The Origins Podcast with Lawrence Krauss

Andy Knoll is a Renaissance Scientist. He is a geologist, paleobiologist, and geochemist and has applied key ideas from chemistry, biology, physiology and more to understanding the key developments associated with life on Earth—both how geology and chemistry have impacted on life, and vice versa. He has made ground breaking contributions to the understanding of almost every phase of life, from ear...

After writing the book, The Bell Curve, Charles Murray became a controversial figure in the US Social Science scene, and was much maligned in the public arena. His work has been misinterpreted as being racist and sexist, and at Middlebury College students forcibly stopped his guest lecture and rioted. As often the case with stereotypes, Murray is instead a thoughtful scholar who has tried to base...

John Mather is an astrophysicist at NASA who has been involved in important space missions to probe our fundamental understanding of the Universe for over four decades. He helped lead the design and deployment of the Cosmic Background Explorer Satellite (COBE), which launched in 1989 to probe the cosmic microwave background radiation from the Big Bang with a precision that could not be obtained fr...

I was very happy to have the chance to speak to Michael Shellenberger some time ago, after his book Apocalypse Never appeared. Having written my book, The Physics of Climate Change , I was intrigued by his take on the fact that climate change is not an existential threat. Once I read his book, I realized we agreed on many things, with perhaps the differences being on emphasize rather than substanc...

Jonathan Rauch was 30 years ahead of the curve. In his book Kindly Inquisitors, written in 1993, he described the very mechanisms by which ideology can undermine both the search for truth, and the democratic ideal of free thought—mechanisms which have now become endemic in our society. But more than that, in that book, and in The Constitution of Knowledge, written in 2021 he lays out more clearly...

In 1979 Alan Guth, then a postdoc at Cornell, made what is perhaps the most important contribution to our theoretical understanding of the evolution of the Universe in the past half century. His realization that the early universe could have undergone a brief period of what he dubbed as “Inflation” provided the first and to date the only explanation of the large scale properties of the Universe co...

Dorian Abbot is an associate professor of geophysics at the University of Chicago, who uses mathematical and computational models to understand and explain fundamental problems in Earth and Planetary Sciences. His work on climate, and paleoclimate in particular is particularly important as we try and determine the likelihood that some exoplanets may be habitable. This is an area where may claims a...

(The Origins Podcast will appear every other Thursday.) Matt Ridley is a veteran journalist and science writer, with a training in genetics. He is also a Conservative member of the House of Lords in the UK. Matt and I were able to discuss his training, and his move from scientist to journalist, as well as the spectrum of his experiences in his various roles. We then moved on to the centerpiece of...

Summary: Roger Penrose and I discussed his life and work in science, mathematics, art and beyond, including the work for which he won the Nobel Prize, and his recent highly controversial proposal regarding the beginning and end of the Universe. To get this episode into your RSS feed, please click the button below from your phone: Roger Penrose, who shared the 2020 Nobel Prize in Physics, for his 1...

This episode features a very special guest, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, who has an incredible life story and track record of speaking out against oppression, fighting for freedom of expression, and fostering a deeper discussion around some of today's most important topics. Ayaan Hirsi Ali is a Somali-born Dutch-American activist, feminist, author, scholar, and former politician. She received international at...

In this episode of the Origins Podcast, Stephen Wolfram joins Lawrence Krauss for a fascinating conversation around Stephen's upbringing, his education path, Mathematica, and what he's working on now. They also cover various concepts around symbolic manipulation and the importance of knowing how to type. Stephen Wolfram is the creator of Mathematica, Wolfram|Alpha and the Wolfram Language; the aut...

