Cool Worlds Podcast

#12 Lisa Kaltenegger - Alien Earths, Astrobiology Controversies, Frequency of Life

In this week's episode, David is joined by Lisa Kaltenegger, Professor at Cornell and Director of the Carl Sagan Institute. Lisa's new book, "Alien Earths", has just hit the shelves so we talk about what made her write this book, her view on the abundance of life in the cosmos, and her take on a couple of recent controversies in the field of astrobiology.
To support this podcast and our research lab, head to www.coolworldslab.com/support
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#11 Paul Sutter - Rescuing Science, Restoring Trust In an Age of Doubt

In this week's episode, David is joined by Dr Paul Sutter, Professor at Stony Brook and a Visiting Professor at Barnard College. Paul is a theoretical cosmologist, who has had a long and productive career in research, but is better known to most for his science communication work. Having one numerous awards, written popular science books and starring in shows like "How the Universe Works", Paul has become a familiar face to many. In this third book, "Rescuing Science: Restoring Trust In an Age of Doubt", Paul explores how the public are losing trust in scientific institutions and what we can do about it.
To support this podcast and our research lab, head to www.coolworldslab.com/support
Paul's book: https://www.amazon.com/Rescuing-Science-Restoring-Trust-Doubt-ebook/dp/B0CCH5K6JL
Paul's website: https://www.pmsutter.com/
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#10 - Viraj Pandya - Early Galaxies with JWST, Galaxies "Gone Bananas", Galaxy Formation

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/

#9 Renée Hložek - Axions, Tracing Dark Matter, Fate of the Universe

In this week's episode, David is joined by Prof Renée Hložek from the University of Toronoto/Dunlap Institute. Renée is cosmologist studying the CMB, Type 1A Supernovae and baryonic acoustic oscillations. She's an Azrieli Global Scholar within the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, a Senior TED fellow and a Sloan Research Fellow. Our conversation spans axions, dark matter, dark energy and most importantly how astronomers can unravel the secrets of the universe.
 
To support this podcast and our research lab, head to www.coolworldslab.com/support
Renée’s website: https://www.dunlap.utoronto.ca/dunlap-people/prof-renee-hlozek/
TED Ed, "The Death of the Universe": https://youtu.be/mSzCS_5qtVY?si=oLSKFqVbSBO77yKv
TED Archive, "The Making of Cosmic Soup": https://youtu.be/mWzQ3aYlMVQ?si=t5bWERtS0mkFCGGr

#8 Malena Rice - Planet Nine, Oumuamua, Misaligned Exoplanets

In this week's episode, David is joined by Prof Malena Rice from Yale University. Malena obtained her PhD from Yale University before heading to MIT for a year as 51 Pegasi fellow. She has recently returned to Yale, joining the astronomy faculty. Malena has been featured in Forbes Magazine's 30 Under 30 and is an expert in planetary dynamics and detection techniques. To support this podcast and our research lab, head to www.coolworldslab.com/support

#7 Ramesh Narayan - Black Holes, Extreme Astrophysics, Event Horizon Telescope

In this week's episode, David is joined by Ramesh Narayan - a renowned astrophysicist whose groundbreaking research has significantly advanced our understanding of black holes and accretion processes. With a career spanning decades, Narayan's work has contributed invaluable insights into the behavior of supermassive black holes at the centers of galaxies and the dynamics of matter falling into these cosmic giants. He has also been lead member of the Event Horizon telescope which captured the first photo of a black hole. To support this podcast and our research lab, head to www.coolworldslab.com/support

#6 Adam Frank - Technosignatures, Semantic Information, Galactic Colonization

In this week's episode, David is joined by Adam Frank. Adam is a Professor of Physics and Astronomy at Rochester University, author of popular science books such as "The Little Book of Aliens" and "Light of the Stars", as well as a regular CNN contributor.
To support this podcast and our research lab, head to www.coolworldslab.com/support
You can watch to the video recording of this podcast over at https://youtu.be/VM8n7HANYpM
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#5 Kathryn Johnston - The Milky Way, Dark Matter vs MOND, Gaia

In this week's episode, David is joined by Kathryn Johnston. Prof Johnston is a Professor of Astronomy at Columbia University and the Dynamics Group Leader at the Flatiron Institute. Kathryn is a world renown expert for her work on Milky Way dynamics, especially tidal streams and the dark matter components of our galaxy.
To support this podcast and our research lab, head to www.coolworldslab.com/support
Cool Worlds Podcast Theme by Hill [https://open.spotify.com/artist/1hdkvBtRdOW4SPsnxCXOjK]

#4 Hod Lipson - Automated Physics Discovery, ChatGPT, Future of AI

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

#3 Chiara Mingarelli - NANOGrav, Background Gravitational Waves, Black Holes

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