Episode 86 features particle physicist and cosmologist Dr. Dan Hooper. We discuss the recent Muon g-2 experiment results and what they tell us about the potential for new physics! Dan is a Senior Scientist and the Head of the Theoretical Astrophysics Group at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory. He is also an Associate Professor in the Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics at the University of Chicago. 

Episode 85 features theoretical physicist Dr. Stephon Alexander who specializes in cosmology, particle physics and quantum gravity. We begin our conversation with an exploration of black holes, quantum mechanics, and string theory. After that, we discuss how physics suffers from a monoculture problem, how Stephon overcomes that by incorporating Jazz in his exploration of physics, and how others can overcome it too. We end the episode by discussing current DEI efforts and whether they are too...

Episode 84 features Nate Stewart. Nate is an Operations Planning Flight Controller at NASA's Johnson Space Center. The content of the episode does not represent the opinions of NASA or the United States government. It is solely the beliefs and opinions of Nate Stewart. We discuss how America got back in the spaceflight game, the future of commercial spaceflight, how astronauts deal with COVID-19, and much more!

Episode 83 features astrophysicist Dr. Ethan Siegel. We discuss the interstellar interloper ʻOumuamua, why Ethan pushes back on the ʻOumuamua-Alien hypothesis, the scientific commandments to abide by, and much more! Use codename "Universe" to get 20% of all products at PremiumJane.com. 

Episode 82 features astrophysicist Dr. Brian Keating. We discuss the mistakes that we are all susceptible to making when conducting science, how Galileo taught us of our own imperfections, whether there is a "scientific method," and much more! 

Rate the show five stars wherever you are listening or dark matter will forever remain elusive!  Episode 81 features physicist Dr. Daniel Whiteson. We discuss the Standard Model of particle physics and all of the things it cannot explain. We also discuss the many things it does account for, like the Higgs Boson!

This episode is part of the science podcast takeover extravaganza! Today only, The State of The Universe feed will be taken over by Dan Hooper and Shalma Wegsman, the hosts of Why This Universe? Go check out their show on Apple Podcasts or wherever podcasts are found! We will be taking over their feed today too, don't miss it!

Rate the show 5 stars wherever you listen to end the pandy! (that means pandemic... for the people who don't understand hip-lingo) Episode 80 features astrophysicist Dr. Jeyhan Kartaltepe. We discuss how galaxies have evolved from the soup at the very beginning of the Universe to the massive objects we observe (and live in) today. We also discuss how galaxy surveys observe millions of galaxies and what they all can teach us about the Universe!

Rate the show 5 stars wherever you listen in order to solve world hunger... don't be selfish. Episode 79 features particle physicist and cosmologist Dr. Dan Hooper. We discuss that time "NASA Detected a Parallel Universe" and whether that story is fact or fiction. We also discuss the biggest problems in astrophysics - from dark matter to dark energy to the beginning of time, how can we solve these? Check out Dan's podcast Why This Universe?

Rate the show 5 stars wherever you listen or corona season will never end... your choice.  Episode 78 features hurricane expert Brian McNoldy. We discuss how climate change could impact hurricane development and formation in the future. Also, will a warming climate be a catalyst for stronger hurricanes? Furthermore, can we stop a hurricane? It turns out the last question has been explored a lot and some wacky solutions have been proposed...

Rate the show 5 stars wherever you listen or throw your phone into the interstate. Your choice... Episode 77 features Dr. Maura McLaughlin - an expert on pulsars and gravitational wave astronomy. We discuss gravitational waves, how we have detected them in the past, how we are trying to use pulsars to detect them within NANOGrav, the intricacies of neutron stars, supermassive black holes and much more!

Rate the show 5 stars or you will be the first victim of the robot takeover! Episode 76 features an expert in Artificial Intelligence, Peter Haas. Artificial intelligence and machine learning impact everyone's life in some way. How can we change the way AI is implemented to work for us, not against us? Furthermore, AI is ruthlessly efficient and will continue replacing jobs in nearly every sector. How can we adapt to this coming change? Frankly, the next decade may prove AI to be a very...

