Big Ideas

The Big Ideas Series features innovative programs that inspire and captivate audiences while exploring some of the most complex of scientific questions, including our origins, our fundamental nature, and our place in the cosmos. The John Templeton Foundation is a founding benefactor of the Festival and provides major support for the Big Ideas series.

Is Dark Energy Decaying?

Is Quantum Reality in the Eye of the Beholder?

52,371 views |

Does Quantum Mechanics imply Multiple Universes?

97,390 views |

Can Particles be Quantum Entangled Across Time?

114,079 views |

Why a Forefather of AI Fears the Future

86,310 views |

AI and Quantum Computing: Glimpsing the Near Future

226,536 views |

Beyond Einstein: Gravitational Rainbows

102,095 views |

Beyond Einstein: Gravitational Echoes

70,206 views |

Carlo Rovelli and Brian Greene on Black Holes and White Holes

89,588 views |

Intelligent Thinking about Artificial Intelligence

124,740 views |

Unifying Nature’s Laws: The State of String Theory

370,529 views |

Was the Big Bang the Beginning? Reimagining Time in a Cyclic Universe

365,945 views |

Searching for Cosmic Origins

193,656 views |

Coding the Cosmos: Does Reality Emerge from Simple Computations?

581,447 views |

AI: Grappling with a New Kind of Intelligence

689,873 views |

String Theory, Quantum Gravity and Black Holes (Or, Are we Holograms?)

190,622 views |

Mind Over Molecules: the Biology of Memory

71,965 views |

The Past and Future of Life and the Cosmos (Or, How We Got Here & Where We’re Going)

162,874 views |

Seeing Further: Searching for the Echoes of Creation

144,178 views |

Quantum to the Cosmos: A Brief Tour of Everything

333,921 views |

Shedding Light on the Dark Universe

122,670 views |

James Webb Space Telescope: Comets, Planets, and the Origin of Life

120,606 views |

Gravitational Waves and the Dark Universe

108,250 views |

Until the End of Time: Mind, Matter and Meaning

179,316 views |

Revealing the Cosmos: A Startling New View From the James Webb Space Telescope

367,895 views |

The New Golden Age of Space Exploration

102,861 views |

MEMORY: The Hidden Pathways That Make Us Human

325,990 views |

Rewriting the Story of Humankind

267,058 views |

Brave New Prehistoric World

113,661 views |

Rewiring the Brain: The Promise and Perils of Neuroplasticity

594,377 views |

Visual Illusions: Catching the Brain Creating Reality

257,028 views |

The Deep: Exploring Earth’s Last Frontier

187,184 views |

To the Moon, Mars, and Beyond: The Next Step in Space Exploration

54,838 views |

The Dreaming Mind: Waking the Mysteries of Sleep

1,258,539 views |

Karen Armstrong: Sacred Nature – A Conversation with Brian Greene

70,887 views |

Psychedelics: Chemicals, Consciousness & Creativity

1,605,875 views |

First Images: James Webb Space Telescope’s New View of the Cosmos

266,302 views |

Black Holes: Seeing the Unseeable

625,836 views |

Riddles of Reality: From Quarks to The Cosmos

502,898 views |

Lifespan Expanded: The Scientific Quest for a Fountain of Youth

153,355 views |

Einstein and the Quantum: Entanglement and Emergence

2,363,370 views |

Science, Life, and Purpose: A Conversation with Francis Collins and Brian Greene

58,085 views |

The Future of Cosmology: A Live Conversation

157,674 views |

Things We’ve Never Seen: The James Webb Space Telescope Explores the Cosmos

2,823,911 views |

2021 Nobel Laureates in Conversation with Brian Greene

75,795 views |

Mind Your Language: Metaphor, Thought and Imagination

848,784 views |

Does Math Reveal Reality?

1,647,782 views | 01:36:02

On the Shoulders of Giants: Steven Weinberg and the Quest to Explain the World

132,170 views | 00:57:27

Beyond Higgs: The Wild Frontier of Particle Physics

1,317,215 views | 01:30:08

Making Room for Machines: Getting Ready for AGI

51,448 views | 01:27:46

We Will Be Martians

56,184 views | 01:25:38

Outsourcing Humanity: Do Algorithms Make Better Decisions Than People?

Rethinking Thinking: How Intelligent Are Other Animals?

1,497,817 views |

The Richness of Time

2,565,678 views | 01:29:37

Eyes In the Skies: Bringing the Universe Down to Earth

66,085 views | 01:24:01

The Technology That Transforms Us: From the Stone Age to the Computer Age

01:12:02

Intelligence Without Brains

1,255,694 views | 01:29:11

Physics in the Dark: Searching for the Universe’s Missing Matter

1,231,138 views | 0122:24

On the Shoulders of Giants: Shep Doeleman

71,164 views | 00:32:32

The Reality of Reality: A Tale of Five Senses

1,444,727 views | 1:11:33

On the Shoulders of Giants: Andrew Strominger

00:35:03

The Science of Extreme Behavior: The Line Between Courageous and Crazy

01:11:03

Can We ‘Cure’ Deafness and Blindness? Should We?

