Strange New Worlds: A Science & Star Trek Podcast

Guests: Prof. Jason A. Kaufman & Prof. Aaron M. Peterson Professors Jason A. Kaufman and Aaron M. Peterson join us to discuss their sweeping book "Leadership in Star Trek: Lessons from the Captain's Chair." Learn how communication, patience, and relationship underpin every good leader, from Burnham to Picard. Book: https://mcfarlandbooks.com/product/leadership-in-star-trek/ Follow us on Twitter! Strange New Worlds: twitter.com/scienceoftrek Mike: twitter.com/miquai Jason: twitter.com/vagabondkaufman

Guest: Prof. Mary-Jane Rubenstein Professor Mary-Jane Rubenstein joins us to talk about her book "Astrotopia: The Dangerous Religion of the Corporate Space Race," which explores the religious narratives that underpin commercial space exploration, and its connections to Star Trek. Follow us on Twitter! Strange New Worlds: twitter.com/scienceoftrek Mike: twitter.com/miquai

Guest: Dr. Shi En Kim Science journalist Shi En Kim joins Mike to reflect on the last three episodes of Star Trek: Discovery's fifth and final season, DSC: "Labyrinths," "Lagrange Point," and "Life, Itself." How do Mike and Kim process their fears? What is a Lagrange point? And what do they make of the Progenitor's technology? Follow us on Twitter! Strange New Worlds: twitter.com/scienceoftrek Mike: twitter.com/miquai Kim: twitter.com/goes_by_kim

Guest: Dr. Shi En Kim Mike and Kim chat about themes in DSC: "Whistlespeak" and "Erigah." Is cloud seeding a real thing, how do you create ultra-distilled water, and what are some contaminants that plague our waterways here on Earth? Follow us on Twitter! Strange New Worlds: twitter.com/scienceoftrek Mike: twitter.com/miquai Kim: twitter.com/goes_by_kim

Guest: Dr. Shi En Kim Mike and Kim unpack DSC: "Face the Strange" and "Mirrors." Can you use relativity to defeat a temporal shield? What do they make of Moll and L'ak's backstory? Follow us on Twitter! Strange New Worlds: twitter.com/scienceoftrek Mike: twitter.com/miquai Kim: twitter.com/goes_by_kim

Guest: Dr. Shi En Kim Mike and Kim take a closer look at DSC: "Jinaal." What do they make of the Trill's test? And why was Stamets so bubbly about isotope half-lives? Follow us on Twitter! Strange New Worlds: twitter.com/scienceoftrek Mike: twitter.com/miquai Kim: twitter.com/goes_by_kim

Guest: Dr. Shi En Kim Mike and Kim examine the themes in DSC: "Under the Twin Moons." What does it take to get a double solar eclipse? And what do they make of Captain Rayner's advice? Follow us on Twitter! Strange New Worlds: twitter.com/scienceoftrek Mike: twitter.com/miquai Kim: twitter.com/goes_by_kim

Guest: Dr. Shi En Kim Science journalist Dr. Shi En Kim joins Mike to talk about DSC: "Red Directive," from sand avalanches to the big revelation at the end of the episode. Follow us on Twitter! Strange New Worlds: twitter.com/scienceoftrek Mike: twitter.com/miquai Kim: twitter.com/goes_by_kim

Guest: Dr. Stuart Bartlett Complexity scientist, astrobiologist, and artificial life researcher Dr. Stuart Bartlett joins us to discuss how information processing has been a key feature of life, from its emergence 4 billion years ago to artificial intelligence today. Stuart's paper "Provenance of life: Chemical autonomous agents surviving through associative learning": https://journals.aps.org/pre/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevE.106.034401 Mike & Stuart's paper "Searching for Life, Mindful of Lyfe’s Possibilities": https://www.mdpi.com/2075-1729/12/6/783 Follow us on Twitter! Strange New Worlds: twitter.com/scienceoftrek Mike: twitter.com/miquai

Guest: Prof. Paul Rimmer In the Star Trek: The Next Generation finale, Q and Picard time travel to the origin of life on Earth. How does that scene compare to our modern scientific understanding of life's emergence? Prof. Paul Rimmer walks us through what Star Trek gets right and wrong—and what we still don't know—about our humble beginnings. "Could Dune really exist? What scientists think of our favorite sci-fi worlds" featuring Mike & Prof. Mohamed Noor: https://www.npr.org/2024/03/01/1198909447/dune-part-two-arrakis-habitable-planets-star-trek-wars Follow us on Twitter! Strange New Worlds: https://twitter.com/scienceoftrek Mike: https://twitter.com/miquai