The Science in The Fiction

Marty and Holly sit down with Dr. Heidi Sevestre for a conversation about climate change and geoengineering, as portrayed in The Ministry For The Future by Kim Stanley Robinson.  Dr. Sevestre is a glaciologist who is leading the call to action on climate change through her research and education initiatives. We talk about her recent expedition to Svalbard with Climate Sentinels, a zero-emission research expedition on skis to understand the impact of black soot on the melting of glaciers.  We also discuss her recent expedition to film a National Geographic documentary (Arctic Ascent) about the surging glaciers in Greenland, gathering unprecedented data with the help of NASA technology and some of the world's best climbers (Alex Honnold, Hazel Findlay, Aldo Kane, Mikey Schaefer, Adam Kjeldsen).  Then we get into the nuts and bolts of some of the geoengineering proposals in The Ministry For The Future, and bring Dr. Sevestre’s perspective as a working climate scientist on how to make the best use of our resources and the time we have left to halt and reverse the trajectory we are on.  We discuss pumping out the lubricating layer under glaciers to prevent them from dropping into the ocean and raising sea levels catastrophically.  We talk about dying the arctic ocean yellow, sending sulphates into the upper atmosphere or spreading reflective beads over the arctic.  It seems that if our civilization and species is going to survive, it’s going to take a lot of bottom-up solutions and the collective action of our next few generations on this planet.  While attempts at solar radiation management on a global scale will likely cause more harm then good, major carbon sequestration projects will be needed.  And it may be that the most effective way to capture carbon will be to create more forests and wetlands, saving the world by re-wilding the world; our best solutions may come from ecological engineering rather than geoengineering.Home | Dr. Heïdi Sevestre Glaciologist (heidisevestre.com)https://www.heidisevestre.com/Climate Sentinels | Hurtigruten Grouphttps://www.hurtigruten.com/group/foundation/projects/climate-sentinels/Dr. Heïdi Sevestre (@HeidiSevestre) / X (twitter.com)https://twitter.com/HeidiSevestreDr. Heïdi Sevestre (@heidisevestre) • Instagram photos and videoshttps://www.instagram.com/heidisevestre/?hl=enThe Ministry for the Future - Wikipediahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ministry_for_the_FutureKimStanleyRobinson.info | The reference site for Kim Stanley Robinsonhttps://www.kimstanleyrobinson.info/Send us a messageEmail: thescienceinthefiction@gmail.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/743522660965257/

In this episode we are super excited to present our conversation with Kim Stanley Robinson, one of the greatest science fiction writers of all time, whose legacy will surely last deep into our sci-fi future.  We discuss his latest book The Ministry for the Future, and some of the many extraordinary ideas in that book for getting humanity through to the other side of the climate crisis.  We focus our conversation on various geoengineering projects as well as innovations in economics and monetary policy that will help us get there.  We discuss green investment, the merits of non-ideological rhetoric, strategies for managing our carbon over-shoot, and the efficacy of imitating natural processes in both solar radiation management and carbon sequestration.  We go into detail about pumping out the lubricating layer of water beneath the world's glaciers in order to stop them from sliding into the ocean, thereby mediating the acceleration of rising sea levels.  We also talk about the impracticality of launching solar shades into space to cool down the planet. Finally, we get to ask Stan if he was ever consulted or paid by the Foundation TV series for lifting his iconic space elevator scene from Red Mars, and plonking it into their pilot episode; the answer is no, but he's cool with it.KimStanleyRobinson.info | The reference site for Kim Stanley Robinsonhttps://www.kimstanleyrobinson.info/Kim Stanley Robinson - Wikipediahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kim_Stanley_Robinsonhttps://www.facebook.com/kimstanleyrobinson/The Ministry for the Future - Wikipediahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ministry_for_the_FutureThe Ministry for the Future by Kim Stanley Robinson | Goodreadshttps://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/50998056Send us a messageEmail: thescienceinthefiction@gmail.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/743522660965257/

This conversation was a great example of what we’re trying to do with this podcast, the perfect balance between Science and Science Fiction.  Marty sits down with Dr. Tim Swindle to discuss The Andromeda Strain by Michael Crichton and The Andromeda Evolution by Daniel H. Wilson, in relation to NASA's OSIRIS REx mission which has returned a sample of Asteroid Bennu to Earth, as well as the upcoming Mars Sample Return mission.  Dr. Swindle is a professor emeritus from the University of Arizona who  specializes is radiometric chronology, which makes it possible measure the ages of very old things in space and on earth by characterizing the relative balance of various radio-isotopes, much like Carbon dating but with different atoms like Potassium and Argon.  We discuss the natural exchange of material between all the bodies in our solar system and maybe even other solar systems, and reflect on the possibility that the genesis of life may be a collective effort of molecules created in various places across the solar system.  We learn about meteors and cosmic dust and how they can penetrate our atmosphere to land on Earth without burning up.  We also speculate about the likely carbon-based composition of extraterrestrial life if ever we find it, and the likelihood that life which evolved in a radically different extra-terrestrial environment could not harm the life that has evolved on Earth.Timothy Swindle | Lunar and Planetary Laboratory & Department of Planetary Sciences | The University of Arizona:https://www.lpl.arizona.edu/faculty/swindleOSIRIS-REx - NASA Science:https://science.nasa.gov/mission/osiris-rex/The Andromeda Strain - Wikipedia:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Andromeda_StrainThe Andromeda Evolution - Wikipedia:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Andromeda_EvolutionThe Andromeda Evolution (Andromeda, #2) by Daniel H. Wilson | Goodreads:https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/44148860-the-andromeda-evolutionSend us a messageEmail: thescienceinthefiction@gmail.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/743522660965257/

