Best Steven Strogatz Podcasts (2025)

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Do Beautiful Birds Have an Evolutionary Advantage? 46:07

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1d ago46:07

46:07

Richard Prum explains why he thinks feathers and vibrant traits in birds evolved not solely for survival, but also through aesthetic choice. The post Do Beautiful Birds Have an Evolutionary Advantage? first appeared on Quanta MagazineBy Quanta Magazine

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How Can Math Protect Our Data? 39:40

15d ago39:40

39:40

Mary Wootters discusses how error-correcting codes work, and how they are essential for reliable communication and storage. The post How Can Math Protect Our Data? first appeared on Quanta MagazineBy Quanta Magazine

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Why Did The Universe Begin? 52:09

29d ago52:09

52:09

In this episode of The Joy of Why, Thomas Hertog discusses his collaboration with Stephen Hawking on a provocative theory arguing that the laws of physics evolved with the universe, and how this could have shaped a cosmos fit for life. The post Why Did The Universe Begin? first appeared on Quanta Magazine…

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The Indecisive Statistics Professor - with Chris Oates 47:56

1M ago47:56

47:56

Chris Oates is a professor of statistics at Newcastle University - he got there despite being somewhat indecisive about his career. This episode was made possible by the Leverhulme Trust, a UK-based organisation which funds ambitious blue skies research across various disciplines - https://www.leverhulme.ac.uk Professor Oates was the recipient of p…

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How Can Regional Models Advance Climate Science? 45:05

1M ago45:05

45:05

Elfatih Eltahir explains why we need more local and social data, like disease spread and population growth, to better predict and address climate-related challenges. The post How Can Regional Models Advance Climate Science? first appeared on Quanta MagazineBy Quanta Magazine

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How Does Graph Theory Shape Our World? 34:14

2M ago34:14

34:14

Maria Chudnovsky reflects on her journey in graph theory, her groundbreaking solution to the long-standing perfect graph problem, and the unexpected ways this abstract field intersects with everyday life. The post How Does Graph Theory Shape Our World? first appeared on Quanta MagazineBy Quanta Magazine

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Does Form Really Shape Function? 47:25

2M ago47:25

47:25

From brain folds to insect architecture, L. Mahadevan explains how complex biological forms and behaviors emerge through the interplay of physical forces, environment and embodiment. The post Does Form Really Shape Function? first appeared on Quanta MagazineBy Quanta Magazine

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Will We Ever Prove String Theory? 48:40

3M ago48:40

48:40

Promise and controversy continues to surround string theory as a potential unified theory of everything. In the latest episode of The Joy of Why, Cumrun Vafa discusses his progress in trying to find good, testable models hidden among the ‘swampland’ of impossible universes. The post Will We Ever Prove String Theory? first appeared on Quanta Magazin…

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How Did Geometry Create Modern Physics? 46:08

3M ago46:08

46:08

Geometry may have its origins thousands of years ago in ancient land surveying, but it has also had a surprising impact on modern physics. In the latest episode of The Joy of Why, Yang-Hui He explores geometry’s evolution and its future potential through AI. The post How Did Geometry Create Modern Physics? first appeared on Quanta Magazine…

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Will AI Ever Understand Language Like Humans? 41:08

4M ago41:08

41:08

AI may sound like a human, but that doesn’t mean that AI learns like a human. In this episode, Ellie Pavlick explains why understanding how LLMs can process language could unlock deeper insights into both AI and the human mind. The post Will AI Ever Understand Language Like Humans? first appeared on Quanta Magazine…

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Can Quantum Gravity Be Created in the Lab? 42:33

4M ago42:33

42:33

Quantum gravity could help physicists unite the currently incompatible worlds of quantum mechanics and gravity. In this episode, Monika Schleier-Smith discusses her pioneering experimental approach, using laser-cooled atoms to explore whether gravity could emerge from quantum entanglement. The post Can Quantum Gravity Be Created in the Lab? first a…

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What Is the True Promise of Quantum Computing? 38:47

5M ago38:47

38:47

Quantum computing promises unprecedented speed, but in practice, it’s proven remarkably difficult to find important questions that quantum machines can solve faster than classical ones. One of the most notable demonstrations of this came from Ewin Tang, who rose to prominence in the field as a teenager. When quantum algorithms had in principle crac…

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How Did Multicellular Life Evolve? 46:07

5M ago46:07

46:07

At first, life on Earth was simple. Cells existed, functioned and reproduced as free-living individuals. But then, something remarkable happened. Some cells joined forces, working together instead of being alone. This transition, known as multicellularity, was a pivotal event in the history of life on Earth. Multicellularity enabled greater biologi…

