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March 11, 2025 49 mins

In this week's episode, scientists Charles Liu and George Musser find joy in daily observations through science and writing. 

Charles Liu is a professor of astrophysics at the City University of New York’s College of Staten Island and an associate with the Hayden Planetarium and Department of Astrophysics at the American Museum of Natural History. His research focuses on colliding galaxies, starburst galaxies, quasars, and the star formation history of the universe. In addition to his research publications, he writes books and online content for students and general audiences, The Cosmos Explained and The Handy Quantum Physics Answer Book. He hosts The LIUniverse with Dr. Charles Liu, a half-hour dose of cosmic conversation with scientists, educators and students about the cosmos, scientific frontiers, scifi, comics, and more. 

George Musser is a contributing editor at Scientific American magazine, a contributing writer for Quanta magazine, and the author of three books on fundamental physics for the general public, most recently Putting Ourselves Back in the Equation. He is a co-recipient of two National Magazine Awards and sundry other prizes. He lives in Glen Ridge with his wife, his daughter, and his daughter’s schnauzer. 

Resources: 

Magnum Force

The LIUniverse

Next Stop Wonderland

Hubble Space Telescope

Wendy Freedman Interview

Dark Matter

Dark Energy

Janna Levin

Sean Carroll

Rome Song (SNL)

D&D Live

Books:
A full list of the books and authors mentioned in this episode is available here.

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The Watchung Booksellers Podcast is produced by Kathryn Counsell and Marni Jessup and is recorded at Watchung Booksellers in Montclair, NJ.

The show is edited by Kathryn Counsell.

Original music is composed and performed by Violet Mujica.

Art & design and social media by Evelyn Moulton. Research and show notes by Caroline Shurtleff.

Thanks to all the staff at Watchung Booksellers and The Kids’ Room!

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