Theoretical cosmologist and author Janna Levin joins me on this episode of INTO THE IMPOSSIBLE: Janna Levin: Spots, Blues, and Madmen — revealing cosmic mysteries!
Janna’s encouragement to incorporate creativity into all pursuits, not just artistic ones, is a push we could all use. Especially scientists, who are often discouraged from using their imagination.
Like many of my guests on this podcast, Janna has written nonfiction books that incorporate science and memoir components. But she also wrote a novel, “A Madman Dreams of Turing Machines,” which takes another level of ability that is so impressive. Despite her varied talents, she says her upcoming book, the nonfiction “Black Hole Survival Guide,” will be her last for a while.
I do love her analogy when we discussed her readers. “Books are like messages in a bottle,” she says. “You launch them out into the world and it’s always amazing to hear where they land.”
Janna is a prolific science communicator, serving as Director of Sciences at Pioneer Works, a New York City nonprofit that connects art, music, and science and runs public lectures and programs. As part of an ongoing series covering science controversies, she interviewed Sheperd Doeleman and Andrew Strominger about the Event Horizon Telescope after last year’s remarkable photograph.
Though it comes naturally to her, Janna doesn’t believe that all scientists need to be good at so-called outreach or that it should be a requirement. The culture has changed since she wrote her first book nearly twenty years ago.
“We are impacting the creative culture and the conversation around science and changing attitudes,” she says.
On top of all the impressive science communication work she does, Janna is also on the forefront of research projects and teaching. We talked about her topics of interest, black holes and extra spatial dimensions, in detail but also at a level that I think a layperson will understand so don’t be daunted no matter your background.
As for why her chosen fields seem to attract so much attention and interest these days, she says, “It’s some combination of the strangeness and the truth. It’s the idea that this is something that transcends where you’re from in the world, it transcends what year you were born in, and presumably from a different galaxy. These are the strangest things you can think of but they’re true for all of us.”
Recorded back in May, the discussion of the pandemic takes on perhaps a more optimistic view than it may have if recorded as we approach our fourth month of self-isolation as businesses begin to close again. Here’s hoping that Janna’s hopes about more people thinking globally going forward come true. I was also struck by her passion when speaking of getting back into a classroom.
In terms of her science communication work, Pioneer Works accelerated its plans for their media project The Broadcast due to the pandemic. What Janna calls a “virtual assembly” is now open and accessible to everyone around the world. A recent contribution is her tantalizing conversation with famed string theorist Brian Greene.
Janna and I have never met in person but we know a lot of the same people in the astrophysics community. It was wonderful to speak to her for the podcast and I’m hoping that we finally cross paths at some point soon.
Resources mentioned in this episode:
The ‘Joy of x’ podcast episode with Robbert Dijkgraaf from Institute for Advanced Study we mentioned. Both Janna and I have also been interviewed on this podcast.
Glen Starkman’s lecture at UCSD on the topology of the universe, helpful to supplement Janna’s description on my YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/DrBrianKeating?sub_confirmation=1
Find Janna Levin’s interview with King of the Performance Podcast, Tim Ferriss:
Pre-order Janna’s book “Black Hole Survival Guide.” .
Buy her previous books from
Find Janna on Twitter: @JannaLevin
Find Brian Keating on Twitter https://twitter.com/DrBrianKeating
Please subscribe, rate, and review the INTO THE IMPOSSIBLE Podcast on iTunes for a chance to win a copy of Janna’s book: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/into-the-impossible/id1169885840?mt=2.
Janna Levin is a professor of physics and astronomy at Barnard College of Columbia University. She earned a PhD in theoretical physics from MIT.
She is also the Chair and Founding Director of the Science Studios at Pioneer Works, a nonprofit center blending science and art. Levin is the author of both fiction and nonfiction books, winning literary prizes and a Guggenheim Fellowship for science writing.
