Answering Your Cosmic Questions: The Multiverse, the Big Bang and Life on Exoplanets

Into the Impossible With Brian Keating

Brian Keating

Science, Physics, Natural Sciences

4.7 • 1.1K Ratings

🗓️ 5 June 2025

⏱️ 47 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Please join my mailing list here 👉 ⁠https://briankeating.com/list⁠ to win a meteorite 💥 In this electrifying episode, recorded live at UC San Diego, Brian pulls back the cosmic curtain to explore some of the deepest mysteries in science—and what they might mean for our understanding of everything. You'll learn how scientists use the mysterious property of light called polarization to uncover secrets from the dawn of the universe, chase evidence for the Big Bang, and even perform your own light experiment along the way. The conversation ventures into the origins of our universe, the search for other forms of life, and the tantalizing possibility that our universe might be just one among countless others in a sprawling multiverse. But it doesn't stop at science. Brian and his audience wrestle with the blurry boundaries where facts confront faith: Can scientific discovery ever answer the big metaphysical questions, such as the existence of God or consciousness after death? What does the intersection of cosmology and religion tell us about our place in reality? With detours into modern cosmological theories, debates about inflation, the search for life on other planets, and even the role AI might play in future discoveries, this episode keeps curious minds on their toes. - 00:00 "Polarization: Unlocking Cosmic Secrets" 04:36 Wave Polarization Explained 09:11 Questioning the Big Bang Singularity 10:52 Detecting Gravitational Waves' Cosmological Impact 15:39 Pope Endorses Science-Bible Alignment 18:52 Gene's Role in Evolutionary Drive 19:55 Deepak Chopra: Preparing for Death 26:03 "Universe vs. Multiverse Debate" 26:50 Debating Multiverse in Astronomy 31:39 "Geometric Social Commentary Revealed" 34:24 Extraterrestrial Life Evidence: Near Zero 36:54 "Expensive Material Suggests Earth-Mars Connection" 39:29 "AI-Powered Creativity and Research" 45:11 "Choosing Enrichment Over Leisure" 45:49 "Never Stop Learning" - Join this channel to get access to perks: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmXH_moPhfkqCk6S3b9RWuw/join 📚 Get a copy of my books: Think Like a Nobel Prize Winner, with life changing interviews with 9 Nobel Prizewinners: ⁠https://a.co/d/03ezQFu⁠ My tell-all cosmic memoir Losing the Nobel Prize: ⁠http://amzn.to/2sa5UpA⁠ The first-ever audiobook from Galileo: Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems: Ptolemaic and Copernican ⁠https://a.co/d/iZPi9Un⁠ 📺 Watch my most popular videos:📺 Neil Turok https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dt5cFLN65fI Frank Wilczek https://youtu.be/3z8RqKMQHe0?sub_confirmation=1 Eric Weinstein vs. Stephen Wolfram https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OI0AZ4Y4Ip4?sub_confirmation=1 Sir Roger Penrose: https://youtu.be/AMuqyAvX7Wo Sabine Hossenfelder: https://youtu.be/g00ilS6tBvs Avi Loeb: https://youtu.be/N9lUceHsLRw - Follow me to ask questions of my guests: 🏄‍♂️ Twitter: https://twitter.com/DrBrianKeating 🔔 Subscribe https://www.youtube.com/DrBrianKeating?sub_confirmation=1 📝 Join my mailing list; just click here http://briankeating.com/list ✍️ Detailed Blog posts here: https://briankeating.com/blog 🎙️ Listen on audio-only platforms: https://briankeating.com/podcast ⁠#universe⁠ ⁠#podcast⁠ ⁠#briankeating⁠ ⁠#intotheimpossible⁠ ⁠#science⁠ ⁠#astronomy⁠ ⁠#cosmology⁠ ⁠#cosmicmicrowavebackground⁠ ⁠#intotheimpossible⁠ ⁠#briankeating⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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0:30.9	What if I told you the universe holds secrets written in a language or only just now
0:36.5	beginning to understand? In this talk, I'll
0:39.3	pull back the cosmic curtain and show you how scientists, myself included, use a mind-bending
0:44.7	property of light called polarization to reveal hidden messages from the very dawn of time.
0:50.5	Together, we'll explore how this powerful tool lets us hunt for traces of the Big Bang and unravel events that happened billions of years before human history even began.
1:01.0	But that's not all. You'll actually be able to do an experiment yourself using this mysterious property of light called polarization, and I'll show you exactly how that works.
1:10.0	And the story doesn't stop with physics. I'll show you exactly how that works. And the story doesn't
1:11.3	stop with physics. I'll take you right to the edge with me, where signs meet spirituality,
1:16.8	where facts confront faith. Can the universes mysteries ever answer the age-old question,
1:23.1	does God exist? I'll share why the line between evidence and belief is both blurry and fascinating,
1:30.3	and why it matters for anyone who's ever looked up at the stars and wondered if there's
1:34.5	more, if there's anyone looking back at us.
1:37.8	Just when you think we've reached the limits of what we can know, I'll invite you to consider
1:41.2	something even wilder.
1:43.5	Whether or not we're alone in the
1:45.4	universe, and whether or not our universe is alone, or could it just be one among countless others?
1:54.3	Expand your mind with me as I break down the jaw-dropping idea of the multiverse, life on
1:59.2	other planets, and what they could mean for a place
2:02.3	in reality itself. Curious yet? Good, because once you start down this path, there's no
2:08.9	turning back. Come along with me on a journey together we'll chase down the answers to the biggest
	...

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