Hello everyone! This week on The Cosmic Companion, we explore exploration, exploring the human need to… explore. Later in the show, we’ll be talking with Jon Waterman, creator of Atlas of Wild America from National Geographic. From the dawn of time, humans have been driven by a primal urge: the need to explore. This innate curiosity has shaped our history, propelling us from the confines of caves to the vast expanse of our planet, and beyond. Let’s take a detour down memory lane. Somewhere between 75,000 and 50,000 years ago, a group of mobile Homo sapiens decided to take humankind’s first roa ..read more

HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYONE! (I mean, BOO!) This week on The Cosmic Companion, for our Halloween Special, we’ll be looking at The Top 10 Ways Space is Trying to Kill You! Later in the show, we’ll be talking with astrophysicist and science educator Ethan Siegel, host of Starts with a Bang! Get full access to The Cosmic Companion w/ James Maynard at thecosmiccompanion.substack.com/subscribe ..read more

Global warming and climate change is happening all around us. We look at the science of climate change, talking with Elizabeth Rusch, author of The 21. --- This week on The Cosmic Companion, we look at Global Warming - It's Not Just Hot Air! We will be talking with Elizabeth Rusch, author of The 21.  Climate change, the ultimate uninvited guest, has been making itself quite comfortable lately. It's like that distant cousin who shows up unannounced, cranks up the heat, and then leaves the door open. The science behind global warming is as fascinating as it is concerning. Since the Ind ..read more

Hello everyone! This week on The Cosmic Companion, we are pondering why Greece is the Word, discussing the birth of science in the ancient world, and what it means for us today. Later on, we'll be talking with Kenny Curtis and Jillian Hughes, hosts of the Greeking Out podcast, and authors of a new book of the same name, from Nat Geo Kids. Once upon a time, in the sunny lands of Ancient Greece more than 25 centuries ago, a bunch of curious folks decided to ask some big questions. "Why does the sun rise?" "What are stars?" "Why do planets move?". They were tired of attributing everything to the ..read more

This week on The Cosmic Companion, we’re discussing Artificial Intelligence and the Future of the Human Race. Later on, we are talking with one of your species more impressive information processing and dissemination units, Neil deGrasse Tyson.  Get full access to The Cosmic Companion w/ James Maynard at thecosmiccompanion.substack.com/subscribe ..read more

This week on The Cosmic Companion, we’re talking about how It’s a Weird World, After All! Later in the show, we’re going to talk with Kathryn Williams about Weird but True! World 2024, new from National Geographic Kids! Get full access to The Cosmic Companion w/ James Maynard at thecosmiccompanion.substack.com/subscribe ..read more

This week on The Cosmic Companion, we take on a weighty subject — gravity. Later in the show, we are going to talk with Joe Swiggum from the NanoGrav Collaboration. Gravity is one of those things that we all know about, but when you really stop to think about it, it’s pretty mind-boggling. I mean, there’s this invisible force that keeps us all stuck to the ground and makes things fall when we drop them. How wild is that? Get full access to The Cosmic Companion w/ James Maynard at thecosmiccompanion.substack.com/subscribe ..read more

This week on The Cosmic Companion, we talk about the mysteries of Dark Matter and Dark Energy. Later in the show, we will be joined by René Laureijs, Euclid Project Scientist, from The European Space Agency. If one were to look at all the matter and energy in the Universe, about 68% is dark energy, 27% is dark matter, and just five percent is everything we see around us. 95% of everything out there — is totally unknown.  [That’s chicken feed. What IS most of the Universe?] Good question! Get full access to The Cosmic Companion w/ James Maynard at thecosmiccompanion.substack.com/subscrib ..read more

We are back from summer break with an amazing guest, Richard Dinan, founder of Pulsar Fusion (Yeah. The guy from Made in Chelsea!).Kicking off the second half of our seventh season, we offer you a look at how the human race might take our first steps to becoming an interplanetary species. Later in the show, we will be talking with Richard Dinan, founder and CEO of Pulsar Fusion, about spacecraft powered by nuclear fusion. Neat-O, Wally! Get full access to The Cosmic Companion w/ James Maynard at thecosmiccompanion.substack.com/subscribe ..read more

We explore the greatest mysteries of the Universe, from the Big Bang, to black holes, dark matter, dark energy, and more, talking with famed cosmologist and author Lawrence Krauss... Get full access to The Cosmic Companion w/ James Maynard at thecosmiccompanion.substack.com/subscribe ..read more