01:11:53

Revealing the Mind: The Promise of Psychedelics

5,130,394 views | 01:24:38

Loose Ends: String Theory and the Quest for the Ultimate Theory

2,457,849 views | 01:27:24

The Right Stuff: What It Takes to Boldly Go

01:20:43

The Believing Brain: Evolution, Neuroscience, and the Spiritual Instinct

3,862,253 views | 1:17:46

Alien Contact: What Happens Next?

1,467,757 views | 1:00:10

Rethinking the Internet: How We Lost Control and How to Take it Back

00:58:06

How Music Affects Your Brain: Notes on the Folds

00:52:42

Rewriting Life: The Promise and Peril of Editing Your DNA

00:48:20

Neutrinos, Matter, and Antimatter: The Yin Yang of the Big Bang

107,797 views | 00:57:28

Sylvia Earle: On the Shoulders of Giants

00:57:18

Harnessing the Power of Neuroplasticity: The Nuts and Bolts of Better Brains

1,566,584 views | 01:00:35

RESISTANCE IS (NOT) FUTILE: THE END OF ANTIBIOTICS AND THE FUTURE OF FIGHTING INFECTIONS

00:51:17

Teach Your Robots Well: Will Self-taught Robots Be the End of Us?

1,052,690 views | 01:02:39

Black Holes and Neutron Stars: A Merger in Space

84,564 views | 00:41:54

Is Alien ‘life’ Weirder Than We Imagine: Who Is Out There?

1,390,398 views | 00:59:56

Growing Up Digital: Coming of Age in a Virtual World

01:02:05

The Roots of Extremism in Your Brain

01:17:53

The Microbiome: Vital Cells of Existence

67,091 views | 01:06:47

The Matter Of Antimatter: Answering The Cosmic Riddle Of Existence

4,584,783 views | 01:39:21

Pondering the Imponderables: The Biggest Questions of Cosmology

737,333 views | 01:06:44

The Social Synapse: Neuroscience and the Roots of Human Connections

105,240 views | 01:07:13

Cartographers of the Brain: Mapping the Connectome

113,471 views | 01:33:49

Quantum Reality: Space, Time, and Entanglement

7,874,022 views | 1:32:48

Computational Creativity: AI and the Art of Ingenuity

00:58:53

Forever Young: The Promise of Human Regeneration

955,836 views | 01:02:40

The Future of Augmented Intelligence: If You Can’t Beat ‘em, Join ‘em

01:02:01

Engineering Immortality: the End of Aging?

55,974 views | 00:59:50

Quantum Computing – The Qubit Technology Revolution

107,878 views | 01:03:48

Science In A Polarized World: A Global Town Hall Meeting

01:00:35

Evolution Beyond Earth

59,005 views | 00:59:31

Shaking Up the Dark Universe: The Dark Horses of Dark Matter

553,897 views | 01:17:01

Testing the Limits of Cosmology

142,317 views | 00:57:13

Moral Math of Robots: Can Life and Death Decisions Be Coded?

59,251 views | 01:34:35

Beyond Beauty: The Predictive Power of Symmetry

473,194 views | 01:33:30

Splicing and Dicing DNA: Genome Engineering and the CRISPR Revolution

530,538 views | 01:24:26

To Unweave a Rainbow: Science and the Essence of Being Human

212,066 views | 01:38:53

It’s Alive, But Is It Life: Synthetic Biology and the Future of Creation

1,229,579 views | 01:27:13

Mind Melds and Brain Beams: The Dawn of Brain-to-Brain Communication

1,401,650 views | 01:25:32

My Neurons, My Self

480,483 views | 01:39:51

Wizards of Odds: The Power of Probability

525,545 views | 01:23:44

The Next Quantum Leap: Here, There, and Everywhere

162,377 views | 01:02:32

Planet of the Humans: The Leap to the Top

192,035 views | 01:19:33

Spark of Genius? Awakening a Better Brain

140,903 views | 01:21:33

To Infinity and Beyond: The Accelerating Universe

815,433 views | 01:22:23

Time Is of the Essence… or Is It?

1,195,923 views | 01:22:11

Mind Over Masters: The Question of Free Will

462,514 views | 01:23:39

Designer Genes: Fashioning our Biological Future

01:13:31

Alien Life: Will We Know It When We See It?

7,397,073 views | 01:33:30

The Deceptive Watchman: How Our Brains Twist Time

302,637 views | 01:23:57

Measure for Measure: Quantum Physics and Reality

3,782,324 views | 01:38:44

Infinity: The Science of Endless

1,643,306 views | 01:23:57

A Matter of Time

977,019 views | 01:27:52

Architects of the Mind: A Blueprint for the Human Brain

766,417 views | 01:28:48

Destiny and DNA: Our Pliable Genome

52,078 views | 01:24:33

The Whispering Mind: The Enduring Conundrum of Consciousness

783,128 views | 01:26:02

Engineering the Brain: Deploying a New Neural Toolkit

01:03:39

Multiverse: One Universe or Many?

