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The Joy of Why

Steven Strogatz, Janna Levin and Quanta Magazine

“The Joy of Why” is a Quanta Magazine podcast about curiosity and the pursuit of knowledge. The mathematician and author Steven Strogatz and the cosmologist 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 Wednesday.

Quanta Magazine is a Pulitzer Prize–winning, editorially independent online publication launched and supported by the Simons Foundation to illuminate big ideas in science and math through public service journalism. Quanta’s reporters and editors focus on developments in mathematics, theoretical physics, theoretical computer science and the basic life sciences, emphasizing timely, accurate, in-depth and well-crafted articles for its broad discerning audience. In 2023, Steven Strogatz received a National Academies Eric and Wendy Schmidt Award for Excellence in Science Communications partly for his work on “The Joy of Why.”

Quanta Magazine

“The Joy of Why” is a Quanta Magazine podcast about curiosity and the pursuit of knowledge. The mathematician and author Steven Strogatz and the cosmologist 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 Wednesday.

Quanta Magazine is a Pulitzer Prize–winning, editorially independent online publication launched and supported by the Simons Foundation to illuminate big ideas in science and math through public service journalism. Quanta’s reporters and editors focus on developments in mathematics, theoretical physics, theoretical computer science and the basic life sciences, emphasizing timely, accurate, in-depth and well-crafted articles for its broad discerning audience. In 2023, Steven Strogatz received a National Academies Eric and Wendy Schmidt Award for Excellence in Science Communications partly for his work on “The Joy of Why.”

