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Overdue

Ep 077 - Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman! by Richard Feynman

Overdue

Headgum

Craig Getting, Arts, Books, Podcasts, Literature, Comedy, Andrew Cunningham

4.62.3K Ratings

🗓️ 8 September 2014

⏱️ 53 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Safecracker, prankster, bongo drummer, painter, teacher. Richard Feynman was many things in addition to being a Nobel Prize-winning physicist, and he seemed to enjoy the incongruities of his varied interests.

His collection of anecdotes Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman! chronicles some of these pursuits, while also shedding light on Feynman's years at Los Alamos working on the atomic bomb in the company of J. Robert Oppenheimer, Niels Bohr and others.

Join us this week to find out how a man goes from illuminating the behavior of subatomic particles to spending his free time in California banging on the bongo and sketching nude models. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcript

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0:00.0

While Andrew and Craig believe the joy of discovery is crucial to enjoying any well-told tale,

0:05.1

they will not shy away from spoiling specific story beats when necessary.

0:10.4

Plus, these are books you should have read by now.

0:30.0

I hate that feeling.

1:00.0

I'm going to get everything done on Sunday.

2:00.0

This is a book by Richard Feynman.

3:00.0

I wish I were a little bit more reverent with my phone correspondence.

3:24.9

If I had funnier things to text people,

3:29.7

or if I called you for some reason, then you didn't pick up.

3:34.0

Instead of telling you on the voicemail what I needed,

3:37.6

if I just made a weird sound or sang you a song, then just hung up.

3:42.8

Do you know anybody who talks on the phone like this?

3:45.8

This sounds like the most annoying phone behavior.

3:48.6

It basically sounds like every second banana character on every sitcom.

3:59.2

Sometimes I just want to be a little cosmocramer.

4:03.4

Maybe you need a writer's room to come up with material for you.

4:07.6

I thought it would be pretty sweet.

4:11.2

If I had a bunch of dudes working hardward guys.

4:14.9

Harvard.

4:17.9

I got my top men on the situation.

4:22.4

Anyway, we're talking about Richard Feynman.

4:25.2

He is a or was a very respected and well-decorated in addition to well-regarded

...

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