The award-winning public radio program On Being, with Krista Tippett, has provided us with in-depth audio interviews on the intersection between faith and science with a range of guests including theoretical physicists and Vatican Observatory astronomers. Listen below and use the comments section to add your voice to the conversation.
Freeman Dyson and Paul Davies on Einstein’s God
Albert Einstein’s quip that “God does not play dice with the universe,” was about quantum physics, not a statement of faith. But he did ponder the relationship between science and religion and his sense of “the order deeply hidden behind everything.” Freeman Dyson and Paul Davies, both theoretical physicists, join Krista Tippett to explore Einstein’s wisdom on mystery, eternity and the mind of God.
Janna Levin on Mathematics, Purpose and Truth
As a theoretical physicist, Janna Levin probes whether the universe is finite or infinite. As a novelist, she explored the separate but parallel lives of two influential 20th-century scientists: Kurt Godel and Alan Turing. Their work laid the foundations for computer intelligence while challenging fundamental notions about how we can know what is true. Levin, an assistant professor of astrophysics at Columbia University’s Barnard College, spoke to On Being about our purpose in life, the nature of free will and how mathematics guides the universe.
Brother Guy Consolmagno and Father George Coyne on Asteroids, Stars and the Love of God
Four Jesuits in history have had asteroids named after them. Krista Tippett speaks with two living astronomers with that distinction. Brother Guy Consolmagno and Father George Coyne study the composition of meteorites and the life and death of stars. They share their observations of life, faith, friendship and the universe from their seats in the Vatican Observatory.
Uncovering the Codes for Reality with S. James Gates
Are we in the matrix? Physicist S. James Gates reveals why string theory stretches our imaginations about the nature of reality. Also, how failure makes us more complete and imagination makes us more knowledgeable. S. James Gates is Director of the Center for String and Particle Theory at the University of Maryland in College Park.
Natalie Batalha on Exoplanets and Love: Science That Connects Us to One Another
For Natalie Batalha of NASA’s Kepler Mission, it’s just a matter of time — a when, not an if — before we look at the sky and know of planets where life exists. And that, she says, will transform our sense of ourselves. Batalha, a research astronomer in the Space Sciences Division of NASA, speaks with On Being about the connection between science, love and gratitude for life.
