Nobelesse Oblige

Albert A. Michelson

Thu, 23 Oct 2025 11:00:00 -0500

This is the episode that we finally banish the ether from our podcast. Sort of...

Join us as we explore the life of Albert A. Michelson, which has way more twists and turns than you would expect for a guy who made his whole career repeating the same measurement.

Foucault light speed experiment

Michelson interferometer

Example of Albert's watercolors

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The 34th First Annual IgNobel Prizes

Sun, 10 Aug 2025 23:00:00 -0500

We finally have our summary of the 34th First Annual IgNobel Prizes. Join us as we look at the first in person ceremony since COVID, and learn about some crazy research that first makes you laugh, then makes you think!

2024 IgNobel Prizes: https://improbable.com/ig/archive/2024-ceremony/

2024 Nobel Prizes

Sat, 26 Apr 2025 21:00:00 -0500

After a long and unexpected hiatus, we are back with our 2024 Nobel Prize Summary! Join us as we talk about AI, and also AI, and nukes...I promise there's some happy stuff too.

JJ Thomson

Tue, 02 Apr 2024 09:00:00 -0500

We return to merry old England this episode as we cover our next physics laureate. Listen as we describe what is often considered the most productive period of the Cavendish Laboratory, and what else JJ was up to besides.

Philipp Lenard

Fri, 02 Feb 2024 22:00:00 -0600

Content Warning: This episode's subject was literally a Nazi

This episode, we see what happens when bigotry gets in the way of science. Then, because Quinn is petty, we have a nice palette cleanser.

2023 Nobel Prizes

Sun, 10 Dec 2023 10:00:00 -0600

Just in time for this year's Nobel Prize ceremony, we have our episode explaining this year's Nobel Prizes. Enjoy listening to us try to explain mRNA vaccines, rage against misogyny, and... wait, is that the Romans?

Lord Rayleigh

Fri, 17 Nov 2023 22:00:00 -0600

After a much longer than anticipated delay, here's our episode on John William Strutt, aka Lord Rayleigh. He did a lot, but is it enough to get him Nobelesse Oblige?

What is Literature?

Wed, 27 Sep 2023 22:00:00 -0500

We're taking the plunge into the Literature prizes! Join us as Maggie gives us a crash course on literary history and theory, and Quinn abuses his new-found knowledge of the literary canon.

The 33rd First Annual IgNobel Prizes

Mon, 18 Sep 2023 02:00:00 -0500

It's that time of year again, when the most important awards in scientific research are announced. That's right, it's the IgNobel Prizes! We're a little late but here are the latest and greatest in scientific discoveries that first make you laugh, then make you think.

List of all IgNobel laureates.

Ranking the Curies

Wed, 02 Aug 2023 09:00:00 -0500

For our final episode of ☢️Hot☢️ Girl Summer, we're finally ranking Marie and Pierre Curie! Come learn even more details about their life that we couldn't fit directly into the narrative, and find out if both Curies get Nobelesse Oblige.

Marie and Pierre with their bikes
Pierre Curie
Marie Curie 1903
Marie Curie 1911

Marie Curie Pt. 4

Fri, 21 Jul 2023 01:00:00 -0500

It's episode 4 of ☢️Hot☢️ Girl Summer, and we are wrapping up the life of Marie Curie. Find out how we go from... everything that's happened, to the Marie Curie that we know today.

Marie Curie Pt. 3

Thu, 06 Jul 2023 21:00:00 -0500

We're on part 3 of ☢️Hot☢️ Girl Summer, and y'all might want to sit down for this one. Today we're covering Marie's life from the death of Pierre to the beginning of WWI, and somehow neither of those are the most shocking event that happens.

Marie Curie Pt. 2

Fri, 23 Jun 2023 10:00:00 -0500

It's part 2 of ☢️Hot☢️ Girl Summer! This episode we revisit the joint career of Pierre and Marie Curie, but from Marie's perspective.

Marie Curie Pt. 1

Fri, 09 Jun 2023 12:00:00 -0500

Welcome to our first episode of ☢️Hot☢️ Girl Summer! Today we're discussing Marie's early life in Poland and her time in France up to her marriage to Pierre. Oh, and there's a brief summary of 300 years of Polish history.

Pierre Curie

Mon, 15 May 2023 12:00:00 -0500

Happy birthday to Pierre Curie! In celebration, we're taking a look at his fascinating life and untimely death. This part one of our 3(?) part series on the Curies.

Henri Becquerel

Sat, 01 Apr 2023 00:00:00 -0500

We promise this isn't an April Fool's Joke, it's Henri Becquerel! Not only did he discover radioactivity, he also... uhhh... oh, who are we kidding, this is a prelude for the Curies. Stick around until the end, though. We have some important announcements.

Henri Becquerel

Pieter Zeeman

Wed, 15 Mar 2023 23:00:00 -0500

The Zeeman episode is finally here! Does the second Physics Laureate for 1902 have Nobelesse Oblige, or is he just a guy?

