Why This Universe? - Dan Hooper, Shalma Wegsman

Latest Episodes:

6 - Your Tour Through Quantum Weirdness (Rebroadcast) Jul 31, 2023

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We are celebrating our 3 year anniversary with a throwback to one of our earliest episodes! Entanglement, wave-particle duality, and uncertainty - here's a breakdown of the weirdest and wildest things about quantum mechanics.
To support our show and access exclusive ask-us-anything segments and more, join us on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/whythisuniverse.

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67 - When Science Meets Spirituality (Ft. Alan Lightman) Jul 17, 2023

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Special guest Alan Lightman takes us through a fascinating discussion of consciousness, and tells us how he reconciles spirituality with his materialist views.
Todays episode is sponsored by the International Space Station. Join the ISS National Laboratory this August in Seattle at the 12th annual ISS Research and Development Conference. Visit ISSconference.org to register now.

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66 - When Space Was Filled With Music Jul 03, 2023

Show notes

Shortly after the Big Bang, space was densely packed with enough stuff for sound to travel through it. What was producing sound in this era, and how can we hear it today?
Todays episode is sponsored by the International Space Station. Join the ISS National Laboratory this August in Seattle at the 12th annual ISS Research and Development Conference. Visit ISSconference.org to register now.

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65 - Should We Build a Muon Collider? (Ft. Cari Cesarotti) May 22, 2023

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Special guest Cari Cesarotti tells us why so many particle physicists are itching to build a whole new type of particle collider.

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64 - The Journey to the Big Bang May 08, 2023

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The Big Bang is well accepted today as the leading theory of how our universe evolved over time - but in today's episode, we talk through all the very wrong theories that came before it.
To get ad-free episodes and other exclusives, join us for $3 a month on Patreon: https://patreon.com/whythisuniverse

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63 - The Question of Consciousness (Ft. David Chalmers) Apr 17, 2023

Show notes

Can consciousness be explained by physics, or does it appeal to something beyond materialism? Philosopher guest star David Chalmers talks to us about how we can think about consciousness from a philosophical and scientific perspective.
To support our show and get ad-free episodes and other exclusives, join us for $3 a month on Patreon: https://patreon.com/whythisuniverse

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47 - Boltzmann Brains: Could Reality Be An Illusion? (Rebroadcast) Mar 27, 2023

Show notes

A whirlwind of questions brings us to an odd conclusion: could reality be an illusion created by a quantum fluctuation of a brain? This is a rebroadcast of a past favorite.
For ad-free episodes and other exclusives, join us for $3 a month on Patreon: https://patreon.com/whythisuniverse

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62 - JWST and the Earliest Galaxies in the Universe (ft. Mike Boylan-Kolchin) Mar 13, 2023

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Astronomers' newest telescope, JWST, just discovered galaxies that formed earlier than previously thought possible. What does this discovery mean for our understanding of the early universe?
To support our show and get ad-free episodes and other exclusives, join us for $3 a month on Patreon: https://patreon.com/whythisuniverse

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61 - Could the Large Hadron Collider Destroy the World? Feb 27, 2023

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Before the LHC turned on in 2008, many feared that it would create a dangerous black hole that would destroy the world. Were any of those fears well-founded, and how seriously did scientists take these claims?

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60 - The Search for Extra Dimensions Feb 13, 2023

Show notes

Learn how extra dimensions of space might appear to us, and what physicists have done to try to find them.
To support our show and get ad-free episodes and other exclusives, join us for $3 a month on Patreon: https://patreon.com/whythisuniverse

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