On this episode of The Origins Podcast, experimental psychologist, Steven Pinker shares an excellent conversation with Lawrence Krauss. Steven and Lawrence cover a variety of topics, including rationality, evolutionary psychology, and language. Get full access to Critical Mass at lawrencekrauss.substack.com/subscribe

Tune in for an excellent conversation between Tim Minchin and Lawrence Krauss. They dive into a variety of interesting subjects, such as Tim Minchin's upbringing, his scientific interests, comedy, culture, the state of the world, and even a few of Tim Minchin's current projects that is he working on now. Get full access to Critical Mass at lawrencekrauss.substack.com/subscribe

This episode is best watched on Youtube, as there are slides and images that accompany Lawrence's talk. This week marks a very special moment in which the Origins Podcast passed 100,000 subscribers! In celebration of this, we've brought back Science Matters for a special episode to discuss the science of the James Webb Space Telescope. Thank you to everyone who has supported the Origins Project, b...

This exciting episode of the Origins Podcast features Jordan B Peterson along with host, Lawrence Krauss. They explore Jordan's upbringing and background, the nuances of meaning and value, as well as the difficulties and opportunities of doing research in our current cultural climate. Many viewers will enjoy seeing a unique side of Jordan B Peterson that shines through during this discussion and i...

Sabine Hossenfelder joins Lawrence Krauss for an interesting discussion about theoretical physics, academia, and the future of science ideology. You can show your support and access exclusive bonus content at https://www.patreon.com/originspodcast Get full access to Critical Mass at lawrencekrauss.substack.com/subscribe

Jim Simons joins Lawrence for fascinating new and different take on the life of a man best known to the public for becoming a billionaire by using techniques from mathematics and statistics to revolutionize investing, but who has had numerous other careers, as a brilliant mathematician, academic leader, code breaker and science philanthropist. You can show your support and access exclusive bonus c...

This is the second part unique conversation with journalist and author, Heather Mac Donald. The author of The Diversity Delusion, Heather doesn't mince words. Lawrence and she don't agree on everything as you'll see during the podcast. Nonetheless, these conversations are critical in fostering an open dialogue as we try to come to a deeper understanding of the world around us. You can show your su...

Lawrence Krauss and Stephen Fry have a conversation about recent disconcerting news that several scientific publications and associations are self-censoring scientific publications and data for fear of offending people, even if no offense is intended.. something that concerns both of them, and should concern all of us. Show your support and access exclusive bonus content at https://www.patreon.com...

This is the first part unique conversation with journalist and author, Heather Mac Donald. Heather doesn't mince words, but Lawrence and she don't agree on everything as you'll see during the podcast. Nonetheless, these conversations are critical in fostering an open dialogue as we try to come to a deeper understanding of the world around us. Stay tuned for the upcoming second part of this episode...

Listen to our newest mini-series "Current Events with Noam Chomsky"! In this episode, Lawrence and Noam have a follow-up discussion about the latest developments in Afghanistan. Show your support and access exclusive bonus content at https://www.patreon.com/originspodcast Get full access to Critical Mass at lawrencekrauss.substack.com/subscribe

In this podcast episode, Lawrence Krauss reconnects with an old friend and Nobel Prize recipient, Barry Barish. They discuss a wide range of topics and explore Barry's own history as well as the history, present, and future of experimental physics. Barry Barish is an American experimental physicist and Nobel Laureate. He is a Linde Professor of Physics, emeritus at California Institute of Technolo...

Lawrence Krauss recently had the pleasure of sitting down with David Gross, one of the preeminent theoretical physicists who has been involved not just in the development of the theory of the strong interaction, called quantum chromodynamics, but he is also one of the founders and developers of String Theory. In their discussion, they explore the growth and changes of physics from the 1950's all t...

Listen to our newest mini-series "Current Events with Noam Chomsky"! In this episode, Lawrence and Noam discuss a variety of issues around Censorship. Show your support and access exclusive bonus content at https://www.patreon.com/originspodcast   Noam Chomsky is sometimes referred to as “the father of modern linguistics”, is a political activist, cognitive scientist, linguist, and philosopher who...

Listen to our newest mini-series "Current Events with Noam Chomsky"! This episode covers a variety of topics around Refugees and Border Policies in the United States and other countries.   Show your support and access exclusive bonus content at https://www.patreon.com/originspodcast Get full access to Critical Mass at lawrencekrauss.substack.com/subscribe