PodcastScience PhysicsEnglish

Phymaths podcast

by Hassaan Saleem

NewPhymaths podcast # 78 || Dr. Daniel LittNovember 8, 2026 · 59 min

Episodes: 43
Released: monthly
Latest episode: Nov 8, 2026

Website RSS feed

About the podcast

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

Episodes 43

Phymaths podcast # 78 || Dr. Daniel Litt
November 8, 202659 minSeason 1 · Episode 78
DescriptionDr. Daniel Litt is a mathematician at the University of Toronto, working on algebraic geometry, number theory, and Hodge theory. A list of his works is given below.Some links1) His works …
Show notes
DescriptionDr. Daniel Litt is a mathematician at the University of Toronto, working on algebraic geometry, number theory, and Hodge theory. A list of his works is given below.Some links1) His works: https://www.daniellitt.com/publications-and-preprints/2) 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: [email protected]Time stamps(0:00) Guest intro(0:18) His interest in math(01:17) Anabelian Geometry(3:47) Local systems(6:41) Differential equations(14:40) Monodromy representations(20:43) Math in the age of AI(34:22) His open problems(37:00) His probability puzzles(38:25) Choosing Ph.D. students(44:38) (People's question) Great mathematicians(46:37) (People's question) Natural language startup(48:11) (People's question) Unreaonable effecitveness(50:48) (People's question) Hodge conjecture(52:58) (People's question) Learning math as a student(54:11) (People's question) Unpublished results(57:23) (People's question) Community & research
Phymaths podcast # 77 || Dr. John Schwarz
October 29, 20261 h 21 minSeason 1 · Episode 77
DescriptionDr. John Schwarz is the Harold Brown Professor of Theoretical Physics, Emeritus, at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). He is one of the pioneers of superstring theory and played a …
Show notes
DescriptionDr. John Schwarz is the Harold Brown Professor of Theoretical Physics, Emeritus, at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). He is one of the pioneers of superstring theory and played a central role in the first superstring revolution through his groundbreaking work with Michael Green. His research focuses on string theory, quantum gravity, and theoretical elementary particle physics. A list of his works is given below.Some links1) His works: https://inspirehep.net/authors/9895842) 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: [email protected]Time stamps(0:00) Intro of the guest(0:19) Graduate days with Geoffrey Chew(1:47) Dual resonance models(5:34) Early days of string theory(16:27) His collaboration with Joel Scherk(23:18) Discovery of 11D supergravity(25:23) His collaboration with Michael Green(35:30) Physics Carabet anecdote(39:16) His work on dualities(42:47) His textbooks (GSW and BBS)(48:39) His relationship with Feynman(50:35) Selecting graduate students(51:37) (People's question) Building collaborations(54:21) (People's question) Working on your idea(55:52) (People's question) Dark dimension scenario(1:02:15) (People's question) Amplitudes program(1:02:50) (People's question) Favorite brane(1:03:03) (People's question) Pursuing strings today(1:06:40) (People's question) Underexplored subfield(1:07:38) (People's question) 1984 work reception(1:10:09) (People's question) Pure spinor formalism(1:11:20) (People's question) AI problem solving(1:15:09) (People's question) Worthy problem(1:15:47) (People's question) Aspen center, Colorado(1:17:13) (People's question) Weinberg and strings
Phymaths podcast # 76 || Dr. Kristaps Balodis
October 29, 20261 h 23 minSeason 1 · Episode 76
DescriptionDr. Kristaps Balodis is a math postdoc at Carleton University, working on representation theory of finite groups and p-adic local Langlands. He also runs a YouTube channel, K-theory, that covers …
Show notes
DescriptionDr. Kristaps Balodis is a math postdoc at Carleton University, working on representation theory of finite groups and p-adic local Langlands. He also runs a YouTube channel, K-theory, that covers various topics in mathematics and hosts discussions with prominent mathematicians. His works are linked below.Some links1) His works: https://sites.google.com/view/kristapsjohnbalodis/publications?authuser=02) 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: [email protected]Time stamps(0:00) Introduction of the guest(0:34) Langlands program(18:29) Geometric Langlands(21:30) KL hypothesis(45:56) p-adic version of the KL hypothesis(49:02) Langlands program and graph theory(53:42) Doing outreach(56:26) Explaining abstract topics(58:12) Coursework to research(1:04:13) Building collaborations(1:06:49) (People's question) Difficult math textbook(1:08:52) (People's question) Problems in Langlands program(1:11:01) (People's question) Learning representation theory(1:13:20) (People's question) Books on his to-read list(1:14:43) (People's question) LLMs solving math problems
