An Astrophysicist Explains the "Strongest Evidence Yet" of Alien Life

An Astrophysicist Explains the "Strongest Evidence Yet" of Alien Life

Last week, a team of astrophysicists from the University of Cambridge announced that they had discovered the “strongest indication” ever of extraterrestrial life. The source did not come from Mars or Venus or any nearby moon. It came from K2-18b, a massive planet some 120 light-years from Earth. If this finding checks out, it is, without question, one of the most important discoveries in the history of science. But many scientists think that ... well, it might not check out at all. Today’s guest is Sara Seager, a celebrated astrophysicist at MIT. Seager is a pioneer in the study of exoplanets and their atmospheres. She has done as much as practically anybody to develop the science of interpreting light from faraway stars to make inferences about planets. In today’s show, Seager and I slowly worked our way up to last week’s announcement by building a foundation of the basic science at play. What are exoplanets? How do we know that they’re there? How do we have any idea about the chemicals present on that planet if we can’t send probes to test their air? What does the K2-18b finding really tell us? And what larger philosophical questions about life and aliens are raised by this new science of exoplanet atmospheres? If you have questions, observations, or ideas for future episodes, email us at PlainEnglish@Spotify.com. Host: Derek Thompson Guest: Sara Seager Producer: Devon Baroldi Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jaksot(348)

Crypto Crash Part I: The Case Against Crypto

Crypto Crash Part I: The Case Against Crypto

Today, we have the first in a two-part series on lessons from the crypto crash. Crypto, also known as Web3, also known as blockchain-based technologies, remains the weirdest space I’ve ever reported o...

25 Heinä 202249min

Why It Seems Like So Many Countries Are Falling Apart

Why It Seems Like So Many Countries Are Falling Apart

The world is kind of a mess right now. There is a big, bloody, awful war between Russia and Ukraine, which has hugely disrupted global trade, especially in commodities like oil, wheat, and natural gas...

22 Heinä 202253min

The World Is on Fire. Here’s a Realistic Plan to Save Humanity.

The World Is on Fire. Here’s a Realistic Plan to Save Humanity.

The world is on fire. In southern Europe, wildfires are streaking from Portugal to Greece. In the U.K., airport runways melted as temperatures exceeded 103 degrees for the first time on record. In the...

19 Heinä 20221h 2min

Three Ways the Elon Musk–Twitter Showdown Could End

Three Ways the Elon Musk–Twitter Showdown Could End

Well, that escalated quickly. Let's review, shall we? In January, Elon Musk started buying a bunch of Twitter stock. In February, he kept buying. In March, he owned about 5 percent of the company. In ...

14 Heinä 202241min

Burning Questions About the Future of Media: Netflix vs. Disney, TikTok vs. Everyone, and the Metaverse

Burning Questions About the Future of Media: Netflix vs. Disney, TikTok vs. Everyone, and the Metaverse

Will Netflix be the king of streaming in five years? What's the biggest threat to dethrone it: Apple, Disney, or HBO? Are movie theaters back for real? How has the pandemic changed the film industry? ...

12 Heinä 20221h 12min

Musk Meltdown: Elon’s Breakup With Twitter Is Going to Be Very Messy

Musk Meltdown: Elon’s Breakup With Twitter Is Going to Be Very Messy

Derek has so many thoughts on Elon Musk's bizarre attempted breakup with Twitter—and what comes next—that he has to enumerate them. In this episode, he goes through five reasons Elon is trying to wrig...

10 Heinä 202217min

The Biggest Economic Question of the Moment: Is This Peak Inflation?

The Biggest Economic Question of the Moment: Is This Peak Inflation?

The question everybody's asking on cable news right now is whether we're in a recession. I think there's an even more important question to ask: Are we at peak inflation? If inflation U-turns, it mean...

8 Heinä 202232min

Why Are the Police So Bad at Solving Murders?

Why Are the Police So Bad at Solving Murders?

Today’s episode is about the story of the moment—gun violence. There’s been a surge of violent shootings, mass shootings, and gun-related murders in the last few years. Today, Derek investigates a mys...

6 Heinä 202247min

Suosittua kategoriassa Politiikka ja uutiset

aikalisa
rss-ootsa-kuullut-tasta
tervo-halme
ootsa-kuullut-tasta-2
politiikan-puskaradio
viisupodi
et-sa-noin-voi-sanoo-esittaa
otetaan-yhdet
rss-asiastudio
rss-vaalirankkurit-podcast
rss-podme-livebox
linda-maria
the-ulkopolitist
rss-kaikki-uusiksi
rss-tekkipodi
rikosmyytit
rss-mina-ukkola
rss-kuka-mina-olen
rss-raha-talous-ja-politiikka
rss-kyselytunti