A Cartoonist and Physicist Team Up to Explain the Universe in New Science Podcast

Have you ever wondered how galaxies formed, what constitutes dark matter, or what exactly lies inside a black hole? You’re not the only one. A new podcast called Daniel and Jorge Explain the Universe is condensing these complex topics into 35-minute lessons that everyone can understand.

The podcasters who lent their names to the show are cartoonist Jorge Cham and physicist Daniel Whiteson. They previously teamed up to pen the 2017 book We Have No Idea: A Guide to the Unknown Universe, which explored some of the many unanswered questions about the world and how it works. Their new venture will tackle similar themes.

So far, they’ve produced two episodes, both of which launch today, and which address the questions “Is the Higgs Boson useful?” and “Are we living in a simulation?” The tone of the show is laid-back and conversational, so it’s easy for the uninitiated to follow.

“Think of it as your chance to sit at a bar with some cool scientists and getting to ask them all the things you always wanted to know about space, stars, particles, and the cosmos,” Whiteson, who conducts research using the Large Hadron Collider at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), says in a promotional video.

The podcast is a product of HowStuffWorks, which also produces Stuff You Should Know, Stuff You Missed in History Class, The Daily Zeitgeist, and of course Part-Time Genius, from the pair who founded Mental Floss.