About this episode
What happens when an existentially depressed and recently widowed young physicist from Queens gets a fresh start in California? We follow Richard Feynman out west, to explore his long and extremely fruitful second act. (Part two of a three-part series .) SOURCES: Seamus Blackley , video game designer and creator of the Xbox. Carl Feynman , computer scientist and son of Richard Feynman. Michelle Feynman , photographer and daughter 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. Alan Zorthian , architect. RESOURCES: " Love After Life: Nobel-Winning Physicist Richard Feynman’s Extraordinary Letter to His Departed Wife ," by Maria Popova ( The Marginalian, 2017). Quantum Man: Richard Feynman's Life in Science , by Lawrence M. Krauss (2011). The Pleasure of Finding Things Out , by Richard Feynman (1999). Genius: The Life and Science of Richard Feynman , by James Gleick (1992). " G. Feynman; Landscape Expert, Physicist’s Widow ," ( Los Angeles Times, 1990). " Nobel Physicist R. P. Feynman of Caltech Dies ," by Lee Dye ( Los Angeles Times, 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). " Richard P. Feynman: Nobel Prize Winner ," by Tim Hendrickson, Stuart Galley, and Fred Lamb ( Engineering and Science, 1965). F.B.I. files on Richard Feynman . EXTRAS: " The Curious Mr. Feynman ," by Freakonomics Radio (2024). Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.