Episode 195: Time's Second Arrow

Episode 195: Time's Second Arrow

January 28, 2026 · 49 min

About this episode

Dr. Bob Hazen joins Michael L. Wong to discuss their upcoming book on evolution and a new law of nature.

Guest: Dr. Bob Hazen Mike is joined by his Carnegie Science colleague Dr. Bob Hazen. Together, they have written a new popular science book titled "Time's Second Arrow: Evolution, Order, and a New Law of Nature," which launches on February 10, 2026. This book describes how the marvelously complex constituents of our universe came to be. Evolution, they boldly propose, is a universal phenomenon—not only in biology, but in the entire atomic, chemical, mineral, and physical universe. Showing how a natural process of selection for increasing function has shaped the universe since its inception, they explore how a new law of nature could possibly help us identify life on other planets and—perhaps—even understand the purpose and meaning of life on Earth in a new way. "Time's Second Arrow: Evolution, Order, and a New Law of Nature" by Robert M. Hazen & Michael L. Wong: https://wwnorton.com/books/9781324105480 Bob & Mike's scientific papers that "Time's Second Arrow" is based on: 1. https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2310223120 2. https://academic.oup.com/pnasnexus/advance-article/doi/10.1093/pnasnexus/pgae248/7698354 3…

People in this episode

Host: Michael L. Wong

Guest: Dr. Bob Hazen

Topics covered

Keywords

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Carnegie Science

Books & works: Time's Second Arrow: Evolution, Order, and a New Law of Nature

More episodes of Strange New Worlds: A Science & Star Trek Podcast

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Strange New Worlds: A Science & Star Trek Podcast podcast page.