Daniel and Jorge Explain the Universe
597 episodes - English - Latest episode: 2 days ago - ★★★★★ - 2.1K ratingsA fun-filled discussion of the big, mind-blowing, unanswered questions about the Universe. In each episode, Daniel Whiteson (a Physicist who works at CERN) and Jorge Cham (a popular online cartoonist) discuss some of the simple but profound questions that people have been wondering about for thousands of years, explaining the science in a fun, shorts-wearing and jargon-free way.
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Episodes
Could spacetime be a fluid?
May 04, 2023 05:00 - 54 minutes - 49.9 MBDaniel and Jorge explore the question of the nature of space itself, and whether it might flow and bubble. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Could black holes help form stars?
May 02, 2023 05:00 - 47 minutes - 44 MBDaniel and Jorge talk about the delicate process of star formation and how black holes may be able to contribute. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
What weird thing in space is pulsing every 20 minutes?
April 27, 2023 05:00 - 55 minutes - 51 MBDaniel and Katie talk about things in the sky that pulse, and a recent discovery of a puzzling set of pulses. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
What is a glueball?
April 25, 2023 04:00 - 53 minutes - 48.8 MBDaniel and Jorge explore the sticky subject of the strong force and one of its still unverified predictions See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
How do we measure the gravitational constant?
April 20, 2023 05:00 - 48 minutes - 44.6 MBDaniel and Jorge talk about the number that controls the strength of gravity and why it's so hard to measure. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Listener Questions about rogue planets and black holes!
April 18, 2023 05:00 - 50 minutes - 46.6 MBDaniel and Jorge answer questions from listeners like you! Send your questions to [email protected] See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Why can't two electrons be in the same place?
April 13, 2023 05:00 - 54 minutes - 50.3 MBDaniel and Jorge explore the Pauli exclusion principle: why some particles avoid each other and how it affects the nature of our Universe. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
What can we learn from dwarf galaxies?
April 11, 2023 05:00 - 48 minutes - 44.9 MBDaniel and Jorge talk about how the smaller galaxies might hold the secrets to understanding the structure of the Universe and the truth about dark matter. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Why didn't we evolve around a red dwarf star?
April 06, 2023 05:00 - 52 minutes - 48.2 MBDaniel and Jorge discuss the 'Red Dwarf Paradox' and what it would be like to live under a cooler, redder star. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
How does carbon dating work?
April 04, 2023 05:00 - 49 minutes - 45.4 MBDaniel and Kelly talk about how cosmic rays and carbon decay let us put dates on ancient deaths! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Is there a better way to accelerate particles?
March 30, 2023 05:00 - 51 minutes - 47.6 MBDaniel and Jorge talk about why its so expensive to build a super collider and how plasma technology might make it all better, faster, cheaper. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
What does the Antikythera Mechanism do?
March 28, 2023 05:00 - 47 minutes - 43.7 MBDaniel and Katie explore the puzzle of the "world's first computer", and what it might have calculated. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Listener Questions 37: quantum cats, heat death and dark multiverses!
March 23, 2023 05:00 - 49 minutes - 45.6 MBDaniel and Jorge answer questions about quantum mechanics, the end of the Universe, and the multiverse. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Would the Universe be different with a zero Higgs field?
March 21, 2023 05:00 - 53 minutes - 48.8 MBDaniel and Jorge explore how the Higgs field shapes our Universe and what it would be like to live without it. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Could we spot an alien nuclear blast?
March 16, 2023 05:00 - 56 minutes - 51.8 MBDaniel and Jorge talk about whether we have the technology to spot a nuclear war on other planets. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Could some particles have tiny electric charges?
March 14, 2023 05:00 - 56 minutes - 51.8 MBDaniel and Jorge wonder about why particles have charge, and whether particles could exist with tiny electrical charge. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
How can we measure the curvature of space?
March 09, 2023 06:00 - 52 minutes - 48.4 MBDaniel and Jorge bend their minds (and yours) around the curvy topic of bent space. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
How do space telescopes point themselves?
March 07, 2023 06:00 - 53 minutes - 49.1 MBDaniel and Jorge talk about how our great space eyeballs know where they are looking and how they turn. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Listener Questions 36
March 02, 2023 06:00 - 49 minutes - 45 MBDaniel and Jorge talk about 3-armed galaxies, the color of the Universe and its phases. https://tinyurl.com/3cf7hvu3 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Could black holes be making the Universe expand faster?
February 28, 2023 06:00 - 55 minutes - 50.8 MBDaniel and Jorge discuss a brand new result that suggests that black holes might be driving the unexplained expansion of the Universe See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Do gravitational waves leave a mark on the Universe?
February 23, 2023 06:00 - 50 minutes - 46.7 MBDaniel and Jorge talk about whether gravitational waves cause permanent distortions of space. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Can the Parker solar probe shed light on the Sun?
February 21, 2023 06:00 - 50 minutes - 46 MBDaniel and Jorge talk about the daring and dangerous mission of the Parker Solar Probe and what it might reveal about the Sun. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
What's the problem with the Standard Model?
