PODCAST · science
Cool Worlds
by Cool Worlds
Space, astronomy, exoplanets, astroengineering and the search for extraterrestrial life & intelligence. The Cool Worlds Lab (http://coolworldslab.com), based at the Department of Astronomy, Columbia University, is a team of astronomers seeking to discover and understand alien worlds, particularly those where temperatures are cool enough for life, led by Professor David Kipping. Links: Subscribe!: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGHZpIpAWJQ-Jy_CeCdXhMA?sub_confirmation=1
Episodes
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Do "Grabby Aliens" Solve The Fermi Paradox?
Thanks to Storyblocks for sponsoring this video! Download unlimited stock media at one set price with Storyblocks: https://www.storyblocks.com/CoolWorldsThere are many possible solutions to the Fermi Paradox but a few have risen to particular prominence - including the "Grabby Aliens" hypothesis....
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The Question That Keeps Me Awake At Night
The most fundamental question we can ever ask: Why is something rather than nothing? Not nothing as in no particles or no energy, but nothing as in no space, no time, no laws of physics at all. This is a question that has haunted me for years and today this deepest of questions.Written and...
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The Signatures of Alien Life… or Not | Tiffany Jansen
Astronomers are finding habitable exoplanets everywhere! We are now starting to think about the next step, how can we use our telescopes to look for signs of life on distant worlds? Cool Worlds Lab astronomer Tiffany Jansen talks about possible atmospheric signals that could indicate the presence...
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Jupiter: Friend or Foe? | Elisa Quintana
Jupiter is the King of the Solar System but exoplanet surveys have revealed that it's an unusual type of world. Just ~10% of Sun-like stars have planets of the same mass and orbit as Jupiter. So could the existence of Jupiter be somehow beneficial to emergence of complex life, like us, on other...
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Climate Emergency? Global Sea Ice at Anomalously Low Levels
This week a plot showing the global sea ice over time went viral due to shockingly low levels, smashing previous records. The plot was so weird that we decided to check out the data for ourselves and see if it was legit. Indeed, we can reproduce this alarming plot and provide some links and…
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Proxima b QandA - is Proxima b tidally locked?
Thanks for all of your great comments and questions on our last two Proxima b videos! Here's a quick video covering some of the most common questions about Proxima b, such as: Is it tidally locked? Can we image it with Hubble? Can we take a photo with a flyby spaceship?::More about this Video::►...
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Interstellar Propulsion Technologies - RANKED!
Use code coolworlds at https://incogni.com/coolworlds to get an exclusive 60% off an annual Incogni plan.Many of you wanted me to talk about the different interstellar propulsion ideas out there so we figured a fun way to compare them all would be in a tier list! Today we take a look at 14...
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How often does life start on other worlds?
Astrobiology an exciting new field studying how life begins and the conditions needed both on Earth and elsewhere in the cosmos. Columbia's Director of Astrobiology, Dr Caleb Scharf, dropped into the Cool Worlds Lab to tell us about his new paper which created a "Drake Equation" for abiogenesis....
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IT'S HAPPENING!! RIGHT NOW!
Unscripted excitement about what's coming next...→ Support our research: https://www.coolworldslab.com/support→ Get merch: https://teespring.com/stores/cool-worlds-store→ Check out our podcast: www.youtube.com/@CoolWorldsPodcastPrevious videos in this story…- Some Bad...
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Why Going Faster-Than-Light Leads to Time Paradoxes
Is faster-than-light (FTL) travel possible? In most discussions of this, we get hung up on the physics of particular ideas, such as wormholes or warp drives. But today, we take a more zoomed out approach that addresses all FTL propulsion - as well as FTL messaging. Because it turns out that they...
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1000 Subs Thank-you + Channel Mission
Woah, 1000 subscribers! Thanks to everyone who viewed and subscribed so far! Quick thank-you video and some background about this channel's goals and future. Stay curious!::More about this Video::► Cool Worlds Lab website: http://coolworlds.astro.columbia.edu► Outro music by Taylor Davis:...
