If you ask a physicist or cosmologist about the beginnings of the universe, they'll probably point you to some math and tell you about the Big Bang theory. It's a scientific theory about how the entire universe began, and it's been honed over the decades. But recent images from the James Webb Space Telescope have called the precise timeline of the theory a little bit into question. That's because these images reveal galaxies forming way earlier than was previously understood to be possible. To understand whether it's physics itself or just our imaginations that need help, we called up theoretical physicist Chanda Prescod-Weinstein.Got questions about the big and small of our universe? Email us at shortwave@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Chanda Prescod-Weinstein is a theoretical physicist at the University of New Hampshire. It's her job to ask deep questions about how we — and the rest of the universe — got to this moment. Her new book, The Disordered Cosmos: A Journey into Dark Matter, Spacetime, and Dreams Deferred, does exactly that. It's an examination of the science that underpins our universe and how the researchers seeking to understand those truths, in turn, shape the science. As we close out Black History month, we revisit this conversation between Chanda and former Short Wave host, Maddie Sofia. Chanda explains that what she wants most is for every single person to have equal access to the same night sky that has mesmerized her all these years.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Season 2 of the critically acclaimed Star Trek: Strange New Worlds premiered June 15 (streaming on Paramount+). So today, Short Wave Scientist in Residence Regina G. Barber chats with two Trekkie physicists about the science powering the show and why they love the franchise. Astrophysicist Erin Macdonald is the science consultant for Star Trek, and Chanda Prescod-Weinstein is a theoretical physicist and author of the book The Disordered Cosmos. This episode, the trio discusses not only the feasibility of warp drive, global cooperation and representation and how the transporters that beam crew members from the surface of a planet to the ship might be breaking fundamental laws of physics.Questions about the "scientific" underpinnings of other pop culture? Email us at shortwave@npr.org. We'd love to hear from you!Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

The universe that we know, with its luminous stars and orbiting planets, is largely made up of elements we can't actually see -- like dark energy and dark matter -- and therefore don't fully understand. Theoretical physicist Chanda Prescod-Weinstein takes us inside the search for this cosmos-shaping invisible matter and explains how, with the help of a new generation of telescopes, we could be closer to demystifying it than ever before. "The universe is more queer and fantastical than it looks to the naked eye," she says. After the talk, our host Sherrell talks about the importance of inclusivity when it comes to who gets credit for technological advances.(If you want to hear more from Prescod-Weinstein, check out her episode on "The TED Interview" podcast wherever you're listening to this.) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Exploring the meaning of Jewish identity on the left amidst Middle East crisis through personal stories and reflections of writers. Discussions on Gaza war, anti-Semitism, Israeli government, Hamas, black Jewish experience, and colonialism vs. refugee narratives.