365 | Vitor Cardoso on Why Black Holes Are Special

Black holes are not just cosmic vacuum cleaners; they are the most extreme laboratories for testing Einstein's general relativity. Vitor Cardoso, director of the Center of Gravity in Copenhagen, explores their fundamental nature—from the information paradox and Hawking radiation to the unique simplicity of their structure. The conversation covers how gravitational wave observations from LIGO and Virgo let us 'hear' the ringing of spacetime itself, offering new tests for physics beyond Einstein, and delves into the philosophical puzzles these singularities pose for our understanding of the universe.