December 4, 2017 8:53 pm

Get Theoretical with Janna Levin, Chuck Nice, and David Spergel this Tuesday

This week on StarTalk All-Stars we’re getting theoretical. No, we’re not going to question whether your imaginary friend is real, or mine, because they are, you know it and so do I – that’s all that matters. However, we are going to explore the world of theoretical physics.

Recorded live at the Now Hear This: Podcast Festival in New York City, astrophysicist and host Janna Levin, comic co-host Chuck Nice, and astrophysicist David Spergel explore theoretical physics and much more.

Ben Ratner’s photo from the Now Hear This Podcast Festival featuring Chuck Nice, David Spergel, and Janna Levin.

Caption: StarTalk All-Stars at the Now Hear This Podcast Festival: Chuck Nice, David Spergel, and Janna Levin. Photo Credit: Ben Ratner.

One part I enjoyed was hearing Janna and David explain their process on transforming a complex equation – like a black hole – into a visual representation or idea that a non-scientist can understand, which is a process I’ve always wondered about myself. As it turns out, there are different ways to go about it, depending on your preferred method of work. Later on, after a fan asks about the possibilities of a warp drive, Janna guides us through how to create a warp drive on paper – a prime example of painting a picture from an equation.

This episode features discussion on many topics other than theoretical physics including astrobiology, geophysics, and astrophysics – however, this is not surprising to our loyal StarTalk fans because we all know areas of study constantly crossover and intersect with one another.

We had a great crowd at the Now Hear This: Podcast Festival, and as Chuck points out, there’s a groundswell of people who want to promote and learn science, so if you’re one of them, make sure to check out this episode and promote StarTalk and science education whenever and wherever you can!

Please join us tomorrow night for Now Hear This: Theoretical Physics, with Janna Levin

at 7pm ET right here on our website, as well as on our All-Stars channels on Apple Podcasts, Google Play Music, SoundCloud, Stitcher, and TuneIn. If you’re an All-Access subscriber, you can watch or listen to this episode ad-free at 7pm, too. And remember that you can also catch next week’s StarTalk All-Stars episode one week early on TuneIn, at tunein.com/startalkallstars.

That’s it for now. Keep Looking Up!
–Ian Mullen

Get the most out of StarTalk!

Ad-Free Audio Downloads
Ad-Free Video Episodes
Stickers & Mugs
Live Streams with Neil
Priority Cosmic Queries
Early-Access Videos
Learn the Meaning of Life
...and much more