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Interview: Bob and Mike’s Big Idea with Bob Hazen and Mike Wong

1hr 11m 13s

The universe loves making things complicated. From minerals and microbes to languages and societies, complexity keeps showing up — but why? Astrobiologist Mike Wong and mineralogist Bob Hazen think we’re missing a law of nature to explain this phenomenon. Hakeem sits down with them to understand their bold new idea: what they call a Law of Increasing Functional Information.

Aired: 09/22/25
National Corporate funding for NOVA is provided by Carlisle Companies and Viking Cruises. Major funding for NOVA is provided by the NOVA Science Trust and PBS viewers.
Extras
Surprising evidence at the world’s oldest temple overturns our understanding of human history.
A deadly—and growing—global weather phenomenon mystifies scientists.
Explore mammals’ surprising origins, long before the age of dinosaurs.
Do speech buttons really allow dogs to talk to us? Scientists investigate.
New evidence sheds light on the remarkable life—and mysterious collapse—of the ancient jungle city.
What if violent asteroid impacts actually jump-started life on Earth? Explore a dramatic theory.
What studying the surface of the Moon revealed about Earth’s apocalyptic youth.
They're older than King Tut, Ötzi the Iceman, and even the ones found in the Atacama Desert.
From fruit flies to snake venom, evolutionary biologist Sean Carroll explains what drives evolution.