Podcast Summary: The Stacks – Ep. 423
Normalize Bringing Up Quantum Field Theory with Chanda Prescod-Weinstein
Host: Traci Thomas
Guest: Dr. Chanda Prescod-Weinstein, theoretical physicist, cosmologist, and author
Date: May 6, 2026
Episode Overview
In this engaging episode, Traci Thomas welcomes back Dr. Chanda Prescod-Weinstein to discuss her new book, The Edge of Space Time: Particles, Poetry and the Cosmic Dream Boogie. Together, they embark on a journey through black feminist theory, poetry, and the mysteries of the universe—including quantum field theory, relativity, and the intersection of art and science. The conversation also explores the accessibility of complex scientific topics for non-scientists, the importance of curiosity and confusion in scientific thinking, and the books that have influenced Chanda’s life.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
Chanda’s Background and Early Science Influences
- Origin Story: Chanda hails from East L.A. in a family of educators and voracious readers. Her mother taught reading and worked with legends like Audre Lorde and Adrienne Rich, while her father had a background in math and philosophy before becoming a union organizer.
"On some level, as a professor, I'm like a third generation teacher. So I can't remember a time when books weren't part of my life." (05:05)
- Bookish Upbringing: Reading was foundational at home, with routines of reading poetry and classics out loud. Chanda recalls being motivated in school to learn quickly, especially after discovering another student already knew times tables.
- Science Spark: A pivotal moment came when her mother took her at age 10 to a showing of the Stephen Hawking documentary A Brief History of Time:
"That was the moment where I was like, wait a minute, you can get paid to do math all day?... Working class kid will need a job growing up. And I want this one." (09:00-09:49)
Bridging Books, Science & Representation
- Seamless Blend: For Chanda, books and science were never separate domains. Her family culture merged literary and mathematical interests, helping her see no conflict between them.
"There was never any of this feeling of, these are two separate worlds and they shall never meet or anything like that." (08:15)
Making Advanced Physics Accessible
- Translating the Abstract: Chanda’s approach in The Edge of Space Time is to develop real-world analogies (“explain it like I’m five”) and personal stories to demystify topics like relativity and quantum field theory for general readers.
"I kind of normalize bringing up quantum field theory, and it can sound like a flex, but really, I'm just trying to say this is a thing that I have to practice with." (12:35)
- Why Normalize Big Physics: She advocates not shying away from “weird stuff,” championing public engagement with cutting-edge science.
"We can get into... What is it? This is where we merge quantum mechanics and special relativity together... it also kind of pushes the boundaries of our conceptions of what makes up reality. So why wouldn't we try and tell people about that? It's weird. We like weird shit." (12:35-13:33)
The Role of Poetry & Art in Science
- Unexpected Similarities: Chanda’s subtitle references both “particles” and “poetry.” She notes how the two disciplines—often taught as having “right answers”—can instead be approached as opportunities for curiosity and multiple interpretations.
"Maybe, like, you could get it if you thought about it differently and recognized that these things are actually much closer together than perhaps, like, what we've been taught." (20:41)
- Music as Inspiration: Big K.R.I.T.'s album Cadillactica helped Chanda conceptualize her book’s blend of science and black culture, particularly the “Big Bang Ho” motif.
"I remember the first time listening to that and being like, oh, this is a Black scientist story. Because this is an engineer who is trying to wire some things and screws up the wiring." (22:10)
What is Space-Time?
- Accessible Explanation: Chanda borrows from philosopher W.V. Quine: think of yourself as three spatial dimensions plus your lifespan as the fourth dimension (time).
"So put those together and I have four dimensions, and that fourth dimension is my age... That doesn't give you a sense of why we should think about them together... They're not [separate]." (23:43-25:35)
- Everyday Analogies: The book’s accessible “bat in the car” and “Gravity Girl and the elevator” analogies help readers build a visual, tangible sense of otherwise abstract physics.
Why Should the Average Person Care About Physics?
- Material and Spiritual Value:
- Material: Technologies like GPS depend on general relativity and quantum mechanics.
- Spiritual/Psychological: Chanda invokes the Akan concept of “Sankofa”—looking back in time (deep history)—as not just a restoration of Black histories, but a restoration of cosmic wonder and spiritual health.
"I actually want you to have this experience of something that's totally disconnected from your material concerns, because your brain needs that, your spirit needs that." (28:14)
"People need to know the universe is bigger than the bad things that are happening to us." (29:23)
Embracing Confusion and Curiosity
- Chanda reframes confusion as central to the scientific experience.
"The practice of actually being a scientist is spending your time at the edge of confusion, because your job is to push the boundary of what's known. And that means you have to be in the place where you don't know things." (32:31)
- The book is an invitation for all, not just specialists, to join in curiosity—even when things are opaque or challenging.