Pieter Zeeman

Quickdraw! ft/ Ranking '76, Pontifacts, and Tsar Power

Sun, 12 Feb 2023 12:00:00 -0600

Quinn was invited to help Matt from Ranking '76 redeem himself in this trivia gameshow, alongside some other lovely Rexy folks. Let's see how that worked out for them...

Check out our amazing sister Rexy Pods:
Pontifacts
Ranking '76
Tsar Power

Crackpot Physics Papers w/ Elspeth Olson

Sat, 28 Jan 2023 09:00:00 -0600

What happens when a physics professor who is interested in the intersection of physics, religion and philosophy starts saving a bunch of papers? We brought Elspeth Olson on to discuss some of them.

Thank you to the University of Nevada, Reno for sharing these resources with us.

Contact UNR Special Collections
Twitter: @unrSpC
Facebook: @UNRSpecialCollections
Instagram: @unrspc

Hendrik Lorentz

Fri, 30 Dec 2022 20:00:00 -0600

We're sneaking it in at the end of the year, but here is our episode on Hendrik Lorentz. The leading figure of Dutch physics at the turn of the century had a hand in many of the developments in physics at that time, but is it enough to earn him Nobelesse Oblige?

Examples of atomic spectral lines
Hendrik Lorentz

Wilhelm Röntgen

Tue, 08 Nov 2022 07:00:00 -0600

Appropriately, this episode is being released on the 127th anniversary of Wilhelm Röntgen's Nobel winning research. Find out the wild story of his big discovery and whether it was enough to get him Nobelesse Oblige.

Bertha's hand
Wilhelm and Bertha Röntgen

History of Physics

Sat, 22 Oct 2022 22:00:00 -0500

It turns out covering millennia of physics history in less than 2 hours is a herculean task, but we did it anyway! We go through a fast and dirty overview of the development of physics up to 1900 and cover some of the basics that we'll need to understand the Physics Nobel Prizes.

2022 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences

Mon, 10 Oct 2022 21:00:00 -0500

This year's Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics was awarded to Ben Bernanke, Douglas Diamond, and Philip Dybvig. Learn how their work shaped the response to the 2008 financial crisis.

2022 Nobel Prize in Peace

Fri, 07 Oct 2022 17:00:00 -0500

This year's Nobel Peace laureates are Ales Bialiatski, Memorial, and the Center for Civil Liberties. Each has done incredible work to protect human rights and hold accountable those who disregard the inherent worth of human life.

To donate to any of the three organizations mentioned, follow these links: Viasna, Memorial, Center for Civil Liberties.

2022 Nobel Prize in Literature

Thu, 06 Oct 2022 21:00:00 -0500

Today, the 2022 Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded to Annie Ernaux. Learn how her piercing writing style and fearless exploration of her own past helps illuminate the human experience.

2022 Nobel Prize in Chemistry

Wed, 05 Oct 2022 22:00:00 -0500

Carolyn Bertozzi, Morten Meldal, and K. Barry Sharpless were awarded the 2022 Chemistry Nobel Prize for developing the fields of click chemistry and bioorthogonal chemistry. We explain how these relatively simple concepts have huge implications for the future of chemistry.

2022 Nobel Prize in Physics

Tue, 04 Oct 2022 22:00:00 -0500

The 2022 Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to Alain Aspect, John F. Clauser, and Anton Zeilinger for their groundbreaking work that solidified the foundations of quantum mechanics and launched the field of quantum information technology. Find out more about how they each contributed.

2022 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine

Mon, 03 Oct 2022 19:00:00 -0500

Today, October 3, 2022, the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to Svante Pääbo. Find out about his revolutionary work in evolutionary genetics.

The 32nd First Annual IgNobel Prizes

Sun, 18 Sep 2022 20:00:00 -0500

The 32nd First Annual IgNobel Prize Ceremony took place on Sep. 15, 2022. We take a quick look at the history of the IgNobel Prizes, then dive into the fun and funny research that was honored this year.

List of all IgNobel laureates.

Backgroundy Stuff: The Nobel Prizes

Thu, 01 Sep 2022 06:00:00 -0500

In this episode, find out how covert smuggling and three Russian horses became integral to the creation of the Nobel Prizes. Also, Quinn and Maggie express skepticism about an entire field of academia.

Note: Quinn is apparently incapable of figure out dates. The Nobel Prize announcements start on Oct. 3 and end on Oct. 10. Please forgive him, he is a simple man.

Examples of Nobel Prize diploma art

Alfred Nobel

Mon, 01 Aug 2022 08:00:00 -0500

It's time to meet the man himself, Alfred Nobel! Will his dynamite really make the impact he wanted it to, or will the pitfalls of 19th century industry blow up in his face?

Picture of Alfred Nobel

Introduction

Mon, 01 Aug 2022 08:00:00 -0500

In our very first episode, we introduce ourselves and explain the categories we will be using to rank our Nobel laureates.

Trailer

Thu, 28 Jul 2022 23:00:00 -0500

Greetings! Nobelesse Oblige is a podcast ranking all of the Nobel laureates from 1901 until we run out of people. Cohosts Quinn and Maggie go through the biography of each laureate, then rate them on a series of definitely objective categories and determine if they have that sense of Nobelesse Oblige.