Uploaded December 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Discovering dark energy wasn’t just thrilling—it was terrifying. Nobel Prize Winner Adam Riess explains the nerve-wracking process behind confirming that the universe’s expansion is accelerating and why Einstein’s so-called “biggest blunder” turned out to be anything but.
🎙️ Watch the full podcast: youtu.be/0-gEJoSa1Kg?si=ZcHDpXdis0Tfn76e
Adam Riess is an astrophysicist, professor at Johns Hopkins University, and a distinguished astronomer at Space Telescope Science Institute. In 2011, he was named as a co-winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics for his contributions to the discovery that the expansion rate of the universe is accelerating. Since then he has continued refining measurements of cosmic expansion and the Hubble constant, aiming to find and measure the most distant type Ia supernovae known, to probe the origin of cosmic acceleration.
"Particles of Thought" is hosted by Hakeem Oluseyi, 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.
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Discovering dark energy wasn’t just thrilling—it was terrifying. Nobel Prize Winner Adam Riess explains the nerve-wracking process behind confirming that the universe’s expansion is accelerating and why Einstein’s so-called “biggest blunder” turned out to be anything but.
🎙️ Watch the full podcast: youtu.be/0-gEJoSa1Kg?si=ZcHDpXdis0Tfn76e
Adam Riess is an astrophysicist, professor at Johns Hopkins University, and a distinguished astronomer at Space Telescope Science Institute. In 2011, he was named as a co-winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics for his contributions to the discovery that the expansion rate of the universe is accelerating. Since then he has continued refining measurements of cosmic expansion and the Hubble constant, aiming to find and measure the most distant type Ia supernovae known, to probe the origin of cosmic acceleration.
"Particles of Thought" is hosted by Hakeem Oluseyi, 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.
📰 Stay up to date on the latest science discoveries, full episodes, articles, videos, and more by signing up for NOVA's newsletter here: to.pbs.org/4brCC7Y
▶️ Stream NOVA documentaries & more with PBS Documentaries on Prime Video: amzn.to/4hXBlsu
🛍️ Shop official NOVA 50th anniversary merch: nova-shop.org
Follow on social for more NOVA content
Twitter: twitter.com/novapbs
Instagram: instagram.com/novapbs
TikTok: tiktok.com/@novapbs
