The Origins Podcast with Lawrence Krauss
Episodes
Katie Herzog: The Science Behind Drinking To Get Sober
23 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Alcoholism is a scourge on modern society. Every year, 178,000 American die from alcohol abuse, and it has been estimated that over 200 billion dolla...
What's New in Science With Sabine and Lawrence | Fusion Dark Matter, String Theory in Biology, and Rapid Evolution
13 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
I’m back with my friend and colleague Sabine Hossenfelder for another episode of “What’s New in Science”. I think this is one of my favorite ...
Physics for Everyone, Lecture 2: The Gestalt of Physics, Tools for Seeing
22 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic, as Arthur C. Clarke put it. In that spirit, the way we get closest to “magic”...
What's New in Science With Sabine and Lawrence| New Year's Edition: Big ideas, precision measurements, and prebiotic molecules.
31 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
New Year’s Eve always comes with that familiar urge to clean the slate, toss out what didn’t hold up, and keep what actually earned its place. Tha...
The Like Button, and the Strange Power of Tiny Ideas | Martin Reeves
22 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
On this week’s episode of The Origins Podcast, I ended up in a place I genuinely never expected to go: the humble “like” button. When the idea f...
Polarization, Powerlessness, and what We can Actually Do
29 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
On this week’s episode of The Origins Podcast, I am excited to release a conversation that has been sitting in our archives for more than a year. Wh...
Announcing our new 12-part series: A dozen Lessons on Physics and Reality
23 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
I am thrilled to introduce a significant new segment for the Origins Podcast. We are producing a fully fledged 12-part series titled “A Dozen Lesson...
(Rebroadcast) Noam Chomsky | Prescient Predictions? | Trump, Brazil, and American Fear
15 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This week, I’m excited to share a special rebroadcast from the Origins Podcast archives: my original Origins Podcast conversation with Noam Chomsky....
What's New in Science With Sabine and Lawrence
07 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
As we move into the end of the year, I’m excited to return to our recurring series “What’s New in Science” with my co-host Sabine Hossenfelder...
Spooky Physics!
31 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In a special Halloween episode of the Origins Podcast, which I’ve have decided to call “Spooky Physics!”, I explore why you shouldn’t be afrai...
Gad Saad: Final Episode of The War on Science Interviews
07 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
As The War on Science continues to circulate and reach readers around the world, I had the privilege of closing our Origins mini series, The War on Sc...
Karleen Gribble | The War on Science Interviews | Day 20
14 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
To celebrate the release on July 29th of The War on Science, we have recorded 20 podcast interviews with authors from the book. Starting on July 22nd...
Dorian Abbot | The War on Science Interviews | Day 21
14 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
To celebrate the release on July 29th of The War on Science, we have recorded 20 podcast interviews with authors from the book. Starting on July 22nd...
Judith Suissa and Alice Sullivan | The War on Science Interviews | Day 19
12 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
To celebrate the release on July 29th of The War on Science, we have recorded 20 podcast interviews with authors from the book. Starting on July 22nd...
Alex Byrne and Moti Gorin | The War on Science Interviews | Day 18
11 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
To celebrate the release on July 29th of The War on Science, we have recorded 20 podcast interviews with authors from the book. Starting on July 22nd...
Lauren Schwartz and Arthur Rousseau | The War on Science Interviews | Day 17
09 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
To celebrate the release on July 29th of The War on Science, we have recorded 20 podcast interviews with authors from the book. Starting on July 22nd...
Peter Boghossian | The War on Science Interviews | Day 16
09 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
To celebrate the release on July 29th of The War on Science, we have recorded 20 podcast interviews with authors from the book. Starting on July 22nd...
Roger Cohen and Amy Wax | The War on Science Interviews | Day 15
08 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
To celebrate the release on July 29th of The War on Science, we have recorded 20 podcast interviews with authors from the book. Starting on July 22nd...
Alessandro Strumia | The War on Science Interviews | Day 14
07 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
To celebrate the release on July 29th of The War on Science, we have recorded 20 podcast interviews with authors from the book. Starting on July 22nd...
Geoff Horsman | The War on Science Interviews | Day 13
06 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
To celebrate the release on July 29th of The War on Science, we have recorded 20 podcast interviews with authors from the book. Starting on July 22nd...
