Why I'm Hosting The Joy of x Podcast

Abstraction: Steven Strogatz introduces Quanta Magazine conversational science-math podcast

Key points:

• Steven Strogatz (mathematician, Cornell) hosts "The Joy of x" podcast for Quanta Magazine, launched January 2020
• Conversational format chosen to reveal scientists' motivations, struggles, and inner lives — inspired by reading scientists' memoirs as a teenager
• Name references algebra's unknown variable x as a metaphor for the scientific quest and intellectual curiosity
• First season guests include astrophysicist Janna Levin (black holes) and mathematician Alex Kontorovich (who worked with Jean Bourgain)
• Podcast medium singled out for its intimacy and emotional intensity relative to TV and print
• Available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, TuneIn

Connections: Steven Strogatz · Quanta Magazine · Science Communication

Source: https://www.quantamagazine.org/steven-strogatz-talks-science-and-math-on-the-joy-of-x-podcast-20200115/