Universe Today Podcast

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[Interview+] How Japan Built Its Crazy Space Agency Feb 11, 2026

Show notes

Japan’s space agency often flies under the radar, despite pursuing missions many larger agencies haven’t attempted. Like returning samples from Phobos or deploying a Toyota-built lunar rover. In this interview, we trace JAXA’s origins and the decisions that defined it.

Watch the video here (with no ads) or on YouTube: https://youtu.be/_u9ZJBLCDBQ

🟣 Guest: Dr. Subodhana Wijeyeratne https://subowijeyeratne.com/

📚 The Islands and the Stars: A History of Japan's Space Programs https://bdo.wfu.mybluehost.me/the-islands-the-stars/

00:00 Intro
02:01 Researching JAXA
06:48 Star of Japan's space journey
16:05 Japan's first liquid fuel rocket
24:14 Japan's relationships with NASA and others
31:23 Lesser known projects
36:53 Dependency on the US
42:00 Excitement for the Future
44:41 Current obsessions
50:17 Final thoughts

[Q&A+] Alternative Dyson Spheres, Vera Rubin's Data, Source of Magnetars Feb 10, 2026

Show notes

BONUS QUESTION STARTS AT 12:43

Watch the video here (with no ads) or on YouTube: https://youtu.be/aALqt_Ng0dU

00:00 Start
00:26 [@ar-visions] Are white dwarf a solution for Dyson spheres?
02:41 [@gumby2ms] How will Vera Rubin's data releases work?
06:48 [@karandeepgill5589] How much of a galaxy does the SMBH take up?
09:47 [@hangmann747tinmann8] Where do magnetars come from?
12:43 [@logicbug] What if the laws of physics are not uniform across the Universe?

[Space Bites+] Crazy New SpaceX Plans // AI Mars Takeover // NO Artemis 2 in February Feb 06, 2026

Show notes

BONUS STORY starts at 19:42

👉 Interview about Europa with Dr. Paul Byrne https://youtu.be/Sj3JwQde-b8
👉 Interview about Magnetars with Dr. Genevieve Schroeder https://youtu.be/Q3JGdARjzTA
👉 How AI Destroyed My Job: https://youtu.be/HjDD8xwU6s8

🔵 Vote for the best story here: https://www.youtube.com/@frasercain/posts

Another reason why Europa might not be habitable, Artemis II is delayed for a month, Claude takes Perseverance for a drive, SpaceX is planning to launch data center satellites, and in Space Bites+, making discoveries in leftover data.

00:00 Intro
00:15 New Measurements for Europa https://www.universetoday.com/articles/nasas-juno-measures-thickness-of-europas-ice-shell
03:16 Ammonia on Europa https://www.universetoday.com/articles/cracks-on-europa-sport-traces-of-ammonia
04:40 No Artemis Launch in February https://www.universetoday.com/articles/nasas-artemis-ii-spacecraft-on-the-launch-pad
06:34 Claude AI Took Over Percy https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/nasas-perseverance-rover-completes-first-ai-planned-drive-on-mars/
08:26 Many More Satellites for SpaceX https://www.universetoday.com/articles/elon-musk-lays-out-a-new-vision-of-ai-satellites-as-spacex-acquires-xai
12:06 New Shepard Paused For No Less Than 2 Years https://www.blueorigin.com/news/new-shepard-to-pause-flights
13:18 Vital Molecule in Interstellar Space https://www.universetoday.com/articles/for-the-first-time-scientists-detect-molecule-critical-to-life-in-interstellar-space
15:09 Vote results https://www.youtube.com/@frasercain/posts
15:42 Lava Tunnels for Venus https://www.universetoday.com/articles/venus-might-harbor-massive-subsurface-lava-tunnels
17:23 Kilonova simulation https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mt6vcy-hssA
18:36 Even Further Galaxies https://science.nasa.gov/missions/webb/nasa-webb-pushes-boundaries-of-observable-universe-closer-to-big-bang/
19:42 BONUS STORY
21:02 Missions that didn't happen

[Q&A+] Streaming Artemis Landings, Planets VS Supernovae, Life Deep Inside Earth Feb 05, 2026

Show notes

How will livestreams from Artemis be different from Apollo? Can planetary systems survive their stars exploding? Can a completely different life hide deep inside Earth? And in Q&A+, when should we expect new NIAC awards?

BONUS QUESTION STARTS AT 14:31

Watch the video here (with no ads) or on YouTube: https://youtu.be/N9PwTZFnMRc

AI Came To Take My Job. Here’s How I Responded Feb 04, 2026

Show notes

🟣 Universe Today: https://www.universetoday.com/

00:00 It already happened
00:45 The downfall of ad-supported media
05:08 My response
06:44 What's next?

[Q&A+] AI Warp Drive, Surviving in Space, Firing at a Black Hole Feb 03, 2026

Show notes

Will AI help us to create a warp drive? Could aliens even survive a trip to Earth? What would happen if you fire a powerful beam at a black hole? And in Q&A+, which part of the Universe does the CMB show us?

