Episode 45: Leonard Susskind on Quantum Information, Quantum Gravity, and Holography

For decades now physicists have been struggling to reconcile two great ideas from a century ago: general relativity and quantum mechanics. We don’t yet know the final answer, but the journey has taken us to some amazing places. A leader in this quest has been Leonard Susskind, who has helped illuminate some of the most mind-blowing ideas in quantum gravity: the holographic principle, the string theory landscape, black-hole complementarity, and others. He has also become celebrated as a writer, speaker, and expositor of mind-blowing ideas. We talk about black holes, quantum mechanics, and the most exciting new directions in quantum gravity.

Leonard Susskind received his Ph.D. in physics from Cornell University. He is currently the Felix Bloch Professor of Physics at Stanford University. He has made important contributions to numerous ideas in theoretical physics, including string theory, lattice gauge theory, dynamical symmetry breaking, the holographic principle, black hole complementarity, matrix theory, the cosmological multiverse, and quantum information. He is the author of several books, including a series of pedagogical physics texts called The Theoretical Minimum. Among his numerous awards are the J.J. Sakurai Prize and the Oskar Klein Medal.

[NuclearCraftMod]

Sean Carroll and Lenny Susskind... awesome :)

[Bpaynes]

Leonard Susskind one of the most brilliant scientists of our generation; also sounds like he could beat the shit out of you in a bar fight lol

[ZacksMetalRiffs]

I'm a simple man. I see Susskind in the title and I click instantly.

[timenotspaceproduction]

i think that i'm supposed to be here right now, listening to this whole conversation while i'm working in the studio today 🧬

[rumidude]

Lenny Susskind is a delight!
Thank you for having him on the Mindscape Podcast!!!

[alexmartos]

Have never clicked so fast in my life!

[jaykingston]

I idolize Leonard Susskind, I've read and watched just about everything I can find that's been published by him. His fascinating YT lectures introduced me to science and they led me to seek further education. He's one of science's greatest minds.

[zachfrazier]

"Your optimistic, I'm 78." Hilarious

[Jaroen]

I rarely give instant likes on YT videos, but this one required it

[erictko]

59:24 "And the other thing that makes you think you're on the right track, is when something that you've been thinking about, turns out the same mathematics, the same sets of principles, turn up in another area..." awesome to hear stuff like that from one of the great theoretical minds I've had the pleasure of listening to. Thanks Drs. Carroll and Susskind, !

[ed.puckett]

Dear Dr. Susskind, the story about your father at the end was very touching to me personally because you have become a teacher of mine as well. Thank you.

[WildAnimalChannel]

I like listening to geniuses. There's no flim flam and waffle. Just pure thoughts.

[bendavis]

I highly recommend watching his theoretical minimum lecture videos on YouTube. He explains many key equations and proofs without getting too deep into the weeds. He’s such a great lecturer.

[gloomyend]

I've listened to all your podcasts, I'm addicted to your voice and knowledge. Thank you 🖤

[robertglass]

So, great. Even though I've spent several hours listening to both of these guys talking before, I now understand the Holography better from this than I ever had before.

[FABRIZIOZPH]

What I like about him is that he always proceeds with caution with what he says, , Even in response to some of Sean's comments, Because he values very much the meaning and power of every single word, And that is because the only way to truly understand every concept and make real progress with a theory is to be very very clear about the type of questions you ask and the framework your start from

[tomwimmenhove]

I am ridiculously excited about this one :)

[joyecolbeck]

Thoroughly enjoyable - an hour too short! Huge thanks to Lenny and Sean for another great podcast. 😎

[manishsingh-vkif]

This conversation was really very illuminating. Thank you Sean.

[dianabudzik]

Immense thanks for having on the brilliant and wonderful Leonard Susskind!