SciencePhysics

Phymaths podcast

Hassaan Saleem

A podcast to discuss the ideas that are at the forefront of fundamental theoretical physics and mathematics.

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20 episodes
Avg 1 hr 42 min
English

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S1 · E74
August 7 · 1 hr 33 min
Phymaths podcast # 74 || Phil Halper and Dr. Niayesh Afshordi
DescriptionPhil Halper is a fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society and a science communicator, well known for his YouTube channel (Skydivephil) featuring cosmology documentaries with prominent cosmologists and physicists.Dr. Niayesh Afshordi is a cosmologist at the University of Waterloo, with an associate faculty position at the Perimeter Institute. He works on black hole physics and quadratic gravity.Together, they have co-authored a book titled "Battle of the Big Bang," which compiles and discusses various cosmological theories.The link to their book and papers, and a list of Dr. Afshordi's works, is given belowSome links1) Their book: https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/B/bo244963115.html2) Their Copenhagen survey: https://arxiv.org/abs/2503.157763) Their APS survey: https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.110584) Dr. Niayesh's works: https://inspirehep.net/authors/1023532?ui-citation-summary=true5) Link to the high-energy physics resources page on my website: https://hassaansaleem.com/graduate-level-theoretical-physics-resources-in-progress/Contact InfoMy website: hassaansaleem.comFollow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hassaan.3142/Join the WhatsApp channel: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Va9DkjmAzNbs7IlGuv1XFollow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Hassaan_PHYEmail Queries: greatestmight@gmail.comTime stamps(0:00) Intro of the guests(0:25) Their book and Phil's series(5:56) Singularity theorems(22:11) Inflation(34:36) BGV theorem(45:41) Cosmic natural selection(1:04:34) Cyclic universe(1:17:05) Variable speed of light(1:29:47) More surveys?
S1 · E73
July 11 · 1 hr
Phymaths podcast # 73 || Dr. Georges Obied
DescriptionDr. Georges Obeid is a theoretical physicist at the University of Chicago who has worked on the dark dimension scenario, dark sector, and evolving dark energy models motivated by string theory. His list of works can be found below.Some links1) His works: https://inspirehep.net/authors/12466842) Link to the high-energy physics resources page on my website: https://hassaansaleem.com/graduate-level-theoretical-physics-resources-in-progress/Contact InfoMy website: hassaansaleem.comFollow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hassaan.3142/Join the WhatsApp channel: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Va9DkjmAzNbs7IlGuv1XFollow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Hassaan_PHYEmail Queries: greatestmight@gmail.comTime stamps(0:00) Intro of the guest(0:16) Dark dimension scenario(05:18) Relevant data and tools(17:07) Phantom dark energy(22:29) Quintessence(25:25) deSitter conjecture(30:26) Clash between Inflation and swampland(34:02) Open problems in the dark dimension scenario(39:20) Coursework to research transition(43:40) Choosing problems to work on(45:10) Building collaborations(47:10) His interest in Physics(49:50) (People's question) Dark dimension and cosmological constant(52:41) (People's question) Talking to experimentalists(57:48) (People's question) Taking Ph.D students
S1 · E72
June 11 · 1 hr 5 min
Phymaths podcast # 72 || Dr. Lara Anderson
Description Dr. Lara Anderson is a theoretical physicist at Virginia Tech and has worked on string compactifications of M theory and F theory, and model building in type II and heterotic theories. A list of her works can be found at the link below .Some links 1) Her works: https://inspirehep.net/authors/1030318?ui-citation-summary=true 2) Link to the high-energy physics resources page on my website: https://hassaansaleem.com/graduate-level-theoretical-physics-resources-in-progress/ Contact Info My website: hassaansaleem.com Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hassaan.3142/ Join the WhatsApp channel: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Va9DkjmAzNbs7IlGuv1X Follow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Hassaan_PHY Email Queries: greatestmight@gmail.com Time stamps (0:00) Intro of the guest (0:15) Her work on compactifications (6:30) Algebraic