How can you say that the universe is fine-tuned for life when so much of it is inhospitable? Welcome to Alas Lewis & Barnes, a "conversation" about the universe between two cosmologists. Always sciency, sometimes funny, never boring. Our latest book is "The Cosmic Revolutionary's Handbook": https://www.amazon.com/Cosmic-Revolutionarys-Handbook-Beat-Bang-dp-1108486703/dp/1108486703 Our previous book "A Fortunate Universe" is now available in paperback: https://www.amazon.com/Fortunate-Universe-Finely-Tuned-Cosmos/dp/1107156610/ Podcast: http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/alas-lewis-barnes/id1434675486 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/AlasLewisBarnes Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/afortunateuniverse Music: https://www.bensound.com ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W5u4kPxP20U

The Lithium Problem - does the Big Bang predict the abundance of elements in our universe? Here's a paper by Ryan Cooke, Max Pettini and Charles Steidel about measuring the Primordial Deuterium Abundance: https://arxiv.org/pdf/1710.11129.pdf Welcome to Alas Lewis & Barnes, a "conversation" about the universe between two cosmologists. Always sciency, sometimes funny, never boring. Our latest book is "The Cosmic Revolutionary's Handbook": https://www.amazon.com/Cosmic-Revolutionarys-Handbook-Beat-Bang-dp-1108486703/dp/1108486703 Our previous book "A Fortunate Universe" is now available in paperback: https://www.amazon.com/Fortunate-Universe-Finely-Tuned-Cosmos/dp/1107156610/ Podcast: http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/alas-lewis-barnes/id1434675486 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/AlasLewisBarnes Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/afortunateuniverse Music: https://www.bensound.com ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZbO6ISW0oo

Out now from Cambridge University Press The Cosmic Revolutionary's Handbook: (Or: How to Beat the Big Bang), by Luke A. Barnes and Geraint F. Lewis https://www.cambridge.org/gb/academic/cosmic-revolutionary1 https://www.amazon.com/Cosmic-Revolutionarys-Handbook-Beat-Bang/dp/1108486703 Free yourself from cosmological tyranny! Everything started in a Big Bang? Invisible dark matter? Black holes? Why accept such a weird cosmos? For all those who wonder about this bizarre universe, and those who want to overthrow the Big Bang, this handbook gives you 'just the facts': the observations that have shaped these ideas and theories. While the Big Bang holds the attention of scientists, it isn't perfect. The authors pull back the curtains, and show how cosmology really works. With this, you will know your enemy, cosmic revolutionary - arm yourself for the scientific arena where ideas must fight for survival! This uniquely-framed tour of modern cosmology gives a deeper understanding of the inner workings of this fascinating field. The portrait painted is realistic and raw, not idealized and airbrushed - it is science in all its messy detail, which doesn't pretend to have all the answers. Image Credits Wikipedia: NGC 4414 (Hubble), Pizza Oven, Principia Mathematica, Max Planck NASA: Stephan's Quintet, Crab Nebula Music: "Funky Suspense" by www.bensound.com SoundFX: www.freesfx.co.uk ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c5eqzpGpLAg

Why planets, stars and galaxies? Welcome to Alas Lewis & Barnes, a "conversation" about the universe between two cosmologists. Always sciency, sometimes funny, never boring. Podcast: http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/alas-lewis-barnes/id1434675486 Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/AlasLewisBarnes Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/afortunateuniverse Geraint Lewis is a Professor of Astrophysics at the Sydney Institute for Astronomy, University of Sydney. Professor Lewis is an internationally recognised astrophysicist, and has published more than two hundred papers in a diverse range of fields, including gravitational lensing, galactic cannibalism, cosmology and large-scale structure. As well as being an accomplished lecturer, he regularly engages in public outreach through public speaking, articles in the popular press, and social media. Luke Barnes is a John Templeton Fellow at Western Sydney University. With a PhD in astronomy from the University of Cambridge, he has published papers in the field of galaxy formation and on the fine-tuning of the Universe for life. He is the coauthor with Prof. Geraint Lewis of "A Fortunate Universe: Life in a Finely-Tuned Cosmos", published by Cambridge University Press. ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKE5KEf-eBk