Strange New Worlds: A Science & Star Trek Podcast

Guest: Dr. Anirudh Prabhu What's the history of artificial intelligence, and where is A.I. headed next? Most importantly, how close are we to creating Data? In the second half of Mike's conversation with data scientist Dr. Anirudh Prabhu, we explore all of these questions—and more! Anirudh's website: https://www.anirudhprabhu.com/ Follow us on Twitter! Strange New Worlds: twitter.com/scienceoftrek Mike: twitter.com/miquai Anirudh: twitter.com/Anirudh_14

Guest: Dr. Anirudh Prabhu Mike speaks to his Carnegie Science officemate, data scientist Dr. Anirudh Prabhu, about the groundbreaking field of mineral informatics and how mineral association analysis can revolutionize Earth and planetary exploration. Anirudh's paper, "What is mineral informatics?" https://www.authorea.com/doi/full/10.1002/essoar.10511201.2 Follow us on Twitter! Strange New Worlds: https://twitter.com/scienceoftrek Mike: https://twitter.com/miquai Anirudh: https://twitter.com/Anirudh_14

Guest: Emilie Lafleche On the 150th episode of Strange New Worlds, Mike speaks to Emilie Lafleche, who recently commanded an analog astronaut mission that simulated a visit to Tsiolkovskiy crater on the far side of the Moon. They chat about why do we do analog astronaut missions, the science that Emilie and her crew performed on their mission, what makes a good leader, and more! Follow us on Twitter! Strange New Worlds: https://twitter.com/scienceoftrek Mike: https://twitter.com/miquai Emilie: https://twitter.com/astroemilie

On this short solo episode, Mike reflects on his trip to the "What Is Life?" conference at UC Santa Cruz. Follow us on Twitter! Strange New Worlds: twitter.com/scienceoftrek Mike: twitter.com/miquai

On this short solo episode, Mike reflects on his trip to his first-ever network science conference, #NetSciX2023 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Follow us on Twitter! Strange New Worlds: https://twitter.com/scienceoftrek Mike: https://twitter.com/miquai

Guest: Dr. Marta Cortesão Star Trek: Discovery introduced us to the mycelial network, a subspace superhighway that astromycologist Paul Stamets learns to navigate using a piece of technology called the spore drive. On this episode of Strange New Worlds, Mike speaks to real-life astromycologist Dr. Marta Cortesão about the wonderful world of fungi: their mycorrhizal networks, their ability to survive in space, and how they may be vital partners on long-duration space missions. The Virtual Trek Con version of this podcast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFkeQy5Jj1c&ab_channel=VirtualTrekCon Marta's book chapter "Fungal Biotechnology in Space: Why and How?": https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-29541-7_18 Marta's paper "Aspergillus niger Spores Are Highly Resistant to Space Radiation": https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2020.00560/full Marta's paper "Colony growth and biofilm formation of Aspergillus niger under simulated microgravity": https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2022.975763/full Marta's paper "MARSBOx: Fungal and Bacterial Endurance From a Balloon-Flown Analog Mission in the Stratosphere": https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2021.601713/full Follow us on Twitter! Strange New Worlds: https://twitter.com/scienceoftrek Mike: https://twitter.com/miquai Marta: https://twitter.com/martacortesao

Guest: Dr. Erin Macdonald Star Trek science advisor Dr. Erin Macdonald joins Mike to discuss the science behind Star Trek: Prodigy’s first season, from protostars to red giants, damped sine waves to scientific ethics. Mike also asks Erin about her new children’s book, Star Trek: My First Book of Space, and her cameo appearance in the Prodigy finale! Star Trek: My First Book of Space, by Dr. Erin Macdonald: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/710867/star-trek-my-first-book-of-space-by-erin-macdonald-phd-illustrated-by-jason-kayser/ Dr. Erin on Star Formation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SWIVImXW3yY&ab_channel=ParamountPlus Homoploid hybrid speciation in the real world and in Star Trek: Prodigy by Prof. Mohamed Noor: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-PJbeySsqn0&ab_channel=BioTrekkieExplains%21 Follow us on Twitter! Strange New Worlds: https://twitter.com/scienceoftrek Mike: https://twitter.com/miquai Erin: https://twitter.com/drerinmac

Guest: Lisa Wong We embark on 2023 with a conversation between Mike and his book editor sister, Lisa Wong. Together, they pick apart Ensign Boimler's holonovel from the Star Trek: Lower Decks episode "Crisis Point II: Paradoxus" (Season 3, Episode 8), using it as a case study to discuss everything from romantic subplots to writer flow states to exploring the human condition. Soulful Editing, Lisa's website: https://sites.google.com/view/bookbeta/home "We Need More Books Without Romance" by Angela Chen: https://electricliterature.com/we-need-more-books-without-romance/ Follow us on Twitter! Strange New Worlds: https://twitter.com/scienceoftrek Mike: https://twitter.com/miquai

Mike reflects on 2022 and the most recent American Geophysical Union (AGU) meeting in Chicago, IL. Mike's Carnegie Science Neighborhood Lecture on "The Science of Star Trek": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYRUnpAtJ3A&ab_channel=CarnegieEarth%26PlanetsLaboratory Mike on Science Friday's episode "Searching For Life On The Red Planet Prompts Deeper Questions": https://www.sciencefriday.com/person/mike-l-wong/ Mike on Science Friday's "Sun Camp: Beyond the Sun": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMUEvEtZGGI&list=PLB2w1JNHV4HR0vBq5XLbsrnVCrDs-9o1h&index=5&ab_channel=SciFri Mike on the Infinite Diversity podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/id-124-lower-decks-the-stars-at-night/id1522356073?i=1000584610845 Mike on NASA's "Ask An Astrobiologist!": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLKGosgMTIs&ab_channel=NASAAstrobiology Follow us on Twitter! Strange New Worlds: https://twitter.com/scienceoftrek Mike: https://twitter.com/miquai

Guest: Daniel Nicholls From Badgey to Peanut Hamper, AGIMUS to the Aledo, artificial intelligence is rife in Star Trek: Lower Decks. Daniel Nicholls, the Information Systems Manager at Carnegie Sciences's Earth & Planets Laboratory, joins Mike to discuss how these fictional examples of AI reflect our fears and desires for AI in the real world. Follow us on Twitter: Strange New Worlds: https://twitter.com/scienceoftrek Mike: https://twitter.com/miquai