The Alien Cold War: Silent Competition Among Dormant Empires In A Dark Galaxy (Narration Only)
Science & Futurism with Isaac Arthur
Isaac Arthur
4.8 • 739 Ratings
🗓️ 1 May 2025
⏱️ 47 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
What if the galaxy isn’t empty—but locked in a silent Cold War between ancient alien empires? This episode explores the Dark Forest Theory, Interdiction Bubbles, and what it means if our galaxy is shaped by dormant, watchful civilizations playing a long game of survival and subtle dominance.
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Credits:
The Alien Cold War: Silent Competition Among Dormant Empires In A Dark Galaxy
Episode 497; May 1, 2025
Written, Produced & Narrated by: Isaac Arthur
Edited by: Donagh Broderick
Graphics: Darth Biomech, Jeremy Jozwik, Ken York YD Visual, LegionTech Studios, Sergio Botero
Select imagery/video supplied by Getty Images
Music Courtesy of Epidemic Sound http://epidemicsound.com/creator
Markus Junnikkala, "A Fleet Behind the Moon"
Phase Shift, "Forest Night"
Kai Engel, "Endless Story About Sun and Moon"
Chris Zabriskie, "Unfoldment, Revealment", "A New Day in a New Sector", "Cylinder One"
Taras Harkavyi, "Alpha and..."
Stellardrone, "Red Giant", "Billions and Billions"
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hello, SFIA audio listeners. |
| 0:02.5 | In this month's Nebula exclusive, big alien theory, |
| 0:05.2 | we're asked at the reason alien civilizations might be rare |
| 0:08.0 | is because most aliens are huge. |
| 0:10.5 | To hear it and every episode early and ad-free, |
| 0:13.3 | plus hours of bonus content, |
| 0:15.1 | check out go.nebola.tv slash Isaac Arthur, |
| 0:17.6 | and use my code, Isaac Arthur. |
| 0:21.0 | If the universe is full of ancient alien civilizations, why do we see no sign of them? |
| 0:27.1 | What if they are out there but locked in a cold war of silence and shadow? |
| 0:34.1 | Today, we are returning to two of our favorite topics, hypothetical alien civilizations, |
| 0:40.3 | and the Fermi paradox, the big question of where all those immense and ancient alien empires |
| 0:47.3 | are in a universe, so much vaster and order than our own world. |
| 0:53.3 | One popular explanations that these empires might be dormant, |
| 0:57.0 | sleeping giants awaiting the right moment to act. Another widely discussed idea in recent years |
| 1:03.1 | is the Dark Forest Theory, or the broader Dark Galaxy hypothesis. We've examined their |
| 1:08.9 | pros and cons before, but today I want to add a new twist, |
| 1:13.1 | imagining what conflicts between such hidden empires might look like in a dark galaxy. We'll also |
| 1:18.8 | explore another angle, the behavior of IBC civilizations in this kind of environment. |
| 1:25.5 | But first, what exactly is the dark forest or dark galaxy hypothesis, |
| 1:31.5 | what is an IBC, and why might aliens voluntarily go dormant or cease openly expanding? |
| 1:38.7 | These are intriguing, if somewhat grim, questions, best contemplated with a drink and a snack, so grab yours while |
... |
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