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
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.
Jun 6, 2021 • 26min
The meaning of life, death ... and black holes
Radio astronomer Heino Falcke, one of the leaders of the Event Horizon Telescope project, discusses how the first image of a black hole's shadow was captured - and why it's so intriguing.
Apr 8, 2021 • 19min
Outer space gets stripped down in 'Voyagers'
Veteran production designer Scott Chambliss says he took a page from SpaceX's playbook when he created the look of the multi-generational spaceship for the movie "Voyagers."
Apr 6, 2021 • 37min
Why Michio Kaku believes the God Equation will be our salvation
Theoretical physicist Michio Kaku talks about his latest book, "The God Equation," and explains how we might be able to use the theory of everything to escape the eventual death of our own universe.
Mar 30, 2021 • 32min
Are we killing nature, or creating a 'Second Nature'?
Nathaniel Rich, the author of "Second Nature: Scenes From a World Remade," lays out his vision of a post-natural world.
