More Conversations, Complex Questions, and Bold Ideas in Season Five of ‘The Joy of Why’

June 4, 2026

Introduction

What is the future of gene editing with CRISPR? Has AI changed mathematics forever? Will we find other civilizations in the universe? What if we’ve been wrong about dark energy all along? These are just a few of the big, bold questions we’ll be exploring in the new season of The Joy of Why.

Mathematician Steven Strogatz and physicist Janna Levin are back as your hosts for these and other conversations that explore the frontiers of basic science and mathematics. Each episode features an in-depth conversation in which Steven or Janna sits down with a leading scientist or mathematician to unpack one big idea or area of research. The two hosts also chat together throughout each episode, sharing their own thoughts, reactions, and questions.

New episodes drop every other Thursday, kicking off on June 11 with biochemist and Nobel Laureate Jennifer Doudna, who helped revolutionize gene editing and biology as co-discoverer of the CRISPR-Cas9 system. The wide-ranging conversation explores the discovery and sudden rise of CRISPR as a tool that can modify genes in a highly precise manner, the successes and issues the work raised, and what comes next.

Check out the lineup of this season’s guests below — and stay tuned for a surprise or two. All 12 episodes of Season 5 will be available to stream or read here, and on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, TuneIn, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Also in Multimedia

How We See the Beautiful, Violent Sun

A Treasure Trove of Cambrian Fossils Rewrites the Story of Early Life

A Through-The-Lens Look at the World’s Particle Physics Labs