Phymaths podcast # 75 || Dr. Christian Ferko
August 30, 20261 h 43 minSeason 1 · Episode 75
DescriptionDr. Christian Ferko is a theoretical physicist at Northeastern University and IAIFI. He primarily works on sigma models and machine learning (especially on the correspondence between neural networks …
Show notes
DescriptionDr. Christian Ferko is a theoretical physicist at Northeastern University and IAIFI. He primarily works on sigma models and machine learning (especially on the correspondence between neural networks and QFTs). His work can be found at the link below.Some links1) His works: https://inspirehep.net/authors/18380252) 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: [email protected]Time stamps(0:00) Intro of the guest(0:20) Neural Networks/QFT (NN/QFT) correspondence(1:54) Getting gauge theory(4:07) Adding spinors(6:45) RG scale in Neural Networks (NNs)(9:20) Activation functions(14:40) Other architectures(16:01) Adding interactions(18:05) Anomalies in NNs(23:50) T duality in NNs(30:16) Discrete θ angles in NNs(33:21) Entanglement in NNs(35:41) NNs and Holography(39:45) NNs and generalized symmetries(41:36) TTbar deformation(44:37) TTbar and supersymmetry(47:42) TTbar and Modmax theory(50:48) TTbar and holography(56:54) Outreach(1:05:50) Psychological aspects of research(1:12:00) Choosing problems(1:17:04) Building collaborations(1:24:20) Using AI for research(1:30:08) Choosing Ph.D. students(1:34:22) (People's question) Non-linearity in ML(1:37:43) (People's question) Is AI curious?(1:39:45) (People's questions) Practices for using AI
Phymaths podcast # 74 || Phil Halper and Dr. Niayesh Afshordi
August 7, 20261 h 33 minSeason 1 · Episode 74
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 …
Show notes
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: [email protected]Time 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?
Phymaths podcast # 73 || Dr. Georges Obied
July 11, 20261 hSeason 1 · Episode 73
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 …
Show notes
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: [email protected]Time 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
Phymaths podcast # 72 || Dr. Lara Anderson
June 11, 20261 h 5 minSeason 1 · Episode 72
DescriptionDr. 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 …
Show notes
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: [email protected]
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
Phymaths podcast # 71 || Dr. Tejinder Pal Singh
May 4, 20261 h 44 minSeason 1 · Episode 71
DescriptionDr. 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 …
Show notes
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: [email protected]
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
Phymaths podcast # 70 || Dr. Aninda Sinha
April 28, 20261 h 9 minSeason 1 · Episode 70
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 …
Show notes
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: [email protected]Time 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
Phymaths podcast # 69 || Dr. Eran Palti
April 19, 20261 h 24 minSeason 1 · Episode 69
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 …
Show notes
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: [email protected]Time 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
Phymaths podcast # 68 || Dr. Keshav Dasgupta
March 11, 20261 h 58 minSeason 1 · Episode 68
DescriptionKeshav Dasgupta is a theoretical physicist at McGill University, working on string compactifications, especially on achieving deSitter spacetime from string theory (including the possibility of …
Show notes
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: [email protected]
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
Phymaths podcast # 67 || Dr. Alok Laddha
March 3, 20261 h 20 min
DescriptionAlok 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 …
Show notes
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: [email protected]
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
Phymaths podcast # 66 || Dr. Jonathan Heckman
March 3, 20261 h 47 minSeason 1 · Episode 66
DescriptionJonathan 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 …
Show notes
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: [email protected]
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
Phymaths podcast # 65 || Dr. Jacob McNamara
March 3, 20263 h 6 minSeason 1 · Episode 65
DescriptionJacob 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 …
Show notes
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: [email protected]