Quanta Magazine
29hr 23min
Thumbnail for "What Can Tiling Patterns Teach Us?".
Perfect patterns can be an obsession for some people. And then there are the mathematicians obsessed with finding and breaking that perfection. In March 2023, after decades of dogged pursuit, the elusive aperiodic monotile was identified by a hobbyist, David Smith. On this week’s episode of “The Joy of Why,” mathematician Natalie Preiebe Frank and co-host Janna Levin talk through how recent breakthroughs in tiling can unlock structural secrets in the natural world.
July 3, 202439min 26sec94.65 MB
Thumbnail for "How Can Math Help Beat Cancer?".
Cancer treatment has come a long way in recent decades. But finding the best course of treatment for each case of this diverse, dynamic disease remains a challenge. In this episode, co-host Steven Strogatz speaks with computational biologist Franziska Michor about how math, statistical models and machine learning may be critical to the next generation of cancer care.
October 10, 202442min 58sec103.15 MB
Thumbnail for "What Can Cave Life Tell Us About Alien Ecosystems?".
Extremophiles, or microbes that live in the most seemingly hostile environments, are the darlings of astrobiologists, who study the potential for life beyond Earth. In this episode, co-host Janna Levin speaks with astrobiologist and cave explorer Penelope Boston about how life finds a way — and whether it might have found a way elsewhere in our solar system or around a distant star.
September 26, 202444min 42sec107.3 MB
Thumbnail for "From Sidedoor — Cosmic Journey I: "Stellar Buffoonery"".
As a treat to our listeners, we are posting a full episode of Sidedoor, a podcast that explores the treasures in the Smithsonian's vaults. Subscribe to Sidedoor from Smithsonian wherever you listen to podcasts!
September 19, 202434min 37sec49.78 MB
Thumbnail for "Can Thermodynamics Go Quantum?".
The Industrial Revolution brought us the laws of thermodynamics, and new ideas about work, energy and efficiency. In this episode, co-host Steven Strogatz speaks with theoretical physicist Nicole Yunger Halpern about what these concepts might mean in the age of quantum mechanics.
September 12, 202443min103.22 MB
Thumbnail for "Do We Need a New Theory of Gravity?".
Since Newton had his initial revelation about gravity, our understanding of this fundamental concept has evolved in unexpected ways. In this week’s episode, theoretical physicist Claudia de Rham and co-host Janna Levin discuss the ways our current understanding of gravity needs to continue to evolve.
August 29, 202442min 25sec101.75 MB
Thumbnail for "Are Robots About to Level Up?".
Today’s AI largely lives in computers, but acting and reacting in the real world — that’s the realm of robots. In this week’s episode, co-host Steven Strogatz talks with pioneering roboticist Daniela Rus about creativity, collaboration, and the unusual forms robots of the future might take.
August 15, 202438min 29sec92.39 MB
Thumbnail for "How Does Math Keep Our Secrets?".
Alan Turing helped the Allies in World War II by cracking the Nazis’ “unbreakable” Enigma cipher. But if Turing had attempted to decrypt those messages simply by trying out all possibilities, the sun would die out before he was done. How did Turing crack the "unbreakable" code? And now in the digital age, how do we keep generating encryptions of seemingly impossible complexity to keep our information secure? On this week’s episode of “The Joy of Why,” co-host Janna Levin talks with computer scientist Barak Boaz about the mind-bending mathematics of cryptography.
August 1, 202423min 59sec89.21 MB
Thumbnail for "Will AI Ever Have Common Sense?".
Why are the trickiest queries often easier for ChatGPT to answer than relatively simple questions that hinge on basic common sense? The answer lies somewhere deep in the layers upon layers of neural networks that make up large language models. On this week’s episode of “The Joy of Why,” co-host Steven Strogatz and 2022 MacArthur Fellow Yejin Choi take us into the ever-evolving, months-long training processes that are shaping the future of AI.
July 18, 202444min 16sec106.25 MB
Thumbnail for "How Is Science Even Possible?".
How are scientists able to crack fundamental questions about nature and life? How does math make the complex cosmos understandable? In this episode, the physicist Nigel Goldenfeld and co-host Steven Strogatz explore the deep foundations of the scientific process.
June 20, 202435min 57sec86.3 MB
Thumbnail for "Can Psychedelics Improve Mental Health?".
Research suggests that psychedelic drugs can reopen critical periods of brain development to create opportunities for re-learning and psychological healing. In this episode, co-host Janna Levin speaks with Gül Dölen, a neuroscientist studying the therapeutic potential of psychedelic substances.
June 6, 202439min 52sec95.7 MB
Thumbnail for "What Happens in the Brain to Cause Depression?".
The exact cause of depression is unknown, although SSRIs, drugs targeting the neurotransmitter serotonin, have long been prescribed for it. Now the spotlight is turning to other aspects of brain chemistry. In this episode, the neuropharmacologist John Krystal of the Yale School of Medicine shares findings that are revolutionizing depression treatment.
