The Joy of Why
Episodes
How Fast Is the Universe Really Expanding?
Host Jana Levin interviews Nobel laureate Adam Riess, her former MIT student, about his discovery of the universe’s accelerating expansion.
Will We Ever Find Alien Civilizations?
Hosts Jana Levin and Steve Strogatz interview astronomer David Kipping about the statistical probability of extraterrestrial life.
What Is the Positive Grassmannian and Why Does It Show Up Everywhere?
Hosts Steve Strogatz and Jan Ellen interview Harvard mathematician Lauren Williams about algebraic combinatorics and the positive Grassmannian.
What’s the Future of Gene Editing?
Hosts Jana Levin and Steve Strogatz interview Nobel laureate Jennifer Doudna about her pioneering work on CRISPR gene editing.
More Conversations, Complex Questions, and Bold Ideas in Season Five of ‘The Joy of Why’
Hosts Steve Strogatz and Jan Ellen introduce Season 5 of The Joy of Why, featuring interviews with astrophysicist Adam Riess on cosmic expansion,…
Do Beautiful Birds Have an Evolutionary Advantage?
Hosts Jana Levin and Steve Strogatz interview Yale ornithologist Rick Prum, who explains that birds are living dinosaurs and discusses the evolution of feathers for display rather than flight.
How Can Math Protect Our Data?
Hosts Steve Strogatz and Jana Levin interview Stanford computer scientist Mary Wooters about error-correcting codes, the mathematical tools that protect data from noise.
Why Did The Universe Begin?
Hosts Jana Levin and Steve Strogatz interview physicist Thomas Hertog about his collaborative work with Stephen Hawking on the universe's origins.
How Can Regional Models Advance Climate Science?
Hosts Steve Strogatz and Jana Levin interview MIT professor El-Fati El-Tahir about climate science, hydrology, and the social impacts of environmental change.
How Does Graph Theory Shape Our World?
Hosts Jana Levin and Steve Strogatz explore graph theory, tracing its origins to Euler’s Seven Bridges of Königsberg.