Why This Universe?

By Dan Hooper, Shalma Wegsman

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Category: Physics

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Rate for this podcast

Subscribers: 333
Reviews: 2
Episodes: 104

Andrew R
 May 1, 2022
As an interested non-scientist I love this podcast. It's hard science but explained so clearly that I can make sense of it. A great window into fascinating subjects

James W
 Dec 26, 2021
I was enjoying this podcast until they served up a side order of woke.

Description

The biggest ideas in physics, broken down. Join theoretical physicist Dan Hooper and co-host Shalma Wegsman as they answer your questions about dark matter, black holes, quantum mechanics, and more. Part of The University of Chicago Podcast Network.

Episode Date
91 - What Neutrinos Reveal About the Milky Way
Dec 23, 2024
90 - Quintessence: Is Dark Energy Changing? (Ft. Sean Carroll)
Nov 04, 2024
89 - A Dark Matter Vibe Check
Oct 14, 2024
88 - Why Does Our Universe Exist At All? (Ft. Sean Carroll)
Sep 23, 2024
87 - The Good and the Bad of Peer Review
Sep 02, 2024
28 - How Noether's Theorem Changed Physics (Rerun)
Aug 05, 2024
86 - The Life and Death of Stars
Jul 02, 2024
85 - Our Sun: Present, Past and Future
Jun 17, 2024
84 - The Search For New Worlds (ft. Josh Winn)
Jun 03, 2024
83 - Witnessing a Revolution in Particle Physics (Ft. Chris Quigg)
May 13, 2024
82 - Science Vs. Pseudoscience
Apr 29, 2024
81 - Ancient Greek Astronomy
Apr 15, 2024
80 - (April Fools 2024) A Surprising Discovery Shaking Up Modern Cosmology
Apr 01, 2024
79 - NanoGRAV's Big Gravitational Wave Discovery (Ft. Chiara Mingarelli)
Mar 18, 2024
78 - The Life of a Science Journalist (Ft. Katrina Miller)
Mar 04, 2024
77 - All About Quantum Computing (Ft. Henry Lamm)
Feb 05, 2024
76 - Do We Live in a Simulation?
Jan 22, 2024
75 - Physics in Extreme Locations (Ft. Daniel Baxter & Alexandra Rahlin)
Jan 08, 2024
8 - Is Space Flat or Curved?
Dec 18, 2023
74 - The Copernican Revolution (Ft. Aviva Rothman)
Dec 04, 2023
73 - Life Beyond Earth (Ft. Avi Loeb and Garrett Graff at the Chicago Humanities Festival)
Nov 20, 2023
72 - The Physics Of Music (Ft. Tim Cohen)
Nov 06, 2023
71 - How the Universe Got Its Structure
Oct 23, 2023
70 - WTU Live: Will Intelligent Life Persist in the Universe? (ft. Daniel Holz and Diana Powell)
Oct 10, 2023
Special Announcement + ChatGPT On Unifying Quantum Mechanics and Relativity
Sep 28, 2023
69 - An Update on Modified Gravity (MOND)
Aug 28, 2023
68 - The Age of the Universe
Aug 14, 2023
6 - Your Tour Through Quantum Weirdness (Rebroadcast)
Jul 31, 2023
67 - When Science Meets Spirituality (Ft. Alan Lightman)
Jul 17, 2023
66 - When Space Was Filled With Music
Jul 03, 2023
65 - Should We Build a Muon Collider? (Ft. Cari Cesarotti)
May 22, 2023
64 - The Journey to the Big Bang
May 08, 2023
63 - The Question of Consciousness (Ft. David Chalmers)
Apr 17, 2023
47 - Boltzmann Brains: Could Reality Be An Illusion? (Rebroadcast)
Mar 27, 2023
62 - JWST and the Earliest Galaxies in the Universe (ft. Mike Boylan-Kolchin)
Mar 13, 2023
61 - Could the Large Hadron Collider Destroy the World?
Feb 27, 2023
60 - The Search for Extra Dimensions
Feb 13, 2023
59 - The End of Everything (Ft. Katie Mack)
Jan 09, 2023
58 - The Risks of Science Populism
Dec 12, 2022
57 - String Theory Part 3: Duality
Nov 21, 2022
56 - An Icy Neutrino Interruption
Nov 07, 2022
55 - String Theory Part 2: The First Superstring Revolution
Oct 24, 2022
54 - String Theory Part 1: What Is It?
Oct 03, 2022
