Leonard Susskind is the Felix Bloch Professor of Physics at Stanford University. Entering the work-world as a plumber, Susskind is now among the most famous living physicists. He independently discovered string theory, and developed the holographic principle of quantum gravity. In addition to his scholarship, Susskind has done much to support the public understanding of science.

In his own words, “I became aware of the large number of physics enthusiasts out there who have no venue to learn modern physics and cosmology. Fat advanced textbooks are not suitable to people who have no teacher to ask questions of, and the popular literature does not go deeply enough to satisfy these curious people.” This led Susskind to develop The Theoretical Minimum, an evening course, which he taught for over nine years. More than two hundred of these lectures reside on YouTube, many with over one million views (the top three having over 13 million views as of mid-2025).

Susskind’s brand of science communication is done with depth, not soundbites. He has written several popular books, including The Cosmic Landscape and The Black Hole War: My Battle with Stephen Hawking to Make the World Safe for Quantum Mechanics. And, among his many accolades, Susskind earned the Science Writing Award of the American Institute of Physics.