Science & Futurism with Isaac Arthur

Latest Episodes:

How Big Could Human Civilization? (Narration Only) Sep 20, 2026

Show notes

How big could human civilization become? From trillion-person worlds to Dyson swarms, galaxy-spanning cultures, and digital minds, we explore just how far humanity could scale.

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Credits:

How Big Could Human Civilization Get?

Written, Produced & Narrated by: Isaac Arthur

Music by Epidemic Sound: http://nebula.tv/epidemic

Stellardrone & Chris Zabriskie

Graphics: Jeremy Jozwik, Sergio Botero, Udo Schroeter

Select imagery/video supplied by Getty Images

Chapters

0:00 Intro

2:54 Earth, Planets, and the Classic Human Future

10:05 The Galaxy as a Human Family Tree

16:53 Using Space Properly

23:41 Stars, Galaxies, and Kardashev Civilizations

30:32 Gods & Monsters

31:35 When Humans Stop Being Baseline

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

How Big Could Human Civilization? Sep 20, 2026

Show notes

How big could human civilization become? From trillion-person worlds to Dyson swarms, galaxy-spanning cultures, and digital minds, we explore just how far humanity could scale.

Get Nebula using my link for 50% off an annual subscription: https://go.nebula.tv/isaacarthur

Checkout Gods & Monsters: https://nebula.tv/curiousarchive/gods-and-monsters?ref=isaacarthur

🛒 SFIA Merchandise: https://isaac-arthur-shop.fourthwall.com/

🌐 Visit our Website: http://www.isaacarthur.net

❤️ Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/IsaacArthur

⭐ Support us on Subscribestar: https://www.subscribestar.com/isaac-arthur

👥 Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1583992725237264/

📣 Reddit Community: https://www.reddit.com/r/IsaacArthur/

🐦 Follow on Twitter / X: https://twitter.com/Isaac_A_Arthur

💬 SFIA Discord Server: https://discord.gg/53GAShE

Credits:

How Big Could Human Civilization Get?

Written, Produced & Narrated by: Isaac Arthur

Music by Epidemic Sound: http://nebula.tv/epidemic

Stellardrone & Chris Zabriskie

Graphics: Jeremy Jozwik, Sergio Botero, Udo Schroeter

Select imagery/video supplied by Getty Images

Chapters

0:00 Intro

2:54 Earth, Planets, and the Classic Human Future

10:05 The Galaxy as a Human Family Tree

16:53 Using Space Properly

23:41 Stars, Galaxies, and Kardashev Civilizations

30:32 Gods & Monsters

31:35 When Humans Stop Being Baseline

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Can a Civilization Forget How Its Own Technology Works? Sep 17, 2026

Show notes

What happens when the machines still work, but nobody remembers how they were built? We explore technological amnesia, black-box automation, lost expertise, and civilizations trapped inside inherited technology.

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Checkout Alien Data Arks, Outsider Aliens, and our Alien Life Collection: https://nebula.tv/isaacarthur/alien-life-collection

🛒 SFIA Merchandise: https://isaac-arthur-shop.fourthwall.com/

🌐 Visit our Website: http://www.isaacarthur.net

❤️ Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/IsaacArthur

⭐ Support us on Subscribestar: https://www.subscribestar.com/isaac-arthur

👥 Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1583992725237264/

📣 Reddit Community: https://www.reddit.com/r/IsaacArthur/

🐦 Follow on Twitter / X: https://twitter.com/Isaac_A_Arthur

💬 SFIA Discord Server: https://discord.gg/53GAShE

Credits:

Can a Civilization Forget How Its Own Technology Works?

