Big Ideas Lab

Imagine an artificial retina that restores sight or micro-devices implanted to monitor health in real time. This isn’t science fiction—it’s our new reality.

In this episode, we journey into the groundbreaking world of implantable technology. Discover the science driving these innovations, explore the life-changing devices already in use, and glimpse the remarkable advancements still on the horizon. How will these tiny marvels shape our understanding of human potential and redefine what it means to be human?

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Big Ideas Lab is a Mission.org original series.

Executive Produced and Written by Lacey Peace.

Sound Design, Music Edit and Mix by Daniel Brunelle.

Story Editing by Daniel Brunelle.

Audio Engineering and Editing by Matthew Powell.

Narrated by Matthew Powell.

Video Production by Levi Hanusch.

Guests featured in this episode (in order of appearance):

• Alison Yorita, Staff Engineer for Lawrence Livermore’s Implantables Microsystem Group
• Matthew Leonard, Associate Professor at the University of California, San Francisco in the Department of Neurosurgery
• Razi Haque, Implantable Microsystems Group Lead at LLNL

Brought to you in partnership with Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.

Over millennia, humanity has mastered fire, wind, steam and even the atom to fuel its progress. Now, we stand on the brink of the next monumental leap: fusion.

At the National Ignition Facility at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, a team of scientists and engineers has been working tirelessly to achieve Fusion Ignition, an achievement that could redefine energy as we know it. The road has been long and filled with challenges, but the promise of unlocking the energy that powers the stars is within reach.

As we revisit the groundbreaking efforts at NIF, the question remains: Can they overcome the final hurdles to create a fusion breakthrough, and what will that mean for the future of power on Earth?

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Big Ideas Lab is a Mission.org original series.

Executive Produced and Written by Lacey Peace.

Sound Design, Music Edit and Mix by Daniel Brunelle.

Story Editing by Daniel Brunelle.

Audio Engineering and Editing by Matthew Powell.

Narrated by Matthew Powell.

Video Production by Levi Hanusch.

Guests featured in this episode (in order of appearance):

• Kim Budil, Director of LLNL
• Michael Stadermann, Program Manager for Target Fabrication at LLNL
• Teresa Bailey, Associate Program Director for LLNL's Computational Physics in the Weapons Simulation and Computing Team
• Tayyab Suratwala, Program Director for LLNL’s Optics and Materials Science and Technology Team
• Richard Town, Associate Program Director for Inertial Confinement Fusion Science at LLNL
• Jean-Michel Di Nicola, Program Co-Director for Laser Science and System Engineering at LLNL
• Kelly Hahn, Experimental Physicist and Diagnostician at LLNL

Brought to you in partnership with Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.

In October 1962, a U-2 reconnaissance plane captured images of Soviet missile sites under construction in Cuba. What followed was a tense 13-day standoff between the US and the Soviet Union—an event that became known as the Cuban Missile Crisis.

This pivotal moment in the Cold War revealed the catastrophic potential of nuclear war and the urgent need for diplomacy. Today, we're diving deep into the national security principle of strategic deterrence—a policy designed to win wars not by preparing for their inevitability, but by preventing them outright.

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Big Ideas Lab is a Mission.org original series.

Executive Produced and Written by Lacey Peace.

Sound Design, Music Edit and Mix by Daniel Brunelle.

Story Editing by Daniel Brunelle.

Audio Engineering and Editing by Matthew Powell.

Narrated by Matthew Powell.

Video Production by Levi Hanusch.

Guests featured in this episode (in order of appearance):

• Dr. Marvin Adams, Deputy Administrator for Defense Programs at the National Nuclear Security Administration
• Michael Zika, Principal Associate Deputy Director for Strategic Deterrence at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
• Brad Wallin, Deputy Director for Strategic Deterrence at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

Brought to you in partnership with Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.

In the 1960s, a quiet revolution was taking shape behind the scenes—one that would eventually touch every corner of our modern world. As Cold War tensions rose and the future grew more uncertain, scientists embarked on a mission to harness a new kind of power: high performance computing. What began as an effort to solve complex nuclear challenges would soon transform the way we think, work, and live.

From early machines like the UNIVAC-1, nicknamed an "oversized toaster," to today’s supercomputers capable of simulating entire worlds, this episode explores how Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s relentless innovations have transformed technology—and continue to shape the future of our everyday lives.

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Big Ideas Lab is a Mission.org original series.

Executive Produced and Written by Lacey Peace.

Sound Design, Music Edit and Mix by Daniel Brunelle.

Story Editing by Daniel Brunelle.

Audio Engineering and Editing by Matthew Powell.

Narrated by Matthew Powell.

Video Production by Levi Hanusch.

Guests featured in this episode (in order of appearance):

• Michel Mccoy, Former Director of LLNL's Advanced Simulation and Computing Program
• Rob Neely, Associate Director for Weapon Simulation and Computing at LLNL
• Becky Springmeyer, Division Leader for Livermore Computing.

Brought to you in partnership with Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.

In the wake of the Soviet Union's first atomic bomb test, the looming threat of nuclear war sent shockwaves through the United States. Air raid sirens blared, bomb shelters were built, and schoolchildren were drilled in "Duck and Cover" tactics. But the U.S. government knew preparation wasn’t enough—they needed a breakthrough, something far more powerful to shift the balance of power.

Their answer was nuclear deterrence: the idea that the best protection against a nuclear attack is the fear of retaliation. This sparked a race to develop a weapon so powerful that the Soviets wouldn’t dare challenge it.

At the center of this effort was physicist Ernest Lawrence, whose visionary leadership not only pushed the boundaries of nuclear science but also laid the foundation for a lab that would revolutionize both national security and scientific discovery. This is the story of how Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory was born—and how it began to change the world.

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Big Ideas Lab is a Mission.org original series.

Executive Produced and Written by Lacey Peace.

Sound Design, Music Edit and Mix by Daniel Brunelle.

Story Editing by Daniel Brunelle.

Audio Engineering and Editing by Matthew Powell.

Narrated by Matthew Powell.

Video Production by Levi Hanusch.

Guests featured in this episode (in order of appearance):

• Tom Ramos, LLNL Physicist & Author of From Berkeley to Berlin
• Bruce Tarter, Former LLNL Director & Author of The American Lab
• Rob Neely, Associate Director for Weapon Simulation and Computing at LLNL

Brought to you in partnership with Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.