BONUS QUESTION STARTS AT 15:06

Watch the video here (with no ads) or on YouTube: https://youtu.be/a7CKyGeiMEY

[Interview+] Everything You Need to Know About JWST's Discoveries in 2026 Feb 02, 2026

Show notes

JWST is still up there and working 24/7. There are papers coming out every day based on the results from Webb. What's the current status of JWST? What are the latest discoveries? What should we expect next from it? Finding out in this interview.

BONUS PART STARTS AT 28:29

Watch the video here (with no ads) or on YouTube: https://youtu.be/vcgUQy1SXdc

🟣 Guest: Dr. Andreas Faisst https://sites.astro.caltech.edu/~afaisst/

📜 Young Galaxies Grow Up Fast https://www.caltech.edu/about/news/young-galaxies-grow-up-fast

00:00 Intro
01:41 How JWST changed Cosmology
05:36 Surprising findings from Webb
13:50 The role of super-massive black holes
17:09 The mystery of little red dots
21:57 What to watch for
28:39 DUUUST
35:57 Current obsessions
40:06 Final thoughts

[Space Bites+] NASA Goes Nuclear // 4% Chance of Hitting The Moon // Big Dark Energy Results Jan 30, 2026

Show notes

The Dark Energy Survey results are in, an asteroid strike on the Moon would be a boon to science, Mercury might not be totally dead, and NASA continued to test its nuclear rockets. And in Space Bites+ solving the mystery of cosmic expansion close to home.

Watch the video here (with no ads) or on YouTube https://youtu.be/NK-zu5eMvJU

BONUS PART START AT 17:21

👉 Escape Velocity Space News (EVSN) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QDtUsDJGqiI&list=PLo1j35Qh8M1xuXThFgWMJNdHYNBb9gf4U

00:00 Intro
00:15 4% Change of YR4 Hitting the Moon https://www.universetoday.com/articles/asteroid-2024-yr4-has-a-4-chance-of-hitting-the-moon-heres-why-thats-a-scientific-goldmine
02:15 NASA's nuclear rockets are back https://www.universetoday.com/articles/nasa-fires-up-nuclear-future-for-deep-space-travel
04:57 Big results from the Dark Energy Survey https://www.universetoday.com/articles/dark-energy-survey-data-reveals-the-tighest-estimates-yet-on-cosmic-expansion
10:06 It's ALIVE (maybe) https://www.universetoday.com/articles/mercury-may-not-be-dead-after-all
11:01 TESS spies 3I/ATLAS https://science.nasa.gov/blogs/3iatlas/2026/01/27/nasas-tess-reobserves-comet-3i-atlas/
12:06 Vote results https://www.youtube.com/@frasercain/posts
12:34 Super-Eddington limit black holes https://www.universetoday.com/articles/this-rapidly-growing-black-hole-is-challenging-super-eddington-accretion
14:37 Circinus Galaxy https://www.universetoday.com/articles/nasas-webb-telescope-peers-into-the-heart-of-the-circinus-galaxy
16:24 Huge gravitational lens https://www.universetoday.com/articles/an-almost-famous-galaxy-cluster-is-the-jwsts-picture-of-the-month
17:12 More space news

[Q&A+] Magnetic Poles Flip, Hypervelocity Stars from Andromeda, Potential Target for New Horizons Jan 29, 2026

Show notes

What will happen when Earth's magnetic poles flip? Is Andromeda launching hypervelocity stars at us? Can Vera Rubin find a new target for New Horizons? And in Q&A+, could ants evolve to develop space travel?

BONUS QUESTION STARTS AT 13:52

Watch the video here (with no ads) or on YouTube: https://youtu.be/QMf2wHMyDWc

Here's a link to the full, unedited livestream: https://youtube.com/live/ojaiPqDdsXU?feature=share

[Interview+] How Magnetars Are Born Jan 28, 2026

Show notes

Magnetars are a special sauce of neutron stars. They are extremely violent with crazy magnetic fields. But how are they created? Do kilonova neutron star collisions produce them? What do we really know about that? Finding out in this interview.

Watch the video here (with no ads) or on YouTube: https://youtu.be/Q3JGdARjzTA

BONUS PART STARTS AT 28:29

🟣 Guest: Dr. Genevieve Schroeder
https://astro.cornell.edu/genevieve-schroeder https://sites.northwestern.edu/genevieveschroeder/ https://bsky.app/profile/genevieveschroeder.bsky.social

📜 No Sign of a Magnetar Remnant Following the Kilonova-Producing Long GRB 211211A ∼1.7 Years Later https://arxiv.org/abs/2510.09744

00:00 Intro
01:58 GRB 211211A
09:37 How can you get a magnetar
12:30 Searching for magnetars
16:28 Findings from GRB 211211A
24:01 What happens next
28:29 Off-axis Gamma-Ray Bursts
39:03 Current obsessions
43:18 Final thoughts

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