Fiction Science
53 episodes - English - Latest episode: about 1 month ago - ★★★★★ - 5 ratingsCosmic Log's podcast from the place where science and technology intersect with science fiction and popular culture, hosted by science writer Alan Boyle and science-fiction writer Dominica Phetteplace. Become a supporter for less than (or more than) a dollar a month. Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/fiction-science/support
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Episodes
Get a reality check on the search for aliens
March 21, 2024 17:40 - 43 minutes - 40.4 MBPete Worden, chairman of the Breakthrough Prize Foundation, talks about the real-world search for extraterrestrial civilizations and how it's different from Netflix's "3 Body Problem" series. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/fiction-science/support
Bonus: Talking fiction with Nathaniel Rich
March 13, 2024 17:00 - 17 minutes - 15.9 MBNathaniel Rich, author of "Second Nature," "Losing Earth" and the sci-fi novel "Odds Against Tomorrow," discusses the state of contemporary fiction with Fiction Science co-hosts Dominica Phetteplace and Alan Boyle. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/fiction-science/support
Exploring 'The New World on Mars'
February 29, 2024 18:48 - 41 minutes - 38.3 MBMars Society President Robert Zubrin, author of "The New World on Mars," talks about the life that future settlers are likely to create on the Red Planet — and why they should go. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/fiction-science/support
What's so mesmerizing about the multiverse?
January 15, 2024 05:29 - 35 minutes - 32.5 MBPhysicist Paul Halpern, author of "The Allure of the Multiverse," traces the history of the scientific quest to detect parallel universes and alternate cosmic timelines. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/fiction-science/support
Rowing tech picks up the pace
December 23, 2023 01:57 - 22 minutes - 20.4 MBJohn Tytus, the president of Pocock Racing Shells, talks about how the technology of rowing has changed since "The Boys in the Boat" won Olympic gold in 1936. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/fiction-science/support
Can AI become conscious?
November 26, 2023 00:00 - 55 minutes - 51.7 MBVeteran science writer George Musser addresses the connections between artificial intelligence, quantum physics and the quest to understand the nature of consciousness in a new book, "Putting Ourselves Back in the Equation." --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/fiction-science/support
What's wrong with a city on Mars?
November 06, 2023 23:48 - 39 minutes - 36.6 MBZach Weinersmith, co-author of "A City on Mars," explains why humanity isn't ready to have people settle down and raise a family on Mars or in any other off-Earth locale. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/fiction-science/support
Why women scientists missed out on fame
October 24, 2023 19:37 - 29 minutes - 27.4 MBQuantum physicist Shohini Ghose, author of "Her Space, Her Time," throws a spotlight on more than a dozen women physicists and astronomers who didn't get the recognition they deserved. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/fiction-science/support
'The Creator' gets an AI reality check
September 29, 2023 05:48 - 37 minutes - 34 MBHow much real-world AI research is reflected in "The Creator," Hollywood's latest cinematic tale about the rise of the machines? We turn to a panel of experts on artificial intelligence and its portrayal at the movies for an in-depth reality check. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/fiction-science/support
John Scalzi sizes up billionaires and supervillains
September 20, 2023 00:25 - 39 minutes - 35.8 MBJohn Scalzi talks about his latest satirical science-fiction novel, "Starter Villain," and the parallels to the antics of real-world tech billionaires. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/fiction-science/support
Searching for alien worlds and life
July 28, 2023 06:57 - 34 minutes - 31.1 MBAstronomer Chris Impey, author of the book "Worlds Without End," discusses the study of planets beyond our solar system, the search for alien life, and the long-term prospects for humanity's progress on the final frontier. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/fiction-science/support
Indiana Jones vs. actual archaeologists
June 28, 2023 19:57 - 58 minutes - 53.8 MBArchaeologists Chris Begley and Brittany Brown discuss how times have changed since the fictional heyday of Indiana Jones when it comes to the technologies - and people skills - that they rely on. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/fiction-science/support
Celebrating 'the original X-File' ... in Seattle?
