In honor of Nobel prize season, we remember some people whose important work in the past has been overlooked by the Nobel committee.

Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/whythisuniverse

The neutrino's non-zero mass is an anomaly, but one that leads to a promising new dark matter candidate - the sterile neutrino. Could this be it?

Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/whythisuniverse

Today we discuss neutrino oscillations - their ability to transform between different types – and the quantum mechanics that makes it possible.

 Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/whythisuniverse

Learn about the chaotic motion that underlies even the most ordered structures, including life.

Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/whythisuniverse

Some physics theories are admired for being beautiful, but does that mean they are more likely to be true? Or could chasing beauty lead us astray?

Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/whythisuniverse

Hear why supersymmetry was special enough to win over physicists hearts, and why faith in it might be dying out.

Today we explore one of the biggest and most frustrating open problems of particle physics - the hierarchy problem.

Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/whythisuniverse

Learn how astronomers are using invisible particles to see what we've never seen before!

Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/whythisuniverse

Learn about the oldest light in the universe - the cosmic microwave background - and how it became a treasure trove of cosmological insight.

Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/whythisuniverse

Hear what proved to physicists that the universe started with the Big Bang - and the one person who was never convinced.

Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/whythisuniverse

Learn how a profound mathematical theorem relating symmetries to conservation laws is deeply woven into the physics of the universe.

Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/whythisuniverse

A rerun of one of our favorite episodes ever. Some physicists have considered the possibility that dark matter might not exist - and that instead, it's our theories of gravity which are wrong. Today we take a deep dive into these theories of modified gravity.

Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/whythisuniverse

A re-post of one of our favorite early episodes. Learn how special relativity and quantum mechanics come together to make an odd prediction about matter.

Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/whythisuniverse

Get our introduction to the measurement that might prove the Standard Model wrong!

Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/whythisuniverse

The Big Bang theory leaves us with some open questions, and the theory of inflation might have the answers.

Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/whythisuniverse

How many dimensions of space are there? Could there be extra dimensions that are hidden from view?

Take a deep dive into (a contender) for the most successful theory of physics ever!

Can free will exist in a universe described by the laws of physics? 

Today we talk about the theoretical particle at the forefront of current research. Learn how axions might explain not one but *two* open problems in physics!

Here's what happens when we introduce quantum mechanics to one of the weirdest objects in the universe. Hint - things get hairy.

Today we talk about black holes - from their early history to their role in the 2020 Nobel Prize in Physics. 

Does science get us closer to understanding what the universe is actually like, or is it just a useful tool to build technology with? Today we get philosophical and talk through this deep question!

If life in the universe survives into the far future, it will eventually come face to face with the accelerating expansion of the universe caused by dark energy. Could a hyper-advanced civilization find a way to fight it?

Today our feed is getting taken over by Brendan Drachler to bring you an episode of his show, The State of the Universe!

Science moves at an impossibly fast pace. It will leave you wondering, what is the state of the universe? Wonder no more! Learn from researchers working at the cutting edge of scientific advancement about everything from the robot takeover to the big bang only on The State of The Universe podcast.

Listen to the State of the Universe everywhere where podcasts are available. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-state-of-the-universe/id1429808898

Are there other intelligent civilizations out there, or are we alone here on Earth? And what have we done to try to find them?

What does it takes for a planet to support life? How different could extraterrestrial life be from what we see on Earth?

These theories aim to explain all of the fundamental forces (except gravity) in one neat package. How does it work?

What in the laws of physics differentiates between past and future? Is there a physical reason that time always moves forward? 

Today we explore different interpretations of quantum mechanics, from Copenhagen to the many-worlds hypothesis, in an attempt to uncover what quantum reality really is.

Some physicists have considered the possibility that dark matter might not exist - and that instead, it's our theories of gravity which are wrong. Today we take a deep dive into these theories of modified gravity.

You may have heard of the new gravitational wave discovery of September 2020. Here's everything you need to know to understand what this detection means for physics!

Get introduced to one of the most mysterious characters in physics.

Here's how a heated debate about whether our Milky Way galaxy is the entire universe led to the discovery of expanding space.

Learn how the geometry of space defies our intuition, and why it gave Einstein so much anxiety.

Dark matter has eluded physicists for years - all we know is that it's some kind of matter that doesn't interact with light. Does that sound like a black hole to you?

Entanglement, wave-particle duality, and uncertainty - here's a breakdown of the weirdest and wildest things about quantum mechanics.

We revisit some of Dan's early predictions about dark matter, and talk about the biggest dark matter ideas and experiments of the last decade.

Every time a particle of matter is made, a particle of antimatter is also made. So it seems like all matter ever created should have annihilated with antimatter, leaving behind an empty universe. But then... why is our universe filled with matter?

Learn how special relativity and quantum mechanics come together to make an odd prediction about matter.

Quantum mechanics revolutionized our understanding of the universe. But have you ever wondered how it was first discovered? What's it like to live through such a dramatic scientific moment? 

Learn more about the co-hosts, what this podcast is all about, and why we are making it!

Dark matter sounds as mysterious as it is - an invisible form of matter that permeates our universe that physicists have not yet been able to detect! And yet, most physicists are extremely confident that it exists. Learn why!