Human Universe Episode Rating Graph

Of all the creatures to have ever crawled, swum or flown over the Earth, only one creature has evolved the ability to escape the planet - us. For Brian, our ascent marks the pinnacle of our achievements as a species. So who are we? How - from a universe made of stars, rocks and endless space - did our civilisation emerge?

Brian Cox tackles the question that unites the 7 billion people on Earth, why are we here? Brian reveals how the wonderful complexity of nature and human life is simply the consequence of chance events constrained by the laws of physics that govern our universe. But this leads him to a deeper question - why does our universe seem to have been set up with just the right rules to create us? In a dizzying conclusion Brian unpicks this question, revealing the very latest understanding of how the universe came to be this way, and in doing so offers a radical new answer to why we are here.

Brian Cox explores the ingredients needed for an intelligent civilisation to evolve in the universe - the need for a benign star, for a habitable planet, for life to spontaneously arise on such a planet, and the time required for intelligent life to evolve and build a civilisation. Brian weighs the evidence and arrives at his own provocative answer to the puzzle of our apparent solitude.

Brian Cox looks at how we came to understand we are not at the centre of the universe.

Brian concludes his exploration of our place in the Universe, asking the question what is next for the ape that went to space. He visits Northern Spain, exploring a cave which was home to our ancient ancestors. He also heads to the Arctic, to see what sets us apart from other species. Brian heads to the top of the world - Svalbard, were he unlocks the secret to our long term survival.