Geometry (8:08) Swampland Program (11:24) Calabi-Yau manifolds (24:56) CICY manifolds (27:18) Intersecting branes (30:35) Science communication (38:31) Coursework to research transition (40:27) Difficult problems in postdocs (42:37) Getting stuck in research (44:01) Getting a PhD student (47:57) Choosing a problem to work on (51:42) Building collaborations (52:53) (People's question) F theory (54:15) (People's question) Moduli stabilization (55:11) (People's question) Career vs Job (56:40) (People's question) Homeschooling (59:40) (People's question) Interest in Physics (1:01:40) (People's question) Influential papers (1:03:33) (People's question) Virginia Tech
S1 · E71
May 4 · 1 hr 44 min
Phymaths podcast # 71 || Dr. Tejinder Pal Singh
Description Dr. Tejinder Pal Singh is a theoretical physicist at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Physics, working on the unification of interactions using trace dynamics and octonions. A list of his works is linked below. Some links 1) His works: https://inspirehep.net/authors/988555?ui-citation-summary=true 2) Link to the high-energy physics resources page on my website: https://hassaansaleem.com/graduate-level-theoretical-physics-resources-in-progress/ Contact Info My website: hassaansaleem.com Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hassaan.3142/ Join the WhatsApp channel: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Va9DkjmAzNbs7IlGuv1 Follow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Hassaan_PHY Email Queries: greatestmight@gmail.com Time stamps (0:00) Intro of the guest (0:16) His current projects (3:37) Octonions (13:57) Spacetime being classical (17:38) Structure of the Lagrangian and Connes time (22:50) Calculating path integral (33:21) Why octonions? (35:43) Role of SU(2) (39:57) Electroweak scale as QG scale? (46:17) Top quark problem (50:18) Fine structure constant (1:00:11) RG flow of Fine structure constant (1:02:45) (People's question) Advice for students (1:10:22) Anthropic reasoning (1:14:21) (People's question) AI's impact (1:17:29) (People's question) TIFR theory group (1:33:42) (People's question) Relativistic collapse models (1:38:45) (People's question) Thanu Padmanabhan (1:40:43) (People's question) John Baez's work
S1 · E70
April 28 · 1 hr 8 min
Phymaths podcast # 70 || Dr. Aninda Sinha
DescriptionDr. Aninda Sinha is a theoretical physicist at the Indian Institute of Science, working on S matrix bootstrap, string amplitudes, and conformal field theories, among other things. A list of his works is linked below.Some links1) His works: https://inspirehep.net/authors/1019630?ui-citation-summary=true2) Link to the high-energy physics resources page on my website: https://hassaansaleem.com/graduate-level-theoretical-physics-resources-in-progress/Contact InfoMy website: hassaansaleem.comFollow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hassaan.3142/Join the WhatsApp channel: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Va9DkjmAzNbs7IlGuv1XFollow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Hassaan_PHYEmail Queries: greatestmight@gmail.comTime stamps(0:00) Coming Up(0:21) Introduction of the guests(0:37) His current projects(3:13) His interest in Physics(4:28) c-theorem and a-theorem(11:54) g-theorem(12:54) Conformal bootstrap(17:46) Conformal bootstrap and holography(24:20) String amplitudes and π(33:12) Circuit complexity(41:52) Building collaborations(44:56) Choosing a research problem(46:24) Coursework to research transition(50:04) Taking a PhD student(51:24) (People's question) Thoughts on LLMs(54:25) (People's question) Bootstrap for extended operators(54:57) (People's question) Non-Physics courses at IISc(57:15) (People's question) Academic job market(1:04:30) (People's question) N-point scattering(1:06:20) (People's question) Bootstrap and positive geometry
S1 · E69
April 19 · 1 hr 23 min
Phymaths podcast # 69 || Dr. Eran Palti
