Podcasts about black hole blues

Library staff discuss and recommend what they're reading and chat about what the Longmont Public Library has to offer. Books recommended and discussed in this episode:My Bright Abyss: Meditation of a Modern Believer, by Christian Wiman; The Vaster Wilds by Lauren Groff; Watership Down: the Graphic Novel adapted from Richard Adams' novel by James Sturm and Joe Stutphin; Whalefall: a Novel by Daniel Kraus; The Book of Joy with the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu; Self-Therapy by Jay Earley; Black Hole Blues and Other Songs from Outer Space by Janna Levin;18 Tiny Deaths: The Untold Story of Frances Glessner Lee and the Invention of Modern, Forensics by Bruce Goldfarb. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Despite Superconductor Breakthrough, Some Scientists Remain Skeptical This week, researchers unveiled a new superconductor which they say works at room temperature. Scientists have been working on identifying new superconductors for decades—materials that can transmit electricity without friction-like resistance. However, previously discovered superconductors only work at super cold temperatures, and under incredibly high pressures. The newly discovered superconductor, lutetium, could be much more useful in applications, like strong magnets used in MRIs, magnetically floating trains, and even nuclear fusion, than those which must be kept super-cold. But there's a bit of a wrinkle. The research team which published their results in the journal Nature this week, had their previous study on another superconductor retracted in 2020. As a result, many scientists in the field have concerns about the quality of this new research Ira talks with Sophie Bushwick, technology editor at Scientific American, to make sense of this superconductor saga and other big science news of the week including bumblebee culture, extreme ways to save mountain glaciers, and identifying the worms in Mezcal. Can Utah's Great Salt Lake Be Saved Before It's Too Late? Utah's Great Salt Lake is one of the state's treasures and is vital to the local ecosystem and economy. But since the 1980s, it's been drying up—and now the lake's water level is at a record low. The lake is fed by three rivers, which are fed by Utah's snowpack. It's also a terminal lake, meaning that there's no outlet for water to exit. And as the population of Utah has increased, more water has been diverted from those rivers to agriculture, industry, and local residents. As more of the lakebed has become exposed, wind has picked up dust plumes and blown them into local communities. Dr. Kevin Perry, a professor of atmospheric science sciences at the University of Utah, discovered that those lakebed dust plumes contain heavy metals, including arsenic. But despite these challenges, Perry and local politicians are confident that if the right water usage reductions are put in place, the lake will have a chance to bounce back. Science Friday digital producer Emma Gometz visited Perry at the Great Salt Lake in January, who describes how we got here and what the future holds. Exploring A New Theory About Dark Energy's Origins Black holes remain one of the great mysteries of the universe. Another enigma? Dark energy. Little is known about this concept, aside from the belief that dark energy accelerates the expansion of the universe. These are two of the most mind-bending concepts in physics. There's a new theory that brings together black holes and dark energy into one mind-bending solution: research led by the University of Hawai'i at Manoa posits that dark energy could actually come from supermassive black holes at the center of galaxies. If true, this would be a massive breakthrough in what we know about astrophysics. But many experts in the field have reservations about this idea. Two of those experts join Ira to talk about this theory, and other recent black hole breakthroughs: Janna Levin, PhD, author of “Black Hole Blues” and “Black Hole Survival Guide,” and a physics and astronomy professor at Barnard College in New York City, and Feryal Özel, a professor and chair of physics at Georgia Institute of Technology, in Atlanta, Georgia. Transcripts for each segment will be available the week after the show airs on sciencefriday.com.