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JWST Reveals Exoplanets As Never Seen Before
JWST is approaching its one year anniversary since launching into space! So what has been found in that first year? Today we focus on exoplanets and summarize the various discoveries made thus far and what we can expect going forward.Written and presented by Prof David Kipping. Edited by Jorge...
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The Odds of Life - THIS CHANGED MY MIND
Go to https://ground.news/CoolWorlds to discover the full spectrum of truths and absurdities behind today’s headlines. Save 40% on the Ground News unlimited access Vantage plan with my link. There's been some new studies in the fields of paleopaleontology that have changed my mind about one of…
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How Many Planets in the Universe? | Part 2: Our Universe
Hey Cool Worlders! Here's part 2 of the mini series "How Many Planets in the Universe?" where we now estimate the total number of worlds in the cosmos. If you haven't seen part 1, link is just below!::More about this Video::► Check out part 1 of this video series, "How Many Planets in the…
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Can We Engineer The Sun?
The Sun is dying. A slow death, to be sure, but slowly it creeps towards its end, gradually increasing in luminosity - an effect that will push Earth out of the habitable zone in about a billion years. Can we somehow stop this from happening? Can we save the Earth? Can we save *the Sun*? Join us...
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Proxima b: Transits, Habitability and How to Get There!
Dr Guillem Anglada and the Pale Red Dot project team announced today the discovery of a planet orbiting our nearest star, Proxima Centauri! Prof Kipping provides an update on the search as to whether "Proxima b" also is seen to transit its star our the Cool Worlds Lab MOST data + a discussion of...
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A Chat with "Space with Sarah"
Sarah Pearson, a graduate student here at the Department of Astronomy, Columbia University, is launching a new YouTube channel called "Space with Sarah". Cool Worlds wanted to help promote real science on YouTube so here David chats with Sarah about her new channel and explains what it's all...
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Why I Don’t Buy The Dark Forest Hypothesis
Use code coolworlds at https://incogni.com/coolworlds to get an exclusive 60% off. Many of you wanted me to talk about the Dark Forest Hypothesis - an idea popularised (bit not limited to) the the sci-fi novel and Netflix series, "The Three Body Problem" by Liu Cixin. So in this video I'll…
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From Wobbles to Worlds - Discovery of The Exoplanet Edge!
Thanks to Incogni for sponsoring us. Use the code coolworlds at https://incogni.com/coolworlds to get an exclusive 60% off an annual Incogni plan.Today we explore what could be considered a classic problem in exoplanetary science, yet one which has eluded astronomers for decades. Transit timing...
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Some Bad News
Off the cuff immediate reaction… Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Could A.I. Replace Scientists?
It's getting harder to harder to ignore the potential disruptive power of AI in research. Scientists are already using AI tools but could the future lead to complete replacement of humans? How will our scientific institutions transform? These are difficult questions but ones we have to talk about...
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How we know that the Earth's climate is changing
Our own cool world is warming up. Dr Gavin Schmidt, Director of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS), visited the Cool Worlds Lab and explains how NASA actually measures these climatic changes and the modeling used to understand what is responsible for them.::More about this…
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The Kepler Revolutions
There have been two scientific revolutions involving a "Kepler"- one 400 years ago and one on-going! Prof Kipping explains both and why NASA's Kepler Mission will go down in the history books as transformative.::More about this Video::► NASA's Kepler Mission website: http://kepler.nasa.gov► Burke...
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Did Astronomers Just Prove Dark Energy is an Illusion?
Did astronomers just prove dark energy is wrong? Some breaking news this week that I couldn't resist covering on here...Written, presented & edited by Prof. David Kipping.→ Support our research: https://www.coolworldslab.com/support→ Get merch: https://teespring.com/stores/cool-worlds-store→…
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Ask Me Anything Million Subs Special
A huge thank-you to everyone who helped us reach this milestone!→ Support our research: https://www.coolworldslab.com/support→ Get merch: https://teespring.com/stores/cool-worlds-store→ Check out our podcast: www.youtube.com/@CoolWorldsPodcastTHANK-YOU to T. Widdowson, D. Smith, L. Sanborn, C....
