Daniel and Jorge Explain the Universe
Episodes
Introducing Untold Stories: Life with a Severe Autoimmune Condition
22 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
For people diagnosed with a rare, autoimmune condition like myasthenia gravis (MG) or chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP), life c...
Fall equinox listener questions
23 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Daniel and Kelly answer a question about how white holes are connected to black holes.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Summer solstice listener questions
20 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Daniel and Katie answer a question about why distant objects can look surprisingly large in the skySee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information...
Spring equinox listener questions
18 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Daniel and Kelly answer a question about whether the Earth might survive the Sun's ejection from the galaxy.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy in...
Winter soltice listener questions
31 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Daniel and Katie answer a question about building super duper long structures in spaceSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Listener Questions 68
01 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Daniel and Kelly answer a question about whether space can be infinite and finiteSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.co...
Classic episode - How big is the Universe?
26 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Does the Universe go on forever, or have an end? What shape is it?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for ...
Listener Questions 67
24 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Daniel and Jorge answer questions about moving planets, the Higgs field, and the future of particle physics.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy in...
Classic episode - What came before the Big Bang?
19 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
What could have caused the Big Bang, and what came before it?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for priva...
Could a huge void cause the illusion of dark energy?
17 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Daniel and Jorge talk about whether our galaxy is in the middle of a giant void that could have fooled us into thinking the expansion of the Universe ...
Classic episode - When will the sun explode?
12 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
How long can we enjoy the sunshine before we need a new star?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for priva...
Listener Questions 66
10 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Daniel and Jorge answer questions about galaxy collisions, black holes and Nitrogen!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio...
Classic episode - Why is gravity so weird?
05 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Why is gravity so much weaker than the other forces?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy inform...
Are there comets in the asteroid belt?
03 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Daniel and Jorge try to clarify the distinction between our neighborhood space objects and what it means if we find them out of place.See omnystudio.c...
Classic Episode - Is the Universe Random?
29 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
If you repeat the same experiment, do you get the same outcome?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for pri...
Could quantum clocks detect dark matter?
27 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Daniel and Jorge talk about new ways to find dark matter, using space microwave ovens.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystud...
Classic Episode - Is Light a Particle or a Wave?
22 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
What is light made of? A particle, a wave, both, neither? Little puppies? Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee ...
Listener Questions goes bananas!
20 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Daniel and Jorge answer questions about banana decays and black hole velocities.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com...
What was the brightest explosion ever seen?
15 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Daniel and Jorge look right into the beam of incredible astronomical explosions.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com...
What's the fastest event ever measured?
13 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Daniel and Jorge slice time down to its shortest slivers to understand how fast things can happen in the Universe.See omnystudio.com/listener for priv...
The science fiction Universe of "Dark Matter"
08 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Daniel and Jorge talk to a screenwriter and scientific advisor for the multi-verse show, "Dark Matter"See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy informat...
What is the Physics of life?
06 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Daniel and Kelly talk to Sara Imari Walker, author of "Life as No One Knows it" about what life is and what aliens might look like.See omnystudio.com/...
What is an impossible color?
01 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Daniel and Jorge explore the edges of our colorful experience of the Universe.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/l...
How to think like a physicist?
30 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Daniel and Jorge discuss whether physicists think about the world differently, and how that makes them more or less useful.See omnystudio.com/listener...
What is membrane theory?
25 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Daniel and Katie use their p-branes to explore a theory of everything build on vibrating membranes.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information...
Listener Questions 64: Phase of the Universe, particle interactions and Universe-sized black holes!
23 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Daniel and Jorge answer questions from listeners like you! Send your questions to [email protected] omnystudio.com/listener for privacy ...
Do black holes have magnetic fields?
18 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Daniel and Jorge try to resist the magnetic attraction of the mysteries of black holes, and fail.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.S...
Listener Questions 63: Hawking radiation, mass, and anti-strings
16 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Daniel and Jorge answer questions from listeners like you! Send your questions to [email protected] omnystudio.com/listener for privacy ...
How long is a photon?
11 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Daniel and Jorge wrestle with the tricky question of the length of a photon, and end up talking about hotdogs and meatballs.See omnystudio.com/listene...
Could humans live in the clouds of Venus?
09 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Daniel and Kelly talk to Guillermo Sohnlein about life in the Venutian cloudsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/li...
Listener Questions 62: Single photons, moon gold and particle interactions.
04 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Daniel and Jorge answer questions from listeners like you! Send your questions to [email protected] omnystudio.com/listener for privacy ...
Listener Questions 61.0158: Black holes, gold asteroids and gravitational waves in time!
02 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Daniel and Jorge answer questions from listeners like you! Send your questions to [email protected] See omnystudio.com/listener for priva...
Do neutrinos get redshifted?
27 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Daniel and Jorge talk about what happens to neutrinos as the Universe expands.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/l...
Is the length of a day changing?
25 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Daniel and Katie spin a tale of how the velocity of the Earth's surface is changing under our feet.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information...
Listener Questions 60,491: Mini solar systems, greek physics and black holes!
20 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Daniel and Jorge answer questions from listeners like you! Send your questions to [email protected] omnystudio.com/listener for privacy ...
