Why This Universe?
by Dan Hooper, Shalma Wegsman
Is this your podcast?On the show
From 12 epsHosts
Recent guests
Recent episodes
101 — How Will AI Change Physics? (Ft. Yoni Kahn)
Oct 12, 2026
56m 00s
100 - What is Light? A Journey from Ancient Philosophy to Quantum Physics
Aug 24, 2026
36m 41s
99 - The 7 Most Exciting Developments in Physics Today + a WTU Update
Aug 3, 2026
36m 07s
98 - An Improbable Quantum Ghost Story (Ft. David Kaplan)
Jan 19, 2026
41m 21s
97 - The Schrödinger Equation: The Heart of Quantum Mechanics
Dec 22, 2025
29m 52s
Insights from recent episode analysis
Audience Interest
Podcast Focus
Publishing Consistency
Platform Reach
Insights are generated by CastFox AI using publicly available data, episode content, and proprietary models.
Most discussed topics
Brands & references
Total monthly reach
Blended from 1 signal.
Built from
By chart position
- 🇺🇸United States · PhysicsHOME#5240K to 1.5M
- 🇬🇧United Kingdom · Physics#420K to 125K
- 🇮🇳India · Physics#318K to 113K
- 🇫🇷France · Physics#313K to 79K
- 🇪🇸Spain · Physics#211K to 68K
- Per-Episode Audience
Est. listeners per new episode within ~30 days
396K to 2.5M🎙 ~2x weekly·116 episodes·Last published 6d ago - Monthly Reach
Unique listeners across all episodes (30 days)
791K to 4.9M🇺🇸61%🇬🇧5%🇮🇳5%+13 more - Active Followers
Loyal subscribers who consistently listen
317K to 2.0M
Market Insights
Platform Distribution
Reach across major podcast platforms, updated hourly
Total Followers
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Total Plays
—
Total Reviews
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* Data sourced directly from platform APIs and aggregated hourly across all major podcast directories.
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| Date | Episode | Topics | Guests | Brands | Places | Keywords | Sponsor | Length | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10/12/26 | 101 — How Will AI Change Physics? (Ft. Yoni Kahn) | In 2023, Dan made a bet with physicist Yoni Kahn about whether AI would be able to pass a graduate-level quantum field theory course by 2026. Today on the show, they revisit their bet and discuss what AI is capable of in physics today, and how it might change the field moving forward. Support the show | 56m 00s | ||||||
| 8/24/26 | lightquantum physics+3 | — | What is Light? | — | lightquantum physics+3 | — | 36m 41s | ||
| 8/3/26 | physics newsdevelopments in physics+3 | — | WTU | — | physicsscience news+3 | — | 36m 07s | ||
| 1/19/26 | quantum mechanicsnon-linear quantum mechanics+3 | David Kaplan | PatreonShalma Wegsman | — | quantum mechanicsnon-linear+4 | — | 41m 21s | ||
| 12/22/25 | quantum mechanicsSchrödinger equation+4 | — | PatreonShalma Wegsman+1 | — | quantum mechanicsSchrödinger equation+4 | — | 29m 52s | ||
| 11/24/25 | particle physicsdocumentary+3 | David Kaplan | Large Hadron ColliderParticle Fever | — | Large Hadron ColliderParticle Fever+5 | — | 53m 24s | ||
| 11/4/25 | aliensphysics+3 | Daniel Whiteson | Do Aliens Speak Physics? | — | aliensphysics+4 | — | 43m 10s | ||
| 10/13/25 | Nobel Prizescience+3 | — | NobelShalma Wegsman | — | Nobel Prizescience+3 | PatreonCODE | 34m 29s | ||
| 9/29/25 | Hubble Tensionuniverse expansion+3 | Adam Riess | — | — | Hubble Tensionuniverse expansion+4 | — | 31m 55s | ||
| 9/15/25 | dark energyuniverse expansion+3 | Adam Riess | PatreonShalma Wegsman | — | dark energyuniverse expansion+3 | — | 40m 23s | ||
Want analysis for the episodes below?Free for Pro Submit a request, we'll have your selected episodes analyzed within an hour. Free, at no cost to you, for Pro users. | |||||||||
| 5/2/25 | dark energytwin paradox+3 | — | Patreon | — | dark energytwin paradox+3 | — | 54m 36s | ||
| 3/9/25 | early universequantum interpretations+4 | — | Patreon | — | early universequantum interpretations+4 | — | 29m 05s | ||
| 1/13/25 | cosmologydiscoveries+3 | Dan Scolnic | — | — | cosmology2025+3 | — | 46m 14s | ||
| 12/23/24 | 91 - What Neutrinos Reveal About the Milky Way | A discovery last year reveals our galaxy in a whole new light - except it's not light, it's neutrinos! Learn what this discovery can teach us about the Milky Way and beyond.For exclusive ask-us-anything episodes, join us for just $3 a month on Patreon: https://patreon.com/whythisuniverse. Our merch is available here: https://www.shalmawegsman.com/why-this-universe Support the show | 30m 57s | ||||||
| 11/4/24 | 90 - Quintessence: Is Dark Energy Changing? (Ft. Sean Carroll) | Is it possible that dark energy is not a constant, but rather is changing over time? Sean Carroll talks to us about how our understanding of dark energy evolved in recent history, and what is still left unknown.For exclusive ask-us-anything episodes, join us for just $3 a month on Patreon: https://patreon.com/whythisuniverse. Our merch is available here: https://www.shalmawegsman.com/why-this-universe Support the show | 41m 43s | ||||||