Written, Produced & Narrated by: Isaac Arthur

Music by Epidemic Sound: http://nebula.tv/epidemic

Stellardrone & Chris Zabriskie

Select imagery/video supplied by Getty Images

Chapters

0:00 Intro

2:51 Forgetting the Footnotes

7:33 Black Boxes and Sacred Buttons

12:46 12 Years

14:08 Tradition, Taboo, and the Maintenance Guild

19:54 Colonies That Inherit Too Much

23:22 The Stagnant Stars

27:03 Alien Life

28:03 How Not to Forget

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Can a Civilization Forget How Its Own Technology Works? (Narration Only) Sep 17, 2026

Show notes

Get Nebula using my link for 50% off an annual subscription: https://go.nebula.tv/isaacarthur

Checkout Alien Data Arks, Outsider Aliens, and our Alien Life Collection: https://nebula.tv/isaacarthur/alien-life-collection

🛒 SFIA Merchandise: https://isaac-arthur-shop.fourthwall.com/

🌐 Visit our Website: http://www.isaacarthur.net

❤️ Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/IsaacArthur

⭐ Support us on Subscribestar: https://www.subscribestar.com/isaac-arthur

👥 Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1583992725237264/

📣 Reddit Community: https://www.reddit.com/r/IsaacArthur/

🐦 Follow on Twitter / X: https://twitter.com/Isaac_A_Arthur

💬 SFIA Discord Server: https://discord.gg/53GAShE

Credits:

Can a Civilization Forget How Its Own Technology Works?

Written, Produced & Narrated by: Isaac Arthur

Music by Epidemic Sound: http://nebula.tv/epidemic

Stellardrone & Chris Zabriskie

Select imagery/video supplied by Getty Images

Chapters

0:00 Intro

2:51 Forgetting the Footnotes

7:33 Black Boxes and Sacred Buttons

12:46 12 Years

14:08 Tradition, Taboo, and the Maintenance Guild

19:54 Colonies That Inherit Too Much

23:22 The Stagnant Stars

27:03 Alien Life

28:03 How Not to Forget

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Floating Cities Above Gas Giants Sep 12, 2026

Show notes

Why build floating cities above Jupiter and Saturn? Not for fusion fuel, but for something far more valuable: the staggering amounts of hydrogen, nitrogen, and raw material needed to build a spacefaring civilization.

Get Nebula using my link for 50% off an annual subscription: https://go.nebula.tv/isaacarthur

Checkout Gods & Monsters: https://nebula.tv/curiousarchive/gods-and-monsters?ref=isaacarthur

🛒 SFIA Merchandise: https://isaac-arthur-shop.fourthwall.com/

🌐 Visit our Website: http://www.isaacarthur.net

❤️ Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/IsaacArthur

⭐ Support us on Subscribestar: https://www.subscribestar.com/isaac-arthur

👥 Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1583992725237264/

📣 Reddit Community: https://www.reddit.com/r/IsaacArthur/

🐦 Follow on Twitter / X: https://twitter.com/Isaac_A_Arthur

💬 SFIA Discord Server: https://discord.gg/53GAShE

Credits:

Floating Cities Above Gas Giants

Written, Produced & Narrated by: Isaac Arthur

Music by Epidemic Sound: http://nebula.tv/epidemic

Stellardrone & Chris Zabriskie

Graphics from: Ervin Oprea, Jeremy Jozwik & Sergio Botero

Select imagery/video supplied by Getty Images

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Floating Cities Above Gas Giants (Narration Only) Sep 12, 2026

Show notes

Get Nebula using my link for 50% off an annual subscription: https://go.nebula.tv/isaacarthur

Checkout Gods & Monsters: https://nebula.tv/curiousarchive/gods-and-monsters?ref=isaacarthur

🛒 SFIA Merchandise: https://isaac-arthur-shop.fourthwall.com/

🌐 Visit our Website: http://www.isaacarthur.net

❤️ Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/IsaacArthur

⭐ Support us on Subscribestar: https://www.subscribestar.com/isaac-arthur

👥 Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1583992725237264/

📣 Reddit Community: https://www.reddit.com/r/IsaacArthur/

🐦 Follow on Twitter / X: https://twitter.com/Isaac_A_Arthur

💬 SFIA Discord Server: https://discord.gg/53GAShE

Credits:

Floating Cities Above Gas Giants

Written, Produced & Narrated by: Isaac Arthur

Music by Epidemic Sound: http://nebula.tv/epidemic

Stellardrone & Chris Zabriskie

Graphics from: Ervin Oprea, Jeremy Jozwik & Sergio Botero

Select imagery/video supplied by Getty Images

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The First Space Elevator: Where Would We Build It? Sep 10, 2026

Show notes

If we could build a space elevator tomorrow, where should it go? Earth may be the obvious answer, but the Moon, Mars, and other worlds may be far easier. We compare the best candidates.