Janice Fiamengo | The War on Science Interviews | Day 12
05 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
To celebrate the release on July 29th of The War on Science, we have recorded 20 podcast interviews with authors from the book. Starting on July 22nd...
Carole Hooven | The War on Science Interviews | Day 11
03 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
To celebrate the release on July 29th of The War on Science, we have recorded 20 podcast interviews with authors from the book. Starting on July 22nd...
Frances Widdowson | The War on Science Interviews | Day 10
02 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
To celebrate the release on July 29th of The War on Science, we have recorded 20 podcast interviews with authors from the book. Starting on July 22nd...
Solveig Gold and Joshua Katz | The War on Science Interviews | Day 9
01 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
To celebrate the release on July 29th of The War on Science, we have recorded 20 podcast interviews with authors from the book. Starting on July 22nd...
Elizabeth Weiss | The War on Science Interviews | Day 8
01 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
To celebrate the release on July 29th of The War on Science, we have recorded 20 podcast interviews with authors from the book. Starting on July 22nd...
Sally Satel | The War on Science Interviews | Day 7
31 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
To celebrate the release on July 29th of The War on Science, we have recorded 20 podcast interviews with authors from the book. Starting on July 22nd...
John Armstrong | The War on Science Interviews | Day 6
28 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
To celebrate the release on July 29th of The War on Science, we have recorded 20 podcast interviews with authors from the book. Starting on July 22nd...
Abigail Thompson | The War on Science Interviews | Day 5
27 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
To celebrate the release on July 29th of The War on Science, we have recorded 20 podcast interviews with authors from the book. Starting on July 22nd...
Maarten Boudry | The War on Science Interviews | Day 4
26 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
To celebrate the release on July 29th of The War on Science, we have recorded 20 podcast interviews with authors from the book. Starting on July 22nd...
Nicholas Christakis | The War on Science Interviews | Day 3
25 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
To celebrate the release on July 29th of The War on Science, we have recorded 20 podcast interviews with authors from the book. Starting on July 22nd...
Niall Ferguson | The War on Science Interviews | Day 2
24 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
To celebrate the release on July 29th of The War on Science, we have recorded 20 podcast interviews with authors from the book. Starting on July 22nd...
The Origins Podcast: The War on Science Interviews: Day 1, Richard Dawkins
23 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
To celebrate the release on July 29th of The War on Science, we have recorded 20 podcast interviews with authors from the book. Starting on July 22nd...
What's New in Science With Sabine and Lawrence
07 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
I’m excited to announce the fifth episode of our new series, What’s New in Science, co-hosted by Sabine Hossenfelder. Once again, Sabine and I eac...
Fruitful Disagreement in an Age of Division with Robert George and Cornel WestRobert George and Cornel West
12 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
One of the great pleasures of hosting the Origins Podcast is talking with fascinating thinkers who challenge my perspectives and with whom I can have ...
What's New in Science With Sabine and Lawrence
26 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
I’m excited to announce the fourth episode of our new series, What’s New in Science, co-hosted by Sabine Hossenfelder. Once again, Sabine and I ea...
Neil Shubin: Science, Exploration, Patience, and Survival at the Ends of the Earth
09 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
One of the best parts of hosting the Origins podcast is talking with remarkable scientists whose ideas have changed the way we understand ourselves an...
Stephanie Canizales on the human tragedy of undocumented and unaccompanied migrant youth in the US.
23 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Six months or so ago, I had a fascinating interview/discussion with Stephanie Canizales about her book, Sin Padres, Ni Papeles, which described her fi...
What's New in Science With Sabine and Lawrence
13 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
I’m excited to announce the third episode of our new series, What’s New in Science, co-hosted by Sabine Hossenfelder. Once again, Sabine and I eac...
Ricky Gervais: Hall of Fame episode: Comedy, Philosophy, Religion and Science
26 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The Origins Podcast began with a bang, a Big Bang. Over the first month of our recording, we traveled to two continents, and 4 cities and recorded 16...
What's New in Science With Sabine and Lawrence
14 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The response to our first What’s New in Science has been very strong. What was not clear however, is that in this new series, Sabine Hosenfelder is...
