We’re marking our 50th episode with a visit from the extraordinary Dr. Katherine (Katie) Mack— known to her more than 350,000 Twitter followers as AstroKatie— who joins Jocelyn and Bradley for a fascinating and surprisingly jovial discussion of the end of the universe. In the words of Randall Munroe, Katie combines “deep thinking about physics and big-picture awe in the style of Carl Sagan,” outlining the possible fates of our cosmos, from Big Crunch to Big Rip to Big Bounce. She explains how “cosmic eschatologists” like her are evaluating the evidence for these competing scenarios, and what dark energy has to do with it. The friends also discuss how cosmological theories inflect the narratives from which humans create meaning, and why we are so emotionally invested in how the universe ends. Finally, Katie shares highlights of her science journey and some crucial insights about science communication. It’s the end of the universe as we know it, and we feel fine!

You can find Katie on Twitter @AstroKatie. You can also learn more about her amazing work on her website at http://www.astrokatie.com/ and at the links below.

Pre-order The End of Everything (Astrophysically Speaking): http://www.astrokatie.com/book

2018 UNL Science Slam keynote address: https://youtu.be/twws01vxYZw

“Disorientation” by Katie Mack: https://youtu.be/2wT1-bRj9wI

A Conversation with Katie Mack (The Perimeter Institute): https://youtu.be/q4a1bzrR65Q

North Carolina State Leadership in Public Science Cluster: https://facultyclusters.ncsu.edu/clusters/leadership-in-public-science/