Strange New Worlds: A Science & Star Trek Podcast

Guest: Thea Weiss According to one line of thought, the emergence of robots and artificial intelligence has engendered a brand-new category of being. How should we flesh-and-blood creatures treat these synthetic entities? In part two of an interview with University of Washington psychologist and astrobiologist Thea Weiss, we discuss a study that examined whether children ascribed mental states, civil rights, and moral standing to a robot named Robovie—and how this study relates to the battle over Data's self-determination in TNG: "The Measure of a Man." Short video describing Thea's lab's research: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VEKrTa_z-zk&t=2s Follow us on Twitter! Mike: https://twitter.com/Miquai Thea: https://twitter.com/TheaWeiss17

Guest: Thea Weiss As technology becomes increasingly pervasive, more and more people are perceiving the natural world through screens and simulated experiences. One day, astronauts on long-duration missions may only know natural environments through virtual reality...or perhaps the holodeck. What does this mean for our mental and physical health? In the first of two episodes featuring University of Washington psychologist and astrobiologist Thea Weiss, we discuss whether simulated nature imparts the same restorative benefits as actual nature, the concept of the uncanny valley, and a phenomenon known as "environmental generational amnesia." Also, check out UW Astrobiology's brand-new series of public science panels, hosted by Mike! Panel 1 "Where is the best place to look for life in the universe?" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nd9nGwH6DpA&t=3s&ab_channel=UWAstrobiology Panel 2 "What is life and how did it begin?" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eA595wUW5PI&ab_channel=UWAstrobiology Panel 3 "How will we f

Guest: Dr. Una McCormack New York Times bestselling science fiction writer Dr. Una McCormack joins us to talk about the scientific themes in her 2020 Star Trek: Picard novel The Last Best Hope—from allegories for climate change and science denialism to the pursuit of synthetic sentience. Info about the IDIC Podcast Festival, July 17 & 18, 2021: https://www.womenatwarp.com/idic-fest/ The Last Best Hope, by Dr. Una McCormack: https://unamccormack.co.uk/?books=star-trek-picard-the-last-best-hope Follow us on Twitter! Mike: https://twitter.com/Miquai Una: https://twitter.com/unamccormack

Guest: Dr. Margaret Weitekamp Special Co-Host: Dr. Ingrid Ockert Historian of science Dr. Ingrid Ockert joins Mike as a special co-host in this episode, in which they beam aboard Dr. Margaret Weitekamp to talk about the history of women in space and the history of women in Star Trek. Dr. Weitekamp is the author of "Right Stuff, Wrong Sex: America's First Women in Space Program" and is the Curator and Department Chair of the Space History Department at the Smithsonian's National Air & Space Museum in Washington, DC. Together, they delve into the role of women during the earliest days of the American space program, how Nichelle Nichols helped recruit a more diverse workforce for NASA, and how women have been portrayed in Star Trek over the generations. Info about the IDIC Podcast Festival, July 17 & 18, 2021: https://www.womenatwarp.com/idic-fest/ Dr. Weitekamp's book "Right Stuff, Wrong Sex: America's First Women in Space Program": https://airandspace.si.edu/research/publications/right-stuff-wrong-sex-ame

Guest: Justin Oser In Part 2 of a conversation with Trek podcaster and Star Trek novel enthusiast Justin Oser, we discuss the science in the Starfleet Corps of Engineers novella "Balance of Nature" by Heather Jarman, a story in which we visit the homeworld of the Nasat, a species of sentient insectoids. UW Astrobiology presents "Where is the Best Place to Look for Life in the Universe?" hosted by Mike Wong: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/uw-astrobiology-presents-where-is-the-best-place-to-look-for-life-tickets-152784280897 This episode features original music by EEP, a band founded by Justin Oser's wife, Rosie Varela: https://eepshoegaze.bandcamp.com/ Follow us on Twitter! Mike: https://twitter.com/Miquai Justin: https://twitter.com/trekfan4747 Infinite Diversity Podcast: https://twitter.com/IDICPodcast EEP: https://twitter.com/eepshoegaze

Guest: Justin Oser In Part 1 of a conversation with Trek podcaster Justin Oser, we dive into the multiverse of Star Trek novels and pick apart the Venus science in the Starfleet Corps of Engineers novellas "Ishtar Rising, Parts 1 & 2" by Michael A. Martin and Andy Mangels. Follow us on Twitter! Mike: https://twitter.com/Miquai Justin: https://twitter.com/trekfan4747

