There are three questions that speak directly to human uniqueness and purpose. 1) Does intelligent non-human life exist anywhere in the universe?; 2) Given the fullness of...
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Roundtable
27:02
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We know that the very early universe was a cauldron of immensely hot plasma gas that seemed uniform and undifferentiated, the paragon of simplicity. And yet, over time,...
playlist
Topic Series
4 videos
33:47
Two planetary scientists and an astrophysicist make the case that the search for life in other parts of our universe has been made all the more valid by two recent...
26:24
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,...
Episode
Episode 05
Season 03
26:46
What do scientists mean when they call the laws and regularities of nature “beautiful”? On the largest supra-cosmic scales, and on the smallest sub-atomic scales,...
Episode 03
Consider humanity’s astounding progress in science during the past three hundred years. Now take a deep breath and project forward, oh say, three billion years.
Episode 13
Season 02
I look up and I look down and I chill with awe. I look up to the universe and envision hundreds of billions of galaxies. I look down to the atom and imagine minuscule,...
Episode 02
Season 07
26:45
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...
Episode 04
Season 05
In the far, far future, what happens to planets, stars, galaxies, black holes? What’s the ‘Big Rip’ and the ‘Big Crunch’? And if ‘multiple universes’ exist,...
Season 13
Have we underestimated the risks of global catastrophe and human extinction? There is an odd argument that claims to justify end-of-the-world worries with raw statistics.
Season 16
26:47
We look up and we look down and in both directions we chill with awe. We look up to the universe and envision hundreds of billions of galaxies. We look down to the atom and...
6 videos
53:42
Why do scientists use the word beauty to describe the universe? Gaze at the universe with a knowing eye. There’s beauty on every level—simplicity and regularity, even...
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