The Universe in Verse 2020 – poems celebrating the science, splendor, and wonder of nature, featuring readings, reflections, and music by Rebecca Solnit, Patti Smith, Neil Gaiman, Amanda Palmer, Rosanne Cash, Roxane Gay, Tim Ferriss, Elizabeth Gilbert, Eve Ensler, Alison Bechdel, Brian Greene, Krista Tippett, and other seekers of truth, makers of beauty, and cartographers of meaning. Tune in.
We, this people, on this small and drifting planet
Whose hands can strike with such abandon
That in a twinkling, life is sapped from the living
Yet those same hands can touch with such healing, irresistible tenderness
That the haughty neck is happy to bow
And the proud back is glad to bend
Out of such chaos, of such contradiction
We learn that we are neither devils nor divines
Happy National Poetry Month! Celebrate with this stunning reading of Maya Angelou’s “A Brave and Startling Truth” – one of the most beautiful and profound poems ever written – a cosmic clarion call to humanity, inspired by Carl Sagan.
Full poem text, and the story behind it, here.
Richard Dawkins: We’re all mitochondrially descended from 7 mothers.
Janna Levin: We should think about that when closing our borders.
Richard Dawkins in conversation with astrophysicist Janna Levin at Pioneer Works.
“Science cannot belong only to scientists — it’s part of how we understand ourselves and the world. It’s for everybody.”
Astrophysicist Janna Levin, Director of Science at Pioneer Works, reflects on four years of the wildly popular free series Scientific Controversies and Pioneer Works’ broader mission to change the world by bringing people together around the arts and sciences, into a crucible for new ideas.
Astrophysicist Janna Levin reads Maya Angelou’s prescient humanist poem, which flew to space. Find the poem text and the story of how Carl Sagan inspired it here.
Performed and recorded at The Universe in Verse 2018.
“A Brave and Startling Truth” – Maya Angelou’s stunning humanist poem inspired by Carl Sagan and the Voyager, inverting the telescope to mirror humanity back to itself with a beautiful message so very timely today.
Hear astrophysicist Janna Levin’s sublime reading of the poem here.
Astrophysicist Janna Levin reads Ursula K. Le Guin’s “Hymn to Time” – 35 seconds of sublime truth and beauty.
Background, context, and poem text here.
“Six inches of height changes the whole physiology of the body. Technology is not perfect to the point where we can say with confidence that there won’t be off-target effects – effects in other parts of the genome that we don’t want to touch.”
Pioneering geneticist David Baltimore on the complex considerations of genetic engineering. Animation by Massive for the Scientific Controversies series hosted by astrophysicist Janna Levin at Pioneer Works.
The Universe in Verse returns – an evening of poems celebrating science, read by beloved artists, writers, and musicians, benefiting the Natural Resources Defense Council.
Astrophysicist Janna Levin, author of the spectacular Black Hole Blues, takes us on a thrilling tour of black holes – the supreme mystery of the universe, revolutionary to our understanding of reality. Premiering tonight at 9/8c, Black Hole Apocalypse is the first program hosted by a woman in PBS’s 44-year history of Nova science documentaries. Rejoice the revolution.
Astrophysicist Janna Levin reads “Planetarium” – Adrienne Rich’s timeless tribute to women in astronomy. Poem text and context here.
Performed at The Universe in Verse – a celebration of science through poetry, and a fundraising protest against the silencing of science and the defunding of the arts.
Monday, April 24, in Brooklyn: The Universe in Verse – an evening of poems celebrating great scientists and scientific discoveries, read by beloved actors, writers, and musicians (including Rosanne Cash, Amanda Palmer, Brandon Stanton of Humans of New York, Tavi Gevinson, Jad Abumrad of Radiolab, Sam Beam of Iron & Wine, astrophysicist Janna Levin, poet Elizabeth Alexander, and more) – essentially an elaborate protest against the defunding of science and the arts: All proceeds from tickets are being donated to the Academy of American Poets and the Natural Resources Defense Council.
More information here.
Please help spread the word.
“Everything that makes up what we’re familiar with and everything we’ve ever seen is like an ashy residue left over from the Big Bang – we’re just this residual dust.”
Astrophysicist Janna Levin contemplates the mystery of dark matter in a poetic animation. Also see Levin on the transcendence of science and how the mathematician Kurt Gödel shaped the modern mind.
Dark matter may be responsible for the death of the dinosaurs.
