Why This Universe?

Dan Hooper, Shalma Wegsman 116 - 100 - What is Light? A Journey from Ancient Philosophy to Quantum Physics

The biggest ideas in physics, broken down. Join theoretical physicist Dan Hooper and co-host Shalma Wegsman as they answer your questions about dark matter, black holes, quantum mechanics, and more. Part of The University of Chicago Podcast Network.

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Episodios

24 ago. 2026

03 ago. 2026

19 ene. 2026

22 dic. 2025

24 nov. 2025

03 nov. 2025

13 oct. 2025

29 sep. 2025

15 sep. 2025

02 mayo 2025

09 mar. 2025

13 ene. 2025

23 dic. 2024

04 nov. 2024

14 oct. 2024

23 sep. 2024

02 sep. 2024

05 ago. 2024

01 jul. 2024

17 jun. 2024

03 jun. 2024

13 mayo 2024

29 abr. 2024

15 abr. 2024

01 abr. 2024

18 mar. 2024

04 mar. 2024

04 feb. 2024

22 ene. 2024

07 ene. 2024

18 dic. 2023

04 dic. 2023

20 nov. 2023

06 nov. 2023

23 oct. 2023

10 oct. 2023

28 sep. 2023

28 ago. 2023

14 ago. 2023

31 jul. 2023

17 jul. 2023

03 jul. 2023

22 mayo 2023

08 mayo 2023

17 abr. 2023

27 mar. 2023

13 mar. 2023

27 feb. 2023

13 feb. 2023

09 ene. 2023

Why This Universe?

Episodios

100 - What is Light? A Journey from Ancient Philosophy to Quantum Physics

99 - The 7 Most Exciting Developments in Physics Today + a WTU Update

98 - An Improbable Quantum Ghost Story (Ft. David Kaplan)

97 - The Schrödinger Equation: The Heart of Quantum Mechanics

96 - The Making of Particle Fever (Ft. David Kaplan)

95 - Would Aliens Have the Same Physics? (Ft. Daniel Whiteson)

38 - The Nobel Prize's Greatest Misses (2025 Update)

94 - Inside the Hubble Tension (Ft. Adam Riess)

93 - The Moment Dark Energy Appeared (Ft. Adam Riess)

AUA: Changing Dark Energy, Twin Paradox, and What's Next for CERN

AUA: The Early Universe, Quantum Interpretations, and Asteroids

92 - What Cosmology Has in Store for 2025 (Ft. Dan Scolnic)

91 - What Neutrinos Reveal About the Milky Way

90 - Quintessence: Is Dark Energy Changing? (Ft. Sean Carroll)

89 - A Dark Matter Vibe Check

88 - Why Does Our Universe Exist At All? (Ft. Sean Carroll)

87 - The Good and the Bad of Peer Review

28 - How Noether's Theorem Changed Physics (Rerun)

86 - The Life and Death of Stars

85 - Our Sun: Present, Past and Future

84 - The Search For New Worlds (ft. Josh Winn)

83 - Witnessing a Revolution in Particle Physics (Ft. Chris Quigg)

82 - Science Vs. Pseudoscience

81 - Ancient Greek Astronomy

80 - (April Fools 2024) A Surprising Discovery Shaking Up Modern Cosmology

79 - NanoGRAV's Big Gravitational Wave Discovery (Ft. Chiara Mingarelli)

78 - The Life of a Science Journalist (Ft. Katrina Miller)

77 - All About Quantum Computing (Ft. Henry Lamm)

76 - Do We Live in a Simulation?

75 - Physics in Extreme Locations (Ft. Daniel Baxter & Alexandra Rahlin)

8 - Is Space Flat or Curved?

74 - The Copernican Revolution (Ft. Aviva Rothman)

73 - Life Beyond Earth (Ft. Avi Loeb and Garrett Graff at the Chicago Humanities Festival)

72 - The Physics Of Music (Ft. Tim Cohen)

71 - How the Universe Got Its Structure

70 - WTU Live: Will Intelligent Life Persist in the Universe? (ft. Daniel Holz and Diana Powell)

Special Announcement + ChatGPT On Unifying Quantum Mechanics and Relativity

69 - An Update on Modified Gravity (MOND)

68 - The Age of the Universe

6 - Your Tour Through Quantum Weirdness (Rebroadcast)

67 - When Science Meets Spirituality (Ft. Alan Lightman)

66 - When Space Was Filled With Music

65 - Should We Build a Muon Collider? (Ft. Cari Cesarotti)

64 - The Journey to the Big Bang

63 - The Question of Consciousness (Ft. David Chalmers)

47 - Boltzmann Brains: Could Reality Be An Illusion? (Rebroadcast)

62 - JWST and the Earliest Galaxies in the Universe (ft. Mike Boylan-Kolchin)

61 - Could the Large Hadron Collider Destroy the World?

60 - The Search for Extra Dimensions

59 - The End of Everything (Ft. Katie Mack)