Physicist Frank Wilczek and Professor Janna Levin discuss Wilczek's book, “Fundamentals: Ten Keys to Reality.” Frank Wilczek jointly won The Nobel Prize in Physics in 2004, for his graduate work at Princeton with David Gross. He was among the earliest MacArthur Fellows and has won many awards both for his scientific work and his writing, which includes hundreds of articles in leading scientific journals. His “Wilczek's Universe” column appears regularly in the Wall Street Journal. Wilczek is the Herman Feshbach Professor of Physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Janna Levin is a Professor of Physics and Astronomy at Barnard College of Columbia University. A Guggenheim Fellow, Janna has contributed to an understanding of black holes, the cosmology of extra dimensions, and gravitational waves in the shape of spacetime. She is the presenter of NOVA's Black Hole Apocalypse special, aired on PBS. Levin's Black Hole Blues and Other Songs from Outer Space explains the discovery of the century: the sound of spacetime ringing from the collision of two black holes over a billion years ago. Physicist Frank Wilczek and Professor Janna Levin discuss Wilczek's book, “Fundamentals: Ten Keys to Reality.” Frank Wilczek jointly won The Nobel Prize in Physics in 2004, for his graduate work at Princeton with David Gross. He was among the earliest MacArthur Fellows and has won many awards both for his scientific work and his writing, which includes hundreds of articles in leading scientific journals. His “Wilczek's Universe” column appears regularly in the Wall Street Journal. Wilczek is the Herman Feshbach Professor of Physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Janna Levin is a Professor of Physics and Astronomy at Barnard College of Columbia University. A Guggenheim Fellow, Janna has contributed to an understanding of black holes, the cosmology of extra dimensions, and gravitational waves in the shape of spacetime. She is the presenter of NOVA's Black Hole Apocalypse special, aired on PBS. Levin's Black Hole Blues and Other Songs from Outer Space explains the discovery of the century: the sound of spacetime ringing from the collision of two black holes over a billion years ago.

Episode Notes This is Receding Horizons, Episode 2, where we talk about the exciting era of gravitational wave observations and multi-messenger astronomy. Brina Martinez is an undergraduate studying physics and computer science at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. She is currently a research assistant at the Center for Gravitational Wave Astronomy and in the Time Domain Astronomy Group operating the Cristina Torres Memorial Observatory, both under the mentorship of Dr. Mario Díaz. Brina is a published scientist. Her research focuses on characterizing noise sources intrinsic to the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory, or LIGO. She has participated in a research experience for undergraduates at Louisiana State University under Dr. Guillermo Valdes and Dr. Gabriela González, and was a LIGO undergraduate fellow at Caltech under Dr. Derek Davis. Brina is a board member and resident astrophysicist at the South Texas Astronomical Society, as well as a board member and secretary at the Brownsville Chapter of the Society of Physics Students. She was the recipient of several awards including a scholarship from the Society for Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans in Science, and a Victor M. Blanco Fellowship from the LIGO Lab and National Society of Hispanic Physicists. She is a gifted public speaker, and I've had the privilege to work with her (and make a lot of memories) during my time in Brownsville. Recorded on 26 February 2021. 