Cool Worlds Podcast

Special solo episode about the recent news of the first exomoon discovery. To support this podcast and our research lab, head to https://coolworldslab.com/support Cool Worlds Podcast Theme by Hill [https://open.spotify.com/artist/1hdkvBtRdOW4SPsnxCXOjK] REFERENCES - Hoy et al. 2026, "Planetary-mass exosatellite detected around the substellar companion of a star": https://arxiv.org/abs/2607.05193 and https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-026-10751-w#Bib1- Kral et al. 2026, "Exomoon search with VLTI/GRAVITY around the substellar companion HD 206893 B": https://arxiv.org/abs/2511.20091- Todorov et al. 2010, "Discovery of a Planetary-mass Companion to a Brown Dwarf in Taurus": https://arxiv.org/abs/1004.0539- Chauvin et al. 2004, "A Giant Planet Candidate near a Young Brown Dwarf": https://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0409323- IAU Commission F2, "The IAU Working Definition of an Exoplanet": https://arxiv.org/abs/2203.09520

In this week's episode, David is joined by Sara Imari Walker, Professor of Earth & Space Exploration at the Arizona State University. Prof Walker has spent the last few years developing a new concept in astrobiology known as assembly theory, which we explore in this episode. To support this podcast and our research lab, head to https://coolworldslab.com/support Cool Worlds Podcast Theme by Hill [https://open.spotify.com/artist/1hdkvBtRdOW4SPsnxCXOjK]

Use code coolworldspodcast at https://incogni.com/coolworldspodcast to get an exclusive 60% off an annual Incogni plan. In this week's episode, David is joined by Natalie Batalha, Professor of Astronomy & Astrophysics at UC Santa Cruz. Prof Batalha was one of the leaders of the historic NASA Kepler Mission which discovered the majority of known exoplanets, and in 2017 was one of the Time 100 most influential people. To support this podcast and our research lab, head to https://coolworldslab.com/support Cool Worlds Podcast Theme by Hill [https://open.spotify.com/artist/1hdkvBtRdOW4SPsnxCXOjK]

Use code coolworldspodcast at https://incogni.com/coolworldspodcast to get an exclusive 60% off an annual Incogni plan. In this week's episode, David is joined by Nick Searra, Founder and Executive Directory of the Interstellar Foundation (https://www.interstellarfoundation.com/). The Interstellar Foundation is building updated versions of the Golden Record for the new space age - physical data storage devices that will be attached to spacecraft to serve as a record of humanity's knowledge and an attempt at alien communication through deep time. To support this podcast and our research lab, head to https://coolworldslab.com/support Cool Worlds Podcast Theme by Hill [https://open.spotify.com/artist/1hdkvBtRdOW4SPsnxCXOjK]

In this week's episode, David is joined by Prof Janna Levin, Professor of Astronomy at Barnard College of Columbia University. Janna is an expert in the theoretical physics of black holes, an author, a communicator of science and co-founder of Pioneer Works. To support this podcast and our research lab, head to https://coolworldslab.com/support Go to https://ground.news/CWP to discover the full spectrum of truths and absurdities behind today’s headlines. Save 40% on the Ground News unlimited access Vantage plan with my link. Prof Levin's research page: https://jannalevin.com/ Pioneer Works: https://pioneerworks.org/ Janna's Books: https://jannalevin.com/books/black-hole-survival-guide/ Cool Worlds Podcast Theme by Hill [https://open.spotify.com/artist/1hdkvBtRdOW4SPsnxCXOjK]

In this week's episode, David is joined by climate scientist Dr Gavin Schmidt, Director of the NASA Goddard Institute of Space Studies (GISS) and co-founded of the RealClimate blog. To support this podcast and our research lab, head to www.coolworldslab.com/support RealClimate: https://www.realclimate.org/ NASA GISS: https://www.giss.nasa.gov/ Cool Worlds Podcast Theme by Hill [https://open.spotify.com/artist/1hdkvBtRdOW4SPsnxCXOjK]

In this week's episode, David is joined by Lisa Kaltenegger, Professor at Cornell and Director of the Carl Sagan Institute. Lisa's new book, "Alien Earths", has just hit the shelves so we talk about what made her write this book, her view on the abundance of life in the cosmos, and her take on a couple of recent controversies in the field of astrobiology. To support this podcast and our research lab, head to www.coolworldslab.com/support Cool Worlds Podcast Theme by Hill [https://open.spotify.com/artist/1hdkvBtRdOW4SPsnxCXOjK]