The Origins Podcast with Lawrence Krauss

Filmmaker Werner Herzog shares riveting stories from his new autobiography in a captivating conversation covering destiny, duty, endurance, leadership, courage, love, childhood memories, survival tales, and societal ethics. From poignant accounts of Holocaust survivors to contemplations on the significance of walking, heroes, religion, language, and unforgettable first-time experiences, this episode offers a multifaceted glimpse into Herzog's extraordinary life.

Many of you will have been waiting for this podcast after my brief review of Annie Jacobsen’s new book Nuclear War: A Scenario on Critical Mass. I took advantage of our discussion to flesh out some of the harrowing details of her remarkable fictional account of a plausible 72 minutes which began with the launch of a single nuclear missile from North Korea and concludes effectively with the end of modern civilization on the planet. As I indicated in my review, as former Chair of the Board of Sponsors of The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists for over a decade, the horrors of nuclear war were well-known to me, but the realization of how quickly a scenario such as Jacobsen envisages might actually play out was something I had never really imagined. Jacobsen is no stranger to thinking about defense issues and has penned numerous books on defense-related issues, including a history of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), that was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in history. She is also a seasoned fiction writer for television, penning three episodes of Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan. Her new book combines her interest in nuclear war related issues, and interviews with a host of military officials involved in nuclear war planning over the past five decades, with her skill in framing a tense dramatic narrative. The result is compelling. I know from experience that most people would rather avoid thinking about the threat of nuclear war. But it is only by confronting it directly that the public might have a possibility of at least slowing the military juggernaut, powered by a combination of a huge bureaucracy that works effectively to maintain its existence, and a cold war mentality the drives efforts to continue to grow and modernize our nuclear weapons establishment—all the while in spite of the fact that everyone who has seriously thought about nuclear war knows it is unwinnable. As Einstein, who helped found the Bulletin’s Board of Sponsors said over 60 years ago, with the creation of Nuclear Weapons “Everything has changed, save the way we think”. My hope is that discussions like this one may help us change even that. As always, an ad-free video version of this podcast is also available to paid Critical Mass subscribers. Your subscriptions support the non-profit Origins Project Foundation, which produces the podcast. The audio version is available free on the Critical Mass site and on all podcast sites, and the video version will also be available on the Origins Project YouTube. Get full access to Critical Mass at lawrencekrauss.substack.com/subscribe

Join Lawrence Krauss and guest Michael Turner as they dive into cosmic mysteries like dark matter, dark energy, and the Big Bang. Turner shares insights from his 40-year research collaboration with Krauss, exploring the evolution of the universe, the importance of wrong ideas in science, and the quest to understand dark matter and dark energy. They also discuss the concept of inflation theory, the origins of matter in the universe, and ongoing debates in cosmology and particle physics.

Prominent economist Jeffrey Sachs discusses economic solutions to global conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza, emphasizing the importance of diplomacy over military actions. They explore Sachs' journey into economics, complexities of shock therapy, global governance challenges, complexities of Israeli-Palestinian conflict, geopolitical issues, US foreign policy, and the impact of the National Security Act on the US military-industrial complex.

Neuroscientist Mark Mattson discusses the crucial role of Glutamate in brain growth, neuroplasticity, and Alzheimer's. They explore the importance of studying glutamate for understanding brain formation, learning, and memory. The conversation delves into the significance of glutamate in neuronal development, brain function, energy efficiency, and its potential for life on Titan. Mattson also touches on the role of glutamate in neurological disorders like epilepsy and Alzheimer's, highlighting the complexities of brain processing and consciousness.

Charles Duhigg, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author of 'Supercommunicators,' dives deep into the art of effective communication. He discusses the importance of recognizing conversation types—practical, emotional, or social—before engaging. Duhigg shares valuable insights on 'looping for understanding' to bridge divides and foster empathy, especially in heated debates like gun control. Listeners learn how active listening and genuine connection can transform misunderstandings into meaningful dialogues, illustrating the true power of communication.

Prominent physicist Frank Wilczek discusses his journey from faith to science, reflecting on early influences, challenges, and accomplishments. The conversation delves into symmetry in physics, personal choices amid societal turmoil, navigating academic achievements, and the impact of early education. Wilczek explores the nuances of electro-weak theory, theoretical physics calculations, and the quest for unification in physics. The podcast offers insights into condensed matter physics, anyons, advancements in quantum computing, quantum gravity, and the boundless horizon of physics.

Journalist Katherine Brodsky discusses resilience in the face of online criticism and cancel culture, sharing stories of overcoming backlash. The conversation explores the challenges of free speech, false accusations, and navigating ideological differences in science and tech. Emphasizing the importance of speaking out and staying true to oneself amidst societal pressures.