May 23, 202433min 23sec80.12 MB
Thumbnail for "Will Better Superconductors Transform the World?".
Scientists are pursuing materials that can conduct electricity with perfect efficiency under ambient conditions. In this episode, the physicist Siddharth Shanker Saxena tells co-host Janna Levin about what makes this hunt so difficult and consequential.
May 9, 202428min 58sec69.52 MB
Thumbnail for "What Does Milk Do for Babies?".
Human nutrition begins with milk, but the wondrous biofluid does much more than feed babies. In this episode, co-host Steven Strogatz speaks with molecular nutritionist Elizabeth Johnson about her research into the lifelong benefits that milk confers through a healthy microbiome.
April 25, 202434min 42sec83.29 MB
Thumbnail for "Can Information Escape a Black Hole?".
We often think of black holes as inescapable, but viewed through the lens of quantum information theory, there can be some exceptions. In the 1990s, the theoretical physicist Leonard Susskind struck a bet with Stephen Hawking about whether information can escape a black hole. Co-host Janna Levin speaks with Susskind about this “black hole war” and how the lessons learned about the black hole information paradox have propelled modern physics.
April 11, 202429min 20sec70.41 MB
Thumbnail for "How Is Flocking Like Computing?".
Birds flock. Locusts swarm. Fish school. Within chaotic assemblies of life, order somehow emerges. In this episode, co-host Steven Strogatz interviews the evolutionary ecologist Iain Couzin about how and why animals exhibit collective behaviors, and the secret advantages that arise from them.
March 28, 202439min 45sec95.42 MB
Thumbnail for "What Is Quantum Teleportation?".
Teleporting people through space is still science fiction. But quantum teleportation is dramatically different and entirely real. In this episode, Janna Levin interviews the theoretical physicist John Preskill about teleporting bits and the promise of quantum technology.
March 14, 202430min 5sec72.21 MB
Thumbnail for "What Is the Nature of Time?".
Time is all around us: in the language we use, in the memories we revisit and in our predictions of the future. But what exactly is it? The physicist and Nobel laureate Frank Wilczek joins Steve Strogatz to discuss the fundamental nature of time.
February 29, 202430min 46sec73.85 MB
Thumbnail for "How Did Altruism Evolve?".
If evolution favors the "survival of the fittest," where did the impulse to help others come from? Host Janna Levin speaks with Stephanie Preston, a neuropsychologist who studies the biology of altruism.
February 15, 202434min 22sec82.48 MB
Thumbnail for "What Makes for ‘Good’ Math?".
Terence Tao, who has been called the “Mozart of Mathematics,” wrote an essay in 2007 about the common ingredients in “good” mathematical research. In this episode, the Fields Medalist joins Steven Strogatz to revisit the topic.
February 1, 202435min 41sec85.67 MB
Thumbnail for "Trailer: The Joy of Why Season 3".
In the third season, premiering Feb. 1, Steven Strogatz is joined by his new co-host, author and astrophysicist Janna Levin, for a new round of big questions and surprising answers about math and science.
January 25, 20242min 10sec5.2 MB
Thumbnail for "Does Nothingness Exist?".
Even empty space is bubbling with a form of energy, according to quantum mechanics - and that fact affects almost every facet of physical reality. The theoretical physicist Isabel Garcia Garcia explains to Steven Strogatz why it's so important in modern physics to understand what a true vacuum is.
July 26, 202344min 59sec64.8 MB
Thumbnail for "Can Math and Physics Save an Arrhythmic Heart?".
Abnormal waves of electrical activity can cause a heart's muscle cells to beat out of sync. In this episode, Flavio Fenton, an expert in cardiac dynamics, talks with Steve Strogatz about ways to treat heart arrhythmias without resorting to painful defibrillators.
July 12, 202346min 11sec33.28 MB
Thumbnail for "What Can Jellyfish Teach Us About Fluid Dynamics?".
Jellyfish and other aquatic creatures embody solutions to diverse problems in engineering, medicine and mathematics. John Dabiri, a fluid dynamics expert, talks with Steven Strogatz about what jellyfish can teach us about going with the flow.
June 28, 202343min 42sec26.23 MB
Thumbnail for "What Causes Giant Rogue Waves?".
Once dismissed as myths, monstrous rogue waves that tower over ships and appear without warning are real. Wave-science researcher Ton van den Bremer and Steven Strogatz discuss how rogue waves can form in relatively calm seas and whether their threat can be predicted.
June 14, 202340min 14sec57.97 MB
Thumbnail for "What Is the Nature of Consciousness?".
Consciousness, our experience of being in the world, is one of the mind's greatest mysteries, but as the neuroscientist Anil Seth explains to Steven Strogatz, research is making progress in understanding this elusive phenomenon.
May 31, 202352min 14sec75.24 MB
Thumbnail for "Are There Reasons to Believe in a Multiverse?".
Several areas of physics suggest reasons to think that unobservable universes with different natural laws could lie beyond ours. The theoretical physicist David Kaplan talks with Steven Strogatz about the mysteries that a multiverse would solve.
May 17, 202348min 48sec35.16 MB