DescriptionEran Palti is a theoretical physicist at Ben-Gurion University, working on the low-energy behavior of string theory, string compactifications, and the swampland program. The list of his works can be found below.Some links1) His works: https://inspirehep.net/authors/10293902) Link to the high-energy physics resources page on my website: https://hassaansaleem.com/graduate-level-theoretical-physics-resources-in-progress/Contact InfoMy website: hassaansaleem.comJoin the WhatsApp channel: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Va9DkjmAzNbs7IlGuv1XFollow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Hassaan_PHYFollow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hassaan.3142/Email: phymaths3142@gmail.comTime stamps(0:00) Coming Up(0:11) Introduction of the guest(0:28) His current projects(6:41) Swampland Program(10:47) Distance conjecture(16:12) Metric on moduli spaces(17:52) Metric on vacuua(26:30) AdS distance conjecture(33:17) Building metrics on AdS vacuua(45:32) DGKT's holographic dual(47:24) DeSitter conjecture(51:39) Challenges of writing a review(56:00) Conceptual vs. calculation-based research(1:02:03) His other interests(1:02:58) (People's question) Textbook on swampland(1:06:16) (People's question) First postdoc expectation(1:10:36) (People's question) Purpose of swampland(1:15:39) (People's question) Giving up on a problem(1:19:38) (People's question) Passion vs Profession
S1 · E68
March 11 · 1 hr 57 min
Phymaths podcast # 68 || Dr. Keshav Dasgupta
Description Keshav Dasgupta is a theoretical physicist at McGill University, working on string compactifications, especially on achieving deSitter spacetime from string theory (including the possibility of achieving deSitter as an excited state). The list of his works can be found below. Some links 1) His works: https://inspirehep.net/authors/1012406?ui-citation-summary=true 2) Link to the high-energy physics resources page on my website: https://hassaansaleem.com/graduate-level-theoretical-physics-resources-in-progress/ Contact Info My website: hassaansaleem.com Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hassaan.3142/ Join the WhatsApp channel: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Va9DkjmAzNbs7IlGuv1X Follow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Hassaan_PHY Email Queries: greatestmight@gmail.com Time stamps (0:00) Coming Up (0:41) Introduction of the guest (0:59) His current projects (15:23) The deSitter problem in string theory (a summary) (26:42) deSitter as an excited state (35:09) Breaking supersymmetry (38:05) Norm of coherent states (39:08) Fluctuations as coherent states (41:28) Why did the 500-page paper become that long? (45:50) Duality sequences (55:16) Non-supersymmetric case? (1:02:30) What are you calculating? (1:07:39) Evading no-go theorems (1:14:09) Worldsheet description available? (1:17:10) Holographic dual of Glauber Sudharshan state (1:18:23) The issue of scale separation (1:21:00) Satisfying swampland constraints (1:24:34) Embedding standard model (1:27:51) Using localization techniques (1:31:22) Open problems (1:36:41) Choosing research problems (1:43:19) Handling multiple projects (1:44:50) (People's question) Comparison with KKLT (1:49:16) (People's question) Writing short papers (1:53:16) Interaction with Ed Witten (1:54:50) (People's question) Living in Montreal
March 3 · 1 hr 19 min
Phymaths podcast # 67 || Dr. Alok Laddha
Description Alok Laddha is a theoretical physicist at the Chennai Mathematical Institute, who majorly works on soft theorems, S matrices, and the positive geometry program. The list of his works can be found at the link provided below. Some links 1) His works: https://inspirehep.net/authors/1036956 2) Link to the high-energy physics resources page on my website: https://hassaansaleem.com/graduate-level-theoretical-physics-resources-in-progress/ Contact Info My website: hassaansaleem.com Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hassaan.3142/ Join the WhatsApp channel: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Va9DkjmAzNbs7IlGuv1X Follow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Hassaan_PHY Email Queries: greatestmight@gmail.com Time Stamps (0:00) Coming up (0:22) Intro of the guest (0:44) His current projects (01:59) Soft theorems (12:16) Soft theorems and symmetries (18:43) Soft theorems for scalars (21:50) Soft theorem for higher spin? (25:40) Positive Geometry program (36:50) Unitarity from positive geometry (48:08) Gentle Quivers (for positive geometry) (50:37) Positive Geometry and Holography (53:30) Positive Geometry and String Field Theory (55:44) Reading Literature (1:01:02) Choosing problems (1:02:30) (People's question) Important problems (1:05:13) (People's question) Advice for PhD/Postdocs (1:07:37) (People's question) Research outside academia (1:09:40) (People's question) PhD after a big gap (1:11:07) (People's question) Hep-th job market (1:13:53) (People's question) Gravitational wave memory (1:15:53) (People's question) Leaving LQG (1:19:22) (People's question) His hobbies
