#468 – Janna Levin: Black Holes, Wormholes, Aliens, Paradoxes & Extra Dimensions

May 5, 2025 · 3h 7m

About this episode

Janna Levin is a theoretical physicist and cosmologist specializing in black holes, cosmology of extra dimensions, topology of the universe, and gravitational waves. Thank you for listening ❤ Check out our sponsors: <a href="https://lexfridman.com/sponsors/ep468-sc">https://lexfridman.com/sponsors/ep468-sc</a> See below for timestamps, transcript, and to give feedback, submit questions, contact Lex, etc. Transcript: <a href="https://lexfridman.com/janna-levin-transcript">https://lexfridman.com/janna-levin-transcript</a> CONTACT LEX: Feedback – give feedback to Lex: <a href="https://lexfridman.com/survey">https://lexfridman.com/survey</a> AMA – submit questions, videos or call-in: <a href="https://lexfridman.com/ama">https://lexfridman.com/ama</a> Hiring – join our team: <a href="https://lexfridman.com/hiring">https://lexfridman.com/hiring</a> Other – other ways to get in touch: <a href="https://lexfridman.com/contact">https://lexfridman.com/contact</a> EPISODE LINKS: Janna’s X: <a href="https://x.com/JannaLevin">https://x.com/JannaLevin</a> Janna’s Website: <a href="https://jannalevin.com">https://jannalevin.com</a> Janna’s Instagram: <a href="https://instagram.com/jannalevin">https://instagram.com/jannalevin</a> Janna’s Substack: <a href="https://substack.com/@jannalevin">https://substack.com/@jannalevin</a> Black Hole Survival Guide (book): <a href="https://amzn.to/3YkJzT5">https://amzn.to/3YkJzT5</a> Black Hole Blues (book): <a href="https://amzn.to/42Nw7IE">https://amzn.to/42Nw7IE</a> How the Universe Got Its Spots (book): <a href="https://amzn.to/4m5De8k">https://amzn.to/4m5De8k</a> A Madman Dreams of Turing Machines (book): <a href="https://amzn.to/3GGakvd">https://amzn.to/3GGakvd</a> SPONSORS: To support this podcast, check out our sponsors & get discounts: Brain.fm: Music for focus. Go to <a href="https://lexfridman.com/s/brainfm-ep468-sc">https://brain.fm/lex</a> BetterHelp: Online therapy and counseling. Go to <a href="https://lexfridman.com/s/betterhelp-ep468-sc">https://betterhelp.com/lex</a> NetSuite: Business management software. Go to <a href="https://lexfridman.com/s/netsuite-ep468-sc">http://netsuite.com/lex</a> Shopify: Sell stuff online. Go to <a href="https://lexfridman.com/s/shopify-ep468-sc">https://shopify.com/lex</a> AG1: All-in-one daily nutrition drink. Go to <a href="https://lexfridman.com/s/ag1-ep468-sc">https://drinkag1.com/lex</a> OUTLINE: (00:00) – Introduction (00:51) – Sponsors, Comments, and Reflections (09:21) – Black holes (16:55) – Formation of black holes (27:45) – Oppenheimer and the Atomic Bomb (34:08) – Inside the black hole (47:10) – Supermassive black holes (50:39) – Physics of spacetime (53:42) – General relativity (59:13) – Gravity (1:15:47) – Information paradox (1:24:17) – Fuzzballs & soft hair (1:27:28) – ER = EPR (1:34:07) – Firewall (1:42:59) – Extra dimensions (1:45:24) – Aliens (2:01:00) – Wormholes (2:11:57) – Dark matter and dark energy (2:22:00) – Gravitational waves (2:34:08) – Alan Turing and Kurt Godel (2:46:23) – Grigori Perelman, Andrew Wiles, and Terence Tao (2:52:58) – Art and science (3:02:37) – The biggest mystery PODCAST LINKS: – Podcast Website: <a href="https://lexfridman.com/podcast">https://lexfridman.com/podcast</a> – Apple Podcasts: <a href="https://apple.co/2lwqZIr">https://apple.co/2lwqZIr</a> – Spotify: <a href="https://spoti.fi/2nEwCF8">https://spoti.fi/2nEwCF8</a> – RSS: <a href="https://lexfridman.com/feed/podcast/">https://lexfridman.com/feed/podcast/</a> – Podcast Playlist: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrAXtmErZgOdP_8GztsuKi9nrraNbKKp4">https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrAXtmErZgOdP_8GztsuKi9nrraNbKKp4</a> – Clips Channel: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/lexclips">https://www.youtube.com/lexclips</a>