00:00:00​ - Introduction 00:01:14​ - Excerpt from "Black Hole Blues" 00:02:48​ - Brina Martinez 00:15:53​ - LIGO 00:32:41​ - Gravitational wave events 00:44:06​ - Lacking belief and scientific leakage 00:52:37​ - Center for Gravitational Wave Astronomy 01:02:35​ - Multi-messenger observations 01:13:27​ - Scientific discovery 01:20:43​ - Daily life at Livingston 01:24:10​ - Analyzing thunderstorm noise 01:29:15​ - Black holes 01:32:49​ - Primordial gravitational waves 01:35:22​ - Unification 01:38:02​ - Singularities and horizons 01:45:03​ - Distorting spacetime 02:00:20​ - LISA 02:11:40​ - Future plans 02:14:38​ - Outro Related material: J. Levin, "Black Hole Blues and Other Songs from Outer Space", Bodley Head (2016), https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/27430326-black-hole-blues-and-other-songs-from-outer-space Gravitational Waves Summer School, L'École de Physique des Houches (2018), https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLo9ufcrEqwWG7TrsxBN5f4L5eX_ZxEhka P. R. Saulson, "Fundamentals of Interferometric Gravitational Wave Detectors", World Scientific (1994), https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11764374-fundamentals-of-interferometric-gravitational-wave-detectors G. González, "Gravitational Wave Astronomy", TDAG Astrophysics Seminar (2019), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4vCTNuINq6o&t=4040s&ab_channel=CTMObservatory PyCBC, Free and open software to study gravitational waves, https://pycbc.org/​ K. Mack, "The End of Everything (Astrophysically Speaking)", Scribner (2020), https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/52767659-the-end-of-everything B. Allen and J. D. Romano, "Detecting a Stochastic Background of Gravitational Radiation: Signal Processing Strategies and Sensitivities", Physical Review D 59, 102001 (1997), https://arxiv.org/pdf/gr-qc/9710117.pdf​ J. D. Romano and N. J. Cornish, "Detection Methods for Stochastic Gravitational-Wave Backgrounds: A Unified Treatment", Living Reviews in Relativity, 20:2 (2017), https://arxiv.org/pdf/1608.06889.pdf​ J. Baker, B. Brugmann, M. Campanelli, and C. O. Lousto, "Gravitational Waves from Black Hole Collisions via an Eclectic Approach", Classical and Quantum Gravity, Vol. 17, Number 20, L149 (2000), https://arxiv.org/pdf/gr-qc/0003027.pdf​ J. Baker, B. Brugmann, M. Campanelli, C. O. Lousto, and R. Takahashi, "Plunge Waveforms from Inspiralling Binary Black Holes", Physical Review Letters 87, 121103 (2001), https://arxiv.org/pdf/gr-qc/0102037.pdf​ J. Baker, M. Campanelli, and C. O. Lousto, "The Lazarus Project: A Pragmatic Approach to Binary Black Hole Evolutions", Physical Review D 65, 044001 (2005), https://arxiv.org/pdf/gr-qc/0104063.pdf​ G. Hallinan, A. Corsi, et al., "A Radio Counterpart to a Neutron Star Merger", Science, Vol. 358, Issue 6370, pp. 1579-1583 (2017), https://arxiv.org/pdf/1710.05435.pdf​ H.-Y. Chen et al., "Distance Measures in Gravitational-Wave Astrophysics and Cosmology", Classical and Quantum Gravity, Vol. 38, Number 5, 055010 (2021), https://arxiv.org/pdf/1709.08079.pdf​ B. Allen et al., "FINDCHIRP: An Algorithm for Detection of Gravitational Waves from Inspiraling Compact Binaries" Physical Review D 85, 122006 (2012), https://arxiv.org/pdf/gr-qc/0509116.p...​ K. Jani and A. Loeb, "Gravitational-Wave Lunar Observatory for Cosmology" (2020), https://arxiv.org/pdf/2007.08550.pdf​

