How Vast is the Cosmos?

By: Robert Lawrence Kuhn

Narrated by: Robert Lawrence Kuhn

Length: 1 hr and 19 mins

Publisher's summary

Join some of Earth’s leading scientists in exploring one of the universe’s biggest mysteries.

There is little more humbling than contemplating the magnitude of the known universe. That is, until you consider the possibility of worlds beyond that universe.

Join Dr. Robert Lawrence Kuhn, celebrated author and host of the hit PBS series Closer to Truth, as he probes the limits of the cosmos with 15 luminaries in astrophysics, cosmology, and astronomy.

The series begins with explorations of the universe’s boundaries. Astronomer Royal Martin Rees raises the possibility that multiple big bangs may have created multiple universes, while Templeton Prize-winning physicist Paul Davies expresses doubt that we can access multiple universes from our own universe.

Discussing the origins of the cosmos, Gruber Prize-winning astronomer Wendy Freedman elucidates the residual evidence of our universe’s fiery beginning. MIT physicist Alan Guth explains how his inflationary universe theory suggests that the Big Bang was not the beginning of all creation.

Theoretical physicist Michio Kaku invokes poet Robert Frost to ask whether the universe will end in fire or ice. Introducing the concept of “dark energy,” MIT physics scholar Max Tegmark proposes three other possible world-ending scenarios.

Woven together by Kuhn’s awed musings on cosmic vastness, these conversations will guide your imagination across galaxies and into different dimensions. As you listen, you may, like Kuhn, find yourself “taken by the plenitude of all reality.”

This course is part of the Learn25 collection.

©2019 Now You Know Media (P)2019 Now You Know Media

Mind Bending .. in a Good Way

I've listened to a most of the "Closer to Truth" series published by Learn25, and this program stands out as one of my favorites. The program is conducted in podcast style, and the host (Robert Kuhn) interviews numerous A-list scientists and philosophers. There are usually two slightly different viewpoints given on each topic, and Kuhn serves as a kind of impartial facilitator. Kuhn combines awe and reverence for the cosmos with cutting skepticism of theories that aren't grounded in reality. He makes a great host. If you have to choose one of the closer to truth programs, this one is it!

Closer to the Truth Creator Strikes Again

I purchased this course because of Dr. Robert Lawrence Kuhn. Every cosmology lover knows him from Closer to the Truth series.
I listened to many similar audiobooks and they are all the same somehow. The soundtracks are amazing, the effects are amusing, and the scientists, philosophers, and cosmologists are saying what they think and believe in.
However, there is a unique thing about this course. Through the journey, Dr. Robert is not playing the role of an interviewer; he represents the listener. He is dizzy, overwhelmed, enlightened, confused, convinced, and suspicious. At a certain point, I imagined myself sitting in front of Alan Guth and asking him the questions myself.

Most cosmology courses, series, and books do not give us clear answers. They are thought-provoking and that is what they are about.
How vast is the cosmos? When did our universe begin? Does it even have a beginning? Is there a meaning behind life? Can science explain everything or something supernatural is required? When will the universe end? All these questions and more are discussed in this course.
We may be small if compared to the cosmos but our minds are big. I believe that one day we will discover the whole truth.

Thank you, Dr. Robert and Learn25 for this one! I am looking forward to the next cosmology course.

Fresh insights into big topic

Robert Kuhn has a real knack for bringing together the world's leading thinkers on a given subject and bringing from their best ideas. This title is no exception. You'll find the discussion lively and interesting. Another strong contribution from Kuhn and Learn25.