  The cosmic microwave background (CMB) provides us with our most direct
observational window to the early universe. Observations of the temperature and
polarization anisotropies in the CMB have played a critical role in defining
the now-standard cosmological model. In this contribution we review some of the
basics of CMB science, highlighting the role of observations made with
ground-based and balloon-borne Antarctic telescopes. Most of the ingredients of
the standard cosmological model are poorly understood in terms of fundamental
physics. We discuss how current and future CMB observations can address some of
these issues, focusing on two directly relevant for Antarctic programmes:
searching for gravitational waves from inflation via B-mode polarization, and
mapping dark matter through CMB lensing.