NASA's recent OSIRIS-REx mission has returned a sample of asteroid Bennu all the way to Earth for detailed analysis.  It is difficult to ignore the tempting similarities of this mission to the plot of Michael Crichton's 'The Andromeda Strain' and its sequel, Daniel H. Wilson's 'The Andromeda Evolution' - so in this episode Marty discusses Planetary Protection with Thomas Zega, a planetary scientist at the University of Arizona :  what considerations and safeguards are in place to not only protect the sample from contamination by Earth, but Earth from contamination by the sample?  We discuss the threat classification system employed by NASA when bringing astro-materials to earth, along with the inhospitable nature of the interplanetary environment to life as we know it, and the lines of evidence that should reassure us that we will not be wiped out by an unknown space pandemic.  We also talk about tardigrades, panspermia, space-borne precursors to life, as well as the composition and minerology of asteroids and what they tell us about the evolution and structure of our solar system. OSIRIS-REx - NASA ScienceTom Zega | Lunar and Planetary Laboratory & Department of Planetary Sciences | The University of ArizonaThe Andromeda Strain - WikipediaThe Andromeda Evolution - WikipediaThe Andromeda Evolution by Crichton, Michael (amazon.ca)The Andromeda Evolution (Andromeda, #2) by Daniel H. Wilson | GoodreadsSend us a messageEmail: thescienceinthefiction@gmail.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/743522660965257/

This is our favorite kind of episode, hosting a conversation between e a science fiction author and a scientist, where each shares their work and expertise with the other to the benefit of both.  Stephen Gay is a science fiction author whose debut novel 'Night Owls - A Moon Colony Adventure' follows a quirky band of party kids in a near-future society on the moon.  Ben Feist is a computer scientist who works at NASA and consulted with Stephen on the scientific details that went into 'Night Owls'. This is exactly the kind of thing this podcast was created to do, catalyzing interactions between science and science fiction. We bounce back and forth between fact and fiction on the general topic of moon colonization, as well as ongoing studies of Apollo moonrock samples, Helium 3 mining and fusion, future moon economics and class disparity, space exercise, lunar dust, moon bullets and - most importantly - throwing parties on the moon!Stephen Gay (https://www.stephengay.com/)Night Owls: A Moon Colony Sci-fi Adventure (3 book series) Kindle Edition (amazon.com)(https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CKJZ6RZM)Get your FREE copy of Night Owls Remix (bookfunnel.com) (https://dl.bookfunnel.com/e246y7ik4t)ARES | Bios | Benjamin Feist (nasa.gov) (https://ares.jsc.nasa.gov/people/bios/benjamin-f-feist/)Send us a messageEmail: thescienceinthefiction@gmail.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/743522660965257/

This is part two of our conversation with Damien Walter, the science fiction guru.  He is the host of the Science Fiction Podcast and Science Fiction Facebook group.  He is also a critical thinker about culture, and a prophet of the emerging mythos of science fiction.  In our last episode we presented the part of our conversation about individual psychology as it relates to the structure and function of story-telling, and in this episode we take the conversation to the larger sociological and cultural issues at play in the creation of a new, unifying mythos based on science and science fiction.  We discuss the neo-religious structures emerging from science fiction today: the messiahs of Dune and the Matrix, Ray Kurzweil’s Singulitarians, L. Ron Hubbard’s Scientologists and Nic Bostrom’s Transhumanists.  We talk about the trend towards humanizing the mechanistic worldview we’ve inherited from modernism and post-modernism, about emerging from the worship of the machine and re-humanizing people, and perhaps even expanding our sense of humanity to include all sentient beings. We contemplate what it might be like to be a bat, or a cat, or even a field of wheat. It’s an amazing conversation and a perfect example of the kind of thinking we love to do on the Science in The Fiction.Damien Walter – "The universe is made of stories, not atoms." (damiengwalter.com)Send us a messageEmail: thescienceinthefiction@gmail.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/743522660965257/