Thumbnail for "Is Perpetual Motion Possible at the Quantum Level?".
A new state of matter called a "time crystal," recently created on a quantum computing platform, can bend our expectations of thermodynamics. The physicist Vedika Khemani talks with Steven Strogatz about counterintuitive quantum behavior.
May 4, 202336min 39sec22 MB
Thumbnail for "How Can Some Infinities Be Bigger Than Others?".
All infinities go on forever, so how is it possible for some infinities to be larger than others? The mathematician Justin Moore discusses the mysteries of infinity with Steven Strogatz.
April 19, 202346min 11sec27.72 MB
Thumbnail for "What Has the Pandemic Taught Us About Vaccines?".
Should Covid-19 vaccines be judged by how well they prevent disease or how well they prevent death? Anna Durbin, a public health expert and vaccine researcher, talks with Steven Strogatz about the science behind vaccines.
April 5, 202342min 53sec25.74 MB
Thumbnail for "Is There Math Beyond the Equal Sign?".
Can mathematics handle things that are essentially the same without being exactly equal? Category theorist Eugenia Cheng and host Steven Strogatz discuss the power and pleasures of abstraction.
March 22, 202349min 39sec29.8 MB
Thumbnail for "Can We Program Our Cells?".
Can We Program Our Cells?
March 8, 202345min 10sec27.11 MB
Thumbnail for "How Will the Universe End?".
“The Joy of Why” is a podcast about curiosity and the pursuit of knowledge from Quanta Magazine. The acclaimed mathematician and author Steven Strogatz interviews leading researchers about the great scientific and mathematical questions of our time.
February 22, 202343min 53sec63.22 MB
Thumbnail for "The Joy of Asking About Infinity, Jellyfish and the End of the Universe".
As The Joy of Why podcast returns for a second season, producer Polly Stryker and host Steven Strogatz invite listeners to join them and their brilliant new guests on another voyage of discovery.
February 9, 20232min 31sec6.08 MB
Thumbnail for "Why and How Do We Dream?".
Why and How Do We Dream?
August 24, 202245min 23sec65.36 MB
Thumbnail for "What Is Quantum Field Theory and Why Is It Incomplete?".
What Is Quantum Field Theory and Why Is It Incomplete?
August 10, 202242min 3sec60.58 MB
Thumbnail for "Why Do We Get Old, and Can Aging Be Reversed?".
Why Do We Get Old, and Can Aging Be Reversed?
July 27, 202238min 25sec23.05 MB
Thumbnail for "How Do Mathematicians Know Their Proofs Are Correct?".
How Do Mathematicians Know Their Proofs Are Correct?
July 13, 202228min 25sec17.06 MB
Thumbnail for "Can Computers Be Mathematicians?".
Can Computers Be Mathematicians?
June 29, 202232min 50sec19.71 MB
Thumbnail for "What Is Life?".
What Is Life?
June 15, 202241min 58sec25.18 MB
Thumbnail for "How Could Life Evolve From Cyanide?".
How Could Life Evolve From Cyanide?
June 1, 202239min 22sec23.63 MB
Thumbnail for "Will the James Webb Space Telescope Reveal Another Earth?".
Will the James Webb Space Telescope Reveal Another Earth?
May 18, 202249min 43sec71.62 MB
Thumbnail for "Where Do Space, Time and Gravity Come From?".
Einstein’s description of curved space-time doesn’t easily mesh with a universe made up of quantum wavefunctions. Theoretical physicist Sean Carroll discusses the quest for quantum gravity with host Steven Strogatz. The post Where Do Space, Time and Gravity Come From? first appeared on Quanta Magazine
May 4, 202242min 3sec60.58 MB
Thumbnail for "Why Is Inflammation a Dangerous Necessity?".
Why Is Inflammation a Dangerous Necessity?
April 20, 202240min 13sec57.92 MB
Thumbnail for "Untangling Why Knots Are Important".
Steven Strogatz explores the mysteries of knots with the mathematicians Colin Adams and Lisa Piccirillo. The post Untangling Why Knots Are Important first appeared on Quanta Magazine
April 6, 202244min 15sec46.77 MB
Thumbnail for "Why Do We Die Without Sleep?".
The reasons why sleep is so vital often hide in unexpected parts of the body, as host Steven Strogatz discovers in conversations with researchers Dragana Rogulja and Alex Keene. The post Why Do We Die Without Sleep? first appeared on Quanta Magazine
March 23, 202243min 47sec63.06 MB
Thumbnail for "Trailer: The Joy of Why".
The noted mathematician and author Steven Strogatz explains how the conversations with experts in his new Quanta Magazine podcast address his lifelong fascination with timeless mysteries. The post Deep Curiosity Inspires The Joy of Why Podcast first appeared on Quanta Magazine
March 17, 20222min 42sec6.51 MB

What Can Tiling Patterns Teach Us?

Thumbnail for "What Can Tiling Patterns Teach Us?".
July 3, 202439min 26sec

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 much more than a fun thought exercise: Peculiar, rare tiling formations can sometimes seem to tell us something about the natural world, from the structure of minerals to the organization of the cosmos. In this episode, co-host Janna Levin speaks with mathematician Natalie Priebe Frank on the subject of these complex geometric combinations, and where they may pop up unexpectedly. Specifically, they explore her research into quasicrystals — crystals that, like aperiodic tiles, enigmatically resist structural uniformity.

Thumbnail for "What Can Tiling Patterns Teach Us?".
What Can Tiling Patterns Teach Us?
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