Janna Levin is the Claire Tow Professor of Physics and Astronomy at Barnard College of Columbia University. She is also the Chair and Founding Director of the Science Studios at Pioneer Works. A Guggenheim Fellow, Janna has contributed to an understanding of black holes, the cosmology of extra dimensions, and gravitational waves in the shape of spacetime. She is the presenter of the NOVA feature Black Hole Apocalypse, aired on PBS—the first female presenter for NOVA in 35 years. Her previous books include How the Universe Got Its Spots and a novel, A Madman Dreams of Turing Machines, which won the PEN/Bingham Prize. Her latest book, Black Hole Blues and Other Songs from Outer Space, is the inside story on the discovery of the century: the sound of spacetime ringing from the collision of two black holes over a billion years ago. Her most recent book, Black Hole Survival Guide, was published on November 10, 2020.

Janna Levin on Extra Dimensions, Time Travel, and How to Overcome Boots in the Face | Brought to you by Allform and LinkedIn Jobs.“I used to resent obstacles along the path, thinking, ‘If only that hadn’t happened life would be so good.’ Then I suddenly realized, life is the obstacles. There is no underlying path.” — Janna LevinJanna Levin (@jannalevin) is the Tow Professor of Physics and Astronomy at Barnard College of Columbia University. She has contributed to an understanding of black holes, the cosmology of extra dimensions, and gravitational waves in the shape of spacetime. Janna is also director of sciences at Pioneer Works, a cultural center dedicated to experimentation, education, and production across disciplines, as well as Pioneer Works’ virtual home The Broadcast.Janna’s books include How the Universe Got Its Spots and the novel A Madman Dreams of Turing Machines, which won the PEN/Bingham Prize. In 2012, she was the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, a grant awarded to those “who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship.” Her last book, Black Hole Blues and Other Songs from Outer Space, is the inside story on the discovery of the century: the sound of spacetime ringing from the collision of two black holes over a billion years ago. Her new book, Black Hole Survival Guide, is scheduled for publication near the end of 2020.Please enjoy!This episode is brought to you by Allform! If you’ve been listening to the podcast for a while, you’ve probably heard me talk about Helix Sleep mattresses, which I’ve been using since 2017. They just launched a new company called Allform, and they’re making premium, customizable sofas and chairs shipped right to your door—at a fraction of the cost of traditional stores. You can pick your fabric (and they’re all spill, stain, and scratch resistant), the sofa color, the color of the legs, and the sofa size and shape to make sure it’s perfect for you and your home.Allform arrives in just 3–7 days, and you can assemble it yourself in a few minutes—no tools needed. To find your perfect sofa, check out Allform.com/TIM. Allform is offering 20% off all orders to you, my dear listeners, at Allform.com/TIM.This episode is also brought to you by LinkedIn Jobs. Whether you are looking to hire now for a critical role or thinking about needs that you may have in the future, LinkedIn Jobs can help. LinkedIn screens candidates for the hard and soft skills you’re looking for and puts your job in front of candidates looking for job opportunities that match what you have to offer.Using LinkedIn’s active community of more than 690 million professionals worldwide, LinkedIn Jobs can help you find and hire the right person faster. When your business is ready to make that next hire, find the right person with LinkedIn Jobs. You can pay what you want and get the first $50 off. Just visit LinkedIn.com/TIM.***If you enjoy the podcast, would you please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts/iTunes? It takes less than 60 seconds, and it really makes a difference in helping to convince hard-to-get guests.For show notes and past guests, please visit tim.blog/podcast.Sign up for Tim’s email newsletter (“5-Bullet Friday”) at tim.blog/friday.For transcripts of episodes, go to tim.blog/transcripts.Interested in sponsoring the podcast? Please fill out the form at tim.blog/sponsor.Discover Tim’s books: tim.blog/books.Follow Tim:Twitter: twitter.com/tferriss Instagram: instagram.com/timferrissFacebook: facebook.com/timferriss YouTube: youtube.com/timferriss

