Saturn v Jupiter - Katherine Parkinson, Paul Abel and Michele Dougherty

The Infinite Monkey Cage

BBC

Comedy, Science

4.7 • 9.4K Ratings

🗓️ 12 March 2025

⏱️ 43 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Brian Cox and Robin Ince referee as Saturn and Jupiter square up to each other in a planetary face off. Representing team Saturn is space physicist Professor Michele Dougherty, and in the opposite corner is Dr Paul Abel on Team Jupiter. Katherine Parkinson judges this cosmic contest, casting the final vote to decide who will be awarded the coveted Kuiper Belt.

It is not all about looks of course, but it is a significant factor in a first impression. Both Saturn and Jupiter score highly in this department, boasting magnificent icy rings and colourful stripes respectively. But what lies beneath their aesthetically pleasing exteriors? How do the planets compare on the inside? The gas giants have been subjects of investigation for many years, with historic missions like Galileo and Cassini uncovering their secrets. But they aren’t alone, each planet is surrounded by its own mini solar system of moons, which get space scientists just as excited as their parent planets do. Both Jupiter and Saturn have moons which are hot contenders in the search for extra-terrestrial life and our panel discuss the future plans to explore them.

Producer: Melanie Brown Exec Producer: Sasha Feachem Researcher: Olivia Jani

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Hello, you're about to listen to a BBC podcast, so I'd like to tell you where you'll find more just like it.
0:05.5	I'm Izzy Lee Poulton, an assistant commissioner for BBC Sounds, which means I'm involved in the whole podcast making process.
0:12.0	Whether that's developing fresh formats or facilitating eye-catching artwork, I helped project manage all the details that make our podcast stand out.
0:19.0	At the BBC, we've got access to storytellers and experts across a huge range of subjects.
0:24.6	It could be psychologists, comedians, celebrities or journalists.
0:28.6	No podcasts or day looks the same here.
0:31.6	So no matter what you like, check out BBC Sounds.
0:33.6	There's probably another podcast on there that you're absolutely love.
0:42.3	BBC Sounds, music, radio, podcasts.
0:44.1	Hello, I'm Brian Cox.
0:47.5	I'm Robin Nitz, and this is the Infinite Monkey Cage.
0:53.6	Now, as many of you will know, there is quite an overlap between the world of both theoretical and particle physics and also
0:56.3	world and international wrestling. The Large Hadron Collider was indeed inspired by a bout
1:02.9	between Rowdy, Roddy Piper and Hulk Hogan, where Peter Higgs, a very, very keen wrestling
1:08.9	fan, saw the tremendous amount of energy that was expounded
1:12.4	when the two went from a double-leg takedown
1:15.0	into a camel clutch ending up with a pile driver.
1:17.7	And it was at that point, he thought,
1:20.3	what if the origin of the masses of the W and Z bosons
1:24.3	is electro-week symmetry breaking in the early universe.
1:28.6	Perhaps the universe is metastable,
1:31.8	and we live in a false vacuum state.
	...

Transcript will be available on the free plan in -20 days. Upgrade to see the full transcript now.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from BBC, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of BBC and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.