Brian Keating: Probing the Early Universe and Communicating about Science
The Origins Podcast with Lawrence Krauss
Lawrence M. Krauss
4.4 • 592 Ratings
🗓️ 29 November 2022
⏱️ 116 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Find Brian’s INTO THE IMPOSSIBLE Podcast on Apple Podcasts https://apple.co/39UaHlB and on Spotify here spoti.fi/3vpfXok
Brian Keating is an observational cosmology whose work has focused on measuring a possible imprint on the Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation (CMBR) that could have come from the earliest moments of the Big Bang, and could even give possible indirect evidence for a multiverse. Indeed, an experiment he worked, called BICEP 2, in 2014 announced a possible result which electrified the science community, and clearly would have resulted in at least one Nobel Prize, had it been verified by other experiments. Unfortunately it turned out that the observed signal was due to an unanticipated dust background in our Galaxy. Brian has written about this experience in a book.
Brian has not given up the search however, and is spearheading a new major observatory, supported by the Simons Foundation, to push observations of the CMBR to continue to probe for primordial signatures of Inflation.
In addition to his scientific work, Brian is engaged in a host of projects aimed at improving the public’s understanding of science, including his own podcast, and also work he has done in San Diego to help excite kids about mathematics—running programs that I have been fortunate enough to be involved in.
We discuss all of these activities as well as his own rather unique background in a refreshing discussion about the ups and downs of science, the importance of public understanding, and also the exciting possibilities for the future of cosmology. And we have the kind of give and take discussion between a theorist and experimentalist that may be useful for non-scientists to listen to.
As always, an ad-free video version of this podcast is also available to paid Critical Mass subscribers. Your subscriptions support the non-profit Origins Project Foundation, which produces the podcast. The audio version is available free on the Critical Mass site and on all podcast sites, and the video version will also be available on the Origins Project Youtube channel as well.
Get full access to Critical Mass at lawrencekrauss.substack.com/subscribe
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hi, I'm Lawrence Krause and welcome to the Origins Podcast. |
| 0:11.0 | This week's episode is with Brian Keating, an experimental astrophysicism, |
| 0:16.0 | cosmologist, an old friend. I've in fact appeared on his podcast some time ago. Brian has studied for most of his |
| 0:24.1 | career one of the most interesting bits of data from the early universe, the cosmic microwave |
| 0:29.5 | background radiation, the afterglow of the Big Bang, in particular was involved in an experiment |
| 0:34.3 | looking for an imprint in that radiation that would come back from a far earlier time. |
| 0:38.3 | In fact, the very earliest seconds or less of the Big Bang itself during a period called cosmic inflation. |
| 0:45.3 | If we could measure that signal, it would reveal to us an incredible amount about physics and maybe even about the existence of other universes. |
| 0:52.3 | Brian and I talked about those aspects of |
| 0:55.9 | physics and physics more generally and his own experiences as a scientist and also his interest |
| 1:01.2 | in science popularization. It was a fun discussion. I hope you'll enjoy it. You can watch it on |
| 1:07.4 | our substack site, Critical Mass. If you subscribe to that site, you can see the ad-free |
| 1:12.1 | video of the podcast, or you can watch it on our YouTube channel, or you can listen to it |
| 1:18.1 | on any channel that allows podcasts to be broadcast. |
| 1:23.3 | Either way, I hope you'll really enjoy the discussion, and I also hope you'll consider supporting the podcast |
| 1:29.1 | through the Origins Project Foundation, |
| 1:31.7 | which runs the podcast and also other public events and outreach activities. |
| 1:43.4 | Well, Brian, it's great to be able to talk to you again. Thanks for coming on. |
| 1:48.3 | Yeah, it's nice to be here, the origin of this podcast. |
| 1:51.1 | Yes, and I appreciate you, you talk to me even though you're recovering from COVID or |
| 1:56.3 | are now recovered safely from COVID. |
| 1:59.1 | Yes, I've never been so positively happy to be negative. |
... |
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