Particle Physics podcasts

Physicist Daniel Akerib joins Sean Carroll to examine the search for weakly interacting massive particles and the challenges of directly detecting dark matter. They discuss a single unusual event in recent LUX-ZEPLIN data and why its low statistical significance warrants interest rather than a discovery claim. The conversation connects this result with Akerib’s experience in the Cryogenic Dark Matter Search, LUX and LUX-ZEPLIN experiments.

Hosted by Sean Carroll

Astrophysicist Benoît Famaey and theoretical physicist Francesca Calore discuss the evidence motivating dark matter and the challenges of identifying its nature. With Alexandra Delbot, they examine proposed particle candidates, possible detection signals and why a promising observation requires careful scrutiny before being treated as a discovery.

Hosted by Alexandra Delbot

Jonathan Webb interviews Theresa Fruth of the University of Sydney about a potential dark-matter signal in the LUX-ZEPLIN xenon experiment. They explain how detector observations are interpreted, why the signal is of interest and what further evidence would be needed.

Hosted by Jonathan Webb

Nature's Benjamin Thompson and Maren Hunsberger discuss research recognised by the 2026 Ig Nobel prizes, including a soil-health experiment, and examine an intriguing signal from a xenon-based dark-matter experiment. Published on 4 September 2026, this episode connects environmental measurement with particle-physics news.

Øystein Elgarøy and Anders Kvellestad discuss unresolved problems in physics, drawing on cosmology and particle physics. Conversation in Norwegian.

Sean Carroll explores explanations for cosmic acceleration beyond a constant vacuum energy. He discusses dynamical dark-energy models, their relationship to particle physics, possible changes to gravity and the observations that could help distinguish competing theories.

Hosted by Sean Carroll

Are Raklev discusses the Standard Model and experimental searches for physical phenomena beyond it. Conversation in Norwegian.

Are Raklev discusses the search for fundamental particles and the experiments that led to the Higgs-boson discovery. Conversation in Norwegian.