Irwin Shapiro is a remarkable human being by almost any standard. Following his education in physics at Cornell and Harvard, he had a job at MIT’s Lincoln Laboratory working on various problems in planetary dynamics, and radar ranging, when he went to a lecture and realized that a completely new phenomenon could occur in General Relativity that no one had proposed in the half-century since Einstein first proposed it. For objects traveling near a massive object like the Sun, the travel time to go from one point to another would be slightly longer than it would be if one simply divided the distance traveled by the speed of light. One might think this is simply due to the fact that light takes a curved trajectory near a massive object, rather than traveling in a straight line. But as Shapiro showed, there is an additional time delay, due to the fact that clocks tick somewhat slower in a gravitational field than they would otherwise. This effect, now known as the Shapiro Effect has become known as the 4th test of General Relativity, a test the theory passed when Shapiro and collaborators used the Haystack Observatory to carefully measure reception times for radar signal that passed near the sun. Irwin went from that triumph to Chair the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences at MIT, and from there to Harvard to lead the Harvard Smithsonian Observatory. He remains at Harvard, where at 94 years old, as Timkin University Professor, he still teachers classes, is doing research in biology, and plays tennis several times a week!Besides all of this, Irwin is one of the most lovely and gentle scientists I have known in my career, which continued after my stint at Harvard largely because of encouragement he gave to me at a very difficult time for me. As a result, it was a pure delight to reconnect with him after many years, and have a conversation about his long career, the evolution of science in the 60 odd years that he has been doing it, and about life in general. I hope you enjoy it, and find it as intellectually and emotionally stimulating as I did. As always, an ad-free video version of this podcast is also available to paid Critical Mass subscribers. Your subscriptions support the non-profit Origins Project Foundation, which produces the podcast. The audio version is available free on the Critical Mass site and on all podcast sites, and the video version will also be available on the Origins Project Youtube channel as well. Get full access to Critical Mass at lawrencekrauss.substack.com/subscribe

I first became aware of Jonathan Kay through his writing for the online magazine, Quillette. And for full disclosure, I got to know him better because he is one of their editors, and he has edited several of my own pieces for that magazine. Before that, however, I had been a fan of his writing, and was happy to be able to have an extended conversation with him about writing, journalism, false news, and politics, to name a few of the topics we discussed. Our dialogue occurred shortly after the appearance of a comprehensive 15,000 word piece of investigative journalism piece by Kay about a supposed organized sex-ring in the Psychology Department at McMaster University in Canada. Outrageous claims had surfaced, which ignited the university, and the local media, destroying the careers of various faculty and others, all of which eventually turned out to be false. Kay carefully explored how the original story developed, what factors prompted the University to act, and how local media played up the salacious claims without much investigation. It was a typical example of how false news can propagate, and also an indictment of the way Universities handle such claims, and local media may promote them. The appearance of this story gave us the opportunity to talk about the state of journalism in general. Jonathan has had a unique career and background, which made him a particularly interesting dialogue partner about this issue. He actually was educated as a metallurgical engineer, and following that he pursued a law degree at Yale University, and was a tax lawyer before eventually becoming disenchanted and deciding to pursue a career in writing and journalism. He also defies easy labelling. While he was a founding editor of the conservative Canadian newspaper The National Post, he also helped Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau write his memoirs. It is Jonathan’s non-ideological bent, perhaps due to his early training as a scientist and engineer that makes his perspective on today’s news so refreshing. We discussed his own background, what got him into writing, his experiences, and stories including the recent claimed Indigenous Residential School scandal in Canada, and the controversy surrounding the naming of the James Webb Space Telescope in the U.S. When I contacted Jon this week to let him know the podcast is coming out, I learned that he had just completed a lengthy investigative piece about University of New Hampshire astrophysicist/gender studies social justice warrior Chanda Prescod Weinstein who, in the process of claiming victimization for herself and others, has apparently been bullying, harassing, and intimidating a host of others online, leading to complaints recently being filed at her institution. It coincidentally just came out yesterday, so this podcast is particularly timely. I hope you enjoy the discussion as much as I enjoyed talking to this fascinating man. As always, an ad-free video version of this podcast is also available to paid Critical Mass subscribers. Your subscriptions support the non-profit Origins Project Foundation, which produces the podcast. The audio version is available free on the Critical Mass site and on all podcast sites, and the video version will also be available on the Origins Project Youtube channel as well. Get full access to Critical Mass at lawrencekrauss.substack.com/subscribe