Listen free for 30 days

Listen with offer

Preview

£0.00 for first 30 days

Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

How to Build a Universe

By: Professor Brian Cox, Robin Ince, Eric Idle - foreword, Alexandra Feachem
Narrated by: Professor Brian Cox, Robin Ince, Alexandra Feachem
Try for £0.00

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £12.99

Buy Now for £12.99

Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.

Summary

The Infinite Monkey Cage, the legendary BBC Radio 4 programme, brings you this irreverent celebration of scientific marvels. Join us on a hectic leap through the grand and bizarre ideas conjured up by human imagination, from dark matter to consciousness via neutrinos and earthworms.

Professor Brian Cox and Robin Ince muse on multifaceted subjects involved in building a universe, with pearls of wisdom from leading scientists and comedians peppered throughout.

Covering billions of concepts and conundrums, they tackle everything from the Big Bang to parallel universes, fierce creatures to extraterrestrial life, brain science to artificial intelligence. How to Build a Universe is an illuminating and inspirational celebration of science – sometimes silly, sometimes astounding and very occasionally facetious.

©2017 Professor Brian Cox and Robin Ince (P)2017 HarperCollins Publishers
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

Listeners also enjoyed...

Why Does E=MC2 and Why Should We Care cover art
Infinite Monkey Cage cover art
The Universe cover art
Forces of Nature cover art
The Quantum Universe cover art
The Planets cover art
Bibliomaniac cover art
The Museum of Curiosity: Series 1-4 cover art
The Museum of Curiosity: Series 5-8 cover art
Cosmos cover art
Pale Blue Dot cover art
The Museum of Curiosity: Series 9-12 cover art
A Brief History of Black Holes cover art
The Museum of Curiosity: Series 13-16 cover art
Losing the Nobel Prize cover art
The World According to Physics cover art

What listeners say about How to Build a Universe

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    315
  • 4 Stars
    80
  • 3 Stars
    20
  • 2 Stars
    7
  • 1 Stars
    2
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    311
  • 4 Stars
    44
  • 3 Stars
    19
  • 2 Stars
    5
  • 1 Stars
    1
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    274
  • 4 Stars
    70
  • 3 Stars
    24
  • 2 Stars
    8
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Should be mandatory.

Some of this is a bit flippant and jokey. And I don't mind that at all.

But there are many key ideas about how science works and the human endeavour to expand and explore, that I feel charging for this isn't ideal. It's preaching to the choir. This stuff (choice quotes of, at least) should be part of any science curriculum.

I'd have no hesitation to recomend it to anyone with an interest in anything cosmological or scientific.

But I'd love to force flat-Earthers and the recent black hole deniers to listen, contemplate, and consider their position given the content of this book.

Because this stuff is, I feel, monumentally important. And (jokes aside) very serious in today's world.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Loved it

Some amazing topics and new things to learn. The way it's put together makes so much sense especially with the comedy 5* from me.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great listen .

But I will have to take Brians advice to rewind and listen again for further enlightenment.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Excellent book. Prof Brian Cox at his best

Fantastic awe inspiring humbling experience in a journey through space time. Worth every penny. super

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

open the book and stretch your mind.

This book makes me want to know more than I do, more than I can know to a deeper level than may even be possible.
I think I know when a strawberry dies now and my head hurts thinking about how big an infinit cage is.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Superb

Funny, educational, confusing, chaotic and wonderful. Robin Ince plays many parts in this fantastic chaos of delight. Professor Cox makes the heat death of the Universe strangely comforting.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Brain stretching and brain tickling

What you lose from not having the books layout, you gain in off script banter between Robin and Brian. they're always a joy to listen to and this is a must for any Infinite monkey cage fans.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Realtín

Stellar performances and as hugely entertaining as the show. The comic strip descriptions are class!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Engrossing

I really didn’t fancy this seeing as it was podcast. I am really glad I bought it though and it is up there with some of the best listening in the STEM audiobook range. Professor Cox is just as soft on the ear whilst demanding attention and intrigue simultaneously as ever.

Talking points are were interesting ranging from quantum field theory to people dressing up in Bigfoot costumes with glass eyes. Can’t recommend it enough, especially with the added humour to break up the sometimes difficult subjects in a ver well compact and comprehend able way.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Must listen to the entire book - brilliant

The book stumbles a bit in the beginning, and you start to wonder if it’s going to be any good, as the book starts with a lengthy comedy bit which is a bit half-baked (hence only 4 stars. But once they get into the meat of the science it is a really great book to listen to. I particularly like the way they present the information so that a lay person can understand it without dumbing it down. I also like the discussions about the need to be skeptical of the pseudo sciences, and the deep analysis that Brian makes on the scientific methods and why they are important. From the Big Bang to the heat-death of the universe in the unimaginably distant future, it’s all covered. I’m a fan of the monkey cage podcasts, and I’m glad I’ve bought this book too. Gonna start at the beginning again and enjoy it once more

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

20 people found this helpful