Strange New Worlds: A Science & Star Trek Podcast

In a few weeks, Professor Lisa Kaltenegger—the Director of the Carl Sagan Institute at Cornell University—will be a guest on Strange New Worlds to talk about the search for life in the universe. To prime us for that discussion, on this episode, Mike shares his review of Professor Kaltenegger's new book, "Alien Earths: The New Science of Planet Hunting in the Cosmos." Want to read Mike's review instead? Just click here: https://www.americanscientist.org/article/earth-2.0-could-be-just-around-the-corner

Guest: Dr. Erin Macdonald Star Trek science consultant Dr. Erin Macdonald returns to unpack the quantum mechanical themes in the mind-bending and universe-hopping fifth and final season of Star Trek: Lower Decks. Crowdfunding for Erin's short film "Long Away": https://seedandspark.com/fund/long-away?token=c03b8b5fafc2effbb976d3c5566c1bddbb1154cb4a8b856e4ccde26c259585c4#story Follow us on Bluesky! Mike: https://bsky.app/profile/miquai.bsky.social Erin: https://bsky.app/profile/drerinmac.bsky.social

David Mack, an award-winning Star Trek author, joins to discuss his novel 'Firewall', which chronicles Seven of Nine's transformation into a Fenris Ranger. The conversation highlights themes of self-discovery and the intricate political dynamics of the Star Trek universe. Mack examines the importance of representation, particularly in queer narratives within Star Trek literature. He also teases exciting upcoming projects, including a trade paperback release and a new audio drama. This insightful chat blends creative struggles with the optimistic spirit of Star Trek.

Guest: Bernadette Mary Dineen Astrochemist Bernadette Mary Dineen speaks about her love for Star Trek: The Original Series, her quest to search for life on Mars, her experience participating in the NASA Astrobiology Mission Ideation Factory, and her TEDxTufts talk "Looking Out Is Looking In." Bernadette's TEDxTufts talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2nT7g3nOWxs

Guest: Dr. Shi En Kim Science journalist Dr. Shi En Kim joins Mike to discuss the final episodes of Star Trek: Lower Decks, from Tendi and T'Lyn's competitive relationship in "Fully Dilated" to Malor's crucial insight in "The New Next Generation." Follow us on Bluesky! Mike: https://bsky.app/profile/miquai.bsky.social Kim: https://bsky.app/profile/goesbykim.bsky.social

Guest: Dr. Anirudh Prabhu Artificial intelligence is rapidly becoming a part of every aspect of our lives—and science is no exception. Data scientist Dr. Anirudh Prabhu returns to the show to discuss the 2024 Nobel Prizes involving AI. Then, Anirudh and Mike use the Lower Decks episode "The Stars at Night" as a launchpad to talk about how they're using AI to help search for signs of life in the universe. Anirudh & Mike's paper "A robust, agnostic molecular biosignature based on machine learning": https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2307149120 Mike & Anirudh's paper "Toward Network-Based Planetary Biosignatures": https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2022JE007658 Follow us on Bluesky! Mike: https://bsky.app/profile/miquai.bsky.social Anirudh: https://bsky.app/profile/anirudhprabhu.bsky.social

Guest: Dr. Shi En Kim Mike and science journalist Shi En Kim discuss the first half of Star Trek: Lower Decks' fifth season. Is solar sailing a real thing? When is it advantageous to play dead? Follow us on Bluesky! Mike: https://bsky.app/profile/miquai.bsky.social Kim: https://bsky.app/profile/goesbykim.bsky.social

Guest: Prof. Amitai Shenhav On this episode, Mike is joined by his fellow TEDxNewEngland speaker Amitai Shenhav, a professor of psychology at UC Berkeley who is known for his work on decision making. How does Prof. Shenhav use Star Trek (or attempt to, at least) in his psychology classes? And what does his research reveal about how to make tough decisions? Follow us on Twitter! Strange New Worlds: twitter.com/scienceoftrek Mike: twitter.com/miquai Amitai: twitter.com/amitaishenhav

On this short solo episode, Mike shares his TEDxNewEngland experience. Mike's paper, "On the roles of function and selection in evolving systems": https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2310223120 Follow us on Twitter! Strange New Worlds: twitter.com/scienceoftrek Mike: twitter.com/miquai

Guest: Dr. Erin Macdonald Dr. Erin Macdonald, the official science advisor for the Star Trek universe, joins us to discuss the science behind Season 5 of Star Trek: Discovery and Season 2 of Star Trek: Prodigy. "Chromatin remodeling in tribbles in Star Trek: Prodigy" by Prof. Mohamed Noor: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2PePbR3FPk Erin's Nerd Nite talk, "Faster-Than-Light Travel in Science Fiction": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Lw7JOgQ_MI Mike's Nerd Nite talk, "The Astrobiology of Star Trek": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JtgcaVg7puM Follow us on Twitter! Strange New Worlds: twitter.com/scienceoftrek Mike: twitter.com/miquai Erin: twitter.com/drerinmac