Podcast Notes Key Takeaways Janna’s mother taught her to read books while her father taught her to ask questions:“My dad’s an MD, so where my mom taught me how to read, my dad taught me how to ask questions. My dad’s just a super curious guy.”  – Janna LevinMath can show you things you can’t see:“I discover stuff through math that is so counterintuitive that I really wrestle with it, which is why I love math, because it’s telling me stuff that I can’t see.” – Janna LevinThe universe could very much be like Pac-Man. If you go past the right side, you simply end up on the left side:“He goes out one side. He comes in the other. He goes out the top. He comes in the bottom…I go out to the right side of the universe. I come in the left side. I go out the top of the universe. I come in the bottom. There’s no need for that to live in another space. That’s it.” – Janna LevinSome time travel is possible: “There are forms of time-travel that we absolutely know are possible. I can travel to the forward of your time. I can’t travel to the forward of mine, but I can travel to the forward of yours.” – Janna LevinLife is unfair and nobody is owed anything, that’s the way it is. Each obstacle is a test trial:“So I started to see life as a series of obstacles that were test trials, teaching modules of how to be a better person and to pave the way behind you, not in front of you. And it’s really been a pretty important principle for me” – Janna LevinRead the full notes @ podcastnotes.orgJanna Levin on Extra Dimensions, Time Travel, and How to Overcome Boots in the Face | Brought to you by Allform and LinkedIn Jobs.“I used to resent obstacles along the path, thinking, ‘If only that hadn’t happened life would be so good.’ Then I suddenly realized, life is the obstacles. There is no underlying path.” — Janna LevinJanna Levin (@jannalevin) is the Tow Professor of Physics and Astronomy at Barnard College of Columbia University. She has contributed to an understanding of black holes, the cosmology of extra dimensions, and gravitational waves in the shape of spacetime. Janna is also director of sciences at Pioneer Works, a cultural center dedicated to experimentation, education, and production across disciplines, as well as Pioneer Works’ virtual home The Broadcast.Janna’s books include How the Universe Got Its Spots and the novel A Madman Dreams of Turing Machines, which won the PEN/Bingham Prize. In 2012, she was the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, a grant awarded to those “who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship.” Her last book, Black Hole Blues and Other Songs from Outer Space, is the inside story on the discovery of the century: the sound of spacetime ringing from the collision of two black holes over a billion years ago. Her new book, Black Hole Survival Guide, is scheduled for publication near the end of 2020.Please enjoy!This episode is brought to you by Allform! If you’ve been listening to the podcast for a while, you’ve probably heard me talk about Helix Sleep mattresses, which I’ve been using since 2017. They just launched a new company called Allform, and they’re making premium, customizable sofas and chairs shipped right to your door—at a fraction of the cost of traditional stores. You can pick your fabric (and they’re all spill, stain, and scratch resistant), the sofa color, the color of the legs, and the sofa size and shape to make sure it’s perfect for you and your home.Allform arrives in just 3–7 days, and you can assemble it yourself in a few minutes—no tools needed. To find your perfect sofa, check out Allform.com/TIM. Allform is offering 20% off all orders to you, my dear listeners, at Allform.com/TIM.This episode is also brought to you by LinkedIn Jobs. Whether you are looking to hire now for a critical role or thinking about needs that you may have in the future, LinkedIn Jobs can help. LinkedIn screens candidates for the hard and soft skills you’re looking for and puts your job in front of candidates looking for job opportunities that match what you have to offer.Using LinkedIn’s active community of more than 690 million professionals worldwide, LinkedIn Jobs can help you find and hire the right person faster. When your business is ready to make that next hire, find the right person with LinkedIn Jobs. You can pay what you want and get the first $50 off. Just visit LinkedIn.com/TIM.***If you enjoy the podcast, would you please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts/iTunes? It takes less than 60 seconds, and it really makes a difference in helping to convince hard-to-get guests.For show notes and past guests, please visit tim.blog/podcast.Sign up for Tim’s email newsletter (“5-Bullet Friday”) at tim.blog/friday.For transcripts of episodes, go to tim.blog/transcripts.Interested in sponsoring the podcast? Please fill out the form at tim.blog/sponsor.Discover Tim’s books: tim.blog/books.Follow Tim:Twitter: twitter.com/tferriss Instagram: instagram.com/timferrissFacebook: facebook.com/timferriss YouTube: youtube.com/timferriss

(repeat) Stephen Hawking felt gravity's pull. His quest to understand this feeble force spanned his career, and he was the first to realize that black holes actually disappear – slowly losing the mass of everything they swallow in a dull, evaporative glow called Hawking radiation.  But one of gravity's deepest puzzles defied even his brilliant mind. How can we connect theories of gravity on the large scale to what happens on the very small? The Theory of Everything remains one of the great challenges to physicists. Also, the latest on deciphering the weirdness of black holes and why the gravitational wave detector LIGO has added colliding neutron stars to its roster of successes. Plus, a fellow physicist describes Dr. Hawking's extraordinary deductive abilities and what it was like to collaborate with him. And, a surprise awaits Molly when she meets a local string theorist to discuss his search for the Theory of Everything. Guests: Leonard Mlodinow– physicist and author of “The Grand Design” with Stephen Hawking, and most recently, “Elastic: Flexible Thinking in a Time of Change.”  Janna Levin– Physicist and astronomer, Barnard College, Columbia University, and the author of, “Black Hole Blues and Other Songs from Outer Space.”  Richard Camuccio– Graduate research assistant at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Center for Gravitational Wave Astronomy, a LIGO collaborator.  Wahltyn Rattray – Grad-student, the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Center for Gravitational Wave Astronomy. Raphael Bousso– Physicist, Berkeley Center for Theoretical Physics, University of California-Berkeley.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