S1 · E66
March 3 · 1 hr 46 min
Phymaths podcast # 66 || Dr. Jonathan Heckman
Description Jonathan Heckman is a theoretical physicist at the University of Pennsylvania and works on generalized symmetries, the swampland program, holography, and F theory, among other related areas. The list of his works can be found at the link provided below. Some links 1) His works: https://inspirehep.net/authors/1045268 2) Link to the high-energy physics resources page on my website: https://hassaansaleem.com/graduate-level-theoretical-physics-resources-in-progress/ Contact Info My website: hassaansaleem.com Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hassaan.3142/ Join the WhatsApp channel: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Va9DkjmAzNbs7IlGuv1X Follow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Hassaan_PHY Email Queries: greatestmight@gmail.com Time Stamps (0:00) Coming Up (0:24) Introduction of the guest (0:40) His current projects (4:54) Grand Unified Theories (GUTs) and F theory (17:19) Algebraic Geometry for F theory (22:40) Role of singularities in model building (24:53) GUT models in F theory (continued) (28:50) Engineering SCFTs from F theory (43:38) Engineering SCFTs in odd dimensions (48:58) Transitioning to generalized symmetries (52:54) Defining QFTs (55:44) Swampland and Cobordism conjecture (1:03:20) R7 branes (1:08:35) Falsifying string theory at colliders (1:18:33) Building collaborations (and fear of being wrong) (1:22:56) Choosing a problem to work on (1:27:53) Handling multiple projects (1:30:34) Selecting a Ph.D student (1:34:30) (People's question) Learning string theory (1:36:27) (People's question) Learning abstract topics (1:38:12) (People's question) Important problems (1:43:30) (People's question) UPenn funding (1:45:03) (People's question) Symmetries on T folds
S1 · E65
March 3 · 3 hr 6 min
Phymaths podcast # 65 || Dr. Jacob McNamara
Description Jacob McNamara is a theoretical physicist at Simons Center for Geometry and Physics, who has worked on swampland (quite notably on the cobordism conjecture), holography, and non invertible symmetries. The list of his works can be found at the link provided below. Some links 1) His works: https://inspirehep.net/authors/1804692?ui-citation-summary=true 2) Link to the high energy physics resources page on my website: https://hassaansaleem.com/graduate-level-theoretical-physics-resources-in-progress/ Contact Info My website: hassaansaleem.com Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hassaan.3142/ Join the Whatsapp channel: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Va9DkjmAzNbs7IlGuv1X Follow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Hassaan_PHY Email Queries: greatestmight@gmail.com Time Stamps (0:00) Coming Up (0:45) Introduction of the guest (1:01) His current projects (4:40) Swampland and no global symmetries (16:30) Cobordism conjecture (35:34) R7 branes (51:26) Stringy Non-Invertible Symmetries (59:39) What does gauging mean? (1:08:34) Weak Gravity Conjecture (1:13:36) Use of the word "conjecture" (1:17:42) Consciousness and Swampland (1:27:27) Weak Gravity Conjecture (contd.) (1:30:16) Distance conjecture(s) (1:35:45) Dark dimension (1:40:45) Emergent String & generalized distance conjectures (1:53:15) No scale separation conjecture (1:59:30) Gravity being classical (2:09:26) Why study JT gravity? (2:13:21) Baby universes (2:16:05) Cobordism conjecture and Wheeler Dewitt equation (2:21:40) Building collaborations and doing research (2:32:45) Imposter syndrome (2:38:16) Learning Geometry and Topology (2:38:55) Using different platforms (2:42:07) Pure Math rabbit hole (2:45:10) Physics vs. Math perspectives and attitudes (2:25:36) Book recommendations (2:54:40) Interpretational issues (3:03:58) What problems do you want to be solved
S1 · E64
Dec 30, 2025 · 1 hr 38 min
Phymaths podcast # 64 || Dr. Shiraz Minwalla
