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People I (Mostly) Admire

2. Mayim Bialik: “I Started Crying When I Realized How Beautiful the Universe Is”

People I (Mostly) Admire

Freakonomics Radio + Stitcher

Society & Culture

4.62K Ratings

🗓️ 10 January 2026

⏱️ 46 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

She’s best known for playing neurobiologist Amy Farrah Fowler on The Big Bang Theory, but the award-winning actress has a rich life outside of her acting career, as a teacher, mother — and a real-life neuroscientist. Steve Levitt tries to learn more about this one-time academic and Hollywood non-conformist, who is both very similar to him and also quite his opposite. This episode originally aired on September 4th, 2020.

Transcript

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0:00.0

I struggled all the way through undergrad, and I struggled all the way through grad school as well,

0:07.0

because I'm not a natural science learner.

0:09.0

I'm a person who wants to understand deeply the mysteries of the universe,

0:13.0

and even if you're a stay-at-home mom after that, even if you become an actor on a TV show,

0:18.0

the knowledge that I have as a scientist has transformed my

0:21.4

understanding of my religious life, my parenting life, and really everything about the

0:26.4

world that I live in.

0:30.1

I'm so excited to get to speak with my own biolic today. I've never talked to her before.

0:35.8

This would be the first time we've met.

0:43.7

But in a strange way, I kind of feel like I know we're having watched her on Big Bang Theory for so many years.

0:50.3

Welcome to people I mostly admire with Steve Levitt.

0:56.3

I'll be totally honest with you. I'm not sure that I have much to talk about with a typical Hollywood star, but I'm hoping that Mayam's going to be different. She's got a PhD

1:01.8

in neuroscience, and she really seems to play by her own rules, and I just can't wait to

1:07.7

get to know her a little bit, and let's hope I'm right and she's interesting.

1:11.6

We'll find out.

1:15.5

Such a pleasure today to talk with Myambiolic, renowned actress, neuroscience PhD, a best-selling

1:21.9

author, a mother of two teenage boys, a producer and a director. And all of that's

1:27.0

incredibly impressive. But the real

1:28.9

reason that I wanted so badly to talk to you is because it seems like you've managed to succeed

1:35.3

by breaking all the rules, by being true to yourself and by being authentic. And I don't see very many

1:40.8

people who have the courage to be him or herself and to make their way in the world.

1:46.4

So I'm just really excited to talk to you today, Maia.

...

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