Why This Universe? Podcast Transcripts
Dan Hooper, Shalma Wegsman · 116 episodes with transcripts
The biggest ideas in physics, broken down. Join theoretical physicist Dan Hooper and co-host Shalma Wegsman as they answer your questions about dark matter, black holes, quantum mechanics, and more. Part of The University of Chicago Podcast Network.
Spoken has transcripts of 116 Why This Universe? episodes, with the speakers named. The newest listed here is from August 24, 2026.
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Latest Why This Universe? transcripts
100 - What is Light? A Journey from Ancient Philosophy to Quantum Physics
August 24, 2026
Dan Hooper (0:01)
Today, we know that light is made of photons or pieces of electromagnetic waves. These photons are particles, but these particles also act very much like waves, which travel through space at an incredible 300 million meters every second.
But long before we knew any of these things about light, human beings have wondered about what light really is and how it really works. Today in the show, we're going to talk about some of the theories of light that people proposed going back to ancient times, and explore how people made sense of light when we were…
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