(repeat) Stephen Hawking felt gravity’s pull.  His quest to understand this feeble force spanned his career, and he was the first to realize that black holes actually disappear – slowly losing the mass of everything they swallow in a dull, evaporative glow called Hawking radiation.  But one of gravity’s deepest puzzles defied even his brilliant mind.  How can we connect theories of gravity on the large scale to what happens on the very small?  The Theory of Everything remains one of the great challenges to physicists. Also, the latest on deciphering the weirdness of black holes and why the gravitational wave detector LIGO has added colliding neutron stars to its roster of successes. Plus, a fellow physicist describes Dr. Hawking’s extraordinary deductive abilities and what it was like to collaborate with him.  And, a surprise awaits Molly when she meets a local string theorist to discuss his search for the Theory of Everything. Guests: Leonard Mlodinow– physicist and author of “The Grand Design” with Stephen Hawking, and most recently, “Elastic: Flexible Thinking in a Time of Change.”  Janna Levin– Physicist and astronomer, Barnard College, Columbia University, and the author of, “Black Hole Blues and Other Songs from Outer Space.”  Richard Camuccio– Graduate research assistant at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Center for Gravitational Wave Astronomy, a LIGO collaborator.  Wahltyn Rattray – Grad-student, the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Center for Gravitational Wave Astronomy. Raphael Bousso– Physicist, Berkeley Center for Theoretical Physics, University of California-Berkeley.   

It's a big universe out there, full of an astonishing variety of questions and puzzles. Today's guest, Janna Levin, is a physicist who has delved into some of the trippiest aspects of cosmology and gravitation: the topology of the universe, extra dimensions of space, and the appearance of chaos in orbits around black holes. At the same time, she has been a pioneer in talking about science in interesting and innovative ways: a personal memoir, a novelized narrative of famous scientific lives, and a journalistic exploration of one of the most important experiments of our time. We talk about how one shapes an unusual scientific career, and how the practice of science relates to more traditionally humanistic concerns. Support Mindscape on Patreon or Paypal. Janna Levin received a Ph.D. in physics from MIT, and is now the Tow Professor of physics and astronomy at Barnard College of Columbia University. She is the author of  How the Universe Got Its Spots, A Madman Dreams of Turing Machines, and Black Hole Blues. Her awards include the PEN/Bingham Prize and a Guggenheim Fellowship. She is also the director of sciences at Pioneer Works in Brooklyn, NY. Web site Columbia web page Publications on INSPIRE TED talk on gravitational waves Amazon author page Pioneer Works Wikipedia page Twitter

(Repeat) Celebrations are in order for the physicists who won the 2017 Nobel Prize, for the detection of gravitational waves.  But the road to Stockholm was not easy.  Unfolding over a century, it went from doubtful theory to daring experiments and even disrepute.  100 years is a major lag between a theory and its confirmation, and new ideas in physics may take even longer to prove. Why it may be your great, great grandchildren who witness the confirmation of string theory.  Plus, the exciting insights that gravitational waves provide into the phenomena of our universe, beginning with black holes. And, physics has evolved - shouldn’t its rewards?  A case for why the Nobel committee should honor collaborative groups rather than individuals, and the scientific breakthroughs it’s missed.  Guests:  Janna Levin- Physicist and astronomer at Barnard College at Columbia University, and the author of the story of LIGO, “Black Hole Blues and Other Songs from Outer Space.” Roland Pease- BBC reporter, producer, and host of “Science in Action.”  David Gross- Theoretical physicist, string theorist, University of California, Santa Barbara, Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics, winner, 2004 Nobel Prize in Physics. 

