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Seasons

All seasons of the acclaimed television series.

Science explores how the world works. Breakthroughs drive science, challenging conventional wisdom, changing ways of thinking. What are Breakthroughs in science?

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Season 21

Season

10 videos

4:27:50

Watch

Art Seeking Understanding: Art delights us, but how and why? Explore art and cognitive science, philosophy, history, theology, and more.

playlist

Season 20

Season

10 videos

4:27:50

Watch

Philosophical inquiries including the anthropic principle; fine-tuning in physics and cosmology; and atonement, salvation, and incarnation.

playlist

Season 19

Season

13 videos

Watch

Are there multiple universes? What is extended mind? What causes consciousness? Challenges of analytic theology? If God, what’s evolution?

playlist

Season 18

Season

13 videos

Watch

How did the universe begin? What exists? What are the risks of scientific knowledge? Can metaphysics discern God, and what or who is God?

playlist

Season 17

Season

13 videos

Watch

Cosmos: Doomsday argument? Philosophy & science? Consciousness: Brain alone? Brains go bad? Language? Meaning: How miracles? God fallacies?

playlist

Season 16

Season

13 videos

Watch

Cosmos: Reason? Implications? Consciousness: ESP mean? ESP work? Dualism? Ultimate reality? Meaning: Speculating about God? God intervenes?

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Season 15

Season

13 videos

Watch

Cosmos: Information? Truth? Multiverse? Consciousness: Science of consciousness? Mind heal body? Meaning: Blame God for evil? God not free?

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Season 14

Season

13 videos

Watch

Cosmos: Ever end? Ultimate reality? Consciousness: Death final? Free will for moral responsibility? Meaning: What causes religious belief?

playlist

Season 13

Season

13 videos

Watch

Cosmos: Beginning? What is Nothing? Why anything? Consciousness: Personal identity persist? Sleep? Human uniqueness? Meaning: New atheism?

playlist

Season 12

Season

13 videos

Watch

Cosmos: What is time? Infinite cosmos? Consciousness: How brains work? Free will illusion? Meaning: Alternative Gods? Resurrection? Hell?

playlist

Season 11

Season

13 videos

Watch

Cosmos: Religiously ambiguous? General principles? Consciousness: Illusion? Dreams? Belief systems? Meaning: What is God? Arguing God?

playlist

Season 10

Season

13 videos

Watch

Cosmos: Life inevitable? Inflation? Complexity? Consciousness: Alien intelligence? Meaning: Creator God? God all powerful? God fallacies?

playlist

Season 09

Season

13 videos

Watch

Cosmos: Beyond physics? Cosmic purpose? Consciousness: ESP clues? Keep identity? Souls? Meaning: God’s nature? Evil necessary? Immortality?

playlist

Season 08

Season

13 videos

Watch

Cosmos: SpaceTime? Science limits? Consciousness: How brains conscious? Survive death? Meaning: God vs science? Miracles? God & free will?

playlist

Season 07

Season

13 videos

Watch

Cosmos: Cosmic structure? Quantum strange? Consciousness: ESP spirit? Brain free will? Meaning: God all knowing? Necessary? Agnosticism?

playlist

Season 06

Season

13 videos

Watch

Cosmos: Far future? Ultimate Questions? Consciousness: Human brains? Mind? Personal identity? Meaning: God a Person? Religion without God?

playlist

Season 05

Season

13 videos

Watch

Cosmos: Expanding universe? Extra dimensions? Laws? Consciousness: All material? Angels/demons? Meaning: God’s judgment? God create evil?

playlist

Season 04

13 videos

Watch

Cosmos: Something/Nothing? Final Theory? Consciousness: Fundamental? Aliens? Meaning: God knows future? Eternal life? Science-religion?

playlist

Season 03

Season

13 videos

Watch

Cosmos: Many universes? Time Travel? Consciousness: Life after death? Mind? Free will? Meaning: Evil disprove God? Time? Arguing Atheism?

playlist

Season 02

Season

13 videos

Watch

Cosmos: How vast? Fine-tuned? Fake? Consciousness: Mystery? Brain structure? Souls? ESP? Meaning: God make sense? Arguing God’s existence?

playlist

Season 01

Season

13 videos

Watch

Featured Episodes

Cover image for Is Time Travel Possible?

Some scientists take time travel seriously. Should you? What does time travel reveal about the nature of space and time and the laws of physics under extreme conditions?

video

Is Time Travel Possible?

