Simon Frantz

Managing Editor

The Joy of Why

More Conversations, Complex Questions, and Bold Ideas in Season Five of ‘The Joy of Why’

By Simon Frantz

June 4, 2026

The podcast returns with 12 all-new episodes that explore the biggest questions in basic science and mathematics.

Video showing a slow-moving edge of the red-colored sun pointing upwards. A large solar flare erupts, starting at the right and moving towards the center as the edge of the sun rotates anti-clockwise.

image gallery

How We See the Beautiful, Violent Sun

By Simon Frantz

May 28, 2026

Over hundreds of years, increasingly sophisticated instruments have revealed — and continue to reveal — the secrets of our star.

About the author

Simon Frantz joined Quanta Magazine as Managing Editor in 2024. He was managing editor of features at BBC.com, and he helped launch BBC Future where he became editor. Simon also served as senior editor at Nobelprize.org, web editor at The Scientist, and news editor at Nature Reviews Drug Discovery. As editor and managing editor, his sites have regularly been recognized with awards, including Webbys, Lovies, Online Journalism Awards, and Association of British Science Writers Awards. Before entering journalism, he studied Biochemistry at the University of Liverpool and researched the genetics of cardiovascular diseases at the University of Leicester.

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Simon Frantz

More Conversations, Complex Questions, and Bold Ideas in Season Five of ‘The Joy of Why’

How We See the Beautiful, Violent Sun

Simon Frantz

Latest Articles

More Conversations, Complex Questions, and Bold Ideas in Season Five of ‘The Joy of Why’

How We See the Beautiful, Violent Sun