While most of us believe the universe began with a big bang, Brian and Robin hear some of the alternative theories, including an Egyptian myth that it actually started with a giant ejaculation, as they question the origins of life as we know it. With so much still to be discovered about the cosmos, Rufus Hound says we need more bangs and flashes in chemistry classes, arguing lessons aren’t dangerous enough anymore. So could comedians play a role in advancing the science? Matt Lucas says he’s happy to jump into a black hole when he learns there’s high speed internet and Eric Idle gets poetic about the tiniest of particles in a special song about the Higgs Boson.

Episodes featured: Series 10: Before the Big Bang Series 23: The Fundamentals of Reality Series 14: The Recipe to Build a Universe Series 22: Black Holes The Infinite Monkey Cage 100 Series 8: Glastonbury Special

New episodes will be released on Wednesdays, but if you’re in the UK, listen to new episodes, a week early, first on BBC Sounds: bbc.in/3K3JzyF

Producer: Marijke Peters Executive Producer: Alexandra Feachem