discovery

In his final years, Richard Feynman's curiosity took him to some surprising places. We hear from his companions on the trips he took — and one he wasn’t able to. (Part three of a three-part series.)

• SOURCES: 
  • Alan Alda, actor and screenwriter.
  • Barbara Berg, friend of Richard Feynman.
  • Helen Czerski, physicist and oceanographer at University College London.
  • Michelle Feynman, photographer and daughter of Richard Feynman.
  • Cheryl Haley, friend of Richard Feynman.
  • Debby Harlow, friend of Richard Feynman.
  • Ralph Leighton, biographer and film producer.
  • Charles Mann, science journalist and author.
  • John Preskill, professor of theoretical physics at the California Institute of Technology.
  • Lisa Randall, professor of theoretical particle physics and cosmology at Harvard University.
  • Christopher Sykes, documentary filmmaker.
  • Stephen Wolfram, founder and C.E.O. of Wolfram Research; creator of Mathematica, Wolfram|Alpha, and the Wolfram Language.

• RESOURCES: 
  • Quantum Man: Richard Feynman's Life in Science, by Lawrence M. Krauss (2011).
  • Perfectly Reasonable Deviations From the Beaten Track: Selected Letters of Richard P. Feynman, edited by Michelle Feynman (2005).
  • The Pleasure of Finding Things Out, by Richard Feynman (1999).
  • The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark, by Carl Sagan and Ann Druyan (1995).
  • Genius: The Life and Science of Richard Feynman, by James Gleick (1992).
  • The Quest for Tannu Tuva, by Christopher Sykes (1988)
  • “What Do You Care What Other People Think?” by Richard Feynman and Ralph Leighton (1988).
  • The Second Creation: Makers of the Revolution in Twentieth-century Physics, by Robert Crease and Charles Mann (1986).
  • Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!, by Richard Feynman and Ralph Leighton (1985).
  • Fun to Imagine, BBC docuseries (1983).

• EXTRAS: 
  • “The Brilliant Mr. Feynman,” by Freakonomics Radio (2024).
  • “The Curious Mr. Feynman,” by Freakonomics Radio (2024).

There’s obviously a hierarchy of information. It ranges from life-changing good to life-changing disastrous.

That got me thinking: What would be the most interesting and useful information anyone could get their hands on?

Years ago I asked that question to Yale economist Robert Shiller. “The exact role of luck in successful outcomes,” he answered.

I loved that answer, because nobody will ever have that information. But if you did, your entire worldview would change. Who you admire would change. The traits you think are needed for success would change. You would find millions of lucky egomaniacs and millions of unlucky geniuses. The fact that it’s impossible to possess this information doesn’t make it useless – just thinking about how powerful it would be to have it forces you to ponder a topic that’s important but easy to ignore.

Keeping the idea that the most interesting information doesn’t have to be realistic – it can be impossible-to-obtain, magical-wish thinking – here are three other things that would get your attention.

Being on the internet just doesn’t feel as fun anymore. As more of our digital life is driven by algorithms, it’s become a lot easier to find movies or TV shows or music that fits our preferences pretty well. But it feels harder to find things that are strange and surprising — the kinds of culture that help you, as an individual, develop your own sense of taste.

This can be a fuzzy thing to talk about. But Kyle Chayka, a staff writer at The New Yorker, has written a whole book on it, the forthcoming “Filterworld: How Algorithms Flattened Culture.” We talk about how today’s internet encourages everything to look more the same and is even dulling our ability to know what we like. And we discuss what we can do to strengthen our sense of personal taste in order to live a richer, more beautiful life.

Mentioned:

“Quartets: Two: II. Warmth” by Peter Gregson

Ambient 1: Music for Airports by Brian Eno

Book Recommendations:

“In Praise of Shadows” by Junichiro Tanizaki (essay)

Seeing Is Forgetting the Name of the Thing One Sees by Lawrence Weschler

The Mushroom at the End of the World by Anna Lowenhaupt Tsing

Thoughts? Guest suggestions? Email us at ezrakleinshow@nytimes.com.

You can find transcripts (posted midday) and more episodes of “The Ezra Klein Show” at nytimes.com/ezra-klein-podcast, and you can find Ezra on Twitter @ezraklein. Book recommendations from all our guests are listed at https://www.nytimes.com/article/ezra-klein-show-book-recs.

This episode of “The Ezra Klein Show” is produced by Rollin Hu. Fact-checking by Michelle Harris. Our senior engineer is Jeff Geld. Our senior editor is Claire Gordon. The show’s production team also includes Annie Galvin, Rollin Hu and Kristin Lin. Original music by Isaac Jones. Audience strategy by Kristina Samulewski and Shannon Busta. The executive producer of New York Times Opinion Audio is Annie-Rose Strasser. And special thanks to Carole Sabouraud.

Too many people say they don't like things before they even try them. How are you going to know what you like if you never try new things? On today's episode of the podcast, I sit down with legendary actor William H. Macy of Shameless, Fargo and Boogie Nights and discuss his new project with Woody Creek Distillers. Bill is a man who knows what he likes and he's developed his taste by trying things over the years. We also went over my love for large ice spheres, what it's like being an actor in 2023, and eating a massive amount of escargot. I hope you enjoy:)

Our weekly collection of the happiest stories in the world. This week, Afraa, the newborn rescued from the debris of Syria’s earthquake, is a symbol of hope, the mother and daughter who won the lottery to travel to space, and the dog who surfed to victory at the world championships.

In the aftermath of the Civil War's Battle of Shiloh in 1862, something strange happened. Some soldiers' wounds started to glow.  Stranger still, those with glowing wounds seemed to have better rates of survival. In 2001, a teenage Civil War buff embarked on a science project to explain this so-called "Angel's Glow."

In this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, Robert and Joe continue their multi-year mission to discuss the various moons of our solar system – this time with the literary-themed moons of the ice giant Uranus. (Part 1 of 2)

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Today's episode of the GaryVee Audio Experience is a new series I'm doing called Viral Post: What Does it Mean? This is a an interaction I had with an 18 year old kid that recently went viral on my social channels. He talks about how he feels stuck and how he feels like he's not doing anything "significant" in his life. I think a lot of you listening can relate to this one, so I want your feedback please. Tweet me using the hashtag #GaryVeePodcast

Enjoy! Let me know what you thought!

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Can you drink a black hole? Is sand evil? All these questions and more are put to our smartest guest yet, Professor Brian Cox.

Professor Brian Cox is on tour with ‘Horizons’. Dates and tickets at briancoxlive.co.uk.

Follow Brian on Twitter and Instagram @ProfBrianCox

Recorded and edited by Ben Williams for Plosive.

Artwork by Paul Gilbey (photography and design) and Amy Browne (illustrations).

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