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
Phymaths podcast # 64 || Dr. Shiraz Minwalla
December 30, 20251 h 38 minSeason 1 · Episode 64
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 …
Show notes
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: [email protected]Time 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
Phymaths podcast # 63 || Dr. Sonia Contera
December 11, 20251 h 7 minSeason 1 · Episode 63
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 …
Show notes
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: [email protected]Time 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
Phymaths podcast # 62 || Guest: Dr. Alastair Wilson
November 2, 20252 h 6 minSeason 1 · Episode 62
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 …
Show notes
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: [email protected]Time 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
Phymaths podcast # 61 || Dr. Sunil Mukhi
October 21, 20251 h 53 minSeason 1 · Episode 61
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 …
Show notes
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: [email protected]Time 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
Phymaths podcast # 60 || Dr. Daniel Whiteson
October 21, 20251 h 25 minSeason 1 · Episode 60
DescriptionDr. 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 …
Show notes
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: [email protected]

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?
Phymaths podcast # 59 || Dr. Chitraang Murdia
August 26, 20251 h 56 minSeason 1 · Episode 59
*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 …
Show notes
*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: [email protected]*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
Phymaths podcast # 58 || Dr. John Baez
August 26, 20252 h 44 minSeason 1 · Episode 58
*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 …
Show notes
*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: [email protected]*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
Phymaths podcast # 57 || Dr. Manki Kim
August 6, 20251 h 42 minSeason 1 · Episode 57
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 …
Show notes
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: [email protected]Time 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
Phymaths podcast # 56 || Dr. Daniel Grimmer
August 6, 20251 h 34 minSeason 1 · Episode 56
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 …
Show notes
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: [email protected]Time 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
Phymaths podcast # 55 || Dr. Pedro Vieira
June 20, 20252 h 3 minSeason 1 · Episode 54
DescriptionDr. 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 links1) …
Show notes
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: [email protected]Time 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
Phymaths podcast # 54 || Guest: Dr. Miguel Montero
May 30, 20251 h 44 minSeason 1 · Episode 54
DescriptionDr. Miguel Montero is a theoretical physicist at IFT Madrid, working on string compactifications and the swampland program. The list of his works can be found below.Some links1) Dr. Montero's list of …
Show notes
DescriptionDr. Miguel Montero is a theoretical physicist at IFT Madrid, working on string compactifications and the swampland program. The list of his works can be found below.Some links1) Dr. Montero's list of works: https://inspirehep.net/authors/1272182?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 InfoYouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@phymaths
My website: hassaansaleem.comJoin the Whatsapp channel: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Va9DkjmAzNbs7IlGuv1XFollow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Hassaan_PHYEmail Queries: [email protected]Time stamps(0:00) Coming Up(1:10) Intro of the guest(1:22) His current projects(4:28) What is the Swampland program?(11:24) Swampland conjectures vs string constructions(12:45) DGKT vs Weak Gravity Conjecture (WGC)(23:20) Discovering R7 branes(30:02) Relationships between swampland conjectures(33:30) Emergent string conjecture(34:35) Distance conjecture and EFT breakdown(37:39) Metric used for distance conjecture(39:11) Swampland prediction for N=4 SU(N) SYM(42:46) Tom Banks' paper on string parameters(46:15) What is the dark dimension?(51:02) Similarity with Nima et al's idea?(55:03) Why achieving SUSY scale separation is hard?(59:22) Non SUSY scale separation(1:03:52) Scale separated CFTs(1:08:15) His interest in Physics(1:10:44) The book that got him interested(1:11:24) Importance of hardwork(1:20:05) How to choose problems to work on?(1:29:09) Good PhD advisor(1:31:00) Which PhD students to take?(1:35:22) Setting deadlines(1:38:02) (People's question) Surprising swampland conjecture?(1:40:40) (People's question) Favorite restaurant in Madrid
Phymaths podcast # 53 || Guest: Dr. Ivano Basile
May 10, 20252 h 8 minSeason 1 · Episode 53
DescriptionDr. Ivano Basile is a theoretical physicist at the Max Planck institute for Physics at Garching, working on Non-supersymmetric string theories, supersymmetry breaking and recently, breaking of global …
Show notes
Description
Dr. Ivano Basile is a theoretical physicist at the Max Planck institute for Physics at Garching, working on Non-supersymmetric string theories, supersymmetry breaking and recently, breaking of global symmetries. The list of his works can be found below.