June 21, 2023 04:45 - 39 minutes - 36 MBSteve Edmiston, a Seattle lawyer and film writer, fills us in on the Maury Island Incident - a UFO sighting that marked the first mention of the mysterious Men in Black and has now inspired a celebration called the Men in Black Birthday Bash. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/fiction-science/support
The roots of the spaceflight revolution
June 15, 2023 01:10 - 52 minutes - 48.5 MBJeffrey Manber, one of the pioneers on the frontier of space commercialization, talks about his effort to document the rise of private-sector spaceflight in a series of books he calls "From the Earth to Mars." --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/fiction-science/support
Get a reality check on space startups
May 08, 2023 20:30 - 35 minutes - 32.1 MBAshlee Vance, the author of "When the Heavens Went On Sale," talks about the romance, the risk and the ridiculousness surrounding four space ventures that were created in the wake of Elon Musk's SpaceX success. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/fiction-science/support
Michio Kaku explains quantum computing
April 26, 2023 12:25 - 34 minutes - 32 MBTheoretical physicist Michio Kaku, the author of a new book titled "Quantum Supremacy" explains how quantum computing works and why it could revolutionize energy, medicine and virtually everything everywhere. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/fiction-science/support
Meet the woman who's updating the 007 saga
April 10, 2023 05:39 - 34 minutes - 31.1 MBKim Sherwood talks about writing "Double or Nothing," a James Bond novel that includes 21st-century technologies including quantum computers and climate geoengineering — but leaves out James Bond. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/fiction-science/support
'Critical Mass' charts the space frontier
March 07, 2023 08:33 - 46 minutes - 42.6 MBScience-fiction author Daniel Suarez talks about his latest novel, "Critical Mass," which picks up on the vision for space development laid out by physicist Gerard K. O'Neill and the billionaire he inspired, Jeff Bezos. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/fiction-science/support
Reality check on 'Quantumania'
February 16, 2023 18:22 - 36 minutes - 33.1 MBQuantum physicist Chris Ferrie, author of the book "Quantum Bullsh*t," separates the reality from the B.S. in sci-fi tales including "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania." --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/fiction-science/support
Annalee Newitz on 'The Terraformers' and future cities
January 31, 2023 01:12 - 43 minutes - 39.6 MBAnnalee Newitz talks about "The Terraformers," a sci-fi novel that explores the parallels between an imagined future where corporations reshape planets and an all-too-real present where today's cities are sorely in need of reshaping. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/fiction-science/support
Sci-fi tale takes on consciousness and the cosmos
January 09, 2023 19:04 - 34 minutes - 31.3 MBBiologist Robert Lanza and science-fiction writer Nancy Kress talk about "Observer," a novel that delves into Lanza's view that consciousness creates the universe as we know it. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/fiction-science/support
Avatars in science fiction and fact
December 15, 2022 20:59 - 34 minutes - 31.3 MBIn honor of the release of "Avatar: The Way of Water," we talk with the technical adviser for the $10 million Avatar XPRIZE, plus one of the winning teams, about the parallels between the movie's sci-fi avatars and real-life robotic avatars. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/fiction-science/support
How William Gibson's 'Peripheral' made the leap to video
October 20, 2022 05:10 - 23 minutes - 21.8 MBScott B. Smith, the co-creator of Amazon Prime Video's version of "The Peripheral," talks about the challenge of turning William Gibson's cyberpunk sci-fi novel into a streaming series. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/fiction-science/support
The science and fiction of octopus intelligence
October 04, 2022 04:37 - 50 minutes - 46.1 MBRay Nayler, author of the sci-fi novel "The Mountain in the Sea," and neuroscientist Dominic Sivitilli discuss how looking into the mind of an octopus can provide insights into the nature of artificial intelligence and alien intelligence. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/fiction-science/support
Flying saucer ambitions rise to next level
