Cosmic Queries – Before the Big Bang

About This Episode

What does it really mean for us to be made of stardust? Neil deGrasse Tyson and co-host Paul Mecurio answer fan questions about particle colliders, time travel, and what existed before the Big Bang.

The discussion begins with the Superconducting Super Collider – the massive Texas project that could have revolutionized particle physics in the US if it hadn’t been canceled. How might scientific breakthroughs have been different if the collider had been completed? Neil explains how the cancellation shifted the epicenter of particle physics to Europe and what that meant for the discovery of the Higgs boson.

From there, they explore the big questions: What existed before the Big Bang? Could we ever accelerate time to visit the past? We explore the multiverse, time dilation, and the poetic nature of scientific inquiry. Along the way, they discuss how science poses better questions rather than always finding answers, with nods to Isaac Newton and Star Trek’s influence on popular culture.

Are we made of stardust? Neil breaks down the cosmic origins of the elements in our bodies and what the future of human evolution might hold. Plus, they confront the mind-bending concept of infinity and whether there’s any evidence of parallel universes.

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