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Welcome to the Infinite Monkey Cage. Since we've been off air, the BBC have said they've had a

worrying drop in the number of complaints they've received from druids, and psychics, and

soothsayers, and water strokeers, and canine telepathy, and cat crystal vibration consultants,

non-uclidean furniture manipulators, more fit gardeners, social scientists, pro-amp energy

manipulators, and the ghost of Ayn Rand. So that's why they brought us back, and to rectify all

of those problems, we have a prepared statement. The world don't move to the beat of just one drum.

What might be right for you may not be right for some. Not exactly a prepared, actually the

opening lines from the popular TV sitcom Difference Strokes. Fest I can do.

I am Brian Cox, and I'm a reductionist, which means I will be attempting to understand the

universe in the simplest possible terms. And I'm Robin Inc. and I'll be attempting to

understand Brian Cox. In the last series we looked at important concepts and key ideas

in contemporary thinking, what defines life? Why is there something rather than nothing?

Why is there a universe at all, and is this even a scientific question? But regular listeners

may remember one idea from the last series which provoked the most intense discussion

and debate. When is Astrobury dead? It was the big question, and despite looking at the concept of

stroding Astrobury, and of course Planks, Raspberry, and Heisenberg's Goji berries, the puzzle remained.

When must a medically trained green grocer pronounce Astrobury dead? So today we're going to look

at death. How can it be defined? Why does a living planet require it? Is death a necessity for life?

To help us, we have three living specimens of propagation and thought.

Evolutionary biochemist, an author of Life Assending, but one reviewer said,

if Charles Darwin sprang from his grave, I would give him this book to get him up to speed.

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