(Repeat) Celebrations are in order for the physicists who won the 2017 Nobel Prize, for the detection of gravitational waves. But the road to Stockholm was not easy. Unfolding over a century, it went from doubtful theory to daring experiments and even disrepute. 100 years is a major lag between a theory and its confirmation, and new ideas in physics may take even longer to prove. Why it may be your great, great grandchildren who witness the confirmation of string theory. Plus, the exciting insights that gravitational waves provide into the phenomena of our universe, beginning with black holes. And, physics has evolved - shouldn't its rewards? A case for why the Nobel committee should honor collaborative groups rather than individuals, and the scientific breakthroughs it's missed.  Guests:  Janna Levin- Physicist and astronomer at Barnard College at Columbia University, and the author of the story of LIGO, “Black Hole Blues and Other Songs from Outer Space.” Roland Pease- BBC reporter, producer, and host of “Science in Action.”  David Gross- Theoretical physicist, string theorist, University of California, Santa Barbara, Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics, winner, 2004 Nobel Prize in Physics.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this podcast, Cody Gough and Ashley Hamer discuss the following stories from Curiosity.com — and talk to astrophysicist Katie Mack about black holes — to help you get smarter and learn something new in just a few minutes: Performing Meaningless Rituals Can Improve Your Self-Control There Are at Least 4 Ways a Black Hole Could Kill You What's The Difference Between Ice Cream, Gelato, Frozen Custard, Frozen Yogurt, And Others? More from Dr. Katherine “Katie” Mack, theoretical astrophysicist and cosmologist: Katie Mack's official website Research website Blog: The Universe, in Theory YouTube series "Pint in the Sky" "Pint in the Sky" podcast If you like black holes, you'll love the story of how scientists first detected gravitational waves. That's beautifully told in "Black Hole Blues and Other Songs from Outer Space" by Janna Levin, a theoretical astrophysicist and award-winning writer. We handpick reading recommendations we think you may like. If you choose to make a purchase, Curiosity will get a share of the sale. Learn about these topics and more onCuriosity.com, and download our5-star app for Android and iOS. Then, join the conversation onFacebook,Twitter, andInstagram. Plus: Amazon smart speaker users, enable ourAlexa Flash Briefing to learn something new in just a few minutes every day! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Columbia University astrophysicist Janna Levin talks to Kurt Andersen about gravitational waves, the book she wrote about the breakthrough called “Black Hole Blues,” and the arduous, 50-year journey to finally hearing the sound that proves a 100 year old theory of Einstein’s to be true. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Columbia University astrophysicist Janna Levin talks to Kurt Andersen about gravitational waves, the book she wrote about the breakthrough called “Black Hole Blues,” and the arduous, 50-year journey to finally hearing the sound that proves a 100 year old theory of Einstein’s to be true. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We talk to theoretical astrophysicist Janna Levin about her book Black Hole Blues and Other Songs from Outer Space.

In space, no one can hear you scream, but, using the right instruments, scientists can pick up all types of cosmic vibrations – the sort we can turn into sound. After a decade of listening, LIGO, a billion-dollar physics experiment, has detected gravitational waves caused by the collision of massive black holes, a brief shaking of spacetime that can be translated into a short squeal.  We listen to the chirp of black holes crashing into each other and wonder: could the universe contain more than individual sounds, but have actual musical structure?  A theoretical physicist and jazz saxophonist updates the ancient philosophical concept of the Music of the Spheres to probe the most vexing questions confronting modern cosmology. Find out how the evolution of the universe resembles an improvisational jazz piece, and the musical inspiration John Coltrane drew from Albert Einstein.  Guests: Janna Levin – Physicist, astronomer, Barnard College at Columbia University, author of “Black Hole Blues and Other Songs from Outer Space” Stephon Alexander - Professor of physics, Brown University, author of “The Jazz of Physics: The Secret Link Between Music and the Structure of the Universe”  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

ENCORE  In space, no one can hear you scream, but, using the right instruments, scientists can pick up all types of cosmic vibrations – the sort we can turn into sound.  After a decade of listening, LIGO, a billion-dollar physics experiment, has detected gravitational waves caused by the collision of massive black holes, a brief shaking of spacetime that can be translated into a short squeal.  We listen to the chirp of black holes crashing into each other and wonder: could the universe contain more than individual sounds, but have actual musical structure?  A theoretical physicist and jazz saxophonist updates the ancient philosophical concept of the Music of the Spheres to probe the most vexing questions confronting modern cosmology.  Find out how the evolution of the universe resembles an improvisational jazz piece, and the musical inspiration John Coltrane drew from Albert Einstein.  Guests: Janna Levin – Physicist, astronomer, Barnard College at Columbia University, author of “Black Hole Blues and Other Songs from Outer Space” Stephon Alexander - Professor of physics, Brown University, author of “The Jazz of Physics: The Secret Link Between Music and the Structure of the Universe” 