Get Nebula using my link for 50% off an annual subscription: https://go.nebula.tv/isaacarthur

Checkout Mad Kings : https://nebula.tv/madkings?ref=isaacarthur

🛒 SFIA Merchandise: https://isaac-arthur-shop.fourthwall.com/

🌐 Visit our Website: http://www.isaacarthur.net

❤️ Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/IsaacArthur

⭐ Support us on Subscribestar: https://www.subscribestar.com/isaac-arthur

👥 Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1583992725237264/

📣 Reddit Community: https://www.reddit.com/r/IsaacArthur/

🐦 Follow on Twitter / X: https://twitter.com/Isaac_A_Arthur

💬 SFIA Discord Server: https://discord.gg/53GAShE

Credits:

The First Space Elevator: Where Would We Build It?

Written, Produced & Narrated by: Isaac Arthur

Music by Epidemic Sound: http://nebula.tv/epidemic

Graphics from: Jeremy Jozwik, Ken York, Phil Swan & Sergio Botero

Select imagery/video supplied by Getty Images

Chapters

0:00 Intro

4:02 Why Not the Atlantic, Indian, or Land?

9:07 Cheating the Equator

12:37 The First Elevator Might Not Be on Earth

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The First Space Elevator: Where Would We Build It? (Narration Oly) Sep 10, 2026

Show notes

If we could build a space elevator tomorrow, where should it go? Earth may be the obvious answer, but the Moon, Mars, and other worlds may be far easier. We compare the best candidates.

Get Nebula using my link for 50% off an annual subscription: https://go.nebula.tv/isaacarthur

Checkout Mad Kings : https://nebula.tv/madkings?ref=isaacarthur

🛒 SFIA Merchandise: https://isaac-arthur-shop.fourthwall.com/

🌐 Visit our Website: http://www.isaacarthur.net

❤️ Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/IsaacArthur

⭐ Support us on Subscribestar: https://www.subscribestar.com/isaac-arthur

👥 Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1583992725237264/

📣 Reddit Community: https://www.reddit.com/r/IsaacArthur/

🐦 Follow on Twitter / X: https://twitter.com/Isaac_A_Arthur

💬 SFIA Discord Server: https://discord.gg/53GAShE

Credits:

The First Space Elevator: Where Would We Build It?

Written, Produced & Narrated by: Isaac Arthur

Music by Epidemic Sound: http://nebula.tv/epidemic

Graphics from: Jeremy Jozwik, Ken York, Phil Swan & Sergio Botero

Select imagery/video supplied by Getty Images

Chapters

0:00 Intro

4:02 Why Not the Atlantic, Indian, or Land?

9:07 Cheating the Equator

12:37 The First Elevator Might Not Be on Earth

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Ion Drives: The Slow Rockets That Win Space Sep 06, 2026

Show notes

Ion drives are slow, quiet, and astonishingly efficient. From asteroid freighters and Mars cargo ships to the infrastructure behind future starships, these patient engines may help build civilization across the Solar System.

Get Nebula using my link for 50% off an annual subscription: https://go.nebula.tv/isaacarthur

Checkout Gods & Monsters: https://nebula.tv/curiousarchive/gods-and-monsters?ref=isaacarthur

🛒 SFIA Merchandise: https://isaac-arthur-shop.fourthwall.com/

🌐 Visit our Website: http://www.isaacarthur.net

❤️ Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/IsaacArthur

⭐ Support us on Subscribestar: https://www.subscribestar.com/isaac-arthur

👥 Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1583992725237264/

📣 Reddit Community: https://www.reddit.com/r/IsaacArthur/

🐦 Follow on Twitter / X: https://twitter.com/Isaac_A_Arthur

💬 SFIA Discord Server: https://discord.gg/53GAShE

Credits:

Ion Drives: The Slow Rockets That Win Space