Top Scientist REVEALS: A Kid In The 29th Century Could Have Made This World! | Prof Brian Greene

The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett

• Podcast Home
• Download Episode

Monday, 17 August 2026 - 2 hours 12 minutes

Professor Brian Greene reveals the biggest questions science still can’t answer, whether we’re living in a simulation, why AI may deserve human rights, and what happens at the end of the universe! 

Professor Brian Greene is a theoretical physicist, mathematician, and Professor of Physics and Mathematics at Columbia University, where he also directs the Center for Theoretical Physics. He is a leading researcher in string theory, the co-founder of the World Science Festival, and the bestselling author of several books, including ‘Until the End of Time: Mind, Matter, and Our Search for Meaning in an Evolving Universe’. 

He explains:
◼ Why most physicists believe time travel into the future is already possible
◼ Why he believes humans don't actually have free will
◼ How string theory could reveal what everything in the universe is really made of
◼ Why the "Pale Blue Dot" changes how you see your own life and problems
◼ Why the search for meaning may matter more than finding the answer itself

Chapters

• 00:00:00 Intro
• 00:02:22 The Big Question Science Is Trying to Answer
• 00:03:49 How String Theory Could Explain Our Universe
• 00:04:44 How Could We Ever Prove String Theory Is Real?
• 00:06:17 What Makes the Strings in String Theory Vibrate?
• 00:07:52 Can String Theory Explain Why We’re Here?
• 00:09:16 What If We’re Living in a Simulation?
• 00:11:23 How Can Physics Explain Human Emotions?
• 00:17:23 Could Humans One Day Manufacture Emotions?
• 00:18:53 Would Knowing We’re in a Simulation Change Anything?
• 00:20:24 Could Humans and AI Eventually Merge?
• 00:20:59 Could Humans Ever Achieve Immortality?
• 00:24:57 How Knowing We’ll Die Shapes Every Decision We Make
• 00:26:59 Why Are We Here? The Optimistic and Pessimistic Answers
• 00:30:24 How Did Gods and Religions First Emerge?
• 00:33:33 What’s the Most Compelling Case for a God?
• 00:36:41 How Can We Comprehend Billions of Years?
• 00:40:12 Does Our Place in the Universe Make Us Insignificant?
• 00:42:48 How Big Is the Observable Universe, Really?
• 00:46:59 What Exists Beyond the Observable Universe?
• 00:47:56 Why Are Humans So Obsessed With Aliens?
• 00:51:45 Ads
• 00:54:26 What Is the Meaning of Life?
• 00:56:26 Is Free Will Actually Real?
• 01:00:41 What If Consciousness Is the Foundation of Reality?
• 01:08:05 Are Animals Conscious Like We Are?
• 01:10:11 What If the Universe Isn’t Infinite?
• 01:12:12 Could Aliens Have Already Visited Earth?
• 01:13:03 Could Humans Ever Travel Across the Universe?
• 01:15:53 How Time Travel Could Actually Be Possible
• 01:18:55 Who Was the Smartest Person Who Ever Lived?
• 01:21:26 Could AI Become the Next Einstein or Newton?
• 01:24:37 Ads
• 01:28:20 How AI Could Accelerate Science—and Even Tackle Mortality
• 01:29:48 Could AI Evolve Faster Than Humans Ever Could?
• 01:32:47 Could AI Become an Existential Threat to Humanity?
• 01:40:51 Can AI Ever See the World the Way Humans Do?
• 01:45:01 What Happens to Humanity in an Age of Abundance?
• 01:47:39 Could AI Ever Become Truly Conscious?
• 01:50:29 Why Go Vegan? The Case for Rethinking What We Eat
• 01:53:56 What Happens at the End of Time?
• 01:56:38 What Could Matter More Than What You Value Most?

Follow Professor Brian:
X - https://link.thediaryofaceo.com/3UrBK3y
Instagram - https://link.thediaryofaceo.com/7ah5tbw
Website - https://link.thediaryofaceo.com/4GQfbDy
World Science Festival - https://link.thediaryofaceo.com/4ltduUF 

You can purchase Brian’s book, ‘Until the End of Time: Mind, Matter, and Our Search for Meaning in an Evolving Universe’, here: https://link.thediaryofaceo.com/GQngff0

The Diary Of A CEO:
◼ Join DOAC circle here - https://doaccircle.com/
◼ Buy The Diary Of A CEO book here - https://link.thediaryofaceo.com/BWjLTZK
◼ The 1% Diary is back - limited time only: https://thediary.com/products/one-percent-diary
◼ The Diary Of A CEO Conversation Cards (Second Edition): https://thediary.com/products/the-conversation-cards-2nd-edition
◼ Get email updates - https://link.thediaryofaceo.com/5IB1H6E
◼ Follow Steven - https://link.thediaryofaceo.com/AGU9QP4

Sponsors:
Stan - Visit https://coach.stan.store/?ref=stevenbartlett&utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=episode11
Linkedin Talent Solutions - http://linkedin.com/DOAC

Subscribe to this podcast

• Apple Podcasts
• Apple Podcasts
• RSS Feed