Short Wave: Big Bang Revisited

TED Radio Hour

NPR

Social Sciences, Society & Culture, Science, Technology

4.4 • 21.3K Ratings

🗓️ 14 August 2024

⏱️ 16 minutes

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Summary

We've got a special episode for you today from our friends at Short Wave. We all think about the Big Bang as the moment when our universe—everything in existence—began right? Turns out, it's not quite that simple. Today when scientists talk about the Big Bang, they mean a period of time, closer to an era rather than a specific moment.

Short Wave host Regina Barber talks with two cosmologists about the cosmic microwave background, its implications for the universe's origins and the discovery that started it all.

This episode is part of Short Wave's Space Camp series; you can find more here: https://www.npr.org/series/g-s1-3299/short-wave-space-camp

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Transcript

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0:00.0	This message comes from NPR's sponsor Ted Talks Daily, a podcast from the Ted Audio Collective.
0:06.0	Ted Talks Daily brings you a new talk every day.
0:09.0	Learn about the ideas shaping this generation, from AI to zoology and everything in between.
0:14.4	Find TED Talks Daily wherever you get your podcasts.
0:17.6	Hey, it's Manouche and lately I have been thinking about deep time. This is the concept of looking at us, the
0:26.0	planet, the universe in a multi-million, even billion-year time frame. I've been thinking about it because on Friday as you'll
0:34.6	hear I spend the hour with world-renowned paleontologist Ken Lachavara at a
0:40.4	really unusual place in southern New Jersey that is teeming with fossils.
0:45.9	The site is about to open to the public, but Ken gave us a sneak peak, taking us back 66 million
0:52.4	years ago to the end of the dinosaurs and what happened in the days even hours after an asteroid hit the planet.
1:00.0	That's coming on Friday.
1:02.0	But meanwhile, to get you in the mood, we have something very special
1:06.1	from our friends over at the podcast Shortwave. They've been thinking about even deeper time.
1:11.8	This episode is about the big bang how scientists
1:15.6	originally discovered it and why ideas about it are actually evolving it is part
1:21.9	of short waves awesome summer long series called Space Camp.
1:25.8	Take a listen and enjoy.
1:29.0	You're listening to Shortwave from NPR.
1:32.4	Hey Shortwaivers, it's Regina Barber. Can I admit something to you?
1:36.0	I learned about the beginning of the universe, the way I learn about a lot of things,
1:40.0	on TV.
1:42.0	For thousands of years, people have wondered about the universe.
	...

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