September 09, 2022 21:35 - 26 minutes - 24.4 MBStephen Tibbitts, the co-founder and CEO of Zeva Aero, talks about his company's plans to create a flying machine that looks like a cross between a helicopter and a UFO. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/fiction-science/support
The master of alternate history rewrites the '70s
July 22, 2022 07:31 - 20 minutes - 18.8 MBScience-fiction author Harry Turtledove delves into "Three MIles Down," his novel about Watergate, a real-life spy thriller ... and don't forget the aliens! --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/fiction-science/support
How Star Trek changed the world, and vice versa
July 03, 2022 04:56 - 1 hour - 57.3 MBRyan Britt, the author of "Phasers on Stun," discusses how the Star Trek saga influenced the course of science fiction and space exploration - including the roles of space billionaires Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/fiction-science/support
'Maurice on Mars': A black comedy on the Red Planet
June 13, 2022 13:53 - 34 minutes - 31.2 MBComedian Tim Barnes, the creator of a new Comedy Central animated series called "Maurice on Mars," discusses his show about a struggling barista on the Red Planet and touches upon the controversies surrounding race and science fiction. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/fiction-science/support
Futurist lays out utopian vision for 2084
May 21, 2022 07:26 - 38 minutes - 34.9 MBMichael Rogers, a futurist who advises startups and Fortune 500 companies, uses a sci-fi novel titled "Email From the Future" to point to technologies and trends that could solve the climate crisis and end wealth inequality. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/fiction-science/support
Brian Greene explains the multiverse
May 06, 2022 02:35 - 36 minutes - 33.8 MBBrian Greene, a theoretical physicist at Columbia University, delves into the physics of parallel universes - a plot point featured in a Marvel superhero movie titled "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness." --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/fiction-science/support
Sci-fi with the flavor of Bangladesh
March 26, 2022 22:38 - 30 minutes - 27.7 MBBangladeshi author Saad Z. Hossain talks about the mythical and modern influences that go into his science fiction tales - including his latest novel, "Kundo Wakes Up," which works the godly powers of AI agents and djinns into the plot. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/fiction-science/support
How realistic is it to leave Earth behind?
March 10, 2022 17:25 - 23 minutes - 21.3 MBGerman filmmaker Rudolph Herzog talks about "Last Exit: Space" - a quirky documentary that focuses on space settlement efforts (and features his father, Werner Herzog, as narrator). --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/fiction-science/support
Mika McKinnon on the science of 'Moonfall'
February 01, 2022 23:22 - 17 minutes - 15.8 MBGeophysicist Mika McKinnon talks about her efforts to add a smidgen of scientific plausibility to "Moonfall," a big-budget disaster movie about the moon falling out of orbit and wreaking havoc on Earth. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/fiction-science/support
Fear the fungus in 'Unfamiliar Garden'
January 18, 2022 06:40 - 31 minutes - 28.8 MBBenjamin Percy, author of "The Unfamiliar Garden," talks about his Seattle-centric, science-centric update of the classic "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" plotline - plus, how writing for comic books made him a better novelist. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/fiction-science/support
'Don't Look Up': A comedy about cosmic threats
December 06, 2021 04:48 - 29 minutes - 26.9 MBAmy Mainzer, the science adviser for "Don't Look Up," talks about the real-life astronomy behind the movie's fictional killer comet. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/fiction-science/support
Cat Rambo explains how to launch a space opera
November 11, 2021 23:00 - 21 minutes - 19.7 MBAward-winning science-fiction writer Cat Rambo talks about their new novel, "You Sexy Thing," a tale about space pirates, a sentient starship and gourmet mercenaries that's been called a cross between "Farscape" and "The Great British Baking Show." --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/fiction-science/support
Neal Stephenson on the metaverse and the climate crisis
November 06, 2021 17:54 - 34 minutes - 32 MBScience-fiction writer Neal Stephenson discusses his new climate-change thriller, "Termination Shock," and the status of the metaverse - a concept he came up with nearly 30 years ago. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/fiction-science/support
Christof Koch on the mysteries of consciousness
