Uploaded July 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
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This podcast is about dark matter — and Professor Philip Mannheim thinks it isn't missing at all, just hiding in plain sight as the rest of the visible universe. In his first-ever podcast, on ideas he's pursued since 1972, Mannheim lays out conformal gravity: a theory built on Weyl symmetry rather than Einstein's equations, which explains galaxy rotation curves without dark matter, tames the cosmological constant, and fits the accelerating universe without fine-tuning. With longtime collaborator Carl Bender, he also resolves gravity's infamous "ghost" problem using PT symmetry instead of Hermiticity — suggesting the graviton may not even exist as a particle. I hope you enjoy.
CLARIFICATIONS:
- The opening quote refers to the metric being the gravitational field.
- At 1:00:08, Mannheim's response to Hobson/Lasenby is GRG 54, 99 (2022): arxiv.org/abs/2105.14679
FOLLOW:
- Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/4gL14b92xAErofYQA7bU4e
- Substack: curtjaimungal.substack.com/subscribe
- Twitter: twitter.com/TOEwithCurt
- Discord Invite: discord.com/invite/kBcnfNVwqs
- Crypto: nowpayments.io/donation/TOE
- PayPal: paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=XUBHNMFXUX5S4
TIMESTAMPS:
- 00:00:00 - Einstein's Relativity Foundations
- 00:05:47 - Riemann Tensor and Curvature
- 00:11:50 - Flaws in Einstein's Equations
- 00:17:23 - Quantum Gravity Renormalizability
- 00:23:28 - Conformal Symmetry Principles
- 00:30:09 - Dynamical Mass Generation
- 00:37:08 - Inflation and Horizon Problems
- 00:43:55 - Renormalization Group Fixed Points
- 00:51:05 - Composite Higgs Solution
- 00:57:03 - Weyl Tensor Action
- 01:03:44 - Solving Dark Matter
- 01:09:36 - Cosmic Coincidence Problem
- 01:16:27 - Hubble Tension and Redshift
- 01:24:31 - PT Symmetry and Ghosts
- 01:31:21 - Probability Conservation vs. Hermiticity
- 01:38:13 - CPT Theorem and Fermions
- 01:45:14 - Quantum Decays and Resonances
- 01:51:05 - Parity and Right-Handed Neutrinos
- 01:56:14 - Gravitons and Wavefunction Collapse
- 02:02:24 - Cyclic Universes and Singularities
- 02:08:24 - String Theory Fine-Tuning
- 02:14:45 - Unitarity and Poincaré Stresses
- 02:21:02 - Gravitational Lensing and Tenure
- 02:26:55 - Nature and Experimental Data
LINKS MENTIONED:
- Philip's Papers: inspirehep.net/authors/998943
- Newton's Law Of Gravity: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newton%27s_law_of_universal_gravitation
- Geodesics: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geodesics_in_general_relativity
- Equivalence Principle: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equivalence_principle
- Introduction To General Relativity [Book]: amazon.com/dp/0070004234?tag=toe08-20
- Foundation Of The General Theory Of Relativity [Paper]: isidore.co/misc/Physics%20papers%20and%20books/St.%20John's%20College's,%20TAC's%20curricula's,%20et%20alii%20sci.%20papers/1916-%20The%20Foundation%20of%20the%20General%20Theory%20of%20Relativity%20(Einstein).pdf
- Dynamical Symmetry Breaking As A Bootstrap [Paper]: journals.aps.org/prd/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevD.12.1772
- Dynamics Of The Universe And Spontaneous Symmetry Breaking [Paper]: https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1980ApJ...241L..59K/abstract
- Mass Generation, The Cosmological Constant Problem, Conformal Symmetry, And The Higgs Boson [Paper]: arxiv.org/abs/1610.08907
- Living Without Supersymmetry [Paper]: arxiv.org/abs/1506.01399
- Exact Vacuum Solution To Conformal Weyl Gravity And Galactic Rotation Curves [Paper]: https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1989ApJ...342..635M/abstract
- No-Ghost Theorem For The Pais-Uhlenbeck Oscillator [Paper]: arxiv.org/abs/0706.0207
- Fitting Galactic Rotation Curves With Conformal Gravity [Paper]: arxiv.org/abs/1011.3495
- Cosmic Coincidence Problem: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmic_coincidence_problem
- Cosmological Perturbations In Conformal Gravity [Paper]: arxiv.org/pdf/1109.4119
- Implications Of Cosmic Repulsion For Gravitational Theory [Paper]: arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/9804335
- Exact Solution To Perturbative Conformal Cosmology [Paper]: arxiv.org/abs/2101.02608
- CPT Symmetry Without Hermiticity [Paper]: arxiv.org/abs/1611.02100
- Jenny Wagner [TOE]: youtu.be/Bj4Ra75vvTc
- Neil Turok [TOE]: youtu.be/_xxLW71vT4s
- Chiara Marletto [TOE]: youtu.be/Uey_mUy1vN0
- John Donoghue [TOE]: youtu.be/dG_uKJx6Lpg
- Cumrun Vafa [TOE]: youtu.be/kUHOoMX4Bqw
Guests do not pay to appear. #science
SPONSORS:
- Don’t sleep on [@ultrapouches]. New customers get 15% Off with code TOE at http://takeultra.com! #UltraPouches #ad
- Shopify: Accelerate your efficiency. Free trial at shopify.com/theories
- I personally subscribe to The Economist. TOE listeners get 35% off the annual subscription. No other podcast has this! economist.com/TOE
This podcast is about dark matter — and Professor Philip Mannheim thinks it isn't missing at all, just hiding in plain sight as the rest of the visible universe. In his first-ever podcast, on ideas he's pursued since 1972, Mannheim lays out conformal gravity: a theory built on Weyl symmetry rather than Einstein's equations, which explains galaxy rotation curves without dark matter, tames the cosmological constant, and fits the accelerating universe without fine-tuning. With longtime collaborator Carl Bender, he also resolves gravity's infamous "ghost" problem using PT symmetry instead of Hermiticity — suggesting the graviton may not even exist as a particle. I hope you enjoy.
