EPISODE · Sep 6, 2025 · 54 MIN
What Came Before The Big Bang? Thomas Hertog - #513
from Into the Impossible With Brian Keating · host Big Bang Productions Inc.
Please join my mailing list here 👉 https://briankeating.com/list to win a meteorite 💥 In a sweeping conversation drawn from his collaboration with Stephen Hawking, Thomas Hertog explores the radical “no-boundary” theory—a vision of the cosmos with no singular beginning, evolving laws of physics, and a past that isn’t fixed until observed. Rejecting the untestable multiverse, Hertog and Hawking built a fully quantum cosmology that embeds the observer within the equations, predicting inflation and replacing anthropic guesswork with a falsifiable framework. Hertog explains how time could emerge from something deeper than the Big Bang, why constants of nature may be dynamic, and how holography hints the laws of physics themselves might fade away at the origin. He then turns to the experiments—from next-generation CMB polarization to gravitational wave backgrounds—that could confirm or refute this bold vision, challenging us to see the universe as a living, evolving system whose history we help to shape. — Key Takeaways: 00:00 Intro 01:03 Thomas’s first reaction to Hawking’s theory 03:38 Hawking’s model of the Big Bang 07:20 The no-boundary proposal 22:18 The role of conscious observers in cosmology 24:34 The wick rotation and its implications 29:29 The future of physics and experimental tests 37:57 The experimental minimum 40:04 The holographic principle 43:57 Work Thomas would like to share with Hawking 49:11 Outro — Additional resources: 📚 On the Origin of Time by Thomas Hertog: https://a.co/d/ftze4JC — ➡️ Follow me on your fav platforms: ✖️ Twitter: https://twitter.com/DrBrianKeating 🔔 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/DrBrianKeating?sub_confirmation=1 📝 Join my mailing list: https://briankeating.com/list ✍️ Check out my blog: https://briankeating.com/cosmic-musings/ 🎙️ Follow my podcast: https://briankeating.com/podcast — Into the Impossible with Brian Keating is a podcast dedicated to all those who want to explore the universe within and beyond the known. Make sure to follow/subscribe so you never miss an episode! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
What this episode covers
Please join my mailing list here 👉 https://briankeating.com/list to win a meteorite 💥 In a sweeping conversation drawn from his collaboration with Stephen Hawking, Thomas Hertog explores the radical “no-boundary” theory—a vision of the cosmos with no singular beginning, evolving laws of physics, and a past that isn’t fixed until observed. Rejecting the untestable multiverse, Hertog and Hawking built a fully quantum cosmology that embeds the observer within the equations, predicting inflation and replacing anthropic guesswork with a falsifiable framework. Hertog explains how time could emerge from something deeper than the Big Bang, why constants of nature may be dynamic, and how holography hints the laws of physics themselves might fade away at the origin. He then turns to the experiments—from next-generation CMB polarization to gravitational wave backgrounds—that could confirm or refute this bold vision, challenging us to see the universe as a living, evolving system whose history we help to shape. — Key Takeaways: 00:00 Intro 01:03 Thomas’s first reaction to Hawking’s theory 03:38 Hawking’s model of the Big Bang 07:20 The no-boundary proposal 22:18 The role of conscious observers in cosmology 24:34 The wick rotation and its implications 29:29 The future of physics and experimental tests 37:57 The experimental minimum 40:04 The holographic principle 43:57 Work Thomas would like to share with Hawking 49:11 Outro — Additional resources: 📚 On the Origin of Time by Thomas Hertog: https://a.co/d/ftze4JC — ➡️ Follow me on your fav platforms: ✖️ Twitter: https://twitter.com/DrBrianKeating 🔔 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/DrBrianKeating?sub_confirmation=1 📝 Join my mailing list: https://briankeating.com/list ✍️ Check out my blog: https://briankeating.com/cosmic-musings/ 🎙️ Follow my podcast: https://briankeating.com/podcast — Into the Impossible with Brian Keating is a podcast dedicated to all those who want to explore the universe within and beyond the known. Make sure to follow/subscribe so you never miss an episode! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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What Came Before The Big Bang? Thomas Hertog - #513
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