Cool Worlds Podcast
Conversations between Professor David Kipping and guests, spanning astronomy, technology, science and engineering. This is the official podcast of the Cool Worlds Lab at Columbia University and their popular YouTube channel ”Cool Worlds”. Podcast episodes are filmed and can be found online through our YouTube channels.
Episodes

31 minutes ago
31 minutes ago
1hr 43 min
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In this week's episode, David is joined by Lee Cronin, Professor in the Department of Chemistry at Glasgow University, where he holds the Regius Chair. He is also the Founder and CEO of Chemify (https://www.chemify.io/).
To support this podcast and our research lab, head to https://coolworldslab.com/support
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Aug 7, 2026
Aug 7, 2026
1hr 5 min
Special solo episode about the recent news of the first exomoon discovery.
To support this podcast and our research lab, head to https://coolworldslab.com/support
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REFERENCES
- Hoy et al. 2026, "Planetary-mass exosatellite detected around the substellar companion of a star": https://arxiv.org/abs/2607.05193 and https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-026-10751-w#Bib1- Kral et al. 2026, "Exomoon search with VLTI/GRAVITY around the substellar companion HD 206893 B": https://arxiv.org/abs/2511.20091- Todorov et al. 2010, "Discovery of a Planetary-mass Companion to a Brown Dwarf in Taurus": https://arxiv.org/abs/1004.0539- Chauvin et al. 2004, "A Giant Planet Candidate near a Young Brown Dwarf": https://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0409323- IAU Commission F2, "The IAU Working Definition of an Exoplanet": https://arxiv.org/abs/2203.09520

Jun 27, 2026
Jun 27, 2026
1hr 55 min
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In this week's episode, David is joined by Sarah Rugheimer, Reader (Assoc Prof) at the Institute of Astronomy, Edinburgh University. Check out Sarah's new Great Courses series at https://shop.thegreatcourses.com/experiencing-james-webb-the-invisible-universe-revealed, her Audible Originals at https://www.audible.com/pd/Searching-for-Extraterrestrial-Life-Audiobook/B08N5CHQF8 and her fantastic TED talk at https://www.ted.com/talks/sarah_rugheimer_the_search_for_microscopic_aliens
To support this podcast and our research lab, head to https://coolworldslab.com/support Cool Worlds Podcast Theme by Hill [https://open.spotify.com/artist/1hdkvBtRdOW4SPsnxCXOjK]

Apr 13, 2026
Apr 13, 2026
1hr 36 min
In this week's episode, David is joined by Chris Lintott, Professor of Astronomy at Oxford University and presenter of BBC's "The Sky At Night".
To support this podcast and our research lab, head to https://coolworldslab.com/support
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Feb 12, 2026
Feb 12, 2026
1hr 7 min
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In this week's episode, David is joined by Joshua Winn, Professor of Astrophysical Sciences at Princeton University and author of "The Little Book of Exoplanets".
To support this podcast and our research lab, head to https://coolworldslab.com/support
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Feb 1, 2026
Feb 1, 2026
1hr 14 min
This episode is a bit different in that it's a solo-episode! I spent this week visiting the Institute of Advanced Study at Princeton, and one meeting in particular shook me so much I felt compelled to make this special episode.
To support this podcast and our research lab, head to https://coolworldslab.com/support
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Jan 28, 2026
Jan 28, 2026
1hr 5 min
Use code coolworldspodcast at https://incogni.com/coolworldspodcast to get an exclusive 60% off.In this week's episode, David is joined by Nick Bostrom, Professor of Philosophy at Oxford University and author of several books including "Deep Utopia", "Superintelligence" and "Anthropic Reasoning".
To support this podcast and our research lab, head to https://coolworldslab.com/support
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Dec 5, 2025
Dec 5, 2025
1hr 40 min
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In this week's episode, David is joined by Néstor Espinoza - Associate Astronomer and Mission Scientist of Exoplanet Science at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore. Néstor is a prolific researcher, developing state-of-the-art statistical tools and performing some of the most exciting analyses of exoplanets with JWST.
To support this podcast and our research lab, head to https://coolworldslab.com/support
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Nov 7, 2025
Nov 7, 2025
1hr 50 min
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In this week's episode, David is joined by Jason Steffen, Professor of Physics at University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Jason is the author of the book "Hidden in the Heavens: How the Kepler Mission’s Quest for New Planets Changed How We View Our Own".
To support this podcast and our research lab, head to https://coolworldslab.com/support
Cool Worlds Podcast Theme by Hill [https://open.spotify.com/artist/1hdkvBtRdOW4SPsnxCXOjK]

Oct 9, 2025
Oct 9, 2025
2hr 13 min
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In this week's episode, David is joined by Will Kinney, Professor of Physics at Buffalo University, NY. Will is the author of the fascinating book, "An Infinity of Worlds: Cosmic Inflation and the Beginning of the Universe".
To support this podcast and our research lab, head to https://coolworldslab.com/support
Cool Worlds Podcast Theme by Hill [https://open.spotify.com/artist/1hdkvBtRdOW4SPsnxCXOjK]








