In popular podcasts, CAS chairs McGaugh and Beal share expertise on dark matter, the apocalypse

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Stacy McGaugh, professor and chair of the department of astronomy

Two College of Arts and Sciences department chairs recently shared their expertise with podcast audiences.

Stacy McGaugh, professor and chair of the Department of Astronomy, appears on the “Cosmic Controversy” podcast to discuss ”The Trouble with Dark Matter” with science journalist and Forbes contributor Bruce Dorminey.

professor wers dark suit with blue shirt and gray tie

Timothy Beal, Florence Harkness Professor of Religion and chair of the Department of Religious Studies

Topics include dark matter’s scientific history, the evidence for—and against—the leading models for dark matter, and new scientific prospects, including the possibility of modified gravity models as the solution to this long-standing cosmological problem.

For the “Apocalypse Now?” episode of the “Unholier Than Thou” podcast, Beal talks with Phil Picardi, former editor of Out magazine. Their wide-ranging conversation explores how apocalyptic, end-of-the-world speculations are feeding into cultural anxieties about the pandemic and how those anxieties are converging with widespread tensions and protests about deeply entrenched racism.

Picardi and Beal also discuss Beal’s book, “The Book of Revelation: A Biography“; what our obsession with predicting the end of the world actually reveals about us; and the idea that the end of one world could mean the creation of a new one.