logo
episode-header-image
Jun 2011
28m 14s

Is Cosmology Really a Science?

Bbc Radio 4
About this episode

Robin Ince and Brian Cox are joined on stage by V for Vendetta author and legendary comic book writer Alan Moore, cosmologist Ed Copeland, and science broadcaster Dallas Campbell to ask whether Cosmology is really a science? Do scientific theories need to be testable to make them, well - scientific? And if so, where does that leave some of the more mind-bending theories that Cosmology has postulated over the last few years? From String Theory to the idea of multiple universes, the maths might work, but if there is no way of observing whether it is correct, is it science or science fiction? Does Cosmology have more in common with the fantastical stories dreamt up by fiction writers such as Alan Moore, and will science ever progress enough to really get to the bottom of some of the more weird and wonderful theories about the way our universe works? This programme was recorded as part of the Cheltenham Science Festival.

Producer: Alexandra Feachem.

Up next
Yesterday
Should We Settle in Space? - Tim Peake, Kelly Weinersmith and Alan Davies
Brian Cox and Robin Ince blast off into a cosmic controversy as they ask, should humanity become an interplanetary species? At Harwell Campus, a space science innovation hub, they’re joined by astronaut Tim Peake, biologist and Royal Society prize winning author Kelly Weinersmith ... Show More
42m 46s
Jul 9
201st Birthday Bonanza - Mel Giedroyc, Deborah Meaden and Nish Kumar
Get ready for a landmark episode of The Infinite Monkey Cage as we celebrate our 201st show! Brian Cox and Robin Ince invite a lively panel of celebrity guests to pose their burning scientific questions to a top-tier team of scientists. Mel Giedroyc is tunnelling into the world o ... Show More
42m 35s
Mar 2025
Nature's Shapes - Dave Gorman, Sarah Hart and Thomas Woolley
Brian Cox and Robin Ince unpick the hidden codes behind the shapes we see in nature with mathematicians Sarah Hart & Thomas Woolley and comedian Dave Gorman.The panel marvel at how evolution so often beats mathematicians to finding the most elegant solutions, after all, it’s had ... Show More
42m 27s
Recommended Episodes
Dec 2017
Cosmic Queries: Mysterious Cosmology, with Sean Carroll
String theory, the fabric of spacetime, the multiverse, quantum mechanics, and much more – explore the cosmological mysteries of the universe with Neil deGrasse Tyson, comic co-host Chuck Nice, and theoretical physicist Sean Carroll. NOTE: StarTalk All-Access subscribers can watc ... Show More
48m 36s
Apr 2023
Theory of everything: do we really need one?
The quest for a theory of everything – explaining all the forces and particles in the universe – is arguably the holy grail of physics. While each of our main theories of physics works extraordinarily well, they also clash with each other. But do we really need a theory of everyt ... Show More
57m 4s
Nov 2024
Sabine Hossenfelder: Science is a Liar ... Sometimes
In this highly non-topical episode, Matt and Chris dive into the entertainingly gruff world of Sabine Hossenfelder, the German theoretical physicist and popular YouTube science communicator. Known as a joyful science curmudgeon, Sabine excels at making complex science accessible ... Show More
1h 50m
May 2024
Sean Carroll Explains Quantum Field Theory
Sean Carroll is creating a profoundly new approach to sharing physics with a broad audience, one that goes beyond analogies to show how physicists really think. He cuts to the bare mathematical essence of our most profound theories, explaining every step in a uniquely accessible ... Show More
1h 15m
Jan 2024
Are Parallel Universes and Extra Dimensions Real?
Our books, our movies—our imaginations—are obsessed with extra dimensions, alternate timelines, and the sense that all we see might not be all there is. In short, we can’t stop thinking about the multiverse. As it turns out, physicists are similarly captivated. In The Allure of t ... Show More
1h 15m
Feb 2016
AaS! 26: Wolf-Rayet Stars: Sci-Fi or What?
What’s so special about Wolf-Rayet stars? Do we even know how they work? And what does this all have to do with Paris? I answer these questions and more in today’s Ask a Spaceman! Follow all the show updates at askaspaceman.com, and help support the show at patreon.com/pmsutter! ... Show More
31m 8s
Oct 2024
486. The Intersection of Science and Meaning | Dr. Brian Greene
Dr. Jordan B. Peterson sits down with physicist and author, Dr. Brian Greene. They discuss the strange conceptualization of “before” the Big Bang, how time might be a microscopic phenomenon, how order existed at the point of the universe's creation, what would happen if you fell ... Show More
1h 27m
Sep 2024
The Life Scientific: Mike Edmunds
What is the universe made of? Where does space dust come from? And how exactly might one go about putting on a one-man-show about Sir Isaac Newton?These are all questions that Mike Edmunds, emeritus professor of astrophysics at Cardiff University and president of the Royal Astron ... Show More
26m 28s
Dec 2024
If ‘Interstellar’ Were Made Today, What Would Be Different?
For its 10th anniversary, the science advisor for “Interstellar” discusses the film’s impact and how new information about gravitational waves could have changed it.The science fiction film “Interstellar” turns 10 years old this month. For many of us, it was our first encounter w ... Show More
18m 59s