The Edge of Understanding: Black Holes, Mortality, and the Power of Wonder with Janna Levin
The Harvest Series podcast, hosted by Rose Claverie, welcomes theoretical physicist and cosmologist Janna Levin for a conversation on black holes, imagination, mortality, and the limits of human understanding. Recorded during Harvest, this episode explores how science and wonder coexist at the edge of the known universe.
Levin reflects on black holes, gravitational waves, infinity, and why scientists must become comfortable with uncertainty. Moving between philosophy, cosmology, death, and human meaning, the conversation reveals science not as cold certainty, but as an ongoing relationship with mystery.
What happens when the deeper we look into the universe, the less certain we become about ourselves?
You can follow us on Instagram at @HarvestSeries or @rose.claverie for updates.
Chapters
00:00 – Introduction to Janna Levin
01:05 – Why science needs imagination
02:03 – Einstein and thought experiments
03:06 – Conversations and contradictions at Harvest
05:10 – Parents, risk, and unconventional paths
06:06 – What black holes really are
08:24 – Why black holes fascinate us
09:06 – Infinity and the shape of the universe
11:02 – Why scientists say “I don’t know”
12:34 – Women in science and identity
13:06 – Does the universe have a sound?
14:28 – What humans are actually made of
14:59 – What happened before the Big Bang?
16:04 – Space race, SpaceX, and geopolitics
19:54 – Seeing Earth as one planet
20:47 – From philosophy to physics
22:01 – Science, spirituality, and meaning
23:54 – Death, nature, and continuity
25:25 – Ordinary life and cosmic thinking
26:19 – Legacy and curiosity
27:11 – How to deal with endings
28:18 – When will the universe end?
29:14 – Music on the moon
30:10 – Children, bees, and scientific discovery
30:49 – Living at the edge of comprehension
31:21 – Closing reflections
Watch our podcast episodes and speaker sessions on YouTube: Harvest Series.
Credits:
- Sound editing by: @lesbellesfrequences
- Technician in Kaplankaya: Joel Moriasi
- Music by: Chambord
This season of the Harvest Series podcast is made possible by Spark of Light. To learn more, visit: https://sparkofsouls.com/
Harvest Series Founders: Burak Öymen and Roman Carel
