

358 | Solo: Vacuum Energy and the Cosmological Constant
The most surprising discovery in fundamental physics during my career as a scientist was undoubtedly the acceleration of the universe, announced in 1998. The most straightforward explanation for these observations is a positive cosmological constant, or vacuum energy. I talk about the origin of the idea with Einstein,…

Scout bees are checking it out — divided opinions, the swarm hasn't committed.
Buzzmeter says it's buzzing across platforms — the Hive Vote says whether the people who actually listened liked it.
Rate this episode
Add your vote to the Hive — listeners rate every episode after they finish.
- No reviews yet — be the first.
What people are saying
“2 hours, 2 minutes, 2 seconds 😃 Impressive!”
“I was just thinking about this last week. And a whole solo episode about it comes out today? Crazy...”
“Sean, just started listening, but thank you in advance for your time. It's greatly appreciated.”
“I was a patron during the first year, and then my Simple Financial Oscillator made me pause my support. I plan on solving that equation before the end of the year - thank you wholeheartedly 🙏🙂↕️💫”
More from Sean Carroll's Mindscape: Science, Society, Philosophy, Culture, Arts, and Ideas
See all episodes →
AMA | Feb 2026

Holiday Message 2025 | The Romance of the University

337 | Kevin Zollman on Game Theory, Signals, and Meaning
One great episode in your inbox, daily — free.
One email a day, unsubscribe anytime. No spam, ever.