The astrophysicist Mario Livio spent 24 years at the Space Telescope Science Institute working with the Hubble Telescope, which has revealed the reality and beauty of the Universe to scientists and citizens in whole new ways. The Hubble’s successor, the James Webb Telescope, will become fully operational in 2022, and will further some of the questions about the early formation of the Universe and the origins of life to which Mario Livio has been devoted. Krista spoke with him in 2010, and this conversation has become an On Being Classic, imparting a thrilling sense of all we are learning about the cosmos in this generation in time, our terrible earthly woes notwithstanding. Also: how scientific advance always meets recurrent mystery, from the emergence of life in the Universe to the very heart of mathematics and the puzzle of dark matter and dark energy.
Mario Livio is the author of seven books, including Galileo: And the Science Deniers, The Golden Ratio, and Is God a Mathematician? His current research centers on the emergence of life in the Universe.
Find the transcript for this show at onbeing.org.
This show originally aired in May 2010.
[Unedited] James Bridle with Krista Tippett
Nick Offerman — Working with Wood, and the Meaning of Life
Ada Limón — “To Be Made Whole”
“The Quiet Machine” by Ada Limón
“Dead Stars” by Ada Limón
“A New National Anthem” by Ada Limón
Amanda Ripley — Stepping out of "the zombie dance" we're in, and into "good conflict" that is, in fact, life-giving
Dacher Keltner — The Thrilling New Science of Awe
Emergence: On Being Is Back!
Foundations 4: Calling and Wholeness
Foundations 3: Taking a Long View of Time, and Becoming “Critical Yeast”
Foundations 2: Living the Questions
Foundations 1: Seeing the Generative Story of Our Time
A Listening Ritual for this Fall: Poetry Unbound
A Season of Emergence with Krista
BONUS: An On Being Listening Party — Celebrating 20 Years
Ocean Vuong – A Life Worthy of Our Breath
[Unedited] Ocean Vuong with Krista Tippett
Ayana Elizabeth Johnson — What If We Get This Right?
[Unedited] Ayana Elizabeth Johnson with Krista Tippett
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