53 - Why We Need a Theory of Quantum Gravity
Sep 12, 2022
52 - The Large Hadron Collider and All Its Glory
Aug 22, 2022
51 - Why Physicists Love Smashing Particles Together
Aug 01, 2022
50 - The Black Hole At the Center of the Milky Way
Jul 11, 2022
49 - When the Universe Changed in an Instant
Jun 27, 2022
48 - A Wrong Picture Of Cosmology
May 23, 2022
13 - Does Quantum Mechanics Imply a Multiverse? (Rebroadcast)
May 09, 2022
47 - Boltzmann Brains: Could Reality Be An Illusion?
Apr 25, 2022
46 - The Cosmic Rays Raining Down On Us
Apr 04, 2022
25 - Do Extra Dimensions Exist? (Rebroadcast)
Mar 14, 2022
45 - The Wide World of Exoplanets (ft. Diana Powell)
Feb 28, 2022
44 - Our Deepest Theory: Quantum Field Theory
Feb 14, 2022
43 - Is Physics the Most Fundamental Subject?
Jan 31, 2022
42 - The Signal That Could Be the Dark Matter
Jan 17, 2022
41 - The Hubble Tension: The Biggest Fight in Astronomy (ft. Wendy Freedman)
Jan 03, 2022
40 - How Will JWST Change Astronomy?
Dec 20, 2021
23 - Does Physics Allow for Free Will? (Rebroadcast)
Nov 29, 2021
39 - Why Do Science Communication? (ft. Daniel Whiteson and Jorge Cham)
Nov 15, 2021
A Special Neutrino Update! (ft. Pedro Machado)
Nov 01, 2021
38 - The Nobel Prize's Greatest Misses
Oct 18, 2021
37 - How Neutrinos Might Be Hinting at Dark Matter
Oct 04, 2021
36 - The Neutrino's Quantum Superpower
Sep 20, 2021
35 - The Chaos Underlying Everything (ft. David Grier)
Sep 06, 2021
34 - Should Beauty Guide Physicists?
Aug 23, 2021
33 - Our Love Affair With Supersymmetry
Aug 09, 2021
32 - The Mystery of the Higgs Boson's Mass
Jul 26, 2021
31 - If You Give an Astronomer a Neutrino
Jul 12, 2021
30 - The Oldest Picture of the Universe
Jun 28, 2021
29 - How the Big Bang Won the Debate About the Beginning of Time
Jun 14, 2021
28 - How Emmy Noether Changed Physics Forever
May 31, 2021
12 - The Fight Between Modified Gravity and Dark Matter
May 10, 2021
3 - What in the World is Anti-Matter?
Apr 26, 2021
27 - What Does the Muon g-2 Result Mean for Physics?
Apr 12, 2021
26 - Did Inflation Rip Apart the Early Universe?
Mar 29, 2021
25 - Could Extra Dimensions Exist?
Mar 15, 2021
24 - Breaking Down the Standard Model
Mar 01, 2021
23 - Does Physics Allow for Free Will?
Feb 15, 2021
22 - The Particle That Might Do It All (Axions!)
Feb 01, 2021
21 - The Quantum Mechanics of Black Holes
Jan 18, 2021
20 - Everything To Do About Black Holes
Jan 04, 2021
19 - Why Does Science Work?
Dec 21, 2020
18 - Could a Hyper-Advanced Civilization Resist Dark Energy?
Nov 30, 2020
The State of The Universe #81 - Dr. Daniel Whiteson - The Standard Model and Its Many Quirks!
Nov 23, 2020
17 - Why Haven't We Met Aliens?
Nov 16, 2020
16 - Where Is Life in the Universe?
Nov 02, 2020
15 - What are Grand Unified Theories?
Oct 19, 2020
14 - Why Does Time Move in One Direction?
Oct 12, 2020
13 - Does Quantum Mechanics Imply a Multiverse?
Oct 05, 2020
12 - Please Stop Emailing Dan About MOND
Sep 28, 2020
11 - Discovery Alert! Let's Talk About Gravitational Waves
Sep 21, 2020
10 - What is Dark Energy?
Sep 14, 2020
9 - Is Space Expanding?
Sep 07, 2020
8 - Is Space Flat or Curved?
Aug 31, 2020
7 - Could Black Holes Be the Dark Matter?
Aug 24, 2020
6 - Your Tour Through Quantum Weirdness
Aug 17, 2020
5 - How Dan Lost a Bet With Dark Matter
Aug 10, 2020
4 - Where Did the Antimatter Go?
Aug 03, 2020
3 - What in the World Is Antimatter?
Jul 26, 2020
2 - What's It Like to Discover Quantum Mechanics?
Jul 20, 2020
0 - Welcome to Why This Universe!
Jul 13, 2020
1 - Why Are We So Sure About Dark Matter?
Jul 13, 2020