Are All Scientists Stuck in a Lab? Meet the Playwriting Physicist: Eneko Axpe | fAQ podcast S3 E3

In our next episode of the fAQ podcast, Tai-Danae Bradley sits down with SandboxAQ's Eneko Axpe to explore the creative and resilient mindset required to navigate and lead in deep tech. Innovation at the edge of physics demands more than technical brilliance; it requires the ability to communicate complex ideas, recover from massive failures, and foster healthy, high-performing teams. Eneko shares his incredible journey from a humble upbringing in Bilbao, Spain, where his mother worked as a cleaner. Thanks to accessible, high-quality public education, he was able to follow his passion and eventually become the first Basque physicist at NASA.Eneko’s path is a testament to the power of resilience. He opens up about the terrifying (and now hilarious) story of his very first PhD experiment, where a broken glass vial led to the accidental creation of a radioactive living cell culture—resulting in an eight-hour lockdown with his PI. He explains how he bounced back from that disaster, adopting a philosophy from an early mentor to "stand up when you fall" and to treat life's massive obstacles like tsunamis to be surfed. By eventually swapping the glass for metal, his experiment ultimately led to a publication in Nature Physics and a spot at Oxford University.We also explore his approach to leadership, deeply influenced by a mentor at Stanford who taught him that a leader's true priorities are ensuring their team is growing and happy. Finally, Eneko illustrates that the best deep tech innovators are often polymaths. He walks us through his 15 years in science radio, writing a hit theater play called "Quantum Adventures" that explains quantum physics to kids using Schrödinger's cat, and his mind-blowing invention of "electro cooking," which uses electrical resistance to cook a kilo of meat in just eight seconds.LinksDelicioso Algoritmo by Eneko Axpe: https://www.amazon.com/Delicioso-algoritmo-Eneko-Axpe/dp/8408297678/ About this podcastThis podcast is hosted by Tai-Danae Bradley and features the stories of amazing people working in science and technology at SandboxAQ and beyond. All curious humans are invited to join!Want to get in touch? Write us at faq-podcast@sandboxaq.comFor previous episodes, check out https://www.youtube.com/@sandboxaq