Particles of Thought Podcast
1) Discovering Dark Energy and the Hubble Tension | Extended Interview with Nobel Prize Winner Adam Riess
What does it feel like to make one of the biggest discoveries in physics? Adam Riess knows — because his work revealed that the universe isn’t just expanding, it’s accelerating. In this episode, the N...Show More
2) Hubble Tension, Explained | Adam Riess
The universe isn’t adding up—and it’s creating a crisis in cosmology. Nobel Prize winner Adam Riess explains why measurements of the universe’s expansion rate from its earliest light and from nearby g...Show More
3) Einstein’s “Biggest Blunder” | Adam Riess
Discovering dark energy wasn’t just thrilling—it was terrifying. Nobel Prize Winner Adam Riess explains the nerve-wracking process behind confirming that the universe’s expansion is accelerating and w...Show More
4) How Fame Affects the Brain | Heather Berlin
Fame can hijack the brain like a drug—activating the same reward circuits that fuel a relentless chase for dopamine highs. Neuroscientist Heather Berlin reveals the antidote—and why even social media ...Show More
5) How Fossils Form and How to Find Them | Kirk Johnson
Fossilization isn’t luck - it’s geology. Paleobotanist Kirk Johnson explains how fossils only form in certain conditions, the tricks to finding them, and why one fossil leaf can lead to thousands more...Show More
6) Why Only Some Species Can Talk—and Dance | Erich Jarvis
Speech is rare in the animal kingdom because it requires a very specific brain architecture. Neuroscientist Erich Jarvis explains how duplicating neural pathways for movement unlocked language, dancin...Show More
7) Evolution of New Species, Venom, Wings, and More | Extended Interview with Sean B. Carroll
How does evolution invent entirely new things, like limbs, wings, and venom? Evolutionary biologist Sean B. Carroll joins us to reveal the hidden rules behind nature’s creativity and the genetic toolk...Show More
8) How the Fruit Fly Revolutionized Biology | Sean B. Carroll
From legs on heads to missing eyes, fruit fly mutations exposed the genetic toolkit that builds all animals. Evolutionary Biologist Sean B. Carroll shows how these discoveries rewrote our understandin...Show More
9) The Evolution of Venom & Antivenom | Sean B. Carroll
From snakes to jellyfish, venom is one of evolution’s most lethal inventions. Evolutionary Biologist Sean B. Carroll reveals how this deadly innovation emerged—and the new science behind antivenom ins...Show More
10) A Black Hole Is a Place, Not a Thing | Janna Levin
The edge of a black hole isn’t what you think. Astrophysicist Janna Levin dives into the event horizon, the one-way transition where space and time warp so much that escape becomes as impossible as re...Show More