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Steven Strogatz

Podcast Host

Computers doing mathematics.
The Joy of Why

Can Computers Be Mathematicians?

By Steven Strogatz
June 29, 2022
Read Later

Artificial intelligence has bested humans at problem-solving challenges like chess and Go. Is mathematics research next? Steven Strogatz speaks with mathematician Kevin Buzzard to learn about the effort to translate math into language that computers understand.

an illustration of various objects (a chair, a rocket, a cell phone, etc.) as well as biological objects such as a DNA double-helix and microbe, all against a lime green background
The Joy of Why

What Is Life?

By Steven Strogatz
June 15, 2022
Read Later

Without a good definition of life, how do we look for it on alien planets? Steven Strogatz speaks with Robert Hazen, a mineralogist and astrobiologist, and Sheref Mansy, a chemist, to learn more.

Illustration of icons that relate to life’s origins: a volcano, molecules, a crab, fish, DNA and more.
The Joy of Why

How Could Life Evolve From Cyanide?

By Steven Strogatz
June 1, 2022
Read Later

How did life arise on Earth? Steven Strogatz speaks with the Nobel Prize-winning biologist Jack Szostak and Betül Kaçar, a paleogeneticist and astrobiologist, to explore our best understanding of how we all got here.

Illustration of a woman astronomer looking at a map that shows the James Webb Space Telescope capturing images of a distant planet.
The Joy of Why

Will the James Webb Space Telescope Reveal Another Earth?

By Steven Strogatz
May 18, 2022
Read Later

The space telescope is one of the most ambitious scientific projects ever undertaken. Marcia Rieke and Nikole Lewis, two of the scientists leading JWST investigations, talk to Steven Strogatz about how it may transform our understanding of the universe.

Illustration of planets and other objects floating above the deformable sheet of space-time.
The Joy of Why

Where Do Space, Time and Gravity Come From?

By Steven Strogatz
May 4, 2022
Read Later

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.

Artist’s illustration representing the immune system standing guard against a world of pathogens.
The Joy of Why

Why Is Inflammation a Dangerous Necessity?

By Steven Strogatz
April 20, 2022
Read Later

The immune system protects us from a full spectrum of pathogens, but without balance, it can end up hurting us over time, too. The immunologist Shruti Naik explains how our defenses can turn on us.

The Joy of Why

Untangling Why Knots Are Important

By Steven Strogatz
April 6, 2022
Read Later

Steven Strogatz explores the mysteries of knots with the mathematicians Colin Adams and Lisa Piccirillo.

The Joy of Why

Why Do We Die Without Sleep?

By Steven Strogatz
March 22, 2022
Read Later

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 Joy of Why

Deep Curiosity Inspires The Joy of Why Podcast

By Steven Strogatz
March 17, 2022
Read Later

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.


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About the author

Steven Strogatz is the Jacob Gould Schurman Professor of Applied Mathematics at Cornell University. He has blogged about math for The New York Times and The New Yorker and has been a frequent guest on Radiolab and Science Friday. He is the author of Nonlinear Dynamics and Chaos, Sync, The Calculus of Friendship and The Joy of x. His most recent book is Infinite Powers: How Calculus Reveals the Secrets of the Universe.

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