Welcome to Kelly Corrigan Wonders. I'm Kelly Corrigan, and today I'm wondering about creativity with a scientist named Brian Green.

At first glance, a theoretical physicist might seem like an unusual choice for a conversation

about creativity, but Brian Green has spent decades translating the mysteries of the universe into

theater, music, and storytelling. This is the third episode in our Supertrade series,

which is sponsored by a grant from the John Templeton Foundation.

Brian isn't just a scientist. He's a creative force who co-founded the World Science Festival

with his wife, producer Tracy Day. In 2008, Brian wrote a short story called Icarus at the

edge of time, reimagining the Greek myth near a black hole, and it became

a touring theatrical piece moving audience members to tears. And fundamentally, it was about the

general theory of relativity. Today, we talk about the meaning that physics has brought to Brian's

life, how collections of particles can create consciousness,

and why he believes there's no such thing as free will.

We dive into what it means to translate awe into art, why ego exists, and how he went from a

laser-focused college student who only wanted equations to someone who teaches a course

called origins and meaning with no equations at all. Here's my conversation with Brian Green

recorded on stage at the Aspen Ideas Festival. We're in the same business fundamentally, which is to notice magnificence wherever we can find it, large and small.

I'm typically unfolding a family moment and trying to see if there might be something wondrous in it.

And you are looking as far as one can look in terms of time and space.

You have been called the single best explainer of abstruse concepts in the world today.

Now, is that a compliment?

I think so.

Tell me a little bit about physics.

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