The Cosmic Controversy Podcast

Episode 47 --- How Palomar Observatory Changed Almost Everything We Knew About Astronomy

Astronomer and author Linda Schweizer talks about her comprehensive new history of Palomar Observatory --- “Cosmic Odyssey:  How Intrepid Astronomers At Palomar Observatory Changed Our View of the Universe” from MIT Press.  We focus on Palomar’s early 20^th century construction and history.  Schweizer is an expert on every aspect of the observatory; its history, and its many astronomical discoveries. 

Episode 46 – Harvard Geologist Andy Knoll Sums Up The Grand Sweep Of Earth’s History

Harvard University geologist Andrew H. Knoll takes on the grand sweep of Earth’s formation and evolution in his new book “A Brief History of Earth: Four Billion Years in Eight Chapters.  He succinctly describes Earth from its cosmological beginnings in a molecular cloud on through to the present day.  It’s a fine line between the vacuum of space and the planet on which we walk.

Episode 45 --- The Incredible Story of Flying Tiger Flight 923’s North Atlantic Ditching

Author Eric Lindner talks about his forthcoming book, “Tiger in the Sea:  The Ditching of Flying Tiger 923 and the Desperate Struggle for Survival.”  The September 23, 1962 Flying Tiger Line passenger charter Lockheed Super Constellation aircraft en route from McGuire Air Force Base in New Jersey to Frankfurt, Germany lost three of its four engines to fire some 500 miles off the west coast of Ireland.  This largely forgotten episode in aviation history hastened the end of propeller-driven transport aircraft.

Episode 44 --- ESA’s Upcoming Euclid Dark Energy Survey

Fascinating new chat with Michael Seiffert, the NASA project scientist for the U.S. contribution to the European Space Agency’s Euclid spacecraft.  Due for launch in the second half of 2022, we discuss how this new space telescope will help astronomers finally understand the mystery of dark energy and maybe even dark matter. 

Episode 43 --- What Future And Final Galaxy Surveys Will Teach Us About The Cosmos

Jason Rhodes, a cosmologist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, and the JPL Roman Space Telescope Project Scientist, discusses a proposed galaxy survey to end all galaxy surveys.  One that would wring as much information out of our universe’s trillion or so galaxies across cosmic time as humanly possible.  Astronomers are still at least half a century off from this final galaxy census, but the hope is that it will give cosmologists most of the answers they need about the makeup and structure of the universe. 

Episode 42 --- Neil DeGrasse Tyson Talks About His New Book “Cosmic Queries”

Astrophysicist Neil DeGrasse Tyson, director of the Hayden Planetarium at the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) in New York City, discusses everything from pond scum to space aliens in this off-the-wall and very engaging episode.  It’s vintage Tyson.  We also touch on his latest book written with George Mason University physicist James Trefil --- “Cosmic Queries:  StarTalk’s Guide To Who We Are, How We Got Here, And Where We’re Going.” 

Episode 41 --- The History Of Space Exploration In 100 Objects

Award-winning NASA astrophysicist and author Sten Odenwald discusses several of the 100 objects featured in his 2019 book:  “Space Exploration:  A History in 100 Objects.”  I pick a few of the lesser known and underappreciated objects, which run the gamut in their differing ages.  In this compelling episode, it’s amazing to hear and understand just how far humanity has come in its technological quest to understand the cosmos.

Episode 40 --- Cosmic Cataclysms And The Evolution Of Intelligent Life On Earth

I welcome renowned evolutionary paleobiologist Bruce S. Lieberman, a professor at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, who is an expert on how cosmic cataclysms have impacted the evolution of life here on Earth.  Massive nearby supernovae, gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) as well as asteroidal and cometary impactors have each played a role in our planet’s long tape of life.  And if we were able to rewind that tape and roll the die once more?  Would intelligent life have manifested itself here at all?  This lively episode delves into our long road from Trilobite to Human Intelligence.

Episode 39 --- What NASA’s Perseverance Rover Is Teaching The Rest Of Us.

NASA’s Rob Manning, JPL’s Chief Engineer, discusses management, logistics, innovation and the future of robotic Mars exploration in this unique episode.  With this week’s successful landing of the Perseverance rover on an ancient river delta, NASA ups its game at a time when the rest of the country badly needs some encouraging news.  Manning talks about how JPL keeps itself on track when finessing complicated billion-dollar initiatives. 

Episode 38 --- The Trouble With Dark Energy

Nearly 25 years after its discovery, the mystery at the core of dark energy persists.  Astronomers are no closer to understanding what’s behind this cosmic repulsive force that counteracts gravity and causes the cosmos to expand at an accelerating rate than when it was first discovered in 1998.  Guest Alexei Filippenko is a member of the Nobel Prize-winning team that detected dark energy via supernovae surveys. He gives us the inside scoop on how dark energy was detected; what it means for our existence and the prospects for unmasking this bizarre force of nature that makes up some 70 percent of the observable universe.