Elizabeth Weiss: Indigenous Myths and Cancel Culture vs Science in Anthropology
28 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Elizabeth Weiss's recent book, On the Warpath, chronicles her efforts to keep anthropology from falling prey to ideology, even as she curated a collec...
What's New in Science With Sabine and Lawrence
10 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
“Science is the only News” -Steward BrandSteward Brand may have been exaggerating, but not by much. So Sabine Hossenfelder and I decided it is h...
Jonathan Rauch:
05 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Jonathan Rauch is one of the clearest thinkers writing today about the philosophical and sociological interconnections between democracy and science,...
Cyan Banister: A master class in curiosity--Risk, Resilience and Betting on the Future
24 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
As promised we are extremely excited to release our newest podcast, with acclaimed angel investor and silicon valley visionary, Cyan Banister. As I d...
Jennifer Doudna: Scientist and World Changer
15 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Jennifer Doudna changed the world. She didn’t do it intentionally. She pursued her curiosity about the structure and functioning of RNA as a resea...
A Hitchmas Gift For All -Audio Version
25 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
A year ago, John Richards the head of the Atheist UK approached me about the idea of celebrating Christopher Hitchens with a Hitchmas event, near Chri...
Jeffrey Sachs on Diplomacy, Conflict, and the Path to Peace
18 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
I had the privilege of welcoming my friend Jeffrey Sachs back to the podcast. Jeffrey joined me earlier this year, and given the unfolding crises arou...
Nicholas Christakis: From Social Networks to AI, Special Thanksgiving Podcast
28 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Nicholas Christakis is a Renaissance Man, with whom I have wanted to have a conversation for some time. There was so much to talk about with him, and...
Charles Moxley Jr: Nuclear Weapons are Illegal
04 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Charles Moxley Jr has spent over 35 years as a litigator in New York, in large and complex commercial, securities, insurance and other cases throughou...
Heather Mac Donald: When Race Trumps Merit and Reshapes Culture
04 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Heather Mac Donald is never one to back down from controversy, and that’s exactly what makes our discussions so engaging. She’s sharp, opinionated...
Saul Perlmutter: Third Millennium Thinking
18 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Saul Permutter won the Nobel Prize for his eventual role in the discovery of dark energy. In 1996 when I was lecturing at LBL he bet me that he would ...
Origins Podcast: A Call For Support To Save A Family
09 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
PLEASE CONSIDER DONATING NOW TO SAVE THIS FAMILY!There are many tragedies in Afghanistan, and thousands of people who need help. We cannot right all t...
Helen Pluckrose
04 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Helen Pluckrose has been a formidable voice in the cultural and intellectual debates surrounding critical social justice, liberalism, and free speech....
Solving one of cosmology's biggest conundrums with Wendy Freedman
21 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Wendy Freedman, the former director of the Carnegie Observatories and now distinguished professor at University of Chicago, has been a leading figure ...
Leonard Susskind: Strings, Quarks, Black Holes, and More.
07 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
I was very happy to finally have the opportunity to have an extended conversation for our podcast with renowned theoretical physicist Lenny Susskind. ...
Werner Herzog
24 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This is my second dialogue with filmmaker extraordinaire and force of nature, Werner Herzog. But after I read his amazing new memoire Every Man for Hi...
Annie Jacobsen
10 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Many of you will have been waiting for this podcast after my brief review of Annie Jacobsen’s new book Nuclear War: A Scenario on Critical Mass. I ...
Mysteries of the Cosmos, From Dark Energy to the Big Bang: A State of the Universe report with Michael Turner
26 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Michael Turner has been one of the leading pioneers in the emerging field of particle-astrophysics: the effort to understand the large scale propertie...
Jeffrey Sachs: Economics, Conflict, and Real-World Diplomacy
12 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Jeffrey Sachs was the youngest tenured professor in Harvard’s history when he was promoted only a few years after receiving his PhD. And for good r...
Mark Mattson: Building the Brain: Glutamate as Sculpture and Destroyer
29 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
You’ve probably heard of Serotonin, or Dopamine. Those are the sexy neurotransmitters that get all the press. However, you have probably not heard...
