Explore the fascinating early life of Stephen Hawking in this engaging podcast episode. Born during World War Two in Oxford, England, young Stephen displayed an extraordinary curiosity about how things worked, earning him the family nickname 'Einstein.' From taking apart clocks and radios to building primitive computers with friends, his childhood was filled with scientific exploration. Despite being a late reader who didn't master the skill until age eight, Stephen's intellectual gifts became apparent during his time at St Albans School, where teachers recognized his brilliance even as he showed little interest in routine schoolwork. This episode examines the unconventional Hawking family household, filled with books and intellectual dinner conversations, and traces Stephen's growing passion for fundamental questions about the universe. We explore his teenage rebellion against following his father into medicine, choosing instead to pursue physics and mathematics. The episode covers his successful Oxford University entrance at seventeen, marking the beginning of his formal scientific education. Through careful examination of documented history and biographical accounts, we see how the curious boy who questioned everything laid the groundwork for becoming one of history's most revolutionary theoretical physicists and cosmologists.