Uploaded April 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
Physics can feel intimidating, but it doesn’t have to be. In this episode, theoretical physicist Chanda Prescod-Weinstein joins Science Quickly to explore how poetry, pop culture and imagination can help us grapple with some of the universe’s biggest questions. From spacetime and dark matter to Star Trek, Missy Elliott and queer theory, the conversation traces how physics is shaped by history, culture and creativity—and why struggling with complex ideas can be intellectually and even politically meaningful.
0:00 Intro: Physics as Poetry
1:42 Mozi and the History of Physics
4:01 Star Trek and the Future of Science
6:23 Vera Rubin and the Dark Matter Problem
9:50 Cosmic Acceleration and Dark Energy
12:51 Pop Culture and Physics
16:16 Queerness, Futurity, and Theoretical Physics
19:07 The Stern-Gerlach Experiment
Recommended Reading:
The Edge of Space-Time. Chanda Prescod-Weinstein. Pantheon, 2026
penguinrandomhouse.com/books/746817/the-edge-of-space-time-by-chanda-prescod-weinstein
E-mail us at sciencequickly@sciam.com if you have any questions, comments or ideas for stories we should cover!
Discover something new every day. Subscribe to Scientific American: scientificamerican.com/getsciam
And sign up for Today in Science, our daily newsletter: scientificamerican.com/account/email-preferences
Science Quickly is produced by Rachel Feltman, Fonda Mwangi, Sushmita Pathak and Jeff DelViscio. This episode was edited by Alex Sugiura, with fact-checking by Shayna Posses and Aaron Shattuck. Our theme music was composed by Dominic Smith.
Physics can feel intimidating, but it doesn’t have to be. In this episode, theoretical physicist Chanda Prescod-Weinstein joins Science Quickly to explore how poetry, pop culture and imagination can help us grapple with some of the universe’s biggest questions. From spacetime and dark matter to Star Trek, Missy Elliott and queer theory, the conversation traces how physics is shaped by history, culture and creativity—and why struggling with complex ideas can be intellectually and even politically meaningful.
0:00 Intro: Physics as Poetry
1:42 Mozi and the History of Physics
4:01 Star Trek and the Future of Science
6:23 Vera Rubin and the Dark Matter Problem
9:50 Cosmic Acceleration and Dark Energy
12:51 Pop Culture and Physics
16:16 Queerness, Futurity, and Theoretical Physics
19:07 The Stern-Gerlach Experiment
Recommended Reading:
The Edge of Space-Time. Chanda Prescod-Weinstein. Pantheon, 2026
penguinrandomhouse.com/books/746817/the-edge-of-space-time-by-chanda-prescod-weinstein
E-mail us at sciencequickly@sciam.com if you have any questions, comments or ideas for stories we should cover!
Discover something new every day. Subscribe to Scientific American: scientificamerican.com/getsciam
And sign up for Today in Science, our daily newsletter: scientificamerican.com/account/email-preferences
Science Quickly is produced by Rachel Feltman, Fonda Mwangi, Sushmita Pathak and Jeff DelViscio. This episode was edited by Alex Sugiura, with fact-checking by Shayna Posses and Aaron Shattuck. Our theme music was composed by Dominic Smith.