Damien Walter is one of the world’s foremost voices in critical thinking about science fiction as the emerging cultural mythos of our modern global civilization.  In this episode we discuss some of Damien’s ideas about the psychological function of story-telling, and what he calls the operating system of human consciousness.  We talk about how archetypal, meaningful stories have elements that resonate with the shape of the human psyche, and when they do so they can serve as transformative psychological experiences.  If you enjoy this episode then you should check out The Science Fiction Podcast with Damien Walter, as well as his YouTube channel, his courses in creative writing like the Rhetoric of Story, and Writing the 21st Century Myth, as well as his essays and even his latest project where he does his own storytelling, called the Ocean of Story.  You can access all of this through his webpage, www.damiengwalter.com.   Damien Walter – "The universe is made of stories, not atoms." (damiengwalter.com)Send us a messageEmail: thescienceinthefiction@gmail.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/743522660965257/

Cory Doctorow has given us permission to play the first chapter of Red Team Blues directly on our podcast!  And as an added treat, the audio-book is read by none other than Will Wheaton, the actor who played Wesley Crusher on Star Trek The Next Generation - a voice that you will instantly recognize.  It's pretty rare to hear excerpts from an author’s work directly on a podcast that discusses their work.  Authors usually do not have the power to give such permission because they generally have to sign away control over the rights to their own creative output in exchange for access to the market, which is guarded by powerful monopolies that shape the  this market to their advantage.  But of course Cory Doctorow is not one to submit to the powers that his technology activism specifically aims to oppose.  So he has produced his own, DRM-free audio-book through a crowd-funding campaign on his webpage craphound.com, where you can purchase his written and audio work directly without the intervention of Amazon or Spotify or anyone else.  So here we give you the first chapter of Red Team Blues: a crypto-currency thriller and crash course on the finer points of how to gain or steal or lose a trillion dollars. Cory Doctorow's craphound.com | Cory Doctorow's Literary Works https://craphound.com/Red Team Blues | Cory Doctorow's craphound.com https://craphound.com/category/redteamblues/ The Lost Cause | Cory Doctorow's craphound.com https://craphound.com/category/lostcause/Send us a messageEmail: thescienceinthefiction@gmail.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/743522660965257/

Marty and Holly sit down with Cory Doctorow, an author known not only for his near-future social and political science fiction, but also for his real-world journalism and activism.  We talk about society, politics and economics, discussing 3 of Doctorow’s most recent books.  'Red Team Blues' is his most recently published book, an anti-finance cryptocurrency and cybersecurity thriller; we discuss the difference between defense and attack dynamics in cybersecurity, and their parallels in modern politics.  'The Lost Cause' is due to be published in two weeks, on Nov 14th, a solarpunk novel about a world threatened by anarcho-capitalist billionaire wreckers and their white nationalist shock-troops; we talk about what to do with the losers of a just revolution, and learn about the monetary policy that could provide a universal jobs guarantee in a Green New Deal.  Finally, 'Chokepoint Capitalism' (which he wrote with Rebecca Giblin) is a non-fiction book about creative labor markets, monopolies, and the sorry state of modern capitalism; we discuss the failed strategy of more copyright ownership for writers and musicians, the success of the Hollywood writer's strike, and reasons for hope in the future.  This episode is a single special package deal, where we got both the science and the science fiction from one of the Sci-Fi’s most intelligent, radical and humane thinkers, whose journalism, activism and science fiction aims to promote social, political and economic justice.  You can find Cory's blog, podcast and books on his webpage:https://craphound.com/Send us a messageEmail: thescienceinthefiction@gmail.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/743522660965257/

Following up on our discussion of intelligent plants with Sue Burke in our last episode, we have invited Paco Calvo, a cognitive scientist and philosopher of biology, who speaks to us about his book 'Planta Sapiens'.  Paco is a cognitive scientist and philosopher of biology, who is known for his research in the field of plant cognition and intelligence. His interdisciplinary work combines insights from biology, philosophy, and cognitive science to explore the world of plant behavior, decision-making, and problem-solving.  Paco's book outlines both the philosophical and scientific case for expanding our view of intelligent behaviour and consciousness to include plants. This has been an ongoing trajectory throughout the history of science, allowing more and more non-human elements into our recognition of sentience, intelligence and consciousness.  Where once we had a completely anthropocentric view of consciousness – you were only allowed in the club if you had a neocortex like us - now our perception of other creatures' sentience has expanded to include other mammals, cephalopods like squid and octopi, parrots and corvids and maybe even goldfish! So continuing along this trend, it may be time to consider the possibility that plants have their own form of sentience.  We discuss the necessity of philosophical training in order to conceive the kinds of questions one might ask to study plants in this regard, and ask: can plants learn?  Do they exhibit intelligent behaviour?  Can we develop generalized tests for consciousness, dropping our neo-cortical prejudices about the special state of human sentience in order to recognize cognition in an organism that is genuinely alien to us? Tune in and find out!Send us a messageEmail: thescienceinthefiction@gmail.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/743522660965257/