Guest: Dr. Peter Gao Mike beams Dr. Peter Gao aboard to discuss the barrage of Star Trek news from #FirstContactDay 2021 and some personal news about their scientific careers. Follow us on Twitter! Mike: https://twitter.com/Miquai Peter: https://twitter.com/PlanetaryGao Star Trek novellas that Mike will discuss with Justin Oser on a future episode of Strange New Worlds: Ishtar Rising, Book 1: https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B000FC0QDE/?coliid=I3G6KX1BYMZTI3&colid=NOXPRFDT8IGO&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it Ishtar Rising, Book 2: https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B000FC0QD4/?coliid=I3UPXV55KYQHEA&colid=NOXPRFDT8IGO&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it Balance of Nature: https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B000FBJFZK/?coliid=I4CMTVCW35WI6&colid=NOXPRFDT8IGO&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it

Guests: Tiffany Jansen & Dr. Jim Green In Part 2 of a conversation with NASA Chief Scientist Jim Green and Columbia University astronomer Tiffany Jansen, Jim describes how planetary magnetic fields can promote (or demote) planetary habitability, and Tiffany and Jim reflect on the virtual nature of the recent #HabWorlds2021 workshop. Follow us on Twitter! Mike: twitter.com/Miquai Tiffany: twitter.com/astro_tiff Star Trek novellas that Mike will discuss with Justin Oser on a future episode of Strange New Worlds: Ishtar Rising, Book 1: https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B000FC0QDE/?coliid=I3G6KX1BYMZTI3&colid=NOXPRFDT8IGO&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it Ishtar Rising, Book 2: https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B000FC0QD4/?coliid=I3UPXV55KYQHEA&colid=NOXPRFDT8IGO&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it Balance of Nature: https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B000FBJFZK/?coliid=I4CMTVCW35WI6&colid=NOXPRFDT8IGO&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it

Guests: Tiffany Jansen & Dr. Jim Green Columbia University astronomer Tiffany Jansen and NASA Chief Scientist Jim Green join Mike to discuss factors that determine planetary habitability. In Part 1 of this interview, they discuss how Trek has influenced their careers, the definition of "habitability," and what Tiffany's climate simulations reveal about how habitability depends on a planet's rotation rate. Follow us on Twitter! Mike: https://twitter.com/Miquai Tiffany: https://twitter.com/astro_tiff AAPI Resources: StarTrek.com's statement: https://www.startrek.com/news/star-trek-stands-with-our-aapi-community Buzzfeed article on Asian hate crimes: https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/venessawong/asian-american-invisible-hate-crimes Bystander intervention resources: https://www.ihollaback.org/bystander-resources/ Google Doc with links to more resources: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1hHRhuF1qy4lju58Rcuw_TShjAaK9BPwjvCuvpTVZzVI/edit?usp=sharing

Guest: John Jackson Miller In Part 2 of an interview with New York Times bestselling author John Jackson Miller, we discuss characters, planets, and aliens from his Star Trek: Discovery novels "The Enterprise War" and "Die Standing." John's website: farawaypress.com/ Nerd Nite Victoria, where Mike will give a "Science of Star Trek" talk on March 15, 2021: https://victoriabc.nerdnite.com/ Follow us on Twitter! Mike: twitter.com/Miquai John: twitter.com/jjmfaraway

Guest: John Jackson Miller In Part 1 of an interview with New York Times bestselling author John Jackson Miller, we learn about John's career journey, his love for science and engineering, and what it's like to write and publish Star Trek novels. Then, we discuss John's Star Trek: Discovery novel "The Enterprise War" (in which he has the crew science their way out of a sticky situation) and why it's so important to show your homework when telling Star Trek stories. John's website: https://farawaypress.com/ Follow us on Twitter! Mike: https://twitter.com/Miquai John: https://twitter.com/jjmfaraway

Guest: Eva Scheller On February 18, 2021, NASA's Perseverance rover will touch down on Mars. Eva Scheller, a planetary scientist at Caltech, previews the strange new terrain that Perseverance will explore and prepares us for some of the experiments that the robotic astrobiologist will perform. She also shares what it's like to grow up with Star Trek in her native Denmark and her new hypothesis for what happened to Mars's water. Eva's scientific paper on the geological context of Perseverance's landing site: https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1029/2019JE006190 Follow us on Twitter! Mike: https://twitter.com/Miquai Eva: https://twitter.com/EvaLScheller

