August 26, 2018
MP3 FILE / 38 MINUTES / 60 MB
High-energy neutrino traced back to a distant galaxy, with Azadeh Keivani; possible discovery of sterile neutrinos, with Richard Van de Water; black holes replaced by fuzzballs, with Samir Mathur; finding an almost-quantum theory, with Miguel Navascues; and testing free will with AI, with Avi Loeb.
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Individual Stories
Neutrino Mysteries
MP3 FILE / 13 MINUTES / 30 MB
The source of a high-energy neutrino detected at the South Pole has been traced for the first time--to a distant galaxy 4 billion light years away. Astrophysicist Azadeh Keivani tells us how this was done, with the help of multiple observatories. Meanwhile, physicists working at the Miniboone experiment may have spotted signs of new physics--possibly a new type of 'sterile' neutrino. Physicist Richard Van de Water explains more.
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Fuzzballs Solve Black Hole Paradox
MP3 FILE / 8 MINUTES / 19 MB
String theorist Samir Mathur has developed a model in which black holes are replaced by fuzzy balls of string, with no singularities and no event horizon. He explains to Sophie Hebden how fuzzballs solve the black hole information paradox and may rewrite the Big Bang.
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Almost Quantum
MP3 FILE / 8 MINUTES / 19 MB
Physicist Miguel Navascues is on a mission to overturn quantum theory and replace it with a deeper framework, with almost--but not quite--the same set of weird properties of quantum theory, as he explains to reporter Colin Stuart.
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Testing Free Will with AI
MP3 FILE / 7 MINUTES / 17 MB
Could developments in machine learning give scientists a way to test if free will is real, an emergent phenomenon, or an illusion? Physicist Avi Loeb explains to reporter John Farrell how he thinks they could--and why this is important for our sense of moral responsibility.
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