Some links
1) Dr. Basile's list of works: https://inspirehep.net/authors/1677616?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: [email protected]

Time stamps
(00:00) Coming up
(00:24) Intro of the guest
(00:42) His current projects
(02:49) His interest and journey in Physics
(10:51) What is String Theory?
(18:05) Recent Tom Banks paper
(21:24) Important questions in string phenomenology
(26:37) Scale separation in string theory
(33:16) Non-supersymmetric strings
(45:04) Intrinsically quantum vacuua
(48:35) Dualities for non SUSY strings
(53:42) D-Branes in non SUSY string theories
(1:01:46) deSitter spacetime and higher corrections
(1:07:07) Using functional RG flows
(1:10:54) Quintessence in non SUSY strings
(1:14:20) Brane world scenario for non SUSY strings
(1:28:28) String Field Theories for non SUSY strings
(1:30:06) Dealing with research metrics
(1:39:30) No. of papers (some interesting examples)
(1:40:49) Dealing with research metrics (continued)
(1:42:50) Qualities of a good research advisor
(1:48:16) Birds vs Frogs (Freeman Dyson)
(1:50:36) Transitioning froma student to a researcher
(1:56:54) (People's questions) Back up plan
(1:59:14) (People's questions) More non SUSY strings?
(2:00:29) (People's questions) Asymptotic safety
(2:04:20) Vafa Strominger scenario for non SUSY strings
(2:05:40) (People's questions) -1 form symmetries

