Part Two: The Edge of Space Time with Dr. Chanda Prescod-Weinsten and Kimberly Daniels Taws

This second installment in The Country Bookshop's two part series featuring Chanda Prescod- Weinstein around her book The Edge of Space-Time: Particles, Poetry, and the Cosmic Dream Boogie features Dr. Prescod- Weinstein in conversation with The Country Bookshop's Kimberly Daniels Taws. Dr. Prescod-Weinstein shares some of the overview of the book and has a detailed discussion about the cosmos with Kimberly. The Country Bookshop Conversation with Marcus du Sautoy for his book Blueprints: How Mathematics Shapes Creativity.    • Marcus du Sautoy chats with Kimberly from ...   Other books mentioned are Imagination: A Manifesto by Ruha Benjamin https://thecountrybookshop.biz/book/9... and What Art Does: An Unifinished Theory by Brian Eno and Bette Adriaanse https://thecountrybookshop.biz/book/9... About The Edge of Space-Time: Particles, Poetry, and the Cosmic Dream Boogie: A fresh, charming, socially conscious tour of the mysteries of space-time, from the award-winning author of The Disordered Cosmos. In The Edge of Space-Time, she embraces that cosmic wonder, taking readers on a mind-altering journey to the boundaries of the universe, inviting us to spend time at the edge of what we know about space-time and about ourselves. Guided by her conviction that for humanity to go forward we must know our cosmic past, Prescod-Weinstein renders accessible some of the most abstract concepts of theoretical physics and draws on poetry and popular culture--from Queen Latifah to Lewis Carroll to Big K.R.I.T to Sun Ra and Star Trek--to tell fascinating stories about the fundamental quantum nature of space-time and everything inside of it. Here we meet the quantum cat that is both dead and alive, learn the difference between dark matter and dark energy, explore the inner workings of black holes, investigate the possibility of a unified theory of quantum gravity, and map out the meeting place of the unimaginably vast with the confoundingly small, following our guide out to the far reaches of the particle horizon and down to the tiniest (and queerest) neutrino. Prescod-Weinstein shows us how spending time with the cosmos is a vital human activity that enriches all our lives. Along the way, she calls on us to resist colonial approaches to space exploration and instead imagine a better path forward in our pursuit of humanity's undeniable connection with the stars. Through Prescod-Weinstein's clear-eyed and unique perspective, and informed by her deep knowledge of post-colonial history and Black feminist thought, The Edge of Space-Time argues that physics is an essential way for everyone to look at the universe and presents a compelling case that "the edge" is a powerful vantage point from which to see the big picture. About the Speakers: Chanda Prescod-Weinstein is an associate professor of physics and astronomy and core faculty in women's and gender studies at the University of New Hampshire. She conducts award-winning theoretical physics research on dark matter, the early universe, and neutron stars, while also researching Black feminist science studies. Her first book, The Disordered Cosmos: A Journey into Dark Matter, Spacetime, and Dreams Deferred, won the 2021 Los Angeles Times Book Prize in science and technology, the 2022 Phi Beta Kappa Award in Science, and a 2022 Josephine Miles Award from PEN Oakland. A columnist New Scientist and Physics World, she is originally from East L.A., California, and now divides her time between the New Hampshire Seacoast and Cambridge, Massachusetts. Kimberly Daniels Taws has led the team at The Country Bookshop in Southern Pines, NC, since 2010. Under her leadership, The Country Bookshop team has brought hundreds of authors to Moore County and across rural North Carolina. Kimberly believes in the power of conversation to move ideas and has interviewed authors like Jon Meacham, Nicholas Sparks, James Patterson, Jason Mott, Lilly King, Scott Pelley, Max Brailler, Tom Maxwell, Maggie Shipstead, Taylor Jenkins Reid and many more. Kimberly recently founded Experience Books, a non-profit that provides educational opportunities for all ages, supporting and enhancing the creative and community connections around the art of the written word. She is a Past President of the Southern Pines Business Association and a Past President of the Southern Independent Booksellers Association. Kimberly has served on other boards including Chatham Hall School for Girls and the North Carolina Retail Merchants Association as well as on the Executive Board of the North Carolina Museum of Art. Kimberly thinks about culture and creativity and community a lot.