Facing the Unknown

Physics helps to reveal the world around us and is always moving in exciting directions. Yet, so many unknowns remain about the universe, especially at the fundamental level; whether it’s understanding how our complex world emerges from simple physical laws, to the behavior of light or the nature of gravity.

How do scientists approach these unknowns and in what ways can the process of science help us reveal the nature of truth and uncertainty in other aspects of our life?

Join physicists Jim Al-Khalili and Olivier Gingras as they sit down with Paula Croxson, senior producer for The Story Collider, to discuss some of the big open questions in their fields and what excites them most about the future as they navigate the unknown.

Jim Al-Khalili is a British academic, author, broadcaster and one of the U.K.’s best-known science communicators. He holds a distinguished chair in theoretical physics at the University of Surrey, where he conducts research in quantum physics. He has written 15 books on popular science. His latest book is The Joy of Science (Princeton University Press, 2022). He regularly presents TV science documentaries and the long-running BBC Radio 4 program and podcast, The Life Scientific. He is a fellow of the Royal Society and lives in Southsea on England’s southern coast.

Paula Croxson is a neuroscientist, science communicator, and storyteller. She holds an M.A. from the University of Cambridge and a M.Sc. and a Ph.D. from the University of Oxford. She conducted cognitive neuroscience research as an Assistant Professor at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai before transitioning to focus on public engagement with science, first at Columbia University’s Zuckerman Institute and subsequently the Dana Foundation. She is a Senior Producer for The Story Collider and has appeared in multiple stage shows and podcast recordings.

Olivier Gingras joined the Simons Foundation in September 2021 as a Flatiron Research Fellow. He is working on the TRIQS package and on unconventional superconductivity in strontium ruthenate. Prior to joining, he completed his Ph.D. at the University of Montreal and the University of Sherbrooke in Quebec, Canada.