Everyone has heard of quantum physics. Many of us can parrot its key ideas – uncertainty, entanglement, collapsing the wave function, something to do with a cat…

But when it comes to really understanding it, well that’s a different matter altogether. “Anyone who is not shocked by quantum mechanics hasn’t understood it”, wrote the eminent physicist Niels Bohr.

So, what is quantum physics? How did it come about? What does it say about ultimate reality? And how might it transform our lives?

This week on Reading Our Times, Nick Spencer delves into the quantum realm with scientist Paul Davies to discuss his latest book, Quantum 2.0: The Past, Present, and Future of Quantum Physics.

You can buy a copy of Paul's book here.

The performance of Olivier Messiaen's Quartet for the End of Time in a freezing WW2 prison camp is one of the most famous moments of 20th century music.

The piece and performance spoke to audiences movingly, both then and now, of peace, God, time, and the power of music.

Such questions remain powerful today. How imprisoned by time are we? In what sense does music and art enable us to transcend the constraints of our existence? What does the end of time mean?

This week on Reading Our Times, Nick speaks to poet Michael Symmons Roberts about his latest book Quartet for the End of Time: On Music, Grief and Birdsong.

You can buy a copy of Michael's book here: https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/440127/quartet-for-the-end-of-time-by-roberts-michael-symmons/9781787331853

The idea of transcendence is common, perhaps even universal, among human beings. But what it means (if anything) is much more debatable.

There are different ways of understanding transcendence, some orthodoxly religious; others more heterodox and surprising.

How should we understand transcendence? If you can be spiritual but not religious, can you experience transcendence without religion? What does it mean to live a transcendent life?

This week, Nick speaks to Clare Carlisle, Professor of Philosophy at Kings College London, about her latest book 'Transcendence for Beginners'.

Purchase a copy of Clare's book here.