#physics #theoreticalphysics #stringtheory #symmetryreflection #scicomm #podcast
Phymaths podcast # 52 || Guest: Dr. Rajesh Gopakumar
February 6, 20251 h 37 minSeason 1 · Episode 52
Description Dr. Rajesh Gopakumar is a theoretical physicist, who has majorly worked on holographic duality in his career. He got his Ph.D. from Princeton University under the supervision of David Gross and …
Show notes
Description Dr. Rajesh Gopakumar is a theoretical physicist, who has majorly worked on holographic duality in his career. He got his Ph.D. from Princeton University under the supervision of David Gross and right now, he is the director of ICTS Bangalore in India. The list of his works is available below. Some links 1) Dr. Gopakumar's list of works: https://inspirehep.net/authors/1007959 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: [email protected] Time stamps (0:00) Coming Up (0:31) Intro of the guest (0:48) His recent projects (8:53) Multiple open string descriptions (11:21) His interest in Physics (15:10) Pressure to go to engineering (16:12) IIT Kanpur (20:11) His skepticism for string theory (25:08) What is string theory? (31:01) Is spacetime fundamental? (34:28) Overview of holography (36:38) Maldacena's example (37:26) Using holography for QCD (43:10) His work on holography (50:51) Higher spins and Weinberg Witten theorem (57:40) His work on Chern Simons theory (1:01:35) Being the director of ICTS (1:10:30) Choosing a Ph.D. student (1:13:14) Publishing trends (1:15:40) (People's question) Physics and AI (1:19:45) (People's question) Phenomenology (1:21:26) (People's question) deSitter spaces (1:22:43) (People's question) Masters in ICTS (1:25:12) (People's question) Ashoke Sen (1:27:12) (People's question) Research Transition (1:29:42) (People's question) Comparisons (1:32:02) (People's question) Failure
Phymaths podcast # 51 || Guest: Dr. Daniel Whiteson
February 6, 20251 h 57 minSeason 1 · Episode 51
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 …
Show notes
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. The link of this podcast and his works are given below. Some links 1) His podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/daniel-and-kellys-extraordinary-universe/id1436616330 2) His works: https://inspirehep.net/authors/1020448 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: [email protected] Time stamps (0:00) Coming Up (0:33) Intro of guest (0:58) His interest in Physics (5:24) His active projects (7:46) Single event discoveries (12:04) Hiding the data from other collaborations (14:26) Credit sharing in big collaborations (20:34) Being an independent researcher (27:26) Media coverage of LHC and Higgs discovery (32:46) The 5σ benchmark for discovery (41:23) Machine Learning for Particle Physics (45:58) Working with Phenomenologists (47:44) Theorists/Experimentalists' relation (53:27) Phenomenological models (56:14) His preference for phenomenology research (58:37) The politics of getting funding (1:05:44) Challenges of making a children's TV series (1:16:29) Science communication through podcasts (1:18:36) Effects of having a podcast on me (1:21:37) PhD comics (1:22:02) His most favourite guests (1:25:33) If he could invite Issac Asimov (1:27:56) Using humor in science communication (1:30:30) How to engage science skeptics (1:34:45) The APS story and crackpots (1:38:40) Balancing time (research & scicomm) (1:42:11) Selecting a Ph.D student (1:43:47) Dealing with failure & rejection (1:49:01) (People's question) LHC upgrades (1:50:30) (People's question) Collider on the Moon (1:52:38) (People's question) "We have no idea" title (1:53:53) (People's question) Investing in research
Phymaths podcast # 50 || Guest: Dr. Nabil Iqbal
February 3, 20251 h 55 minSeason 1 · Episode 50
Description Dr. Nabil Iqbal is a theoretical physicist at Durham University. He works on holography, generalized symmetries, and condensed matter physics among other things. A list of his works can be found in …
Show notes
Description Dr. Nabil Iqbal is a theoretical physicist at Durham University. He works on holography, generalized symmetries, and condensed matter physics among other things. A list of his works can be found in the link below. Some links 1) Dr. Iqbal's works: https://inspirehep.net/authors/1051240 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: [email protected] Time stamps (0:00) Coming Up (0:37) Guest's intro (0:59) Inspiration for Physics (5:00) Holography overview (9:02) Maldacena's example of holography (15:13) Using holography for QCD (20:15) Truncating AdS spacetime (23:38) Chiral symmetry breaking (25:00) Non-Fermi liquids (30:54) Strange metals (33:16) Holography and Non-Fermi liquids (35:43) Holography and higher spin gravity (40:00) Evading Weinberg-Witten theorem (42:58) Generalized symmetries (Overview) (49:28) Applications of generalized symmetries (52:56) Kramers-Wannier duality (57:44) Symmetries as topological operators (1:00:47) Machine learning rediscovers duality (1:07:11) Sine Gordon/ Thirring duality (1:11:24) Which architecture to use? (1:16:21) How to see AI physics discoveries? (1:20:38) Tackling physics misinformation (1:26:40) The "Lying for Grants" lie (1:31:25) How to take Ph.D. students? (1:33:21) Lack of motivation (1:35:00) Getting back from failed projects (1:38:07) (People's question) Strings & 3D Ising model (1:40:58) People's questions (Rapid fire) (1:47:32) US vs UK Ph.D. system (1:49:11) Advice for undergrad, master & Ph.D students (1:51:23) Dealing with Imposter syndrome
Phymaths podcast # 49 || Guest: Dr. Zohar Komargodski
January 6, 20252 h 53 minSeason 1 · Episode 49
Description Dr. Zohar Komargodski is a theoretical physicist at the Simon Center for Geometry and Physics and he works on RG flows, generalized symmetries, and condensed matter physics among other things. A …
Show notes
Description Dr. Zohar Komargodski is a theoretical physicist at the Simon Center for Geometry and Physics and he works on RG flows, generalized symmetries, and condensed matter physics among other things. A list of his works can be found in the link below.
Some links 1) Dr. Komargodski's works: https://inspirehep.net/authors/1021214 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: [email protected] Time stamps (0:00) Coming Up (0:43) Guest's intro (1:08) His interest in physics (2:52) His interest in high-energy physics (4:17) Overview of RG flows (8:03) Relation with effective field theories (13:36) Extra terms in Maxwell equations (15:00) What does a theory 'flowing' mean? (18:22) Fixed points in RG flows (CFTs) (20:48) What a CFT can flow to? (21:12) c-theorem (28:55) a-theorem (30:58) Similar theorems in higher dimensions (32:25) Symmetries preserved under RG flows (36:21) How to define an anomaly? (38:52) What is a 'thooft anomaly? (44:47) Is ABJ anomaly an anomaly? (47:28) Unsolved problems regarding RG flows (49:52) Holographic methods for RG flows (51:22) Overview of generalized symmetries (58:04) Applications (His paper on monopoles) (1:04:50) Applications (Pion decay and Yang-Mills) (1:08:16) Prospects of generalized symmetries (1:10:06) Which ideas to take seriously? (1:13:22) Phrase "Theory of Everything" is misleading? (1:19:00) Comments on LQG and quantizing gravity (1:35:17) MOND (Philosophy and comments) (1:46:28) Geometric Unity (Philosophy and comments) (1:53:58) SU(5) theory (1:55:57) Tackling science misinformation (2:00:01) The "Lying for grants" lie (2:05:10) Mistakes in papers (2:07:57) Tackling misinformation (continued) (2:10:57) Misinformation, funding and progress (2:15:38) Mathematical consistency (2:21:21) Size of string theory community (2:25:09) High energy Physics job market (2:29:18) Misconceptions about the number of papers (2:34:51) How to interpret letters from unknown academics? (2:38:48) How to take Ph.D. students? (2:42:39) Advice for younger researchers? (2:43:37) How to be motivated with slow progress? (2:46:47) (People's question) Symmetry breaking (2:48:42) (People's question) Cosmology (2:50:11) (People's question) Recommendation letter (2:51:16) (People's question) Food places in NYC (2:52:48) Ending Corrections: (1:44:21) NGC 1277 appears to have a "deficit of dark matter" but the acceleration that was probed in the 2023 study was not sufficiently small to probe the MOND regime. So, this study doesn't rule MOND out right away. (2:43:51) He is actually talking about the book "What I Talk About When I Talk About Running" by H. Murakami

These are the latest 40 of 43 episodes. You’ll find older episodes in the podcast’s feed.

Similar podcasts

More Science podcasts

Bedtime Astronomy

Science

Synthetic Universe · 670 episodes

Daniel and Kelly’s Extraordinary Universe

Science

iHeartPodcasts · 862 episodes

Into the Impossible With Brian Keating

Science

Big Bang Productions Inc. · 646 episodes

Sleepy Facts About the Universe

Science

sciflix.one - Sleepy Astronomy · 391 episodes

The Quanta Podcast

Science

Quanta Magazine · 377 episodes

The Quark Side – Quantum Physics Podcast

Technology

Synthetic Universe · 180 episodes

The Rest Is Science

Science

Goalhanger · 105 episodes

Physics World Weekly Podcast

Technology

Physics World · 100 episodes

Is this your podcast?

Confirm it with an entry in your feed: you get a code here, add it as podcast:txt to the channel of your feed, and we check it. Your podcast is then shown as “verified” on SoundNode.