Charles Duhigg: The Art and Science of Communication
15 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
I admit I was somewhat intimidated when the prospect of hosting Pulitzer-prizewinning journalist Charles Duhigg on the podcast was raised. What cause...
From Quarks to Galaxies: A tour through the forefront of modern physics with Frank Wilczek
23 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
I have had the privilege of working closely with Frank Wilczek for over 40 years, on and off, and we have written perhaps a dozen scientific papers to...
(Audio) Katherine Brodsky: Speaking Out in an Age of Outrage
31 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
I first stumbled upon the journalist Katherine Brodsky, who has been a commentator and writer for various media outlets, when I heard about her new bo...
A Conversation with Irwin Shapiro: Scientist Extraordinaire from the Earth to the Stars, and at 94, still going strong.
16 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Irwin Shapiro is a remarkable human being by almost any standard. Following his education in physics at Cornell and Harvard, he had a job at MIT’s L...
A Dialogue with Label-Defying Journalist Jonathan Kay
16 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
I first became aware of Jonathan Kay through his writing for the online magazine, Quillette. And for full disclosure, I got to know him better becaus...
A dialogue with Brian Keating, at the San Diego Air and Space Museum
02 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In mid October the Origins Project Foundation ran two public events in California. The second event was held at the Air and Space Museum in San Diego...
Greg Lukianoff: : The Canceling of the American Mind. Free Speech and Academia
27 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Greg Lukianoff is a First Amendment lawyer by training. During his education he began to see how, even among organizations ostensibly created to hel...
Scott Aaronson: From Quantum Computing to AI Safety
15 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Scott Aaronson is one of the deepest mathematical intellects I have known since, say Ed Witten—the only physicist to have won the prestigious Fields...
Dialogues with Richard Dawkins
30 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Richard Dawkins and I have appeared together onstage many times, been the subject of the documentary The Unbelievers, and have collaborated on various...
Carlo Rovelli: From Dante to White Holes
03 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Carlo Rovelli is well known as a popularizer of science. His short book, Seven Brief Lessons on Physics, was an international bestseller. I have know...
Robert Sapolsky: The Illusion of Free Will
18 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
I have been a fan of Robert Sapolsky’s for a long time. He is a creative force, with wide ranging knowledge, from primatology to neuroscience, and ...
Peter Singer: From Animal Liberation to Effective Altruism
07 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
I have felt privileged to know the remarkable scholar Peter Singer as a friend and colleague for over a decade. We first met, I believe, in the conte...
Hakeem Oluseyi: An unexpected life in Science, and unpopular truths
20 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
I confess that Hakeem Oluseyi had not really risen on my radar screen until the last year or two. I was aware of the National Society of Black Physic...
The Best of the Origins Podcast, Part 1:
01 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
As promised at the beginning of this month, here is the first of two “Best of” selections from the Origins Podcast. I apologize that this hasn’...
Bart Ehrman: Revelations about Revelation...and more
07 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
I have admired Bart Ehrman’s writing for more than a decade. I remember how profoundly reading Christopher Hitchens’ God is Not Great reminded me...
Martin Rees: If Science is to Save Us, Part 2
09 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This is part two of the second podcast dialogue we are airing with renowned astrophysicist, Astronomer Royal, and former President of the Royal Societ...
Douglas Murray: From Poetry to Free Speech
27 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
I have to say that Douglas Murray reminds me in several ways of my late friend Christopher Hitchens. It is not merely that they are both English, elo...
Andrei Linde: Inflation, Multiverses, and all that, from Mr. Eternal Inflation
14 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Andrei Linde is one of the world’s leading cosmological theorists, and is the father of much of Inflationary Cosmology. After Alan Guth developed ...
Boldly going where no podcast has gone before: William Shatner; Wonder, Awe, and Questions, Questions...
28 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
I first met William Shatner a little over 19 years ago when we were filming a TV inspired in part on my book, The Physics of Star Trek. The show was ...
Martin Rees: If Science is to Save Us, Part 1
12 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This is the second podcast dialogue we are airing with renowned astrophysicist, Astronomer Royal, and former President of the Royal Society, Lord Mart...
Richard Dawkins and Lawrence Krauss Onstage at the Orpheum Theater, Nov 15, 2022
09 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
On Nov 15th and 16th, 2022, The Origins Project Foundation hosted their first public events in North America at the beautiful Orpheum Theater in Phoen...