Guests: Dr. Erin Macdonald & Prof. Mohamed Noor The Star Trek science consultants themselves join us to discuss the science of Discovery's third season. Learn how the concept of the Burn was developed and why all sorts of other scientific plot points—from a deadly prion disease to a coronal mass ejection—were included. Erin & Mohamed's StarTrek.com article on the science of the Burn: https://www.startrek.com/news/the-science-behind-discoverys-burn Mohamed's YouTube channel "BioTrekkie Explains": https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5zvlD5RnkzhIegG0gnSeSw Erin's Audible Original "The Science of Sci-Fi": https://www.audible.com/pd/The-Science-of-Sci-Fi-Audiobook/B07ZP9BGVX Follow us on Twitter! Mike: https://twitter.com/Miquai Erin: https://twitter.com/drerinmac Mohamed: https://twitter.com/mafnoor

Response to DSC: "That Hope Is You, Part 2" Dr. Culber suspects that Su'Kal is a polyploid, which could help explain the Kelpien's role in causing the Burn. But what is a polyploid? And could Su'Kal's polyploidal nature be related to the radiation environment in the Verubin nebula? Follow Mike on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Miquai

Guest: Desun Oka Response to DSC: "There Is A Tide..." On the latest episode of Star Trek: Discovery, Osyraa and Admiral Vance attempt to negotiate an armistice. But, in true Star Trek style, beneath this 32nd-century dialogue is a commentary on modern society. According to historian Desun Oka, in this scene, Osyraa clearly symbolizes capitalism and Vance symbolizes the critiques of capitalism in present-day political economics. Diasperse: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/diasperse/id1533908402 Follow Mike on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Miquai

Guest: Shi En Kim On the final episode of 2020, Mike is joined by freelance science writer Shi En Kim to discuss what space can teach us about aging and how advances in artificial intelligence have produced a rapping robot—and, of course, how this research brings us closer to a Star Trek future. "To study aging, scientists are looking to outer space" by Shi En Kim, published in National Geographic: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/2020/12/to-study-aging-scientists-are-looking-to-outer-space-iss/ "This Robot Can Rap—Really" by Shi En Kim, published in Scientific American: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/this-robot-can-rap-really/ Follow us on Twitter! Mike: https://twitter.com/Miquai Kim: https://twitter.com/goes_by_kim

Response to DSC: "Su'Kal" Expectation vs. reality: scientific commentary on what Mike thought was going to be in the Verubin nebula and what the U.S.S. Discovery actually found. Paul Stamets' TED talk: https://www.ted.com/talks/paul_stamets_6_ways_mushrooms_can_save_the_world?language=en Follow Mike on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Miquai

Response to DSC: "Terra Firma, Part 2" This week on Strange New Worlds, reflections (pun fully intended) on our latest visit to the Mirror Universe. Follow Mike on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Miquai

Guest: Rebecca Pierce Writer, filmmaker, and activist Rebecca Pierce joins Mike to discuss the intersection of racial justice, protest movements, #BlackLivesMatter, and Star Trek using the poignant Deep Space Nine episodes "Far Beyond the Stars" and "Past Tense" as launch points. Rebecca Pierce: https://www.rebeccapiercefilms.com/ Diasperse: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/diasperse/id1533908402 Infinite Diversity: A Star Trek Universe Podcast: https://www.ufp.earth/infinite-diversity/ "Is Anybody Out There?" on Flash Forward: https://www.flashforwardpod.com/2020/12/08/is-anybody-out-there/ Follow us on Twitter! Mike: https://twitter.com/Miquai Rebecca: https://twitter.com/aptly_engineerd Diasperse: https://twitter.com/Diasperse

Response to DSC: "The Sanctuary" Planet Kwejian's orbital parameters, as seen on Lt. Bryce's computer, are exactly identical to that of Venus. So why is Kwejian habitable? Mike discusses a few possibilities. Photo of Kwejian's planetary parameters: http://discovery.trekcore.com/gallery/albums/promo-photos/season3/308/308-bridge-bryce.jpg Way & Del Genio's 2020 paper on Venus's climate history: doi.org/10.1029/2019JE006276 Infinite Diversity podcast: www.ufp.earth/infinite-diversity/ Follow Mike on Twitter: twitter.com/Miquai