Episode 06

Season 02

26:46

Watch

Death is the ultimate defeat. No matter our successes, we are all doomed to suffer the final failure. But some claim that death is not final. Can the defeat be defeated?

video

Is Death Final?

Episode 06

Season 13

26:47

Watch

Cover image for Where are They, All Those Aliens?

Most scientists assume that the universe must be populated with innumerable alien intelligences and civilizations – after all, we humans can’t be so special. OK,...

video

Where are They, All Those Aliens?

Episode 05

Season 03

26:46

Watch

Cover image for Are there Extra Dimensions?

Extra dimensions-beyond length, width, height-seem the stuff of science fiction. What would extra dimensions be like? Is time the fourth dimension? Could deep reality be so...

video

Are there Extra Dimensions?

Episode 06

Season 04

26:45

Watch

To appreciate Time is to touch the texture of reality. Does Time differ from our common perceptions of it? Is Time fixed or flexible?

video

What is Time?

Episode 02

Season 11

26:45

Watch

Cover image for Do Angels and Demons Exist?

Many theologians take angels and demons seriously. Why? Certainly, most human beings believe in angels and demons. Certainly, such nonphysical beings, in one form or another,...

video

Do Angels and Demons Exist?

Episode 10

Season 04

26:46

Watch

Cover image for The Mystery of Existence

Call all-that-exists “something.” Why is there “something” rather than “nothing”? The question haunts me. Why is there anything at all?

video

The Mystery of Existence

Episode 13

Season 09

26:46

Watch

Cover image for Can Brain Alone Explain Consciousness?

Can physical facts about the brain account for mental experiences of the mind? Has philosophy of mind made progress? We take a 15-year journey with John Searle and David...

video

Can Brain Alone Explain Consciousness?

Episode 07

Season 16

26:46

Watch

Cover image for Could Our Universe Be a Fake?

Perhaps our entire universe is like a gigantic computer game, the creation of super-smart hackers existing somewhere else? Before you smirk and laugh, watch and think!

video

Could Our Universe Be a Fake?

Episode 10

Season 01

26:46

Watch

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What are you interested in?

Cosmos

Questions like:
Why is there something rather than nothing? What exists? How vast is the cosmos? Are there multiple universes (multiverse)?

Consciousness

Questions like:
What is consciousness? Can brain explain mind? What are persons? Do persons have souls? Life after death? What is free will?

Meaning

Questions like:
What is God? Does God exist? Does God make sense? Is God a person? What are God’s traits? Alternative concepts of God?

2 of 2

Which formats do you prefer?

Episodes

Complete Closer To Truth TV episodes as broadcast on PBS stations nationwide in the U.S.

Topic Series

Intimate discussions with leading scientists, philosophers, and creative thinkers on hundreds of topics related to cosmos, consciousness, and meaning.

Curated Playlists

Collections of the best videos selected by the Closer To Truth team.

CTT Chats

Informal, free-flowing conversations with leading scientists, philosophers, and creative thinkers.

Member Exclusive

Early Access: Watch Season 21

Discover scientific breakthroughs with our latest season of full episodes.

WATCH NOW

Curated Playlists

Cover image for Universe: Beginning, Vast Size, End

Did the universe have a beginning? What was it like? Will our universe end? How? How big is the cosmos? Does it go on forever, and what would that mean? How many universes...

playlist

Universe: Beginning, Vast Size, End

Curated

5:48:03

Watch

Explore the beauty and mystery of the cosmos. Investigate the nature of reality and information. Delve into multiple universes, extra dimensions, and time travel. Contemplate...

playlist

Astonishing Cosmos

Curated

12 videos

5:21:09

Watch

The relationship between science and theology is fraught with conflict. Are science and religion at war? Does God exist or not, and can science offer any insight? Should...

playlist

Science vs. Religion?