DescriptionDr. Shiraz Minwalla is a theoretical physicist at TIFR Mumbai, India. He has worked on the problem of classification and existence of conformal and superconformal field theories in various dimensions, black holes and superfluids. The list of his works can be found at the link provided below.Some links1) His works: https://inspirehep.net/authors/997328?ui-citation-summary=true2) Link to the high energy physics resources page on my website: https://hassaansaleem.com/graduate-level-theoretical-physics-resources-in-progress/Contact InfoMy website: hassaansaleem.comFollow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hassaan.3142/Join the Whatsapp channel: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Va9DkjmAzNbs7IlGuv1XFollow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Hassaan_PHYEmail Queries: greatestmight@gmail.comTime stamps(0:00) Coming Up(0:48) Intro of the guest(1:07) His current projects(4:37) Grey Galaxies(10:48) Non-commutative field theories(16:51) Cosmological Constant problem(27:25) Non-commutative solitons(29:27) Existence of CFTs and SCFTs(41:41) Index of SCFTs(47:16) Gravity/Fluid correspondence(1:00:05) Turbulence(1:03:57) Millenium Prize problem (Navier Stokes)(1:10:30) His interest in Physics(1:12:33) How to choose a Ph.D. student?(1:14:14) How to choose a problem to work on?(1:21:44) Talent and environment for Physics(1:23:20) (People's question) Advice for Ph.Ds(1:25:51) (People's question) Fav. collaboration(1:26:12) (People's question) Fuzzball and Islands(1:30:42) (People's question) Becoming a Physicist(1:31:31) (People's question) Coming back to India(1:33:14) (People's question) Regrets about returning(1:33:54) (People's question) Research spending(1:35:38) (People's question) Learning a new topic(1:37:17) (People's question) CBS Mumbai(1:37:50) (People's question) His Infinite Energy
S1 · E63
Dec 11, 2025 · 1 hr 6 min
Phymaths podcast # 63 || Dr. Sonia Contera
DescriptionDr. Sonia Contera is a professor of Biological Sciences at Oxford, senior fellow at Oxford Martin School. She works at the interface of physics, biology, medicine and nanotechnology. She has authored two books titled “ Nano comes to life” and “Six problems that science can’t solve" which respectively talk about the use of nanotechnology in biological sciences, and the problems that may require a different approach to solve than conventional methods. The list of her works can be found at the link provided below.Some links1) Her works: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=yr6AJ50AAAAJ&hl=en2) Link to the high energy physics resources page on my website: https://hassaansaleem.com/graduate-level-theoretical-physics-resources-in-progress/Contact InfoMy website: hassaansaleem.comFollow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hassaan.3142/Join the Whatsapp channel: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Va9DkjmAzNbs7IlGuv1XFollow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Hassaan_PHYEmail Queries: greatestmight@gmail.comTime stamps(0:00) Introduction of the guest(0:36) Her currents projects(4:13) Her interest in Physics(7:02) Quantitative biology and origin of life(15:33) DNA nanotech(18:54) Protein design(21:56) Application in cancer treatment(23:23) Emergence of life(29:40) Overcoming ageing(38:46) Intelligent machines(45:16) Zero emission buildings(51:03) Physics and Power(58:03) Einstein and Eddington example(1:00:02) (People's question) Advice for students(1:01:35) (People's question) Emergent systems(1:02:49) (People's question) Learning languages
S1 · E62
Nov 2, 2025 · 2 hr 5 min
Phymaths podcast # 62 || Guest: Dr. Alastair Wilson
DescriptionDr. Alastair Wilson is a philosopher at University of Leeds, who works on metaphysics, epistemology, philosophy of science and philosophy of physics. His doctoral thesis was on the metaphysics of Everettian interpretation and he works on the development of this interpretation. A list of his works can be found below.Some links1) His works: https://philpeople.org/profiles/alastair-wilson2) Link to the high energy physics resources page on my website: https://hassaansaleem.com/graduate-level-theoretical-physics-resources-in-progress/ Contact InfoMy website: hassaansaleem.comFollow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hassaan.3142/Join the Whatsapp channel: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Va9DkjmAzNbs7IlGuv1XFollow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Hassaan_PHYEmail Queries: greatestmight@gmail.comTime stamps(0:00) Coming Up(0:35) Intro of the guest(0:52) Many worlds interpretation (MWI)(3:59) Disagreements about many worlds(6:30) Meaning of "worlds" (11:30) Probabilities in MWI(30:55) Probabilities are objective?(46:14) Meaning of the laws of nature(53:28) Causation and Explanation(1:06:45) Causation and counterfactuals(1:10:34) Explanation by inevitability(1:18:45) Causation by inaction(1:33:36) Emergence and Reductionism(1:38:25) Are emergent properties caused?(1:40:32) Strong emergence(1:44:14) Does 'fundamental' make sense?(1:46:44) Physicist/philosopher collaborations(1:49:45) (People's question) Misconceptions about Philosophy(1:53:53) (People's question) Unpopular conclusion(1:56:13) (People's question) Book recommendations(1:57:47) (People's question) Other routes to MWI(1:59:42) (People's question) Finiteness