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What is an Alien Megastructure?
Alien megastructures are back in the headlines after some new research published last week. It has been claimed that Tabby's Star is confirmed to be steadily dimming, which is completely unexpected behavior for a star. Prof Kipping explains what we know (and don't know) about this mysterious star...
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Why Finding Earth-Sized Planets is Hard
The transit method of finding exoplanets is easier for big planets than small planets. But new work from the Cool Worlds Lab shows that transits disfavor the detection of small, Earth-sized planets even more than previously realized. Emily Sandford, a third-year graduate student with the Cool...
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How Game Theory Can Help Us Find Aliens
Could it be that aliens are trying to communicate with us right now, but we're just not listening in the right way? They might have chosen a specific frequency, time or method of communication that we just never thought to try. In game theory, two players can co-operate towards a common goal even...
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The Ambiguity Problem
🌏 Get exclusive NordVPN deal here ➵ https://NordVPN.com/coolworlds It’s risk free with Nord’s 30 day money-back guarantee!✌What kind of evidence would be needed to convince the world of alien life? Sagan said that "extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence", but what exactly is...
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Red and White Dwarfs QandA
Answers to your questions by Prof David Kipping from our "Proxima Planet Hunt" and "Polluted Dead Stars" videos (links below)! Thanks to all of you who posted questions, keep 'em coming, we love interacting with you all!::More about this Video::► "Proxima Planet Hunt" video:...
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Why Exomoons Are So Important
Flexispot’s anniversary sale is here! Get up to 60% off with my code COOLWORLDS on orders over $500 at http://bit.ly/coolworlds10!Exoplanets was a transformative discovery for astronomy. Exomoons is the next. I’ve spent most of my career looking for exomoons and today I explain the five reasons…
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Can Moons Have Moons?
After the discovery of supersized exomoon candidates, many have been wondering - can moons have moons? And could *those* also have moons?! Today we dive into this fun little question and learn about the limits of satellites.Written & presented by Prof David Kipping→ Support our research program:...
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Can We Save Ourselves?
Use code coolworlds at https://incogni.com/coolworlds to get an exclusive 60% off. Rubin Observatory just came online and one of its main goals is to detect comets and asteroids that could threaten the Earth. But how long will this take? How many threats do we know of so far? And what could we do...
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Earth Over The Next Billion Years
Our lifespans might feel like a long time by human standards, but to the Earth it's the blink of an eye. Even the entirety of human history represents a tiny slither of the vast chronology for our planet. We often think about geological time when looking back into the past, but today we look…
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Polluted Dead Stars
Cool Worlds Lab guest Dr Sarah Ballard from MIT explains how observing dead stars (white dwarfs) can reveal the makeup of exoplanets and even exoplanetesimals! Be sure to follow Sarah on Twitter @hubbahubble and check out her website at http://www.drsarahballard.com.::More about this Video::►...
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The Strangest Idea in Science: Quantum Immortality
Use code coolworlds at https://incogni.com/coolworlds to get an exclusive 60% off an annual Incogni plan.One of the leading interpretations of quantum theory is that every probabilistic event leads to a branching of reality, where all possibilities occur. This "many worlds" interpretation has…
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The Doomsday Argument | When Will Civilization End?
When will our civilization end? Whether it be by our own means or an external threat, there are many plausible scenarios which could extinguish humanity. Remarkably, using the Principle of Mediocrity (that we are just typical observers and not special) it is possible to answer this question...
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An Idea So Crazy It Might Just Work...
Light sails are a promising method for traveling through space - indeed, Breakthrough Starshot proposed a laser driven version could reach nearby stars. But the exorbitant costs and engineering challenges of such a proposal have stymied its realization. What if there was a way of using the Sun…
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Shocking Result from DESI Stuns Cosmology
Thanks to Storyblocks for sponsoring this video! Download unlimited stock media at one set price with Storyblocks: https://storyblocks.com/CoolWorldsThe Standard Model of Cosmology has reigned supreme for decades, confirmed over and over again. But chinks in the armour have been developing, such…
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Project Starshot | New Research on Relativistic Light Sails
New research paper from the Cool Worlds Lab about one the most exciting missions ever proposed, "Starshot". Starshot plans to send tiny probes to distant planets beyond our Solar System, the first true interstellar spacecraft. To do this within our lifetimes requires a very fast probe, reaching...
