patents in history. Lowell claimed that this reactor could satisfy “much of humanity’s requirements for electricity in the 21st century.” I was skeptical, but also intrigued.
19 September 2019
Review: Netflix documentary on Bill Gates reveals chaos, determination and love ‘Inside Bill’s Brain’
“Nuclear reactors are not the thing you get into if you want to win popularity contests. Eliminating polio is a lot more popular.” — Nathan Myhrvold, co-founder of Intellectual Ventures Lab.
08 August 2019
Five big ideas from Nathan Myhrvold, the original ‘mad scientist’ from Microsoft
In a talk to Hacker News Seattle and Cofounders Connect, Myhrvold shared five big ideas on using AI to diagnose disease, quantum metamaterials, the challenges of robotic pizza, open-source furniture, and the future of television.
22 February 2019
Nuclear goes retro — with a much greener outlook
Returning to designs abandoned in the 1970s, start-ups are developing a new kind of reactor that promises to be much safer and cleaner than current ones. “The nuclear industry was not in an innovation frame of mind for 30 years,” says TerraPower’s Myhrvold. That has been changing.