In this episode, I talk with Prof. Boaz Barak, the Gordon McKay Professor of Computer Science at Harvard University's John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. We converse about his serendipitous path to the theory of computing after starting to programme on a Commodore 64 in his childhood, his insipid stint in the military, the influence of his cohort and mentors during graduate school, computational complexity, quantum computing, the differing experience of working in a university research lab and industrial research lab, communicating science to the masses, and the great importance of diversity and inclusion in academia.