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New Conversations, Deep Questions, Bold Ideas in Season Four of 'The Joy of Why' 17:56

5M ago17:56

17:56

How did complex life evolve? Where did space-time come from? Will computers ever understand language like we do? How did geometry create modern physics? These are just a few of the big and bold questions that we’ll be exploring in the latest season of Quanta’s interview podcast, “The Joy of Why,” starting March 20, and released every other Thursday…

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How Will We Know We're Not Alone? 37:48

8M ago37:48

37:48

We have identified thousands of planets just in our neighborhood in the Milky Way, mostly from the way they impact their host stars. Basic calculations suggest that there are countless more across the galaxy, and that billions of them could potentially support life. But what kind of life they host, and how we would be able to detect the presence of…

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Counting Crayons - with Po-Ling Loh 39:23

8M ago39:23

39:23

Po-Ling Loh is an American theoretical statistician based at the University of Cambridge. She discusses her childhood, choosing a university, and her path to higher dimensional statistics and differential privacy. She also compares life as an academic in the US and UK. This episode was made possible by the Leverhulme Trust, a UK-based organisation …

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How Is Cell Death Essential to Life? 38:51

9M ago38:51

38:51

Death might seem like a pure loss, the disappearance of what makes a living thing distinct from everything else on our planet. But zoom in closer, to the cellular level, and it takes on a different, more nuanced meaning. There is a challenge in simply defining what makes an individual cell alive or dead. Scientists today are working to understand t…

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What Can Birdsong Teach Us About Human Language? 42:09

9M ago42:09

42:09

It’s fair to say that enjoyment of a podcast would be severely limited without the human capacity to create and understand speech. That capacity has often been cited as a defining characteristic of our species, and one that sets us apart in the long history of life on Earth. Yet we know that other species communicate in complex ways. Studies of the…

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How Is AI Changing the Science of Prediction? 36:48

10M ago36:48

36:48

Scientists routinely build quantitative models — of, say, the weather or an epidemic — and then use them to make predictions, which they can then test against the real thing. This work can reveal how well we understand complex phenomena, and also dictate where research should go next. In recent years, the remarkable successes of “black box” systems…

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BREAKING NEWS: The Largest Known Prime Number 39:37

10M ago39:37

39:37

There’s a new largest known prime number and we speak to all the key players, including the discoverer Luke Durant. Also featured in the podcast are George Woltman from GIMPS, James Grime, and Matt Parker. Extended interviews (as videos) can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLt5AfwLFPxWIWS5Jd3k5QHdc0kxwfnZMg Matt Parker’s epic v…

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How Is AI Changing the Science of Prediction? 30:12

10M ago30:12

30:12

The “species” category is almost certainly the best known of all the taxonomic classifications that biologists use to organize life’s vast diversity. It’s a linchpin of both conservation policy and evolutionary theory, though in practice biologists have struggled to find a definition that works across the natural world. In this episode, Kevin de Qu…

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How Can Math Help Beat Cancer? 42:52

11M ago42:52

42:52

When we think about medicine’s war on cancer, treatments such as surgery, radiation and chemotherapy spring to mind first. Now there is another potential weapon for defeating tumors: statistics and mathematical models that can optimize the selection, combination or timing of treatment. Building and feeding these models requires accounting for the c…

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What Can Cave Life Tell Us About Alien Ecosystems? 44:32

11M ago44:32

44:32

If instruments do someday detect evidence of life beyond Earth, whether it’s in this solar system or in the farther reaches of space, astrobiologists want to be ready. One of the best ways to learn how alien life might function can be to study the organisms called extremophiles, which live in incredibly challenging environments on or in the Earth. …

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Can Thermodynamics Go Quantum? 42:54

12M ago42:54

42:54

The principles of thermodynamics are cornerstones of our understanding of physics. But they were discovered in the era of steam-driven technology, long before anyone dreamed of quantum mechanics. In this episode, the theoretical physicist Nicole Yunger Halpern talks to host Steven Strogatz about how physicists today are reinterpreting concepts such…

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Do We Need a New Theory of Gravity? 42:17

12M ago42:17

42:17

Observations of the cosmos suggest that unseen sources of gravity — dark matter — tug at the stars in galaxies, while another mysterious force — dark energy — drives the universe to expand at an ever-increasing rate. The evidence for both of them, however, hinges on assumptions that gravity works the same way at all scales. What if that’s not true?…

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Are Robots About to Level Up? 38:22

1y ago38:22

38:22

Within just a few years, artificial intelligence systems that sometimes seem to display almost human characteristics have gone from science fiction to apps on your phone. But there’s another AI-influenced frontier that is developing rapidly and remains untamed: robotics. Can the technologies that have helped computers get smarter now bring similar …