October 31, 2021 01:54 - 34 minutes - 31.7 MBAllen Institute neuroscientist Christof Koch talks about his quest to understand the nature of consciousness, his magic mushroom experience and his role in the documentary film "Aware: Glimpses of Consciousness." --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/fiction-science/support
Fact and fiction in the billionaire space race
July 26, 2021 21:16 - 33 minutes - 31 MBJeffrey Kluger, editor at large for Time magazine and author of the sci-fi novel "Holdout," talks about the fact and the fiction surrounding commercial spaceflight and NASA exploration. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/fiction-science/support
Octavia E. Butler's classic sci-fi reborn as graphic novel
July 17, 2021 00:08 - 35 minutes - 32.8 MBDamian Duffy and John Jennings talk about how they transformed Octavia E. Butler's prescient science-fiction tale, "Parable of the Sower," into a graphic novel. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/fiction-science/support
The meaning of life, death ... and black holes
June 06, 2021 21:03 - 25 minutes - 23.5 MBRadio astronomer Heino Falcke, one of the leaders of the Event Horizon Telescope project, discusses how the first image of a black hole's shadow was captured - and why it's so intriguing. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/fiction-science/support
Outer space gets stripped down in 'Voyagers'
April 08, 2021 05:03 - 19 minutes - 17.4 MBVeteran production designer Scott Chambliss says he took a page from SpaceX's playbook when he created the look of the multi-generational spaceship for the movie "Voyagers." --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/fiction-science/support
Why Michio Kaku believes the God Equation will be our salvation
April 06, 2021 01:55 - 36 minutes - 33.6 MBTheoretical physicist Michio Kaku talks about his latest book, "The God Equation," and explains how we might be able to use the theory of everything to escape the eventual death of our own universe. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/fiction-science/support
Are we killing nature, or creating a 'Second Nature'?
March 30, 2021 00:11 - 32 minutes - 29.5 MBNathaniel Rich, the author of "Second Nature: Scenes From a World Remade," lays out his vision of a post-natural world. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/fiction-science/support
Is 'Machinehood' in our future?
February 28, 2021 20:50 - 32 minutes - 29.6 MBIn her debut novel, "Machinehood," S.B. Divya foresees a future where we merge with the machines through AI, nanotech pills and robotic implants. Would she want to be part of that future? Get the answer in this episode of Fiction Science, co-hosted by Alan Boyle and Dominica Phetteplace. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/fiction-science/support
Annalee Newitz on 'Four Lost Cities'
February 05, 2021 06:26 - 34 minutes - 31.8 MBScience journalist/author Annalee Newitz discusses her new book, "Four Lost Cities," and the evolution of past and present urban centers with Fiction Science hosts Alan Boyle and Dominica Phetteplace. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/fiction-science/support
Michael Mann on 'The New Climate War'
January 11, 2021 04:03 - 37 minutes - 34 MBPenn State climatologist Michael Mann, the outspoken author of "The New Climate War," talks about what Joe Biden, Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos and the rest of us can do to help the world avert the coming climate catastrophe. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/fiction-science/support
'Greenland' spotlights cosmic doom
December 18, 2020 02:44 - 30 minutes - 27.6 MBA new movie titled "Greenland" calls attention to potential threats from comets and asteroids. Visual effects supervisor Marc Massicotte and Danica Remy, president of the B612 Foundation, discuss the science behind the spectacle. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/fiction-science/support
Sci-fi master Ted Chiang on AI, time travel and more
November 08, 2020 17:34 - 39 minutes - 35.8 MBScience-fiction author Ted Chiang delves into thought experiments on artificial intelligence and time travel - and talks about how his involvement in the movie "Arrival" changed his life. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/fiction-science/support
Kim Stanley Robinson on 'Ministry for the Future'
October 29, 2020 01:29 - 45 minutes - 41.8 MBScience-fiction author Kim Stanley Robinson talks about his latest novel, "The Ministry for the Future," and the climate science behind it. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/fiction-science/support