February 16, 2023 06:00 - 53 minutes - 49.4 MBDaniel and Jorge talk about the holes in the current theory of the Universe. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The Science Fiction Universe of "A Half Built Garden" by Ruthanna Emrys
February 14, 2023 06:00 - 53 minutes - 49.2 MBDaniel and Kelly talk about a novel where aliens give humans advice about climate change. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
355 Days in Space: Finding Meaning with Astronaut Mark Vande Hei
February 14, 2023 05:00 - 31 minutes - 28.6 MBAfter a historic 355 days in orbit, NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei returned to Earth on March 30, 2022, breaking the record for the longest single spaceflight by an American. In this episode of Smart Talks with IBM, Malcolm Gladwell and Mark Vande Hei discuss conducting experiments in space, the impact of extended spaceflight on humans, and the spiciness of space chili peppers. This is a paid advertisement from IBM. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
What's the real speed limit of the Universe?
February 09, 2023 06:00 - 48 minutes - 44.9 MBDaniel and Jorge talk about how close photons and protons can get to the speed of light, and what's stopping them! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Listener Questions 35: Exomoons, black holes and math!
February 07, 2023 06:00 - 49 minutes - 45.4 MBDaniel and Jorge answer questions from listeners like you! Write to us at [email protected] See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Does gravity make rainbows?
February 02, 2023 06:00 - 51 minutes - 47.5 MBDaniel and Jorge talk about a speculative theory called "rainbow gravity" which might help us understand the origins of the Universe. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Why can't stars fuse Iron?
January 31, 2023 06:00 - 47 minutes - 43.5 MBDaniel and Jorge talk about how stars fuse lighter elements and what changes when they reach Iron. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Does particle spin affect life on Earth?
January 26, 2023 06:00 - 47 minutes - 43.7 MBDaniel and Jorge talk about how the Universe's preference for left-handed particles may have shaped our chemistry. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
What's going on with Przybylski's Star?
January 24, 2023 06:00 - 51 minutes - 47.1 MBDaniel and Jorge talk about how to explain one of the weirdest stars in the Universe. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The Science of "For All Mankind"
January 19, 2023 06:00 - 56 minutes - 51.9 MBDaniel and Jorge talk about the science of the alt-history science fiction show "For All Mankind". See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Does anti-matter feel anti-gravity?
January 17, 2023 06:00 - 54 minutes - 49.7 MBDaniel and Jorge talk about whether anti-matter falls down, or up! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Did NASA accidentally invent a warp drive?
January 12, 2023 06:00 - 49 minutes - 45.5 MBDaniel and Jorge dissect research articles claiming sudden progress in warp technology See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Could a grand unified theory of physics be impossible?
January 10, 2023 06:00 - 47 minutes - 43.6 MBDaniel talks with Dr. Katie Robertson about whether there even is a single unified theory of physics for us to discover. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Listener Questions about light and black holes
January 05, 2023 06:00 - 54 minutes - 49.8 MBDaniel and Jorge absorb listener questions, reflect on the answers and emit some silly jokes See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
How powerful could a civilization get?
January 03, 2023 06:00 - 50 minutes - 46.1 MBDaniel and Jorge discuss the Kardashev Scale, Kardashians, Cryptocurrencies and crpytozoology. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
What is quantized inertia?
December 29, 2022 06:00 - 50 minutes - 46.1 MBDaniel and Jorge explore the mystery of inertia and whether a controversial theory can explain it. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Was the Higgs boson discovery a triumph or disappointment?
December 27, 2022 06:00 - 49 minutes - 45.8 MBDaniel and Jorge debate whether the Higgs boson discovery marks the end of collider physics. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The biggest collisions in the Universe
December 24, 2022 06:00 - 23 minutes - 21.9 MBBonus episode: Daniel and Jorge visit the metaverse to discuss what happens when particles, stars, galaxies or superclusters collide! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The science of time travel television
December 22, 2022 06:00 - 56 minutes - 51.6 MBDaniel and Jorge talk about the science of "Umbrella Academy", "Time Traveler's Wife" and "Dark". See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
What is the Big Rip?
December 20, 2022 06:00 - 54 minutes - 50 MBDaniel and Jorge talk about what would happen if dark energy increased and tore the Universe apart. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Could dark matter be a superfluid?
December 15, 2022 06:00 - 50 minutes - 46.7 MBDaniel and Jorge talk about whether a new idea for dark matter might overcome some discrepancies in galaxy behavior. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Could black holes actually be fuzzballs?
December 13, 2022 06:00 - 51 minutes - 47.5 MBDaniel and Jorge talk about whether the dark massive objects we've observed could be something stringier and stranger than black holes. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Is there a pattern to asteroid impacts on Earth?
December 08, 2022 06:00 - 59 minutes - 54.6 MBDaniel and Katie talk about whether a future impact is predictable or random. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
What is a black hole eclipse?
December 06, 2022 06:00 - 53 minutes - 49 MBDaniel and Jorge talk about whether black holes can be blocked or can block other objects. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
What is the densest planet?
December 01, 2022 06:00 - 57 minutes - 52.4 MBDaniel and Jorge wonder about which planets would float if you dunked them in a cosmic tub. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Does the Moon have an atmosphere?
November 29, 2022 06:00 - 48 minutes - 44.5 MBDaniel and Kelly talk about what you might breathe if you opened your space-helmet on the surface of the Moon. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
How do we know quantum mechanics is really random?
November 24, 2022 06:00 - 57 minutes - 52.9 MBDaniel and Jorge wrestle with Bell's experiment and the philosophical consequences. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Listener Questions 33: Questions from your kids!
November 22, 2022 06:00 - 47 minutes - 43.9 MBDaniel and Jorge talk about what nothing looks like, whether Thor's hammer would destroy the Earth and rogue stars. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.