S1 · E61
Oct 21, 2025 · 1 hr 53 min
Phymaths podcast # 61 || Dr. Sunil Mukhi
DescriptionDr. Sunil Mukhi is a theoretical physicist at IISER Pune. His works include areas like classification of conformal field theories (CFTs), entanglement, quantum gravity, and Black Holes. A list of his works can be found below.Some links1) His works: https://inspirehep.net/authors/996540?ui-citation-summary=true3) Link to the high energy physics resources page on my website: https://hassaansaleem.com/graduate-level-theoretical-physics-resources-in-progress/Contact InfoMy website: hassaansaleem.comFollow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hassaan.3142/Join the Whatsapp channel: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Va9DkjmAzNbs7IlGuv1XFollow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Hassaan_PHYEmail Queries: greatestmight@gmail.comTime stamps(0:00) Coming up(0:34) Intro of the guest (0:51) His current projects(2:45) His interest in physics(7:10) His experience with PhD advisors(8:53) Witten's talks before first superstring revolution(13:45) Aftermaths of the revolution(15:38) Story of his most cited paper(22:24) What are CFTs?(28:20) Why study CFTs?(31:17) What are RCFTs?(36:21) Story of the classifation of RCFTs(47:35) Classifying unitary vs non unitary RCFTs(52:32) What are orbifolds?(1:04:04) His 1995 work on Orbifolds(1:09:19) Important moments in his career(1:14:38) His teaching methodology(1:18:02) Discoveries aren't miracles(1:23:40) Good mentiorship's role in physics(1:30:39) How to chose a Ph.D. student(1:39:28) How to choose problems to work on(1:43:10) (People's question) Autodidact physicist?(1:45:13) (People's question) Phenomenology(1:46:26) (People's question) IISER Pune for QFT(1:48:40) (People's question) Most difficult book he read(1:50:10) (People's question) Favorite guitar solo(1:51:28) (People's question) Pursuing multiple passions
S1 · E60
Oct 21, 2025 · 1 hr 25 min
Phymaths podcast # 60 || Dr. Daniel Whiteson
Description Dr. Daniel Whiteson is an experimental high-energy physicist at UC Irvine and works in the ATLAS collaboration. He is also a science communicator, who made the Daytime Emmy nominated series Elinor Wonders Why, and he also hosts a podcast named Daniel and Kelly’s Extraordinary Universe. His new book titled "Do Aliens speak Physics" is coming on 4th November. In this episode, we talk and speculate about different topics in the context of aliens. The links to his book and podcast are given below. Some links 1) Do aliens speak physics website: https://sites.uci.edu/alienphysics/ 2) His podcast: https://sites.uci.edu/danielandkelly/ 3) Link to the high energy physics resources page on my website: https://hassaansaleem.com/graduate-level-theoretical-physics-resources-in-progress/ Contact Info My website: hassaansaleem.com Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hassaan.3142/ Join the Whatsapp channel: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Va9DkjmAzNbs7IlGuv1X Follow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Hassaan_PHY Email Queries: greatestmight@gmail.com Time stamps (00:00) Introduction of the guest (00:27) Motivations behind the book (02:46) Aliens version of geopolitics (06:01) Is 1+1=2 everywhere? (17:50) Do Aliens write? (and their language) (24:36) Physics/Chemistry/Biology distinctions (28:55) Aliens contacting certain genuises? (35:41) Peculiar history of discoveries in Physics (43:53) Talking to strangers and Aliens (47:11) Is Physics of the universe unique? (56:39) Can aliens manipulate observations? (58:51) What if aliens don't care about science? (1:04:36) Human dating aliens (1:07:54) Alien Psychology (1:09:33) Which past idea may be true (1:11:17) Topics that he couldn't include in book (1:14:18) Aliens and money (1:18:10) (People's question) Aliens and extra dimensions (1:19:16) (People's question) Aliens and dark matter (1:20:12) (People's question) Aliens and anti matter (1:21:10) (People's question) What question to ask? (1:22:03) (People's question) Have aliens visited us? (1:24:13) When would the book be available?