Can supernovas cause ice ages?
18 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Daniel and Jorge talk about how the greatest cosmic fireballs might trigger ice ages here on Earth.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information...
Listener Questions 59: Interstellar probes and fractional electrons
13 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Daniel and Jorge answer questions about travel to and from other stars and whether scientists have split the electron.See omnystudio.com/listener for ...
Does dark matter have an anti-particle?
11 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Daniel and Jorge talk about the relationship between matter, dark matter and anti-matter!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnys...
Why don't we have nuclear powered airplanes?
06 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Daniel and Kelly talk about whether planes could be powered by nuclear reactors and whether that would be a bad idea, or a very bad idea.See omnystudi...
Listener Questions 58: Donuts, disaster and discoveries!
04 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Daniel and Jorge answer questions from listeners like you!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy ...
The science fiction Universe of "Constellation"
30 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Daniel talks to Peter Harness, screenwriter for "Constellation", about the quantum rules of his fictional Universe.See omnystudio.com/listener for pri...
Listener Questions 57: Philosophy, Quantum Mechanics and Beta Decay!
28 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Daniel and Jorge answer questions from listeners like you!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy ...
Who was the most influential scientist?
23 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Daniel talks to Ananyo Bhattacharya, author of "The Man From the Future" about the life and impact of John von NeumannSee omnystudio.com/listener for ...
What's the electric charge of the Universe?
21 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Daniel and Katie reveal the shocking truth about the balance between positive and negative particles.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy informati...
Listener Questions 56: Neutron Stars, Dense matter and shared atmospheres!
16 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Daniel and Jorge answer questions from listeners like you. Get your questions answered: [email protected] omnystudio.com/listener for pr...
What mysteries are hiding in the extra-galactic background light?
14 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Daniel and Jorge explore the challenges of detecting light from outside the Milky Way, and the secrets it might reveal.See omnystudio.com/listener for...
What’s the largest asteroid impact in Earth’s history?
09 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Daniel and Kelly review the most cataclysmic impacts in our planet's history.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/li...
Listener Questions 55: Time and waves!
07 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Daniel and Jorge answer questions from listeners like you. Get your questions answered: [email protected] omnystudio.com/listener for pr...
What is quantum biology?
02 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Daniel and Kelly explore how biological systems rely on the quantum nature of matter.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudi...
What is gravitoelectromagnetism?
30 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Daniel and Katie bushwack their way between theories of gravity and electromagnetism, looking for the elusive connection.See omnystudio.com/listener f...
Physics of the Internet
25 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Daniel and Jorge talk about how our understanding of physics is central to making the internet work.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy informatio...
Listener Questions 54: String cosmology, cosmic strings, and alien numbers
23 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Daniel and Jorge answer questions from listeners like you. Get your questions answered: [email protected] See omnystudio.com/listener for...
Can element 115 be used for anti-gravity?
18 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Daniel and Jorge talk about real science of element 115 and whether it aligns with the spectacular story of anti-gravity alien ships at Area 51.See om...
Listener Questions 53: Strong force, primordial atoms and infinities
16 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Daniel and Jorge answer questions from listeners like you. Get your questions answered: [email protected] omnystudio.com/listener for pr...
How metallic is the Sun?
11 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Daniel and Jorge explore the enduring mystery of how much heavy metal sits in our Sun.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystud...
Listener Questions 52
09 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Daniel and Jorge talk about aliens, answer a question from a high school class, and advise a listener about destroying the moon.See omnystudio.com/lis...
Are physics and religion in harmony or conflict?
04 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Daniel talks to Rabbi Jack Schlacter, a physicist at Los Alamos, about the movie Oppenheimer and the connections and conflicts between physics and jud...
The most promising particle physics anomalies
02 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Daniel talks to Harry Cliff, author of the new book "Space Oddities", about the most intriguing unexplained particle physics experiments and what they...
Listener Questions 51
28 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Daniel and Jorge answer questions about the speed of light, entanglement and time!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.c...
What happened to M33's black hole?
26 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Daniel and Jorge talk about the mystery of the missing mysterious black hole at the heart of M33See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.Se...
Listener Questions 50: Dark matter, photon wavelengths and rainbows!
21 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Daniel and Jorge answer questions from listeners like you!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy ...
How does electricity work?
19 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Daniel and Katie explain how electric current, lightning and static electricity emerge from the strange quantum nature of electrical charge.See omnyst...
Physics of Chocolate
14 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Daniel and Jorge talk about the deep but tenuous connection between physics and chocolate.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omny...
Listener Questions 49: Black Holes, Neutrinos and Gravitational waves!
12 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Daniel and Jorge answer questions from listeners and get stuck in philosophical rabbit holes.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See o...
Is the Universe made of waves (Part 2)
07 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Daniel talks to Matt Strassler about how everything is vibrating, and his new book "Waves in an Impossible Sea" (Part 2)See omnystudio.com/listener fo...
Is the Universe made of waves (Part 1)
05 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Daniel talks to Matt Strassler about how everything is vibrating, and his new book "Waves in an Impossible Sea" (Part 1)See omnystudio.com/listener fo...