Curated

12 videos

5:21:21

Watch

Cover image for Ultimate Questions of Existence

What is real? What is nothing? Why is there “something” rather than “nothing”? Does the nonphysical world exist? These are the ultimate questions of reality, the...

playlist

Ultimate Questions of Existence

Curated

12 videos

5:21:15

Watch

Cover image for The Mystery of Consciousness

How can we understand consciousness? Is our consciousness an illusion? Can it be measured scientifically or tied to the brain? Why is consciousness so difficult to explain?

playlist

The Mystery of Consciousness

Curated

13 videos

5:48:03

Watch

Cover image for Secrets of Brain and Mind

Everything we know comes from the brain. Are brains our window to reality, showing us what truly exists? How can we know? Can consciousness derive from something beyond the...

playlist

Secrets of Brain and Mind

Curated

13 videos

5:48:02

Watch

Cover image for Exploring Human Nature: Free Will, Personal Identity, Life after Death

What are the fundamental dispositions and traits of all humans? What sets us apart from animals? Do we really have free will or is it all an illusion? What happens when we...

playlist

Exploring Human Nature: Free Will, Personal Identity, Life after Death

Curated

13 videos

5:54:03

Watch

The existence of God is hotly debated in philosophical and theological circles with passionate arguments on all sides. What are all the ways we can think about God? Can we...

playlist

Does God Exist?

Curated

13 videos

5:47:58

Watch

In many religions, God is supposed to be the morally good creator of the universe, but there is much that theologians and philosophers don’t know. Endless questions about...

playlist

What is God Like?

Curated

13 videos

5:47:56

Watch

There is a vast diversity of human religions whose core beliefs present incompatibilities with each other. Can all religions be true? How do we reconcile faith with reason?...

playlist

Religion and Its Ideas

Curated

13 videos

5:47:59

Watch

Cover image for Philosophical Questions I

Explore philosophical questions that address fundamental issues and beliefs including the meaning of truth; the philosophy of science, cosmology, and biology; metaphysics...

playlist

Philosophical Questions I

Curated

13 videos

5:48:17

Watch

Cover image for Philosophical Questions II

Explore more philosophical questions that seek insights into the fundamental features of existence including the limits of science, the existence of God, discerning the deep...

playlist

Philosophical Questions II

Curated

13 videos

5:48:10

Watch

Featured Topic Series

Cover image for Is Mathematics Invented or Discovered?

Mathematics describes the real world of atoms and acorns, stars and stairs, with remarkable precision. So is mathematics invented by humans just like chisels and hammers and...

playlist

Is Mathematics Invented or Discovered?

Topic Series

9 videos

1:34:28

Watch

Cover image for What is Consciousness? (Part 5)

Consciousness is what we can know best and explain least. It is the inner subjective experience of what it feels like to see red or smell garlic or hear Beethoven....

playlist

What is Consciousness? (Part 5)

Topic Series

6 videos

51:38

Watch

Cover image for Is Life After Death Possible?

Does everything about a person disappear at death? The body? Sure, it’s gone. The brain? It stops working, then dissolves. But what about awareness? Does our...

playlist

Is Life After Death Possible?

Topic Series

7 videos

51:23

Watch

Cover image for Is the Cosmos a Computer?

That the cosmos is a computer sounds like a modern metaphor, a way of explaining how things work. But some make a bolder claim: that the cosmos is in reality a computer, not...

playlist

Is the Cosmos a Computer?

Topic Series

15 videos

1:42:26

Watch

Cover image for Does Consciousness Defeat Materialism? (Part 1)

What would it take for consciousness to defeat materialism or physicalism? This is the worldview that only the physical is real, which is the dominant view of scientists and...

playlist

Does Consciousness Defeat Materialism? (Part 1)

Topic Series

6 videos

57:13

Watch

The existence of God is hotly debated in philosophical and theological circles with passionate arguments on all sides. What are all the ways we can think about God? Can we...

playlist

Does God Exist?

Curated

13 videos

5:47:58

Watch

Newest

Members Only

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Cover image for How Does Deception Shape Brain and Mind?

What can we learn when people deceive? There are all kinds of deception: from lying, duplicity, and disguises, to propaganda, disinformation, and deep fakes. Self-deception,...

video

How Does Deception Shape Brain and Mind?

Episode 10

Season 21

26:47

Watch

Members Only

Please login or join to view

Cover image for How to Decipher Deception in Evolution?

Deception pervades all life, up and down the phylogenetic tree. Deceptions have a "purpose" - the well-being, often the survival, of the deceiver. But deceptions need not be...

video

How to Decipher Deception in Evolution?

