Today

How Did Earth Begin?

How did Earth get created? What did our planet begin as? Why does our world exist? What started our planet? These questions take us back billions of years to learn how Earth formed in the very beginning - and then, we’ll look to a group of mysterious asteroids that might reveal h ... Show More

22m 52s

Jan 9

The Science of Fungi

This is a rebroadcast of one of our favorite episodes from season 9! Do fungi breathe? That’s what listener Alice wants to know - and we’ll find out in our punniest episode yet! We visit the Fungarium - the largest and oldest collection of fungi in the world with curator Lee Davi ... Show More

26m 11s

Dec 26

The Science of Whiskers

This is a re-broadcast of a favorite episode from 2019. We actually won our first AAAS Kavli Award for this episode, along with The Cave of the Underground Astronauts. Check it out! Why do seals have whiskers? Listener Karah’s question dives into the wonderful world of whisker sc ... Show More

16m 54s

Jul 2021

How Do Scientists LISTEN to Black Holes?

Did you know that you can HEAR Black Holes colliding out in space? It's true! Scientists have discovered that by listening to gravitational waves, they can actually hear a black hole, billions of miles away, colliding with another one. Don't miss this awesome chat with Dr. Eric T ... Show More

32m 15s

Jun 2025

Dr. Andrea Derdzinski -- How do we see black holes?

A black hole is so dense, its gravitational field prevents anything from escaping, including light. You would think that would make them the "blackest" things in the universe; how in the world do we know they are there? Dr. Andrea Derdzinski tells us about how we detect black hol ... Show More

55m 42s

May 2020

What Would It Be Like To Fall Into A Black Hole?

Black holes are one of the most beguiling objects in our universe. What are they exactly? How do they affect the universe? And what would it be like to fall into one? We venture beyond the point of no return with Yale astrophysicist Priyamvada Natarajan, into a fascinating world ... Show More

14m 25s

Apr 2024

Can Information Escape a Black Hole?

<p>Nothing escapes a black hole … or does it? In the 1970s, the physicist Stephen Hawking described a subtle process by which black holes can “evaporate,” with some particles evading gravitational oblivion. That phenomenon, now dubbed Hawking radiation, seems at odds with general ... Show More

29m 20s

Jul 2024

Q&A - Black Hole Special

Have black holes existed since the beginning of the Universe? Could we produce a black hole in the lab? Could we use gravitational waves to probe beyond the event horizon? It's a black hole Q&A as Izzie put your questions to Becky and Robert. Plus, author and broadcaster, Marcus ... Show More

50m 18s

Mar 2020

Ep83 - Dr. Shami Chatterjee | Building a Galaxy-Scale Gravitational Wave Detector

<p>As black holes spiral around each other in the distant universe, Einstein's theory of general relativity predicts gravitational waves – ripples in the fabric of space-time itself. We have now detected such ripples from stellar-mass black holes, as well as directly imaging a su ... Show More

55m 52s

Feb 2024

Black Hole Theory Cosmology (WHAT ARE BLACK HOLES?!) Part 1 with Ronald Gamble, Jr.

<p>How big are black holes? Is time elastic? What is spacetime foam? Why is there a place called “elsewhere?” Enjoy this dazzling two-parter that starts with the absolute basics with NASA’s Goddard Theoretical Astrophysicist and Black Hole Theory Cosmologist Dr. Ronald Gamble, J ... Show More

48m 59s

Can We See Black Holes?