 Since 1916 when Einstein predicted the existence of gravitational waves—the powerful aftermath occurring when black holes collide—scientists have been trying to provide evidence of this profusion of energy. However, a telescope cannot record this event—the only evidence is the sound of spacetime ringing. Janna Levin, one of today’s most eminent theoretical astrophysicists and an award-winning writer, recounts the fascinating story of the surprises, disappointments, achievements, and risks of the scientists who embarked on an epic endeavor to capture the first sounds from space in her latest book, Black Hole Blues and Other Songs from Outer Space. Join us as Levin explores this radical scientific campaign to record the soundtrack of our universe with cosmologist Sean Carroll.For photos from the program, click here.

Nearly 100 years after Einstein predicted the existence of gravitational waves — huge undulations in the fabric of space-time itself — in 2015, detectors here on Earth finally picked up the signal of these massive disturbances. Dr. Michelle Thaller pulls apart the power and mystery of gravitational waves, and talks with Dr. Janna Levin, theoretical astrophysicist and author of the book, Black Hole Blues and Other Songs From Outer Space. Image caption: The LISA Pathfinder Mission paves the way for our first space-based gravitational wave detector. Having these detectors in space, instead of on Earth will make them much more sensitive and have less interference from other Earth-based noises, in our search for more clarity on gravitational waves. Image courtesy NASA JPL / ESA. Orbital Path is produced by Justin O’Neill and editor Andrea Mustain. Production oversight by John Barth and Genevieve Sponsler. Hosted by Michelle Thaller.

Featured Book: The Gene, by Siddhartha Mukherjee. The gene shapes who we are. While the science of genetics is still fairly young, it’s advancing at a breakneck speed. What will we do with this new knowledge?  And on the nightstand: Surfing Uncertainty, by Andy Clark; and Black Hole Blues, by Janna Levin.

The conclusion of our show about the discovery of gravitational waves, featuring Neil Tyson, Eugene Mirman, cosmologist Janna Levin, LIGO astrophysicist Nergis Mavalvala, and Michael Showalter. Recorded live at the Count Basie Theatre, Red Bank, NJ.

Everything you ever wanted to know about gravitational waves, explained by Neil Tyson, Eugene Mirman, cosmologist Dr. Janna Levin, LIGO astrophysicist Dr. Nergis Mavalvala, and comedian Michael Showalter. Recorded live at the Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank, NJ.

We talk to Janna Levin, professor of physics and astronomy at Barnard College and author of Black Hole Blues and Other Songs from Outer Space.

On Thursday, February 11, 2016, the National Science Foundation made a thrilling announcement: gravitational waves—first predicted by Einstein as part of his general theory of relativity in 1916—had been detected for the first time. This incredible development made front page news and was reported by outlets across the country. How was such a remarkable discovery, a long hundred years after Einstein’s prediction, made possible? In this Science Salon based on her new book, Black Hole Blues and Other Songs from Outer Space, astrophysicist and award-winning writer Dr. Janna Levin tells the epic story of the scientific campaign to record these waves—the holy grail of modern cosmology. A handful of physicists, led by Kip Thorne and Ronald Drever at Caltech and Rainer Weiss at MIT, have been working nearly their entire careers to conceive of, design, and build an instrument sensitive enough to detect gravitational waves. Levin delves into the lives and fates of the scientists, painting compelling portraits of these very human visionaries. She journeys from Los Angeles to Boston, to the LIGO interferometers in Hanford, Washington and Livingston, Louisiana, to the labs, offices, and observatories where the work in this great quest has painstakingly unfolded over the past five decades. Her account of the personalities, surprises, setbacks, and successes is a compelling and intimate portrait of the people and processes of modern science.

JANNA LEVIN (https://www.edge.org/memberbio/janna_levin) is a professor of physics and astronomy at Barnard College of Columbia University. She is the author of How the Universe Got Its Spots; A Madman Dreams of Turing Machines; and most recently, Black Hole Blues and Other Songs from Outer Space. The Conversation: https://www.edge.org/conversation/janna_levin-sounds-of-the-skies