Episode 09

Season 21

26:47

Watch

Push boundaries. Discern the deep essence of existence. Search the foundations of reality. Imagine all that may exist in physical realms beyond current understanding. Seek to...

video

Brian Keating

Topic Series

8:21

Watch

Is there more than one universe? According to current cosmology, our entire gigantic universe is only one of innumerable universes, each universe like one tiny bubble in a...

video

Brian Keating

Topic Series

6:22

Watch

The expanding universe is humanity’s monumental discovery. Beginning infinitesimally small, the universe has become majestically large. How could this happen? What...

video

Brian Keating

Topic Series

6:13

Watch

Beginnings are momentous, the beginning of the universe especially so. How did the beginning of our universe happen? Cosmic inflation is the theory that an exponential...

video

Brian Keating

Topic Series

8:44

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Can Many Religions All be True?

Episode 07

Season 03

26:45

Watch

Cover image for Is There Life After Death?

Do we survive bodily death? Can our personal awareness transcend physical decay? There are no bigger questions and there are no shortages of answers. Some claim to have...

video

Is There Life After Death?

Episode 01

Season 02

26:46

Watch

Is the “Real You” a special substance that is both nonphysical and immortal? Most people think “Certainly”. Most scientists think “Certainly...

video

Do Persons have Souls?

Episode 08

Season 01

26:46

Watch

Cover image for What is the Far Far Future of the Universe?

When we speak about the future of the universe, we mean when the sun burns out, when galaxies collide, when everything flies apart and ultimately evaporates. Do the untold...

video

What is the Far Far Future of the Universe?

Episode 04

Season 05

26:46

Watch

Cover image for What is the Mind-Body Problem?

How is it possible that mushy masses of brain cells, passing chemicals and shooting sparks, literally are mental sensations and subjective feelings? They seem so radically...

video

What is the Mind-Body Problem?

Episode 05

Season 02

26:46

Watch

Cover image for Immortality and Eternal Life

I’d like to live forever. Wouldn’t you? But what would “living forever” mean? Almost every religion offers life after death. What would immortality...

video

Immortality and Eternal Life

Episode 13

Season 08

26:46

Watch

Featured Contributors

Roger Penrose

Nobel Prize in Physics; Professor Emeritus of Mathematics, University of Oxford

Sabine Hossenfelder

Physicist and Science Writer, Munich Center for Mathematical Philosophy

Sean Carroll

Research Professor of Physics, Caltech

Octavia Butler

Science fiction author

David Chalmers

Professor of Philosophy and Co-director, Center for Mind, Brain, and Consciousness, New York University

Sarah Coakley

Norris-Hulse Emeritus Professor of Divinity, University of Cambridge; Anglican priest

V.S. Ramachandran

Distinguished Professor; Director, Center for Brain and Cognition, UC San Diego

Paul Davies

Regents' Professor, Arizona State University

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Upcoming Partnership Event on AI and Consciousness

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The greatest thinkers. The deepest questions.

Cosmos. Consciousness. Meaning.

Closer To Truth: The Podcast

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Seasons

Season 21

Season 20

Season 19

Season 18

Season 17

Season 16

Season 15

Season 14

Season 13

Season 12

Season 11

Season 10

Season 09

Season 08

Season 07

Season 06

Season 05

Season 04

Season 03

Season 02

Season 01

Featured Episodes

Is Time Travel Possible?

Is Death Final?

Where are They, All Those Aliens?

Are there Extra Dimensions?

What is Time?

Do Angels and Demons Exist?

The Mystery of Existence

Can Brain Alone Explain Consciousness?

Could Our Universe Be a Fake?

What are you interested in?

Which formats do you prefer?

Early Access: Watch Season 21

Curated Playlists

Universe: Beginning, Vast Size, End

Astonishing Cosmos

Science vs. Religion?

Ultimate Questions of Existence

The Mystery of Consciousness

Secrets of Brain and Mind

Exploring Human Nature: Free Will, Personal Identity, Life after Death

Does God Exist?

What is God Like?

Religion and Its Ideas

Philosophical Questions I

Philosophical Questions II

Featured Topic Series

Is Mathematics Invented or Discovered?

What is Consciousness? (Part 5)

Is Life After Death Possible?

Is the Cosmos a Computer?

Does Consciousness Defeat Materialism? (Part 1)

Does God Exist?

Newest

How Does Deception Shape Brain and Mind?

How to Decipher Deception in Evolution?

Brian Keating

Brian Keating

Brian Keating

Brian Keating

Featured Topics

Deep Laws of Nature

Mystery of Existence

Free Will

Mind-Body Problems

Philosophy of Religion

Art Seeking Understanding

Vast Cosmos

Life After Death?

Time and Space-Time

Arguments Against God

Cosmic Fundamentals

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