The Universe Has Been Expanding Since the Big Bang. Just Not How We Thought

Check out the Space Time Merch Store https://www.pbsspacetime.com/shop Last year, the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument—DESI—made headlines around the world. Its enormous map of the Universe hinted that dark energy—the mysterious something causing the expansion of the Universe to accelerate—might not actually be constant. Last month, another giant cosmology experiment released its final results. The Dark Energy Survey. DES. Its results are intriguing. But did they confirm the DESI measurement? We’ll, let’s see, but there’s also a much more interesting question—Why are completely different scientific studies so much more powerful in combination than any one study on its own? The answer brings us to the heart of what science really is. Sign Up on Patreon to get access to the Space Time Discord! https://www.patreon.com/pbsspacetime Sign up for the mailing list to get episode notifications and hear special announcements! https://mailchi.mp/1a6eb8f2717d/spacetime Search the Entire Space Time Library Here: https://search.pbsspacetime.com/ Hosted by Matt O'Dowd Written by Matt O'Dowd Post Production by Leonardo Scholzer Directed by Andrew Kornhaber Associate Producer: Bahar Gholipour Executive Producer: Andrew Kornhaber Executive in Charge for PBS: Maribel Lopez Director of Programming for PBS: Gabrielle Ewing Assistant Director of Programming for PBS: Mike Martin Spacetime is a production of Kornhaber Brown for PBS Digital Studios. This program is produced by Kornhaber Brown, which is solely responsible for its content. © 2026 PBS. All rights reserved. End Credits Music by J.R.S. Schattenberg: https://www.youtube.com/user/MultiDroideka Space Time Was Made Possible In Part By: Big Bang Alexander Tamas Filip Rolenec Juan Benet Kenneth See Mark Rosenthal MATTHEW OCKO Morgan Hough Peter Barrett Vinnie Falco Supernova Ethan Cohen Glenn Sugden Grace Biaelcki Justin Lloyd Mark Heising Rad Antonov Shaun Williams Stephen Wilcox Tristan Lucian Claudius Aurelius Tyack