Mayim Bialik's Breakdown PART TWO: Secrets of the Universe: What Happened Before The Big Bang, Life Across the Galaxy, Surviving a Black Hole & How We’re All Made of Stars | Astrophysicist Janna Levin
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Oct 15, 2025 
Janna Levin, a theoretical astrophysicist and author of 'The Black Hole Survival Guide,' dives into the cosmic mysteries of the universe. She explores what existed before the Big Bang and the nature of black holes, including their mind-bending effects on time. Levin discusses the collapse of massive stars into black holes and shares insights on how we observe these phenomena. She connects black holes to technology's impact on humanity and even speculates on aging near them. Prepare for a journey that challenges our understanding of existence!
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How Black Holes Form
- Black holes arise when very massive stars collapse and curve space-time so strongly that not even light can escape.
- Penrose proved this collapse is an inevitable death state for very heavy stars, making black holes physically real.
Orbits As Curves In Space-Time
- Orbits are curves in space-time created by mass, so planets 'fall' around stars without engines.
- Shrinking a star into a black hole preserves orbits but lets you get much closer and see extreme relativistic effects.
Black Holes Don't Suck
- A black hole's event horizon marks where escape requires light speed, not a literal vacuum 'sucking' things in.
- Being close makes escape energetically costly, so black holes trap matter by extreme curvature, not suction.
