When Albert Einstein told us about the relationship between mass, energy, space and time, he assumed that the universe was static. Even though his first equations showed that in fact the cosmos was moving apart from some source, he thought that was a mistake. So he added a fudge factor — what he called the cosmological constant, a way of balancing the force of gravity. Later, he was to call the cosmological constant the biggest mistake of his life. Astronomers started to prove, almost before the ink dried on his equations, that galaxies were flying apart and the cosmos was in fact expanding from some point in space. But now there's evidence about that expansion rate — one that shows that Einstein may have been right after all. Winner of the 2000 AAAS-Whitaker Science Award for excellence in radio journalism.

The Soundprint documentary series features the best work of top radio producers. The award winning documentaries are renowned for drawing the listener into the story with compelling interviews, authentic voices and rich sound. From memoirs to science, health and popular culture, Soundprint creates a powerful experience the listener will not soon forget.

”Einstein's Blunder” is part of a Soundprint mini-series called Exploring the Universe supported in part by the National Science Foundation. Here are some other programs from the series:

The Fate of the Universe Produced by: David Barrett Wilson

Gamma Ray Skies Produced by: David Barrett Wilson

Soundprint Executive Producer: Moira Rankin

Technical Director: Anna Maria de Freitas

Science Editors: Julian Krolik and Robert Smith

Audio Engineer: Alexandra Gardner

Associate Producer: Gemma Hooley