Black Holes with Janna Levin

Environmental & Science Education, STEM, Cosmology, Astrophysics

Ed Hessler

The first book I read by theoretical physicist Janna Levin (Columbia University) was "How the Universe Got its Spots: Diary of a Finite Time in a Finite Space." It is a diary and letters to her mother in which she describes her work.  I've looked for other books by her since. She has turned out to be an engaging and wide ranging author.

A recent and widely acclaimed book for us mere mortals with an interest in the universe is titled Black Hole Survival Guide (Knopf 2020) which I've not read. In 2021 she gave a lecture on black holes, "perhaps the most intriguing inhabitants of the universe, black holes provide the terrain on which the laws of nature are explored. "

In this Science and Cocktails video (45m 51s) she covers that ground in audio and video. Levin is one of physics reliable guides. I don't know enough physics to come close to understanding what physicists of this caliber do but recommend the video. She is a good speaker, too, and as a result of watching I'll view black holes quite differently and with some new understanding, one of which was a large one for me.

And about Science and Cocktails - it is "an initiative that brings science and entertainment closer togehter by creating a series of public lectures intertwined with music/art performances and smoky dry-ice chilled cocktails in your hand" - see here. 

Rather than direct you to her Columbia University website, her site provides a much more about hre interests in the arts and science It is informative and fun to scroll through it, stopping here and there.