8 episodes
Crash Course Pods: The Universe Crash Course Pods, Complexly
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- Science
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4.9 • 274 Ratings
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Dr. Katie Mack, a theoretical astrophysicist, walks #1 New York Times bestselling author John Green through the history of the entire universe - including the parts that haven’t been written yet.
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Ep. 7: What’s Keeping the Stars Apart
In this episode, Katie Mack and John Green discuss the wonder keeping the stars apart... dark energy.
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Ep. 6: The Story of Dark Matter
"How do we know that dark matter is there?" In this episode, Dr. Katie Mack and John Green unpack the full story of dark matter.
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Ep. 5: Black Holes
In this episode, John and Katie take a break from talking through the universe's timeline to focus on a mystery of our cosmos: black holes.
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Ep. 4: When The Stars Turned On
In this episode, the universe begins to become visible to itself. Dr. Katie Mack teaches John Green about the moment the stars turned on, while John seeks to answer one question... do humans matter to the universe?
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Ep. 3: The Dark Ages of the Cosmos
In this episode, the universe as we know it starts to come into focus. Dr. Katie Mack teaches John Green about the cosmic dark ages, the possibility of a multiverse, and the connection between the hot, dense early universe and today.
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Ep. 2: Why We Can Exist
Dr. Katie Mack and John Green discuss the fundamental forces of nature, the tiny ovens we know as particle colliders, and how we all can exist.
Customer Reviews
One you can keep coming back to
You can tell Dr. Katie Mack loves her work and is brilliant at breaking it down to be more accessible to people who don't have a ton of background knowledge in her field. I loved to hear her and John laugh, and also picked up on when they both were and are in awe with the universe. You can also tell Dr. Mack loves being an educator and I hope her students know how special it is to have someone who loves what they do teaching them.
I keep coming back to relisten to episodes because I pick up something new each time. Also John does a decent job of providing summaries throughout the topic transitions for a good recap.
Excellent
I had just finished “Coming of Age in the Milky Way” recently, a book that tried to explain the beginning of the universe, the history of astronomy and physics particles that was on PBS many decades ago, which also won the Pulitzer. Then, an algorithm recommended this podcast. Perfect way to continue learning where we’re at now with what we know so far.
Meh
The topic sounds interesting but the Dr. explains complex topics with very few to no examples to help the listener understand. Also, she’ll go on long explanations and the male host will just respond with, “Okay. Interesting, interesting.” I also found the male host to be dull in his questioning and commentary. He’s supposed to represent the listener and yet he rarely has any questions or response other than to comment on how boring a name is of a scientific discovery, or to voice his existential dread. Not a good podcast.