Cool Worlds Podcast

In this week's episode, David is joined by Dr Viraj Pandya, Hubble Fellow at Columbia University. Viraj's work was recently highlighted on the front page of the New York Times (https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/05/science/space/astronomy-galaxies-bananas.html) where his recent discoveries with JWST were showcased. Viraj's work suggests that early galaxy formation was far more bizarre than expected and is shaking up long standing ideas. To support this podcast and our research lab, head to www.coolworldslab.com/support Viraj's website: https://virajpandya.github.io/

Cosmologist Renée Hložek discusses axions, dark matter, dark energy, and unraveling the secrets of the universe. They explore the Atacama Cosmology Telescope, the Sunyev-Zaldovich effect, and the Ruben Observatory's capabilities. They also touch on self-interacting dark matter and upcoming missions in astronomy.

Malena Rice, expert in planetary dynamics and detection techniques, discusses the hypothesis of Planet Nine, interstellar objects like Oumuamua and Borisov, propelling objects out of the solar system, rate calculation for object discovery, misalignment angles in exoplanet systems, and limitations of the rare Earth hypothesis.

Renowned astrophysicist Ramesh Narayan discusses black holes, their formation, and characteristics. He explores the historical journey of black holes, the role of viscosity in particle dynamics around them, the significance of magnetic fields, the formation of powerful jets, and the future of the Event Horizon Telescope. The podcast concludes with reflections on the ability to model black holes.

Adam Frank, Professor of Physics and Astronomy, discusses expanding the search for extraterrestrial intelligence, funding for astrobiology, complexity and information in biology, challenges of determining true information, developing a theory of semantic information and its relationship to life, the illusion of control in machines, the concept of roaming entities and galactic dynamics, exploring other civilizations, and the importance of supporting research and outreach work.

Professor Kathryn Johnston discusses the structure and components of the Milky Way, the uncertainty of counting stars, the role of dark matter and its evidence, modified gravitational force, mapping the Milky Way with the Gaia mission, the nature of astronomy and the excitement of data, and the impact of studying the Milky Way on one's career and perspective on life.

In this week's episode, David is joined by Hod Lipson. Prof Lipson is the Director of the Creative Machine Lab at Columbia University and is a leading researcher in the field of artificial intelligence, self-replicating robots and self-learning machines. We dive into his work on machines that can discover new physics, the trajectory of current AI and the future of humanity and AGI. To support this podcast and our research lab, head to www.coolworldslab.com/support

In this week's episode, David is joined by Chiara Mingarelli. Prof Mingarelli is currently moving from the University of Connecticut to Yale University and is theorist working on the so-called background gravitational wave signal. Predicted for decades but incredibly elusive, we are on the cusp of detecting this signal for the first time. Learn all about what this signal is and what it means for astronomy in today's episode. To support this podcast and our research lab, head to www.coolworldslab.com/support

Leading cosmologist Wendy Freedman discusses the crisis in cosmology, advancements in cosmology from glass plates to CCDs, historical observations of dark matter, challenges of science communication in cosmology, unknown systematics in cosmological measurements, tension between measurements of cosmic background and cepheids, and importance of independent checks in cosmology.

In our inaugural episode, David is joined by Rebecca Charbonneau. Dr Charbonneau holds a PhD in the History of Science from Cambridge University, and served as the Historian-in-Residence at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics from 2020-2022. She is currently a Janksy Fellow at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) and working on an upcoming book exploring the history of SETI - the Search for ExtraTerrestrial Intelligence.   To support this podcast and our research lab, head to www.coolworldslab.com/support