Montu Saxena: insights from a condensed-matter physicist

Today we are delighted to be joined by Siddharth Shanker Saxena, known to friends and colleagues as Montu, a condensed-matter physicist at the Cavendish Laboratory and head of the Cambridge Central Asia Forum. By Montu’s own admission, he was never able to pick a side, and so has spent his whole life exploring the world of superconductivity, all the while advocating for international relations and anthropology. Together we talk about the moments that shape a scientific life: learning to believe you belong, the role of mentoring, and what “failure" can teach you. We also dig into the enduring puzzle of superconductivity: how to explain it simply, why it continues to captivate physicists, and how to stay comfortable saying “we don’t know.” Useful Links: Montu talked in depth about superconductivity in this podcast for Quanta Magazine: Will Better Superconductors Transform the World? | Quanta Magazine He was also recently featured in this Varsity article: Meet the Cambridge physicist who advocates for the humanities | Varsity To explore Montu's work : Siddharth Saxena | Jesus College in the University of Cambridge And finally, to learn more about the Cambridge Central Asia Forum, visit Cambridge Central Asia Forum | Share and join the conversation Help us get better by taking our quick survey. Your feedback will help us understand how we can improve in the future. Thank you! If you like this episode don’t forget to rate it and leave a review on your favourite podcast app. It really helps others to find us. Any comment about the podcast or question you would like to ask our physicists, email us at podcast@phy.cam.ac.uk or join the conversation on Twitter using the hashtag #PeopleDoingPhysics. Episode credits Hosts: Charlotte Lane and Vanessa Bismuth Recording and editing: Chris Brock This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: OP3 - https://op3.dev/privacy