John Preskill: From the Early Universe to the Future of Quantum Computing
17 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
John Preskill is the Richard P. Feynman Professor of Physics at Caltech, a title many physicists would cherish. He is widely known in the field for h...
Tim Palmer: The Primacy of Doubt
04 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Tim Palmer graduated from Oxford with a PhD in mathematical physics, working on general relativity, and got a postdoc to work with Stephen Hawking. H...
Elizabeth Kolbert: Can human technology solve unintended consequences of human technology
14 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Note: Due to internet difficulties due to storms in California delaying uploading of the video, the video post of this podcast will be delayed by a f...
Holiday Edition Part 2, Science Matters: How the Universe Made your Holiday Gifts
29 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In December it was announced that the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory National Ignition facility has achieved its first goal of “Ignition”,...
Origins Podcast Wishful-Thinking Holiday Edition Part 1: A Dialogue with Augusten Burroughs: A Witch or Not A Witch
25 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
I want to be upfront. I love Augusten Burroughs. I fell in love with him when I first read Running with Scissors, and every time I have picked up an...
An Origins Podcast EXCLUSIVE: A Dialogue with Cormac McCarthy About Science, on the occasion of his newest book releases
09 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Cormac McCarthy is a literary icon. Winner of the National Book Award and the National Book Critics Circle Award for his novel All the Pretty Horses,...
Brian Keating: Probing the Early Universe and Communicating about Science
29 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Find Brian’s INTO THE IMPOSSIBLE Podcast on Apple Podcasts https://apple.co/39UaHlB and on Spotify here spoti.fi/3vpfXok Brian Keating is an observ...
Neil deGrasse Tyson: Starry Messages, Science, Culture, and Life
06 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Neil deGrasse Tyson is one of the most recognizable faces of science in the world, and for good reason. He has thought a lot about how to engage peop...
Peter Boghossian: From Street Epistemology to Academic Freedom
14 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Pete Boghossian is a philosopher with little tolerance for nonsense, whose efforts to broadly encourage critical thinking using Socratic methods began...
Frans de Waal: Learning from Primates about ourselves: From Gender to Social Hierarchies
27 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Frans de Waal is not only my favorite primatologist, he is one of my favorite scientist-communicators. His books on primates, particularly on Bonobos...
Janice Fiamengo: Feminism, Anti-Feminism, and Common Sense
09 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
As I describe in the introduction to our discussion, I first learned about Janice Fiamengo by watching an incredible series of videos she produced cal...
Richard Dawkins: From Selfish Gene to Flights of Fancy
26 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Richard Dawkins needs no introduction. He is one of the world’s most well known scientists and science writers. He is also a good friend and colle...
Alex Garland: Fundamental questions inspire art and science
14 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Alex Garland is probably best known to the world for writing and directing the blockbuster film Ex Machina about the consequences of the coming of age...
Geoff Marcy: The Search for Exoplanets and Life Elsewhere in the Universe
29 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Geoff Marcy has been pioneer in the search for extra-solar system planets since the first discovery of an exoplanet surround a main sequence star was ...
Andy Knoll: The First Four Billion Years of Life on Earth
14 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Andy Knoll is a Renaissance Scientist. He is a geologist, paleobiologist, and geochemist and has applied key ideas from chemistry, biology, physiolog...
Charles Murray: On Human Diversity
01 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
After writing the book, The Bell Curve, Charles Murray became a controversial figure in the US Social Science scene, and was much maligned in the pu...
(Audio) John Mather: From the Big Bang to Searching for Life
16 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
John Mather is an astrophysicist at NASA who has been involved in important space missions to probe our fundamental understanding of the Universe for ...
Origins Podcast with Michael Shellenberger: From Apocalypse Never to Running for Governor
02 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
I was very happy to have the chance to speak to Michael Shellenberger some time ago, after his book Apocalypse Never appeared. Having written my book...
Jonathan Rauch: Free Thought, Democracy, and the Nature of Science
19 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Jonathan Rauch was 30 years ahead of the curve. In his book Kindly Inquisitors, written in 1993, he described the very mechanisms by which ideology c...