NOVA Presents

Hakeem Oluseyi, astrophysicist and host of Particles of Thought, takes the hot seat as NOVA Remix host and Senior Producer Caitlin Saks interviews him about his new book, Why Do We Exist? The Nine Realms of the Universe That Make You Possible. Hakeem tells his personal story of being a poor kid from the deep South who found Einstein in an encyclopedia and ended up at Stanford. Then he walks through the book's nine realms, argues that Pluto and the Moon are planets, estimates life in our galaxy, explains time and the pre-Big Bang universe, and shares why energy and imagination are humanity's best bets.
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Guest Bio:
Hakeem Oluseyi is host of Particles of Thought, an astrophysicist, author, STEM educator, multi-patented inventor, science journalist, TV personality, science communicator, and inspirational speaker. His research is based on “hacking stars” to understand our universe better and develop innovative new technologies. Oluseyi’s work has resulted in 11 patents and more than 100 publications covering contributions to astrophysics, cosmology, and plasma physics and the development of space missions, observatories, focal plane instruments, detectors, semiconductor manufacturing, and ion propulsion.

Hakeem says there was more than one big bang. There were ten.

Our host answers the biggest questions about his latest book, Why Do We Exist? Like, how the idea of ‘now’ depends on your relative motion or that there might be a time before time. Reality keeps unravelling as he explains that at a certain distance space recedes even faster than light. To top it off, the conversation enters the Realm of Imagination, and joins Hakeem in his optimistic view of human space travel, world peace, and even the apocalypse. 
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Guest Bio:
Hakeem Oluseyi is host of Particles of Thought, an astrophysicist, author, STEM educator, multi-patented inventor, science journalist, TV personality, science communicator, and inspirational speaker. His research is based on “hacking stars” to understand our universe better and develop innovative new technologies. Oluseyi’s work has resulted in 11 patents and more than 100 publications covering contributions to astrophysics, cosmology, and plasma physics and the development of space missions, observatories, focal plane instruments, detectors, semiconductor manufacturing, and ion propulsion.

Hakeem has hot takes on space. For instance, the moon is a planet.

In Hakeem’s new book, Why Do We Exist?, he shares big ideas about the universe. Why do so many stars come in pairs? How likely is extraterrestrial life? What if there was no friction? Hakeem challenges us to think like him and see our reality through his Nine Realms of the Universe.   Through that lens, atoms model galaxies, stars take new names, and the statistically improbable becomes more likely over time. Settle in for a conversation between Hakeem’s mind and the heavens.  
Learn more about NOVA and visit our YouTube channel.
Guest Bio:
Hakeem Oluseyi is host of Particles of Thought, an astrophysicist, author, STEM educator, multi-patented inventor, science journalist, TV personality, science communicator, and inspirational speaker. His research is based on “hacking stars” to understand our universe better and develop innovative new technologies. Oluseyi’s work has resulted in 11 patents and more than 100 publications covering contributions to astrophysics, cosmology, and plasma physics and the development of space missions, observatories, focal plane instruments, detectors, semiconductor manufacturing, and ion propulsion.

Our host flips the interview and shares his humble beginnings before science superstardom. 
Hakeem opens up about a childhood moving between some of America's toughest neighborhoods, surviving drugs, and overcoming addiction. Luckily, an encyclopedia article on Einstein changed everything and set him on his unlikely path from rural Mississippi to Stanford. Along the way, he changed his name, found some key mentors, and became an astrophysicist, but more importantly, Hakeem started a journey to bring science to millions  
Learn more about NOVA and visit our YouTube channel.
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Guest Bio:
Hakeem Oluseyi is host of Particles of Thought, an astrophysicist, author, STEM educator, multi-patented inventor, science journalist, TV personality, science communicator, and inspirational speaker. His research is based on “hacking stars” to understand our universe better and develop innovative new technologies. Oluseyi’s work has resulted in 11 patents and more than 100 publications covering contributions to astrophysics, cosmology, and plasma physics and the development of space missions, observatories, focal plane instruments, detectors, semiconductor manufacturing, and ion propulsion.

Earthquakes can be more powerful than atomic bombs.
Luckily, Harvard geophysicist John Shaw has ideas on how to beat them. What really causes earthquakes? How can cities and buildings be engineered to survive them? John and Hakeem trace the science of shaking ground from ancient myth to cutting-edge machine learning, and reveal just how much is still left to discover deep beneath the surface.
Learn more about NOVA and visit our YouTube channel.
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Guest Bio:
John Shaw is the Harry C. Dudley Professor of Structural and Economic Geology at Harvard University, where he also serves as Vice Provost for Research. A structural geologist and applied geophysicist, he studies the faults deep beneath our feet, with research spanning earthquake hazards, energy systems, and carbon storage.