3,451,936 views | 01:22:35

James Watson: On the Shoulders of Giants

01:08:08

The Elusive Neutrino and The Nature Of The Cosmos

452,244 views | 01:30:42

Why We Prevailed: Evolution and the Battle for Dominance

159,307 views | 01:31:59

Exoplanets: The Search for New Worlds

108,595 views | 01:24:28

Madness Redefined: Creativity, Intelligence and the Dark Side of the Mind

374,887 views | 01:35:31

Beautiful Minds: The Enigma of Genius

538,726 views | 01:30:32

The Illusion of Certainty: Risk, Probability, and Chance

696,246 views | 01:28:02

The Dark Side Of The Universe

1,161,734 views | 01:44:14

Mysteries of the Mathematical Universe

823,866 views | 01:16:48

A Thin Sheet of Reality: The Universe as a Hologram

3,002,767 views | 01:30:10

The Limits of Understanding

1,658,666 views | 01:33:00

Faith and Science

95,178 views | 01:41:19

Back to the Big Bang: Inside the Large Hadron Collider

372,023 views | 01:35:29

Food 2.0: Feeding a Hungry World

01:32:13

Mind and Machine: The Future of Thinking

273,624 views | 01:25:28

What It Means to Be Human: The Enigma of Altruism

01:18:33

NOTHING: The Subtle Science of Emptiness

1,036,783 views | 01:25:19

Infinite Worlds: A Journey through Parallel Universes

2,430,756 views | 01:43:58

Time Since Einstein

864,493 views | 01:36:21

What It Means to be Human

01:25:35

Science Faith and Religion

334,369 views | 01:46:12

Beyond Einstein: In Search of the Ultimate Explanation

243,925 views | 01:02:50

Echoes From The Beginning: A Journey Through Space And Time

167,609 views | 01:17:21

The Invisible Reality: The Wonderful Weirdness of the Quantum World

4,856,636 views | 01:30:56

Faith and Science

01:07:48

Big Data: Power, Potential, and Perils

01:30:23

This is Your Brain On Neuroprosthetics

01:30:01

Game Change – CRISPR’s Brave New World

01:25:42

Life in Our Image – The Ethics of Altering the Human Genome

01:27:38

Coming to Grips With Gravity

281,865 views | 01:25:57

My Society, My Self?

01:32:11

Paging Dr. Robot—How A.I. is Revolutionizing Healthcare

01:27:47

The Beauty of Balance

01:32:53

Barry Barish: On the Shoulders of Giants

01:08:05

E.O. Wilson : On The Shoulders of Giants

51,081 views | 01:01:50

Steven Weinberg: On The Shoulders Of Giants

144,912 views | 01:02:03

Edward Witten : On the Shoulders of Giants

315,582 views | 00:48:49

Cumrun Vafa: On the Shoulders of Giants

00:55:43

Afterglow: Dispatches from the Birth of the Universe

293,925 views | 01:26:50

Live Discussion with Brian Greene

103,978 views |

Our Mathematical Universe: Brian Greene & Max Tegmark

328,761 views |

Cosmology and the Accelerating Universe | A Conversation with Nobel Laureate Brian Schmidt

236,828 views |

What is Life? Five Great Ideas in Biology. | A Conversation with Nobel Laureate Sir Paul Nurse

220,876 views |

Fundamentals: Ten Keys to Reality | A Conversation with Nobel Laureate Frank Wilczek

729,125 views | 02:03:40

Entanglement, Black Holes, and Wormholes: An informal discussion with Brian Greene

231,658 views | 01:51:22

Brian Greene and Leonard Susskind: Quantum Mechanics, Black Holes and String Theory

1,405,538 views | 02:08:02

Brian Greene and Sir Roger Penrose: World Science U Q+A Session

1,380,721 views | 02:53:44

Brian Greene and Andrea Ghez: The Hunt for Supermassive Black Holes

131,458 views | 01:54:16

Brian Greene and Barry Barish: Accelerate, Collide, Detect: Gravitational Waves & Particle Physics

89,722 views | 02:06:58

Brian Greene and Harold Varmus: Tackling Today’s Medical Issues From Cancer to Covid-19

86,600 views | 02:19:44

Brian Greene and Priyamvada Natarajan: Shedding New Light On Dark Matter

230,548 views | 02:10:10

Brian Greene and Gabriela González: Discovering Gravitational Waves

225,105 views | 03:01:37

Brian Greene and Cumrun Vafa: World Science U Q+A Session

269,862 views | 02:33:02

Brian Greene and Adam Riess: World Science U Q+A Session

1,124,212 views | 03:05:19

Brian Greene: Time Dilation and the Slowing of Time

192,434 views | 01:45:24

Live Q&A with Brian Greene: How Can Supermassive Black Holes Grow so Quickly?

131,252 views |