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
- On Writing for Non-Scientists:
"You're exactly the reader that I had in mind... the Edge of Space Time is really meant to say to people, this is a perspective that you should feel you have some entitlement to and that I have some responsibility to try and share this way of looking at the world with you." (16:15)
- On the Role of Curiosity:
"Our joy matters, even if the authoritarians don't think it does... that is exactly why we should allow ourselves to be curious and weird and go off in strange directions." (29:23-30:10)
- On Black Histories & Science:
"If we're serious about going back and getting black history, that going back and getting black history means also going back and getting the story of the Big Bang... It is the story of this cosmos that our ancestors witnessed for generations under a dark night sky." (27:31-28:05)
- On Science as Accessibility, Not Elitism:
"It's okay. You can, like, learn about this even if you don't get it. Like, you could try. You could try to learn about it. Like, that's fine. You're allowed. And that's cool." (31:05)
Ask the Stacks: Book Recommendations and Disability in Publishing (42:00)
Listener question: Holly seeks recommendations for books by disabled authors, and wonders why so many disability-centered books are written by able-bodied authors.
Recommendations:
- Dyscalculia by Kimon Felix (Chanda) — Black, Jewish, queer memoir set in New York and the Bronx.
- Deaf Republic by Ilya Kaminsky (Traci) — Poetic interconnected stories centered on a community of deaf people.
- Against Techno Ableism by Ashley Shew (Traci and Chanda) — On ableism and technology, written with candor and biting voice.
- True Biz by Sara Nović (Chanda) — Fiction centered on deaf culture, featuring ASL in text and an upcoming memoir Mother Tongue.
- On broader readings: Noting that authors’ identities inform their work, even when not directly about disability.
Memorable moment:
"Ashley Shoes voice is just so like... she's great. It's so clear, you could tell it's big fuck you energy. You guys know I love a chesty writer. She's giving chesty." (43:40)
Books of Chanda’s Life – Lightning Round Highlights (48:30 onward)
Two books Chanda loves:
- Mansfield Park by Jane Austen
- Long Division by Kiese Lehmon
Book Chanda hates:
- The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen
"It was just about miserable people being miserable and miserable at each other. And I was like, what was the point?" (48:45)
Last great book she read:
- Kin by Tayari Jones
"As a queer person... this is a book about queer women? I did not know...it was beautiful." (49:29)
Recent/current reads:
- Lonely Crowds by Stephanie Wambugu (May book club pick)
- The Great Wherever by Shannon Sanders (upcoming novel with ghost story elements, “funny as hell”)
Books she recommends:
- Long Division (again), emphasizing Kiese Lehmon’s underappreciated fiction
- Mansfield Park as an Austen novel about “enslavement and race and white feminism” (52:10)
Genre she rarely reads:
- Not a big SFF reader outside of authors like Tracy Deonn and Charlie Jane Anders
Favorite all-time school reading:
Book to assign:
- Heavy by Kiese Lehmon — for race, gender, body acceptance, and the gambling addiction theme (61:55)
Who would write her life story: Kimon Felix
Book for the U.S. President to read: How to Slowly Kill Yourself and Others in America by Kiese Lehmon
Surprise favorite:
- Despite disliking Franzen’s fiction, Chanda is a fan of his essay collection How to Be Alone
Closing Notes and Tone
Throughout, Chanda’s warmth, humor, and interdisciplinary passion shine. She jokes about reading quantum field theory textbooks annually, brings hip hop and baseball into science writing, and repeatedly affirms that everyone—not just scientists—has a right to curiosity about the cosmos. The tone split between irreverent (occasional swearing and playfulness) and deeply reflective.
Selected Timestamps
- [05:05]: Chanda’s family & reading background
- [09:00]: The “Brief History of Time” documentary breakthrough
- [12:35]: Why Chanda brings up quantum field theory
- [16:11]: On writing science accessibly for non-experts
- [20:51]: On poetry and physics as related forms
- [23:43]: What is space-time?
- [27:31]: Linking the Big Bang and Black history
- [29:23]: “People need to know the universe is bigger than the bad things that are happening to us.”
- [32:31]: Science is about “the edge of confusion”
- [42:00]: Book recommendations on disability
Notable Quotes
"If we're serious about going back and getting Black history, that... means also going back and getting the story of the Big Bang.” — Chanda, (27:31)
"The practice of actually being a scientist is spending your time at the edge of confusion." — Chanda, (32:31)
"Our joy matters, even if the authoritarians don't think it does." — Chanda, (29:23)
Next Up on The Stacks
Chanda returns on May 27 for the book club discussion of Lonely Crowds by Stephanie Wambugu.
For a full list of books and topics mentioned, see the show notes at thestackspodcast.com.
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