Season 4, Episode 9 · The Joy of Why
How Can Regional Models Advance Climate Science?
10 Jul 2025 · 45 min
Episode notes
Climate models have changed the way we view the world. While effective, these models are imperfect, and scientists are constantly looking at ways to improve their accuracy and predictability. MIT professor Elfatih Eltahir has spent decades developing complex models to understand how climate change affects vulnerable regions like the Nile Basin and Singapore. In this episode of The Joy of Why, Eltahir tells co-host Steven Strogatz how growing up near the Nile in Sudan helped him realize that climate change doesn’t occur in isolation. To better understand climate-related impacts and to create…
The Joy of Why
by Steven Strogatz, Janna Levin and Quanta Magazine · English · Tech & Science
“The Joy of Why” is a Quanta Magazine podcast about curiosity and the pursuit of knowledge. The mathematician and author Steven Strogatz and the cosmologist and author Janna Levin take turns interviewing leading researchers about the great scientific and mathematical questions of our time. New…
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S4 · E12 · 21 Aug 2025 · 46 min
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S4 · E10 · 24 Jul 2025 · 52 min
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S4 · E8 · 26 Jun 2025 · 34 min
How Does Graph Theory Shape Our World?
Born in the 18th century when Leonhard Euler solved the puzzle of the seven bridges of Königsberg, graph theory has become a foundational tool in mathematics. It studies relationships through nodes (vertices) and the links (edges) that connect them, transforming the complexity of systems — from friendship networks to airline routes — into elegant abstractions that reveal underlying structure and interaction. Maria Chudnovsky from Princeton University is a leading mathematician in the field. In this episode of The Joy of Why, Chudnovsky talks with co-host Janna Levin about how she got into…
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S4 · E7 · 12 Jun 2025 · 47 min
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S4 · E6 · 29 May 2025 · 49 min
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S5 · E9 · 1 Oct 2026 · 53 min
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S5 · 20 Aug 2026 · 52 min
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