Aimee Bender’s Origin Lessons
Studio 360 came to the writer Aimee Bender with a commission for a short story on a giant topic: the Big Bang. Before she started writing, Bender decided to bone up on her science: she spoke with Nick Warner, a professor of physics, astronomy, and mathematics at the University of Southern California. You can hear part of their conversation in the audio above.
Then Bender wrote “Origin Lessons” – read to us here by Kevin Pariseau. It’s about a teacher who struggles to explain the beginnings of the universe. He starts his lesson by declaring, “We began all at once, everywhere.”
Produced by Chloe Plaunt, with audio mix by Ave Carrillo.
(Originally aired: December 17, 2010)
Every day, reporters and producers at The World are hard at work bringing you human-centered news from across the globe. But we can’t do it without you. We need your support to ensure we can continue this work for another year.
Make a gift today, and you’ll help us unlock a matching gift of $67,000!