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Are UFOs Legitimate Science?
UFOs, UAPs are dominating the media, but what do astronomers really think is going on? Check out our sponsor by using the code coolworlds to get an exclusive 60% off an annual Incogni plan: https://incogni.com/coolworlds Over the last few years, there has been growing public attention and…
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Juno Explained
The Juno spacecraft just arrived at Jupiter! Prof Kipping explains what Juno is all about, how NASA got the spacecraft safely into orbit and how this connects to exoplanetary science.::More about this Video::► NASA Juno homepage: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/juno/main/index.html► Outro…
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A Tale of Scientific Integrity
Click https://betterhelp.com/coolworlds for 10% off your first month of therapy with our sponsor BetterHelp. Join over 4 million people who’ve met with a therapist on BetterHelp and started living a healthier, happier life.We usually celebrate the big wins, the major discoveries, the eureka...
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In Defense of Science
ACTION CENTER: https://aas.org/advocacy/get-involved/action-alerts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Classifying Worlds
Is there a way to naturally classify the different types of planets in the Universe? Two of the most fundamental properties of any object are its mass and size and generally one expects size to increase as we add more mass. The relationship between size and mass itself changes though at certain...
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The K2-18b Video You've Been Waiting For
Thanks to Opera for sponsoring this video. Click here to upgrade your browser for FREE! - https://opr.as/Opera-browser-coolworldslabSo the whole world seems to have become very excited about the claim of a biosignature discovered in the atmosphere of the exoplanet K2-18b. And no sooner did those...
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The First Civilization to Emerge in the Galaxy
The Galaxy is approximately 13 billion years old, which makes one wonder - just how many civilizations could have come and gone across that ocean of time? Today, we try something a little bit different for this channel, and imagine when and how the first civilization could have lived. The story…
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Could Quark Stars be the Engines of Self-Replicating Strange Matter?
Check out https://NordVPN.com/coolworlds for 4 months for free when you sign up today, thanks to Nord for sponsoring us!Could there be a bizarre exotic type of star out there made of quarks? What would these things be like and how could they form? Join us as we explore quark stars, and the...
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Proxima Planet Hunt
Proxima Centauri is our nearest star but we still don't know whether it has any planets. Prof Kipping discusses our planet hunting campaign using the space telescope MOST and gives you the latest news.::More about this Video::► Gillon et al. (2016), "Temperate Earth-sized planets transiting a...
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The Most Mysterious Star | Prof Jason Wright
Prof Jason Wright from Penn State explains why Tabby's Star has become known as the most mysterious star in the galaxy and how you can help him and Tabby Boyajian solve this mystery. To contribute to their Kickstarter campaign, go to...
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
Space, astronomy, exoplanets, astroengineering and the search for extraterrestrial life & intelligence.
The Cool Worlds Lab (http://coolworldslab.com), based at the Department of Astronomy, Columbia University, is a team of astronomers seeking to discover and understand alien worlds, particularly those where temperatures are cool enough for life, led by Professor David Kipping.
Links: Subscribe!: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGHZpIpAWJQ-Jy_CeCdXhMA?sub_confirmation=1
HOSTED BY
Cool Worlds
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Cool Worlds have?
Cool Worlds currently has 114 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Cool Worlds about?
Space, astronomy, exoplanets, astroengineering and the search for extraterrestrial life & intelligence. The Cool Worlds Lab (http://coolworldslab.com), based at the Department of Astronomy, Columbia University, is a team of astronomers seeking to discover and understand alien worlds, particularly...
How often does Cool Worlds release new episodes?
Cool Worlds publishes regularly with 114 episodes available. Check the episode list for the typical release schedule.
Where can I listen to Cool Worlds?
You can listen to Cool Worlds on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Cool Worlds?
Cool Worlds is created and hosted by Cool Worlds.
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