How has our understanding of the universe changed overtime, how will our universe end and are we alone? Katie Mack, Assistant Professor of Physics at North Carolina State University joins us on the podcast to discuss. Katie is a theoretical astrophysicist who studies a range of questions in cosmology, the study of the universe from beginning to end. Throughout her career she has studied dark matter, the early universe, galaxy formation, black holes, cosmic strings, and the ultimate fate of the cosmos. Alongside her academic research, she is an active science communicator and has been published in a number of popular publications such as Scientific American, Slate, Sky & Telescope, Time.com, and Cosmos Magazine, where she is a columnist. You can find her on Twitter as @AstroKatie.