The Alien Cold War: Silent Competition Among Dormant Empires In A Dark Galaxy
Science & Futurism with Isaac Arthur
Isaac Arthur
4.8 • 739 Ratings
🗓️ 1 May 2025
⏱️ 48 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. In this month's Nebula exclusive, big alien theory, |
| 0:05.2 | we're asking the reason alien civilizations might be rare is because most aliens are huge. |
| 0:10.5 | To hear it and every episode early and ad-free, plus hours of bonus content, |
| 0:15.1 | check out go.nebola.tv slash Isaac Arthur 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? |
| 0:36.5 | Today, we are returning to two of our favorite topics, hypothetical alien civilizations |
| 0:42.9 | and the Fermi paradox. |
| 0:45.0 | The big question of where all those immense and ancient alien empires are in a universe, |
| 0:51.8 | so much vaster and order than our own world. |
| 0:55.7 | One popular explanations that these empires might be dormant, sleeping giants waiting the |
| 1:00.8 | right moment to act. |
| 1:03.0 | Another widely discussed idea in recent years is the Dark Forest Theory, or the broader |
| 1:08.1 | dark galaxy hypothesis. |
| 1:10.5 | We've examined their pros and cons before, |
| 1:12.6 | but today I want to add a new twist, imagining what conflicts between such hidden empires |
| 1:17.9 | might look like in a dark galaxy. We'll also explore another angle, the behavior of IBC civilizations |
| 1:25.7 | in this kind of environment. But first, what exactly is the dark forest |
| 1:31.2 | or dark galaxy hypothesis? What is an IBC? And why might aliens voluntarily go dormant or cease |
| 1:39.2 | openly expanding? These are intriguing if somewhat grim questions, best contemplated with a drink and a snack, |
| 1:47.0 | so grab yours while we settle in for a deep dive into the dark ocean of space and the sharks that might swim its seas. |
| 1:55.0 | If that sounds like fun, don't forget to hit those like and subscribe buttons. |
... |
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