Black holes are among the most studied, but least understood cosmic phenomena for astrophysicists. These objects derive their name from the fact that nothing, including light, can escape the grasp of their immense gravitational field.

College of Arts and Sciences physicist Eric Coughlin, who researches how stars are consumed by black holes, explains that black holes range in mass, with the smallest—comparable to our sun—forming from stellar evolution.

Starting with hydrogen, massive stars burn through fuel in their cores through nuclear fusion. Between fusion stages, the core contracts, releasing gravitational energy that causes the star's outer layers to expand. This process progresses through increasingly heavier elements like helium and carbon until the star produces iron, at which point the fusion process halts.

“The star can’t release any more energy through fusion, and all the pressure being generated from that energy release stops,” Coughlin says. “The core starts to collapse under its own self-gravity. That collapse continues until it forms a neutron star, which can ultimately collapse to a black hole.”

Coughlin has examined black holes and tidal disruption events, one of the cosmos’ most extreme occurrences where the gravitational field of a supermassive black hole repeatedly tears apart or shreds a gigantic star. His team's groundbreaking research offers a rare glimpse into the feeding habits of a supermassive black hole using a predictive model to forecast when stars will be shredded and torn apart as it is spaghettified.

Coughlin stopped by the "'Cuse Conversations" podcast to discuss the different types of black holes, how hungry black holes can shred distant stars and other cool secrets of thecosmos.

From building beds for children in need and making sandwiches for hungry neighbors to spreading holiday cheer through handwritten cards, hundreds of Syracuse University students give back to their community every year through their involvement with their Recognized Student Organizations.

Now, it’s time to honor the passion of these student leaders through the Fall 2025 Student Organization Challenge, which awards valuable funds to the student groups with the most unique donors and the most social media interaction during October. Last year, the Syracuse University Volunteer Organization (SUVO) captured the Fall 2024 Challenge, while OrangeSeeds claimed the Spring 2025 Challenge.

Every child should have access to a bed when they go to sleep. That's the driving force behind the SUVO's annual bed-building project. Student leaders like Ryan Edwards '26 have helped build 132 beds over the past two years, partnering with the local Sleep in Heavenly Peace chapter to get them to Central New York children who need them.

On Service Saturdays, Nolan Singh '28 and his OrangeSeeds peers partner with nonprofits like We Rise Above The Streets Recovery Outreach, the Salvation Army and the Nottingham. These efforts culminate in “The Big Event,” the University's largest student-run community service project.

With the Fall 2025 Challenge in full swing, Edwards and Singh stopped by the "'Cuse Conversations" podcast to share why they give back, how volunteering has shaped them as leaders and why every student should volunteer.

Over the past 25 years, the world has witnessed the birth of the World Wide Web, the explosion of social media and the transformation of phones from push-button landlines to pocket-sized computers. The impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has the potential to be the most transformative technological advancement yet, says Adam Peruta ’00, G’04, associate professor of magazine, news and digital journalism and program director of the Advanced Media Management master’s program in the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications.

“I think AI is underhyped,” Peruta says. “What we’re going through right now is maybe even more important and going to have more of an impact than the World Wide Web, social media and mobile phones.”

In his research and teaching, Peruta explores issues around AI, including how AI that creates content will impact the future of media and how people working in media and communications must adapt to new technologies. Peruta stopped by the "'Cuse Conversations" podcast to discuss the state of AI, share helpful tips for using AI into our daily lives and explains what sets the University apart as a higher education leader in AI.

David B. Falk College of Sport Dean Jeremy Jordan looks at the academics of sport through four lenses: business, human performance, technology and community well-being. Innovation and invention drive all of those areas in this first-of-its-kind college to focus on sport-related disciplines. With the official launch of the new Falk College of Sport, Syracuse University became the first leading research institution in the country to offer a rigorous standalone college aimed at preparing students to drive innovation in and provide leadership for sport-related fields and industries.

Jordan stopped by the “’Cuse Conversations” podcast to discuss the changes in Falk, how the college’s four areas of academic excellence will strengthen its reputation as a global leader and how a multifaceted approach will elevate sport across campus.

In this moving “‘Cuse Conversation,” Newhouse School graduate Erika Mahoney ’12 discusses her powerful new podcast, "Senseless." Mahoney, a former television and radio news reporter, shares her journey through trauma, grief, resilience and recovery and reflects on her decision that led a seasoned journalist to open up about her own story after her father was killed in the 2021 mass shooting at a Colorado grocery store.

There’s a new father-son sportscasting team on the national scene, one with a decidedly Orange background: Ian ’90 and Noah Eagle ’19. Ian finished his second year as the lead announcer for the NCAA men's basketball tournament and has crafted an award-winning career calling NFL and NBA games on a variety of national broadcast networks. He’s also the longtime Brooklyn Nets TV announcer for the YES Network. Noah is a rising star, working the Super Bowl and serving as the voice of Team USA basketball at the Olympics, the radio voice of the Los Angeles Clippers, and broadcasting French Open tennis and countless primetime college football and basketball games. Sportscasting and a love for Syracuse University runs in the Eagle family, and in honor of Father’s Day, the Eagles stopped by to discuss their special bond, relive the moment in February of 2018 when Ian was calling the Syracuse vs. Miami men’s basketball game for CBS and Noah was broadcasting for WAER-FM, and reflect on the important role Syracuse University has played in their lives.

Civil and environmental engineering professor Charles Driscoll⁠ has always been interested in ways to protect our environment and natural resources, so he set about studying the large-scale effects of pollutants on the natural environment, earning a civil engineering degree from the University of Maine and both a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in environmental engineering from Cornell University. Driscoll, one of the nation’s leading experts on pollution research, developed a series of predictive environmental models that explore how chemicals in soil, water and vegetation change when exposed to air pollutants. He has devised strategies to reverse the damaging effects of acid rain and mercury contamination in lakes, including leading efforts to successfully restore nearby Onondaga Lake—once one of the most polluted lakes in the country—after developing new methods of testing for mercury. On this episode, Driscoll discusses the magnitude of his research, how he uses models to both understand the disturbances and lead restoration efforts and reflects on some of his successful remediations.

Community engagement. Reciprocal learning. Service to others through volunteering. Those were the principles behind the creation of the Mary Ann Shaw Center for Public and Community Service in 1994 under the direction of then-Syracuse University Chancellor Kenneth Shaw and his wife, Mary Ann, who also served as the associate of the Chancellor. For 30 years, the Shaw Center has proudly served as Syracuse University’s hub for academic community engagement. By giving back to nonprofits and organizations around Syracuse through service learning and volunteering, the campus community engages in the high impact practice of experiential learning. On April 21, the 30th anniversary of the Shaw Center will be celebrated, and on this episode, former Shaw Center volunteer Derek Wallace '00 and current student volunteer Claire Ceccoli '25 discuss how their involvement with the Shaw Center transformed them into leaders in their communities.