CLARIFICATIONS:
- The opening quote refers to the metric being the gravitational field.
- At 1:00:08, Mannheim's response to Hobson/Lasenby is GRG 54, 99 (2022): arxiv.org/abs/2105.14679
FOLLOW:
- Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/4gL14b92xAErofYQA7bU4e
- Substack: curtjaimungal.substack.com/subscribe
- Twitter: twitter.com/TOEwithCurt
- Discord Invite: discord.com/invite/kBcnfNVwqs
- Crypto: nowpayments.io/donation/TOE
- PayPal: paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=XUBHNMFXUX5S4
TIMESTAMPS:
- 00:00:00 - Einstein's Relativity Foundations
- 00:05:47 - Riemann Tensor and Curvature
- 00:11:50 - Flaws in Einstein's Equations
- 00:17:23 - Quantum Gravity Renormalizability
- 00:23:28 - Conformal Symmetry Principles
- 00:30:09 - Dynamical Mass Generation
- 00:37:08 - Inflation and Horizon Problems
- 00:43:55 - Renormalization Group Fixed Points
- 00:51:05 - Composite Higgs Solution
- 00:57:03 - Weyl Tensor Action
- 01:03:44 - Solving Dark Matter
- 01:09:36 - Cosmic Coincidence Problem
- 01:16:27 - Hubble Tension and Redshift
- 01:24:31 - PT Symmetry and Ghosts
- 01:31:21 - Probability Conservation vs. Hermiticity
- 01:38:13 - CPT Theorem and Fermions
- 01:45:14 - Quantum Decays and Resonances
- 01:51:05 - Parity and Right-Handed Neutrinos
- 01:56:14 - Gravitons and Wavefunction Collapse
- 02:02:24 - Cyclic Universes and Singularities
- 02:08:24 - String Theory Fine-Tuning
- 02:14:45 - Unitarity and Poincaré Stresses
- 02:21:02 - Gravitational Lensing and Tenure
- 02:26:55 - Nature and Experimental Data
LINKS MENTIONED:
- Philip's Papers: inspirehep.net/authors/998943
- Newton's Law Of Gravity: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newton%27s_law_of_universal_gravitation
- Geodesics: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geodesics_in_general_relativity
- Equivalence Principle: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equivalence_principle
- Introduction To General Relativity [Book]: amazon.com/dp/0070004234?tag=toe08-20
- Foundation Of The General Theory Of Relativity [Paper]: isidore.co/misc/Physics%20papers%20and%20books/St.%20John's%20College's,%20TAC's%20curricula's,%20et%20alii%20sci.%20papers/1916-%20The%20Foundation%20of%20the%20General%20Theory%20of%20Relativity%20(Einstein).pdf
- Dynamical Symmetry Breaking As A Bootstrap [Paper]: journals.aps.org/prd/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevD.12.1772
- Dynamics Of The Universe And Spontaneous Symmetry Breaking [Paper]: https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1980ApJ...241L..59K/abstract
- Mass Generation, The Cosmological Constant Problem, Conformal Symmetry, And The Higgs Boson [Paper]: arxiv.org/abs/1610.08907
- Living Without Supersymmetry [Paper]: arxiv.org/abs/1506.01399
- Exact Vacuum Solution To Conformal Weyl Gravity And Galactic Rotation Curves [Paper]: https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1989ApJ...342..635M/abstract
- No-Ghost Theorem For The Pais-Uhlenbeck Oscillator [Paper]: arxiv.org/abs/0706.0207
- Fitting Galactic Rotation Curves With Conformal Gravity [Paper]: arxiv.org/abs/1011.3495
- Cosmic Coincidence Problem: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmic_coincidence_problem
- Cosmological Perturbations In Conformal Gravity [Paper]: arxiv.org/pdf/1109.4119
- Implications Of Cosmic Repulsion For Gravitational Theory [Paper]: arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/9804335
- Exact Solution To Perturbative Conformal Cosmology [Paper]: arxiv.org/abs/2101.02608
- CPT Symmetry Without Hermiticity [Paper]: arxiv.org/abs/1611.02100
- Jenny Wagner [TOE]: youtu.be/Bj4Ra75vvTc
- Neil Turok [TOE]: youtu.be/_xxLW71vT4s
- Chiara Marletto [TOE]: youtu.be/Uey_mUy1vN0
- John Donoghue [TOE]: youtu.be/dG_uKJx6Lpg
- Cumrun Vafa [TOE]: youtu.be/kUHOoMX4Bqw
Guests do not pay to appear. #science