Are there charm quarks in the proton?
29 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Daniel and Jorge talk about whether the cozy story of the proton might need to be updated to describe all of its true charm.See omnystudio.com/listene...
Why is quantum gravity so hard?
27 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Daniel and Jorge explain why the two theories of physics are so at odds with each other.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnyst...
What is cold welding?
22 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Daniel and Kelly talk about how its possible to merge metals without melting!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/li...
How is general relativity wrong?
20 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Daniel and Jorge talk about why we think Einstein was wrong about the nature of the Universe.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See o...
Listener Questions 48: Vacations, Destruction and Anti-matter Black Holes
15 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Daniel and Jorge answer questions from listeners and try to avoid giving marriage advice.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnys...
Have interstellar meteors hit the Earth?
13 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Daniel and Kelly analyze recent claims of the recovery of iron spheres from interstellar meteors.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.S...
Can we see inside things using muons?
08 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Daniel and Jorge talk about the weirdness of muons and how they can let us see inside things.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See o...
Why do some galaxies have bars?
06 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Daniel and Jorge explain what we know about the bars at the center of galaxies, and what mysteries they might hide.See omnystudio.com/listener for pri...
What is quantum relativity?
01 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Daniel and Katie grapple with an effort to explain how quantum mechanics could arise from relativity.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy informati...
Were all the forces once one?
30 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Daniel and Jorge explore whether the fundamental forces can be linked together, and whether they all acted as one in the early Universe.See omnystudio...
What is the dark flow?
25 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Daniel and Jorge talk about whether the whole Universe is in motion, and what could be pulling on itSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy informatio...
Listener Questions 47: Gravity, Time, Photons
23 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Daniel and Jorge answer questions from listeners like you! Ask your [email protected] omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.Se...
What are octonions?
18 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Daniel and Jorge talk about super complex numbers and how they might hold the secrets of the Universe. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy inform...
What's hidden inside planets?
16 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Daniel talks to Prof. Sabine Stanley about what's happening inside planets, and how that helps us understand what's out there.See omnystudio.com/liste...
How do particles carry forces?
11 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Daniel and Jorge push and pull on the simple picture of particles exchanging other particlesSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See om...
How can we find life on other planets?
09 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Daniel talks to Prof. Aomawa Shields, auther of "Life on Other Planets" about the the climate of exoplanets and her unusual path to astronomy.See omny...
What are land tides?
04 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Daniel and Jorge talk about how tidal forces shape the Earth itself and the life on it.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystu...
What is a symmetron?
02 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Daniel and Jorge talk about creative ways to explain the accelerating expansion of the Universe. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Does hot or cold water freeze faster?
28 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Daniel and Jorge get the chills when they discover how little we know about water.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.c...
Listener Questions 46: Mountains, ether and time!
26 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Daniel and Jorge answer questions about reviving old theories, building tall mountains, and passing time.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy infor...
What is the electrical charge of the moon?
21 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Daniel and Jorge talk about whether the moon is positive, negative or neutral!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/l...
Can planets share an orbit?
19 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Daniel and Jorge talk about whether two planets could share an orbit around a star, or whether there would be too much gravitational squabbling.See om...
What shapes can galaxies take?
14 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Daniel and Jorge talk about the weird, wacky shapes of galaxies and the cosmic story they tell.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See...
What’s the difference between inertial and gravitational mass?
12 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Daniel and Jorge talk about whether there are two or one kind of mass and the massive consequences.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information...
Has our solar system lost any planets?
07 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Daniel and Jorge talk about how instabilities in the early solar system may have ejected an ancient ice giant.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy ...
Are there galaxies without dark matter?
05 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Daniel and Jorge discuss how dark matter shapes our Universe and whether it would be possible to have a galaxy without it.See omnystudio.com/listener ...
Does quantum mechanics conserve energy?
30 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Daniel and Jorge explore whether basic rules of our Universe are broken at the quantum scale.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See o...
Listener Questions 45: Gravity and Black holes
28 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Daniel and Jorge venture to the edge of human knowledge about black holes, gravity and magnetic fields.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy informa...
The Science Fiction Universe of "Invasion"
23 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Daniel and Jorge talk about alien arrival, as depicted on the show "Invasion" and Daniel talks to two of the writers, Tatiana Suarez Pico and Aditi Br...
Who was the first scientist?
21 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Daniel talkes to Prof. James Poskett about how the history of science has much more nuance and global participation than the standard mythology.See om...
The Science Fiction Universe of "Venemous Lumpsucker" by Ned Beauman
16 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Daniel and Kelly chat with Ned Beauman, author of "Venemous Lumpsucker" a cautionary tale about applying free market strategies to preventing extincti...
Why is there quantum uncertainty?
14 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Daniel and Jorge wrestle with one of the fuzziest concepts in quantum mechanicsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/...
What did the early Universe sound like?
09 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Daniel and Jorge take you back to the early Universe and the sound bubbles that seeded everything.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Can we settle space? Should we? Have we really thought this through?
07 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Daniel talks to Kelly and Zach Weinersmith about whether humanity is ready to move into the stars.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....