Why This Universe?

Science Podcasts

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.

Episodes

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