27 : Alan Lightman

Today's episode features a recent conversation with physicist and writer Alan Lightman during his visit to Brown College at the University of Virginia in October 2022.

Dr. Lightman's prominent work in both science and the humanities challenges the divide between fields and he discusses his approach of both disciplines through a creative lens. Eventually, we get a little taste of what he does best - demonstrating the innate poetry of what we know, and don't know, about our universe. Are scientific and artistic pursuits really so different in their motivation?

Alan Lightman presently serves as Professor of the Practice of the Humanities at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). His new docu-series Searching: Our Quest for Meaning in the Age of Science will premiere on January 7th, 2023 on public television stations and stream online at PBS.org.

Check us out on Twitter and Instagram for more content.

Circle of Willis is a production of the Virginia Audio Collective at WTJU 91.1 FM and Brown Residential College at the University of Virginia.