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How Does Math Keep Secrets? 36:56

1y ago36:56

36:56

Can you keep a secret? Modern techniques for maintaining the confidentiality of information are based on mathematical problems that are inherently too difficult for anyone to solve without the right hints. Yet what does that mean when quantum computers capable of solving many problems astronomically faster are on the horizon? In this episode, host …

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The Secret Math Journal - with Ellen Eischen 53:45

1y ago53:45

53:45

Ellen Eischen is a professor of mathematics at the University of Oregon. Here she discusses creativity, collaboration - and a “secret” journal she has kept since childhood. Ellen Eischen website (includes some links to the teaching we discussed): http://www.elleneischen.com Women in Numbers: https://awm-math.org/research-networks/win/ Creativity Co…

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Will AI Ever Have Common Sense? 44:10

1y ago44:10

44:10

Ask a question of ChatGPT and other, similar chatbots and there’s a good chance you’ll be impressed at how adeptly it comes up with a good answer — unless it spits out unrealistic nonsense instead. Part of what’s mystifying about these kinds of machine learning systems is that they are fundamentally black boxes. No one knows precisely how they arri…

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How Is Tiling Without Repetition Possible? 39:17

1y ago39:17

39:17

In the tiling of wallpaper and bathroom floors, collective repeated patterns often emerge. Mathematicians have long tried to find a tiling shape that never repeats in this way. In 2023, they lauded an unexpected amateur victor. That discovery of the elusive aperiodic monotile propelled the field into new dimensions. The study of tessellation is muc…

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Winnie the Math Whiz - with Danica McKellar 45:19

1y ago45:19

45:19

Catch a video version of this episode at: https://youtu.be/xMAiBBxQGZI Danica McKellar is best-known for portraying girl-next-door Winnie Cooper in The Wonder Years - but she has also proven a math theorem (which bears her name) and writes books to inspire future mathematicians. Check out her math website and books at: https://mckellarmath.com And …

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How Is Science Even Possible? 35:44

1y ago35:44

35:44

The universe seems like it should be unfathomably complex. How then is science able to crack fundamental questions about nature and life? Scientists and philosophers alike have often commented on the “unreasonable” success of mathematics at describing the universe. That success has helped science probe some profound mysteries — but as the physicist…

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The Hyper-Curious Billionaire - Jim Simons (1938-2024) 37:50

1y ago37:50

37:50

This podcast marks the passing of James Harris Simons, better-known as Jim. The interviewees are John Ewing, David Eisenbud and Andrew Millis. The Simons Foundation - https://www.simonsfoundation.org Simons Foundation article about Jim’s life - https://www.simonsfoundation.org/2024/05/10/remembering-the-life-and-careers-of-jim-simons/ Brady’s inter…

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Can Psychedelics Improve Mental Health? 13:03

1y ago13:03

13:03

During traumatic periods and their aftermath, our brains can fall into habitual ways of thinking that may be helpful in the short run but become maladaptive years later. For the brain to readjust to new situations later in life, it needs to be restored to the malleable state it was in when the habits first formed. That is exactly what Gül Dölen, a …

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What Happens in the Brain to Cause Depression? 33:19

1+ y ago33:19

33:19

For decades, the best drug therapies for treating depression, like SSRIs, have been based on the idea that depressed brains don’t have enough of the neurotransmitter serotonin. Yet for almost as long, it’s been clear that simplistic theory is wrong. Recent research into the true causes of depression is finding clues in other neurotransmitters and t…

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Will Better Superconductors Transform the World? 28:50

1+ y ago28:50

28:50

If superconductors — materials that conduct electricity without any resistance — worked at temperatures and pressures close to what we would consider normal, they would be world-changing. They could dramatically amplify power grids, levitate high-speed trains and enable more affordable medical technologies. For more than a century, physicists have …

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What Does Milk Do for Babies? 34:36

1+ y ago34:36

34:36

Milk is more than just a food for babies. Breast milk has evolved to deliver thousands of diverse molecules including growth factors, hormones and antibodies, as well as microbes. Elizabeth Johnson, a molecular nutritionist at Cornell University, studies the effects of infants’ diet on the gut microbiome. These studies could hold clues to hard ques…

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Can Information Escape a Black Hole? 29:20

1+ y ago29:20

29:20

Nothing escapes a black hole … or does it? In the 1970s, the physicist Stephen Hawking described a subtle process by which black holes can “evaporate,” with some particles evading gravitational oblivion. That phenomenon, now dubbed Hawking radiation, seems at odds with general relativity, and it raises an even weirder question: If particles can esc…

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How Is Flocking Like Computing? 39:38

