Episodes 37
Avg. Duration 46m
Activity Active
Since Sep 2023
Latest Episode Apr 2026

Publishing Details

Schedule
Monthly
Format
Episodic
Consistency
85%
Hosting
feeds.redcircle.com

Contact & Outreach

About This Podcast

Curious to explore the technology advancing Artificial Intelligence beyond the usual headlines? Brains and Machines will introduce you to the people and ideas behind neuromorphic engineering, bio-inspired robotics, and other transformative technologies shaping AI’s future. From spiking neural networks and event-cameras to models of attention and mechanisms for prosthetic control, we investigate how machine cognition is moving forward.

Join Dr Sunny Bains, a scientist, journalist, and lecturer at University College London, as she talks to researchers, engineers, and computer scientists from across the field. With co-host, Dr Giulia D’Angelo from the Czech Technical University in Prague, and commentator Prof Ralph Etienne-Cummings from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, the post-interview discussion provides context and insight into the featured innovations.

Produced in conjunction with Electronic Engineering Times. Check out the EETimes Current podcast for more.

Dr D’Angelo gratefully acknowledges the support of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellowship.

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Recent Episodes

Can the Nvidia Monopoly on AI Chips Be Broken?

Apr 27, 2026 47m

In this latest episode of Brains and Machines, EE Times Senior Reporter Sally Ward-Foxton talks to Dr. Sunny Bains of the University College London. They discuss the importance of power in all AI…

Neuromorphic Spikes Unify Control and Decision Making

Apr 27, 2026 55m

In this latest episode of Brains and Machines, Professor Rodolphe Sepulchre, a control theorist from the University of Cambridge, talks to Dr. Sunny Bains of the University College London. They…

Green Always-On Sensing With Neuronova’s Sub-μwatt Chip?

Feb 26, 2026 46m

Neuronova is an analog neuromorphic startup based in Milan, Italy. In this episode of Brains and Machines, the CEO and CTO talk to Dr. Sunny Bains of University College London about their inference…

An Architecture for Building Brains from Top to Bottom?

Jan 09, 2026 54m

Professor Chris Eliasmith is a computer scientist and philosopher who’s been modelling cognitive systems for almost three decades. In this episode of Brains and Machines, he talks to Dr. Sunny…

Artificial Hearing: From Ear Drums to Tuning Forks

Dec 09, 2025 50m

Dr. Claudia Lenk’s group creates brain-inspired hearing systems with micromechanical hair cells. In this episode of Brains and Machines, she talks to Dr. Sunny Bains of University College London…

A Theoretical Framework for Neuromorphic Technology?

Nov 07, 2025 54m

Sunny talks to Dr Brad Aimone from Sandia National Laboratories who works with the world’s biggest neuromorphic platforms. He explains how this allows him to think deeply about what such platforms…

Neurons Close the Loop from Insect Perception to Action

Nov 01, 2025 44m

Sunny talks to Prof Barbara Webb from the University of Edinburgh in Scotland​, who uses physical robots to validate neural mechanisms in crickets, ants, and bees. She talks about her work inspired…

Can Neuromorphic Be Low-Power, Reconfigurable, and Scalable?

Oct 06, 2025 49m

Professor Gert Cauwenberghs has been working toward building brain-scale systems for decades. At the University of California San Diego, he’s now one of the leaders of the Neuromorphic Commons hub,…

Event-Driven E-Skins Protect Both Robots and Humans

Aug 11, 2025 46m

Professor Gordon Cheng builds humanoid robots that can feel their environment using artificial skin. In this episode of Brains and Machines, he talks to Dr. Sunny Bains of University College London…

Digital Prototypes May Enable Analog Neuromorphic Chips

Jul 10, 2025 51m

Dr. Charlotte Frenkel from the Technical University of Delft set records with a low-power neuromorphic chip she designed as part of her Ph.D. In this episode of Brains and Machines, she talks to…

IBM Used Mathematics as Compass on Journey to NorthPole

Jun 07, 2025 48m

Dharmendra Modha’s TrueNorth chip added the word neuromorphic to the technorati lexicon back in 2014. In this episode of Brains and Machines, he talks to Dr. Sunny Bains of University College London…

Rippling Signals May Provide Working Memory in the Brain

May 05, 2025 50m

For 50 years Dr. Terry Sejnowski has modelled the brain and used his insights to help inform AI. In this episode of Brains and Machines, he talks to Dr. Sunny Bains of the University College London…

Making Analog Chip Designs Without Analog Designers

Apr 06, 2025 47m

Dr. Jennifer Hasler of Georgia Tech is best known for her work with field programmable analog arrays (FPAAs). In this episode of Brains and Machines, she talks about the importance of, and progress…

BrainChip’s IP for Targeting AI Applications at the Edge

Mar 09, 2025 46m

Tony Lewis, CTO for BrainChip, and four other key scientists talk to Sunny Bains of the University College London. They discuss their business strategy, their temporal event-based neural network…

Robots Need Physical, Not Just Artificial, Intelligence

Feb 04, 2025 47m

In this episode of Brains and Machines, emeritus Professor Rodney Brooks of Massachusetts Institute of Technology, currently CTO of Robust AI, talks about bottom-up and top-down approaches to…

Embracing the Efficiency of the Neuromorphic Hairball

Jan 05, 2025 46m

In this new episode of Brains and Machines, Dr. Katie Schuman of the University of Tennessee explains the advantages of evolutionary approaches in neural processing to Dr.  Sunny Bains of University…

Chip Combines Analog and Digital Neurons for Sensor Data

Dec 13, 2024 47m

In this episode of Brains and Machines, UCL’s Sunny Bains talks to four key figures at Innatera, a spin out from the University of Delft in the Netherlands: Dr Petrut Bogdan, Neuromorphic Architect;…

Carver Mead Says Neuromorphic Efficiency Can Help AI

Nov 08, 2024 1h 4m

In this episode of Brains and Machines, UCL’s Sunny Bains talks parallelism, neural net efficiency and risk taking with Caltech’s Prof. Carver Mead. Now an emeritus professor, Mead has been…

S1E19 Next-Gen Neuromorphic Researchers Look to Future

May 31, 2024 51m Transcript

In this special episode of the Brains and Machines podcast, Dr. Sunny Bains and Dr. Giulia D’Angelo talk to four early career researchers: Dr. Kenneth Stewart, a computer scientist at the U.S. Naval…

S1E18 SynSense Research Head Talks Combined Sensing, Processing

May 17, 2024 45m Transcript

In this episode of Brains and Machines, Dr. Sunny Bains talks to Dr. Dylan Muir, the head of research at SynSense. They discuss the company’s products, including Speck, Xylo, and Rockpool, some of…

Frequently Asked Questions

How many episodes does Brains and Machines have?

Brains and Machines has published 37 episodes since September 2023, covering topics in Natural Sciences, Physics.

Is Brains and Machines still active?

Brains and Machines is currently active with new episodes monthly. Average episode length is 46m.

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