S1 · E59
Aug 26, 2025 · 1 hr 55 min
Phymaths podcast # 59 || Dr. Chitraang Murdia
*Description*Dr. Chitraang Murdia is a theoretical physicist at UPenn Philadelphia, and his works comprise areas like CFTs, holography, and entanglement. He is quite well known for being the All India Rank 1 holder in the JEE engineering exam in 2014. The list of his works can be found below.*Some links*1) Dr. Murdia's works: https://inspirehep.net/authors/19385402) Link to the high energy physics resources page on my website: https://hassaansaleem.com/graduate-level-theoretical-physics-resources-in-progress/*Contact Info*My website: hassaansaleem.comFollow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hassaan.3142/Join the Whatsapp channel: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Va9DkjmAzNbs7IlGuv1XFollow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Hassaan_PHYEmail Queries: greatestmight@gmail.com*Time stamps*(0:00) Coming Up(0:30) Intro of the guest(0:45) His current projects(2:40) His journey from JEE to Physics(13:06) CFTs and why to study them(15:27) TTbar deformation(24:12) Interfaces in CFT(29:16) Islands(36:35) Generalized symmetries(44:38) Minimal strings and matrix models(56:46) Using string field theory(1:02:38) FZZT and ZZ branes(1:05:28) 2D and 10D string theories(1:07:40) Building collaborations(1:09:43) Problem solving and writing papers (undergrad vs. grad)(1:23:19) (People's question) JEE to Ph.D(1:25:09) (People's question) Current state of string theory(1:26:41) (People's question) Avoid distractions(1:28:30) (People's question) Choosing Ph.D. position(1:31:01) (People's question) Lack of motivation(1:32:14) (People's question) Switching to industry(1:35:05) (People's question) Advice for grad students(1:38:00) (People's question) Ups and downs(1:39:18) (People's question) Most difficult textbook(1:40:38) (People's question) Core courses(1:43:30) (People's question) Social media addiction(1:47:11) (People's question) Internation Physics Olympiad(1:49:04) (People's question) Pressure for engineering(1:52:03) (People's question) Approaching researchers(1:53:22) (People's question) No of papers vs. reference letters
S1 · E58
Aug 26, 2025 · 2 hr 44 min
Phymaths podcast # 58 || Dr. John Baez
*Description*Dr. John Baez is a theoretical physicist and mathematician, previously at UC Riverside and now at the University of Edinburgh, who works on Quantum Gravity, Network Theory, and higher categories. The list of his works is linked below.*Some links*1) Dr. Baez's works: https://inspirehep.net/authors/10176892) Link to the high energy physics resources page on my website: https://hassaansaleem.com/graduate-level-theoretical-physics-resources-in-progress/*Contact Info*My website: hassaansaleem.comFollow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hassaan.3142/Join the Whatsapp channel: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Va9DkjmAzNbs7IlGuv1XFollow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Hassaan_PHYEmail Queries: greatestmight@gmail.com*Time stamps*(0:00) Coming up(1:23) Intro of the guest(1:42) His current projects(6:25) Octonions(15:44) Octonions and quantum logic(21:49) Knot theory(28:53) Other Knot invriants(31:04) His categorification program(45:51) Categories and Russell's program(53:45) Future directions for the program(1:01:56) Generalized symmetries(1:06:23) Topos theory(1:12:54) Network theory(1:19:32) OPen networks and compositionality(1:29:07) This Week's findings in Mathematical Physics(1:33:41) The crackpot index(1:42:00) New entry in the crackpot index(1:43:15) AI and future of physics(1:50:01) Advent of Computers vs advent of AI(1:56:02) Sphere packing and practical applications(1:58:14) Unsolved problems in physics(2:05:16) Mathematical rigor of QFT(2:11:28) Dealing with failure in research(2:18:10) (People's question) Beauty as a guide(2:20:25) (People's question) Undergrad math(2:22:23) (People's question) Retaining knowledge(2:25:23) (People's question) "Foolish" idea that was good(2:27:18) (People's question) Moving sofa problem(2:29:31) (People's question) Unsolved problems in maths
S1 · E57
Aug 6, 2025 · 1 hr 41 min
Phymaths podcast # 57 || Dr. Manki Kim
