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)