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You might have heard that we are made of ‘star stuff’, but what exactly does that mean? In this collaboration between The Atlantic and the podcast TRBQ (The Really Big Questions), the NASA astronomer Michelle Thaller explains how every atom in the human body – and, indeed, every object in the Universe that is composed of anything more complex than hydrogen and helium atoms – can be traced back to the life cycle of a star.
Producer: Flora Lichtman, Katherine Wells
Websites: Soundvision Productions, TRBQ
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Earth science and climate
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22 minutes
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Cosmology
The Indian astronomer whose innovative work on black holes was mocked at Cambridge
13 minutes
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Astronomy
Seven years later, what can we make of our first confirmed interstellar visitor?
59 minutes
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Physics
Is it possible to design a shape to roll along any fixed path?
4 minutes
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Biotechnology
The two women behind a world-changing scientific discovery
14 minutes
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Medicine
Why surgery and barbering were one occupation in the Middle Ages
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Space exploration
Mind-bending speed is the only way to reach the stars – here are three ways to do it
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Biography and memoir
As her world unravels, Pilar wonders at the ‘sacred geometry’ that gives it structure
20 minutes
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Meaning and the good life
Why strive? Stephen Fry reads Nick Cave’s letter on the threat of computed creativity
5 minutes