Leonard Susskind: Strings, Quarks, Black Holes, and More.

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Episode Chapters:

00:00 Introduction and Overview
04:02 Lenny Susskind's Early Life: Growing Up in the Bronx
10:00 Discovering a Passion for Science and Mathematics
14:34 Transition from Engineering to Physics
22:14 The Influence of Mentors and Transition to Graduate School
30:04 Discovering String Theory: Early Insights and Influences
37:28 The Evolution of Theoretical Physics in the 1960s
44:06 The Shift to Yeshiva University: Working with David Finkelstein
51:04 Lattice Gauge Theory and Its Importance
56:12 The Role of Asymptotic Freedom in Strong Interactions
01:02:24 Technicolor: Attempting to Solve the Weak Interaction Puzzle
01:11:06 The Intersection of Small and Large Scale Physics: Baryogenesis
01:20:32 The Journey to Quantum Gravity and String Theory
01:30:40 The Early Days of String Theory: From Strong Interaction to Gravity
01:40:00 Reflecting on the Evolution of String Theory and Quantum Gravity
01:50:45 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

I was very happy to finally have the opportunity to have an extended conversation for our podcast with renowned theoretical physicist Lenny Susskind. Lenny has been a friend and colleague for many years. I remember first attending a lecture he gave at a conference when I was an undergraduate and recognizing what a powerful intellect he was, and also how he combined mathematical sophistication within an intuitive framework that reminded me a bit of Richard Feynman. Years later, when I went jogging with him along a beach in California, I also discovered that, he strove for excellence in everything he did, and it nearly killed me to keep up with him.

Lenny has been involved over the past 50 years in many of the forefront developments in particle physics, including string theory, the standard model, the matter-antimatter symmetry of the universe, and the mysteries of black hole physics and quantum gravity, to name just a few. It was enlightening to explore his own intellectual development, and also his perspectives on how these major developments in physics fit into our evolving understanding of the universe.

Lenny is also an accomplished popularizer of science, something he turned to somewhat late in his career, and I learned something fascinating about what caused him to turn to writing. It was entirely unexpected. I am glad he was motivated, because his semi-popular books following The Theoretical Minimum, covering the essential ideas necessary for someone to have a grasp of modern theoretical physics, are, in my opinion classics.

Anyone who is interested in understanding how we got to where we are today, and what the key outstanding questions in theoretical physics are, and where the likely answers may be found, will find our discussion enlightening, and, fascinating. I hope you enjoy this in depth discussion with one of the most accomplished theorists around today, and one of the most enjoyable and thought provoking scientists one might hope to have a conversation with.