Cosmology in crisis, part two: new theories for the unknown

There are a growing number of hints that the universe might not have evolved in the way that cosmologists thought. If those hints are confirmed by new sky surveys, it might turn out that dark matter and dark energy are more mysterious than anyone ever conceived before. In that case, how should scientists reformulate their standard model of the universe?

This is the second of two episodes that explore a looming crisis in cosmology. We examine what cracks in the standard model of cosmology could mean for the quest to understand dark matter and dark energy.

Host: Alok Jha, The Economist’s science and technology editor. Contributors: Michael Brown, Nathan Adams, Dan Thomas, Rebecca Bowler and Erik Rosenberg of the University of Manchester; Don Lincoln of Fermilab; Subir Sarkar of the University of Oxford; Nathalie Palanque-Delabrouille of DESI; and Emilie Steinmark, The Economist’s science correspondent. 

Listen to part one of the series, “Cosmology in crisis, part one: how to build a universe”.

To learn more about how physicists are searching for dark matter, listen to our episode “Babbage: The hunt for dark matter”.

Transcripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts.

Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—subscribe to Economist Podcasts+.

For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account.