Priya Natarajan, a world-renowned theoretical astrophysicist, is making dark matter maps of clusters of galaxies, the largest known repositories of dark matter in the universe. Her accessible, fascinating book Mapping the Heavens: The Radical Scientific Ideas That Reveal the Cosmos (Yale University Press) chronicles her journey, as well as that of the field of astrophysics which has undergone astronomical changes in recent years. In our interview, which was recorded live at Joe’s Pub at The Public Theater, Natarajan revealed what it’s like to be an outsider in academia, and what it meant to her to watch Carl Sagan as a child, growing up in India.
This episode was produced by Rob Schulte.
Join Slate Plus to unlock full, ad-free access to Employee of the Month and the rest of your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe directly from the Employee of the Month show page on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Or visit slate.com/employeeplus to get access wherever you listen.