DescriptionDr. Manki Kim is a theoretical physicist, working on String Perturbation, String Compactifications, and String Field Theory. The list of his publications can be found below.Some links1) Dr. Kim's works: https://inspirehep.net/authors/14230212) Link to the high energy physics resources page on my website: https://hassaansaleem.com/graduate-level-theoretical-physics-resources-in-progress/Contact InfoMy website: hassaansaleem.comFollow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hassaan.3142/Join the Whatsapp channel: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Va9DkjmAzNbs7IlGuv1XFollow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Hassaan_PHYEmail Queries: greatestmight@gmail.comTime stamps(0:00) Coming Up(1:33) Intro of the guest(1:51) His current projects(3:33) Changing cosmological constant(7:51) His interest in physics(15:53) His work on small cosmological constants(37:15) The second step of KKLT(40:58) Scale separation(44:29) Why string field theory isn't used a lot?(50:03) What is string field theory (SFT)?(55:24) Calabi Yau metric and Machine Learning(1:01:07) Non-perturbation definition of string theory(1:06:34) Collaborations in Ph.D.(1:10:53) Choosing a problem to work on(1:13:10) CV of failure(1:18:24) (People's question) Feeling stuck(1:20:16) (People's question) Dark matter candidates(1:22:13) (People's question) Advisor or university?(1:25:49) (People's question) SFT and String perturbation(1:27:14) (People's question) KKLT and Vafa's criticism(1:38:17) (People's question) Doing string theory in 2025
S1 · E56
Aug 6, 2025 · 1 hr 34 min
Phymaths podcast # 56 || Dr. Daniel Grimmer
DescriptionDr. Daniel Grimmer is a philosopher of Physics at the University of Bonn, working on the intersection of Physics & Philosophy, and the metaphysics of space and time. A list of his works can be found below.Some links1) Dr. Grimmer's works: https://inspirehep.net/authors/1896269?ui-citation-summary=true2) Link to the high energy physics resources page on my website: https://hassaansaleem.com/graduate-level-theoretical-physics-resources-in-progress/Contact InfoMy website: hassaansaleem.comFollow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hassaan.3142/Join the Whatsapp channel: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Va9DkjmAzNbs7IlGuv1XFollow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Hassaan_PHYEmail Queries: greatestmight@gmail.comTime stamps(0:00) Coming Up(0:54) Intro of the guest(1:07) His current projects(2:11) His Physics Ph.D. work(5:01) Local measurements and machine learning(7:50) Spacetime as a lattice(15:02) Deflaing spacetime (Dynamics vs. Geometry)(22:02) Topological redescription(24:58) Studying spacetime dualities(27:46) ISE method(36:44) Sine Gordon/Thirring example(41:30) Non-geometric backgrounds(46:22) Neo-Kantian spacetime(51:00) Spacetime fundamental?(54:54) Nature of time(57:50) Mach's principle(59:30) David Lewis and laws of nature(1:10:44) Causation(1:15:00) Physics to philosophy transition(1:24:40) (People's question) Universe and maths(1:26:51) (People's question) Why is there something?(1:29:06) (People's question) Spacetime & entanglement
S1 · E54
Jun 20, 2025 · 2 hr 2 min
Phymaths podcast # 55 || Dr. Pedro Vieira
Description Dr. Pedro Vieira is a theoretical physicist, working on integrability, holography and matrix models (worked on bootstrap techniques in the past). A list of his works can be found below.Some links 1) Dr. Vieira's works: https://inspirehep.net/authors/1027784?ui-citation-summary=true2) Link to the high energy physics resources page on my website: https://hassaansaleem.com/graduate-level-theoretical-physics-resources-in-progress/Contact Info My website: hassaansaleem.comFollow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hassaan.3142/Join the Whatsapp channel: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Va9DkjmAzNbs7IlGuv1XFollow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Hassaan_PHYEmail Queries: greatestmight@gmail.comTime stamps (0:00) Coming up(1:09) Intro of the guest(1:24) His current projects(12:58) His interest in Physics(14:54) Classical Integrability(23:37) Quantum Integrability(29:40) Finding charges(31:17) Integrability in holography(41:48) Bethe ansatz(47:48) Story of the plot in his 2009 work(53:08) Quantum spectral curve(58:57) Matrix models(1:11:42) Matrix models and hydrodynamics(1:18:50) Bootstrap and its aims(1:23:00) Coordinates on the space of QFTs(1:26:50) Metric on the space of CFTs(1:31:46) Space of QFTs connected?(1:34:00) Metric on QFT space is unique?(1:36:48) Taking a Ph.D. student(1:39:13) (People's question) Bootstrap(1:43:28) (People's question) Research atmosphere(1:46:08) (People's question) Non-integer colors(1:53:00) (People's question) Planar diagram(1:56:50) (People's question) Building collaborations

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