| 10/14/24 | 89 - A Dark Matter Vibe Check | Dan and Shalma have a candid conversation about the state of dark matter research, and the ways the field has changed over the last few years.For exclusive ask-us-anything episodes, join us for just $3 a month on Patreon: https://patreon.com/whythisuniverse. Our merch is available here: https://www.shalmawegsman.com/why-this-universeSupport the show | 37m 14s | ||||||
| 9/23/24 | 88 - Why Does Our Universe Exist At All? (Ft. Sean Carroll) | Why does something exist, rather than nothing? Special guest Sean Carroll helps us explore this deep philosophical question.For ad free episodes and other exclusives, join us for just $3 a month on Patreon: https://patreon.com/whythisuniverse.Our merch is available here: https://www.shalmawegsman.com/why-this-universeSupport the show | 28m 01s | ||||||
| 9/2/24 | 87 - The Good and the Bad of Peer Review | There has been some criticism of the process scientists use to check each other's work. Today we take a deep dive into peer review to determine how broken it really is.For ad free episodes and other exclusives, join us for just $3 a month on Patreon: https://patreon.com/whythisuniverse.Our merch is available here: https://www.shalmawegsman.com/why-this-universeSupport the show | 39m 39s | ||||||
| 8/5/24 | 28 - How Noether's Theorem Changed Physics (Rerun) | Learn how Noether's profound mathematical theorem relating symmetries to conservation laws is deeply woven into the physics of the universe. Enjoy this rerun of an earlier episode as we take our summer break.For ad free episodes and other exclusives, join us for just $3 a month on Patreon: https://patreon.com/whythisuniverseOur merch is available here: https://www.shalmawegsman.com/why-this-universeSupport the show | 24m 21s | ||||||
| 7/2/24 | 86 - The Life and Death of Stars | We explore the diverse world of stars in the universe, from those similar to our Sun to those totally unrecognizable.For ad free episodes and other exclusives, join us for just $3 a month on Patreon: https://patreon.com/whythisuniverseOur merch is available here: https://www.shalmawegsman.com/why-this-universeSupport the show | 40m 52s | ||||||
| 6/17/24 | 85 - Our Sun: Present, Past and Future | Today's episode is all about the star in our front yard - the sun. Learn how it came to be, how it has changed, and how will it change in the future.For ad free episodes and other exclusives, join us for just $3 a month on Patreon: https://patreon.com/whythisuniverseOur merch is available here: https://www.shalmawegsman.com/why-this-universeSupport the show | 37m 23s | ||||||
| 6/3/24 | 84 - The Search For New Worlds (ft. Josh Winn) | Hear how the search for exoplanets has developed, and what surprises it has brought so far.For ad free episodes and other exclusives, join us for just $3 a month on Patreon: https://patreon.com/whythisuniverseOur merch is available here: https://www.shalmawegsman.com/why-this-universeSupport the show | 45m 14s | ||||||
| 5/13/24 | 83 - Witnessing a Revolution in Particle Physics (Ft. Chris Quigg) | Today we hear from someone who bore witness to the so-called “November Revolution” of particle physics in 1974.For ad free episodes and other exclusives, join us for just $3 a month on Patreon: https://patreon.com/whythisuniverseOur merch is available here: https://www.shalmawegsman.com/why-this-universe Support the show | 31m 44s | ||||||
| 4/29/24 | 82 - Science Vs. Pseudoscience | Pseudoscience can sometimes be hard to distinguish from the real thing. Today we discuss how philosophers of science have thought about this problem.For ad free episodes and other exclusives, join us for just $3 a month on Patreon: https://patreon.com/whythisuniverseOur merch is available here: https://www.shalmawegsman.com/why-this-universeSupport the show | 35m 40s | ||||||
| 4/15/24 | 81 - Ancient Greek Astronomy | The first episode in a new mini-series on philosophical problems in cosmology - Today we start with the origins of Western science and learn what the ancient Greeks thought about the cosmos.For ad free episodes and other exclusives, join us for just $3 a month on Patreon: https://patreon.com/whythisuniverseOur merch is available here: https://www.shalmawegsman.com/why-this-universeSupport the show | 43m 25s | ||||||
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Chart history for Why This Universe?
Peaked at #2 in Spain, top 10 in 40 of 50 tracked markets, currently #2 in Spain.
| Market | Genre | Peak | Current | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spain | — | #2 | #2 | — |
| ID | — | #2 | #2 | — |
| France | — | #3 | #3 | — |
| AT | — | #3 | #3 | — |
| CZ | — | #3 | #3 | — |
| RO | — | #3 | #3 | — |
| GR | — | #3 | #3 | — |
| India | — | #3 | #3 | — |
| PE | — | #3 | #3 | — |
| United Kingdom | — | #4 | #4 | — |
| Ireland | — | #4 | #4 | — |
| Norway | — | #4 | #4 | — |
| TH | — | #4 | #4 | — |
| United States | — | #5 | #5 | — |
| Canada | — | #5 | #5 | — |
| Australia | — | #5 | #5 | — |
| Netherlands | — | #5 | #5 | — |
| Denmark | — | #5 | #5 | — |
| VN | — | #5 | #5 | — |
| KE | — | #5 | #5 | — |
Chart Positions
50 placements across 49 markets.
Chart Positions
50 placements across 49 markets.