1+ y ago39:38

39:38

Birds flock. Locusts swarm. Fish school. Within assemblies of organisms that seem as though they could get chaotic, order somehow emerges. The collective behaviors of animals differ in their details from one species to another, but they largely adhere to principles of collective motion that physicists have worked out over centuries. Now, using tech…

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What Is Quantum Teleportation? 29:57

1+ y ago29:57

29:57

Quantum teleportation isn’t just science fiction; it’s entirely real and happening in laboratories today. But teleporting quantum particles and information is a far cry from beaming people through space. In some ways, it’s even more astonishing. John Preskill, a theoretical physicist at the California Institute of Technology, is one of the leading …

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What Is the Nature of Time? 30:39

1+ y ago30:39

30:39

Time seems linear to us: We remember the past, experience the present and predict the future, moving consecutively from one moment to the next. But why is it that way, and could time ultimately be a kind of illusion? In this episode, the Nobel Prize-winning physicist Frank Wilczek speaks with host Steven Strogatz about the many “arrows” of time and…

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How Did Altruism Evolve? 34:18

1+ y ago34:18

34:18

We often talk about evolution in terms of competition, as the survival of the fittest. But if it is, then where did the widespread (and widely admired) impulse to help others even at great cost to ourselves come from? In this episode, Stephanie Preston, a professor of psychology and head of the Ecological Neuroscience Lab at the University of Michi…

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What Makes for 'Good' Math? 35:42

1+ y ago35:42

35:42

We tend to think of mathematics as purely logical, but the teaching of math, its usefulness and its workings are packed with nuance. So what is “good” mathematics? In 2007, the mathematician Terence Tao wrote an essay for the “Bulletin of the American Mathematical Society” that sought to answer this question. Today, as the recipient of a Fields Med…

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Why Locusts Swarm, Humans Do Good and Time Marches On 2:10

1+ y ago2:10

2:10

“The Joy of Why” is a Quanta Magazine podcast about curiosity and the pursuit of knowledge. The mathematician and author Steven Strogatz and the astrophysicist and author Janna Levin take turns interviewing leading researchers about the great scientific and mathematical questions of our time. New episodes are released every other Thursday.…

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A Very Bad Estimator - with Donald Knuth 54:26

1+ y ago54:26

54:26

Donald Knuth is unquestionably a legend of computer science and mathematics - but he is bad at estimation and grew up with a “rhinoceros attitude”. Don Knuth’s homepage - https://www-cs-faculty.stanford.edu/~knuth/ The Art of Computer Programming (books) - https://www-cs-faculty.stanford.edu/~knuth/taocp.html On Amazon - https://amzn.to/4aUkkeT 3:1…

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The Math of Movies - with Walt Hickey 51:24

2y ago51:24

51:24

Data journalist Walt Hickey looks deep into the numbers behind movies, TV shows, and all types of popular culture. Walt’s new book is You Are What You Watch - https://amzn.to/3F8SwVo Walt’s Website - https://walthickey.com Numlock News - https://www.numlock.com Dr Ian Malcolm from Jurassic Park - https://jurassicpark.fandom.com/wiki/Ian_Malcolm Doe…

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Finding Your Place - with Federico Ardila 54:57

2y ago54:57

54:57

Federico Ardila is a combinatorialist at San Francisco State University. He’s Colombian and in this episode he talks candidly about the struggles and prejudice encountered by people from different backgrounds as they try to make their mark in academia. And just so you know there’s happy ending in sight - this episode of the podcast will conclude wi…

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Yes, I accept the Fields Medal - with James Maynard 27:59

2y ago27:59

27:59

Oxford mathematician James Maynard explains why he feared accidentally refusing the most famous prize in mathematics. Watch this full interview on YouTube - https://youtu.be/yz-5BY_TTNI Full 2022 Fields Medal Winners - https://www.mathunion.org/imu-awards/fields-medal/fields-medals-2022 See our Fields Medal Playlist - https://bit.ly/Fields_Playlist…

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Does Nothingness Exist? 44:59

2y ago44:59

44:59

Aristotle argued almost 2,400 years ago that a perfect vacuum could never exist. Today, the concept of nothingness figures at least implicitly into almost every theory of modern physics. In this episode closing out season 2 of “The Joy of Why,” the theoretical physicist Isabel Garcia Garcia of New York University and the Institute for Advanced Stud…

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Can Math and Physics Save an Arrhythmic Heart? 46:12

2y ago46:12

46:12

The heart’s electrical system keeps all its muscle cells beating in sync. A hard whack to the chest at the wrong moment, however, can set up unruly waves of abnormal electrical excitation that are potentially deadly. The resulting kind of arrhythmia may be what caused the football player Damar Hamlin of the Buffalo Bills to collapse on the field af…