Big Brains

Meet The ‘Planet Hunter’ Searching For Alien Life, with Jacob Bean


Listen Later

The search for life beyond Earth is no longer science fiction—it takes a lot of data, powerful telescopes and a bit of cosmic detective work. And at the center of this search is University of Chicago astrophysicist Jacob Bean. Bean was part of the team that made history by detecting carbon dioxide in the atmosphere of a distant planet using the James Webb Space Telescope—a major step forward in our ability to study exoplanets.

Bean uses cutting-edge tools and discoveries that are reshaping how we think about planet habitability, biosignatures and our place in the universe. From potentially habitable exoplanets like K2-18b to false hopes like Gliese 486b, Bean shares why the atmospheres of these faraway worlds might hold the key to one of humanity’s oldest questions: Are we alone in the universe?

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

Big BrainsBy University of Chicago Podcast Network

  • 4.7
  • 4.7
  • 4.7
  • 4.7
  • 4.7

4.7

451 ratings


More shows like Big Brains

View all
Science Friday by Science Friday and WNYC Studios

Science Friday

6,097 Listeners

On the Media by WNYC Studios

On the Media

9,116 Listeners

EconTalk by Russ Roberts

EconTalk

4,223 Listeners

Radiolab by WNYC Studios

Radiolab

43,909 Listeners

Fresh Air by NPR

Fresh Air

38,173 Listeners

Planet Money by NPR

Planet Money

30,821 Listeners

Freakonomics Radio by Freakonomics Radio + Stitcher

Freakonomics Radio

32,251 Listeners

Hidden Brain by Hidden Brain, Shankar Vedantam

Hidden Brain

43,396 Listeners

Explain It to Me by Vox

Explain It to Me

7,835 Listeners

The Gray Area with Sean Illing by Vox

The Gray Area with Sean Illing

10,687 Listeners

Capitalisn't by University of Chicago Podcast Network

Capitalisn't

526 Listeners

Throughline by NPR

Throughline

15,977 Listeners

The Pie: An Economics Podcast by Becker Friedman Institute at UChicago

The Pie: An Economics Podcast

174 Listeners

People I (Mostly) Admire by Freakonomics Radio + Stitcher

People I (Mostly) Admire

2,137 Listeners

The Ezra Klein Show by New York Times Opinion

The Ezra Klein Show

15,174 Listeners