Fiction Science
Alan Boyle
Cosmic Log's podcast from the place where science and technology intersect with science fiction and popular culture, hosted by science writer Alan Boyle and science-fiction writer Dominica Phetteplace. Become a supporter for less than (or more than) a dollar a month.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Mar 26, 2022 • 30min
Sci-fi with the flavor of Bangladesh
Bangladeshi author Saad Z. Hossain talks about the mythical and modern influences that go into his science fiction tales - including his latest novel, "Kundo Wakes Up," which works the godly powers of AI agents and djinns into the plot.
Mar 10, 2022 • 23min
How realistic is it to leave Earth behind?
German filmmaker Rudolph Herzog talks about "Last Exit: Space" - a quirky documentary that focuses on space settlement efforts (and features his father, Werner Herzog, as narrator).
Feb 1, 2022 • 17min
Mika McKinnon on the science of 'Moonfall'
Geophysicist Mika McKinnon talks about her efforts to add a smidgen of scientific plausibility to "Moonfall," a big-budget disaster movie about the moon falling out of orbit and wreaking havoc on Earth.
Jan 18, 2022 • 31min
Fear the fungus in 'Unfamiliar Garden'
Benjamin Percy, author of "The Unfamiliar Garden," talks about his Seattle-centric, science-centric update of the classic "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" plotline - plus, how writing for comic books made him a better novelist.
Dec 6, 2021 • 29min
'Don't Look Up': A comedy about cosmic threats
Amy Mainzer, the science adviser for "Don't Look Up," talks about the real-life astronomy behind the movie's fictional killer comet.
Nov 11, 2021 • 21min
Cat Rambo explains how to launch a space opera
Award-winning science-fiction writer Cat Rambo talks about their new novel, "You Sexy Thing," a tale about space pirates, a sentient starship and gourmet mercenaries that's been called a cross between "Farscape" and "The Great British Baking Show."
Nov 6, 2021 • 35min
Neal Stephenson on the metaverse and the climate crisis
Science-fiction writer Neal Stephenson discusses his new climate-change thriller, "Termination Shock," and the status of the metaverse - a concept he came up with nearly 30 years ago.
Oct 31, 2021 • 35min
Christof Koch on the mysteries of consciousness
Allen Institute neuroscientist Christof Koch talks about his quest to understand the nature of consciousness, his magic mushroom experience and his role in the documentary film "Aware: Glimpses of Consciousness."
Jul 26, 2021 • 34min
Fact and fiction in the billionaire space race
Jeffrey Kluger, editor at large for Time magazine and author of the sci-fi novel "Holdout," talks about the fact and the fiction surrounding commercial spaceflight and NASA exploration.
Jul 17, 2021 • 36min
Octavia E. Butler's classic sci-fi reborn as graphic novel
Damian Duffy and John Jennings talk about how they transformed Octavia E. Butler's prescient science-fiction tale, "Parable of the Sower," into a graphic novel.