Rate the show 5 stars wherever you listen! Or we'll never get to Europa... Your choice.  Episode 75 features Dr. Kevin Peter Hand. Kevin Peter Hand is a scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, where he has served as deputy chief scientist for solar system exploration and is leading an effort to land a spacecraft on the surface of Europa. How do we know Europa has a subsurface ocean? Could there be life there? What would that life be like? All those questions are answered and much more!

Rate the show 5 stars wherever you listen! Or you hate dogs... Your choice.  Episode 74 feature Bernie Taylor. Bernie Taylor is an author focused on topics at the intersection of archaeology, anthropology, and astronomy. In this episode we discuss the origin of dogs. When did our partnership with dogs begin? The answer to that question could have implications on the disappearance of neanderthals and the emergence of humans as we know them. 

Episode 73 features Nate Stewart. Nate is an Operations Planning Flight Controller at NASA's Johnson Space Center. For decades, it has been a goal of the US government to put astronauts on Martian soil. Why have we been unable to reach any of our predicted timelines? What technology do we lack? Where have we failed? Before a successful mission to Mars is executed, we must understand what technological innovations are necessary. Nate breaks down where we need to improve before we can feasibly...

Rate the show 5 stars! Or get the coronavirus... Your choice. Disclaimer: Rating the show 5 stars doesn't make you immune to the novel coronavirus. But rate the show anyway, why take the risk? Episode 72 is the quarantined, socially isolated, global pandemic, coronavirus extravaganza. I break down all the newest science on the novel coronavirus. Where did it originate? Why is it spreading so fast? What is the fatality rate? How much worse is it than the flu or pandemics of the past? All...

Episode 71 features Dr. Joel Kastner. We discuss how we search for young stars, what they can teach us about our own Sun and Solar System, how we observe planets forming, and much more!

Episode 70 features Dr. Mike Poland. We discuss whether Yellowstone is at risk of another super eruption, how it is monitored, what precursors will indicate an oncoming eruption, probing volcanic activity with measurements of surface gravity, and much more!

Episode 69 features Dr. David Warmflash. We discuss what will be achieved in spaceflight in the next decade, how commercial spaceflight will develop, the Columbia disaster, and how we can prevent people from getting duped by pseudoscience. 

Episode 68 features Nate Stewart. Nate is an Operations Planning Flight Controller at NASA's Johnson Space Center. The content of the episode does not represent the opinions of NASA. It is solely the beliefs and opinions of Nate Stewart. We discuss the spaceflight rituals that every astronaut and cosmonaut takes part in before launch. We also discuss the symbolism and history behind each. 

Episode 67 features Spaceflight Historian and Physicist Dr. David Fisher. We discuss what was achieved in spaceflight in 2019, what we expect to achieve in 2020, how we will launch astronauts from American soil in 2020, how commercial spaceflight is emerging, and much more!

Episode 66 features astrophysicist Dr. Dan Hooper. Dan is a Senior Scientist and the Head of the Theoretical Astrophysics Group at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory. He is also an Associate Professor in the Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics at the University of Chicago.  We discuss the biggest open questions in astrophysics today and how they might be solved. Dark energy, dark matter, the beginning of our Universe, the Higgs Boson, and so much more are covered in this episode! 

Episode 65 features Dr. Josh Willis. Josh Willis is an oceanographer and climate scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the lead scientist for the NASA mission Oceans Melting Greenland (or OMG, for short), and the lead NASA scientist for the Jason missions, which measure sea level rise from space.

Episode 64 of The State of The Universe features Bernie Taylor. Bernie Taylor is the author of Before Orion and an expert in prehistoric, indigenous and ancient peoples and cultures. The giveaway of Losing The Nobel Prize can be found at https://www.thestateoftheuniverse.com/losing-the-nobel-prize