Starbase Indy Podcast

Join a panel of queer creators as they talk about what sort of representation they have seen in Star Trek, and what sort of stories they would like the franchise to explore in the future.

Recorded during our 2024 live event, this discussion of the Science of Cats features KJ McGlinn, the Kitty Correspondent, creator of The Cat Conversation and PurrCon talking about the science of house cats and what it can do to help us keep them safe and happy in our homes.

Dr. Caroline Christoff and Richard Parrington discuss issues of bioethics that are referenced in various Star Trek series.

In this perennial favorite panel, experts discuss the science in the latest science fiction - what could be real, what's just wrong, and what are the possibilities.

What does the role of faith have in common with the role of science fiction? Both explore reasons, and ways the world does or could function. Listen to experts discuss more similarities and differences.

Listen as Dr. James McGrath and Dr. Ankur Gupta discuss the ways AI (or, more accurately the large language models that are being advertised as AI) help us to explore new worlds.

Enjoy this conversation on how created language communities use language to expand what we understand about invented cultures. How does one create an alien language? What grammatical tricks can be used to indicate a vastly different culture? How do you balance the desire to create an alien language with the need to have touchpoints that human audiences will understand? What does language teach us...

Listen to Julia Whitehead (Director of the Kurt Vonnegut Museum), Max Gollier (Tour guide for the Bradbury Museum) and Dr. Barrett Caldwell (Professor of Engineering) discuss the impact Science Fiction literature has had on our world.

Listen to two experts in human space flight talk about what human space flight has taught us about the nature of humanity.

Discussion of how comedy reflects our humanity, and the impact it has on the people who create and perform comedy. 

Listen to Bonnie Gordon and Nick Ramey talk about their work performing characters and conveying information through the power of the human voice.

Anthony Scott has been a part of fandom for many years, and is currently Fleet Admiral of Starfleet Command. We talk about how fandom has enriched his life.

Derek Tyler Attico has won the Star Trek short fiction contest more than once, and recently published The Autobiography of Benjamin Sisko. We talk with him about how his writing practice, the universes he's written in, and how his writing connects to his passion for justice.

What does our favorite science fiction get right about the universe as we know it, and what does it get wrong? Listen to Rufus Cochran, Dr. Mohamed Noor, and Dr. Paul Kwiat as they talk about artificial intelligence, quantum computing, the nature of evolution, and other places science intersects with our favorite science fiction.

All of fiction, and especially science fiction, revolves around balancing the need to make characters believable. Science fiction adds in an additional challenge - creating characters who are different from what the readers expect, sometimes in surprising ways. Listen to Dr. Mohamed Noor, Maurice Broaddus, John Scalzi, and Dr. James McGrath discuss their work in creating worlds that capture our im...

When we talk about a hopeful future, Utopia is often the word that comes to mind. Is that the vision we should be striving for, though? Is it even possible to create a state in which everything is perfect? Importantly, is it possible to make things perfect for everyone? Or are utopias for some inevitably created out of suffering for others? The word Protopia refers to a vision of of the future in...

Afrofuturism is about not only critiquing the present, but working towards a future that we all want to experience. While some of the live session recording was  lost, this episode captures the second  half of the conversation, and includes information about the history of Indianapolis, how the Khprew Institute is working towards shaping the future, and why so many science fiction stories include...

AI is often depicted as a way to find answers to questions. Is this the same as finding truth? Are our current AI technologies structured to find truth? Or are they designed to do something different, and how does that affect their functionality and how they are (and how they should be) used?   This episode was recorded during our live event in November of 2023, and is a part of our series on the...

AI isn't sentient -at least not yet. But what would it mean to our systems if that changed? When would (and when should) our legal system begin to recognize the rights of non-human intelligence? What would that change for humans, and for other intelligent beings?   This episode was recorded during our live event in November of 2023, and is a part of our series on the Humanities of Artificial Intel...

Machine learning holds great potential - but also comes with some significant ethical challenges. Listen to experts discuss the technology, and the ethical concerns it creates. This episode was recorded during our live event in November of 2023, and is a part of our series on the Humanities of Artificial Intelligence. This series was awarded an Action Grant by Indiana Humanities, and received supp...

AI has been the subject of literature since William Grove’s novel The Wreck of the World in 1889, and in cinema since 1927’s Metropolis. Everyone alive has grown up with the idea of artificial intelligence - with those ideas having varying degrees of similarity to actual technology. Star Trek has contributed significantly to these fictional depictions of AI,. We explore these contributions in this...

What are the first things we think about when someone says Artificial Intelligence? Many of us think of general AIs, like Data, Marvin, or the Cylons. Maybe we think about ChatGPT, Dall-E, or Midjourney. Do you think about Google Maps? How your characters move in a video game? What about the ranking algorithms of Netflix and YouTube? Chances are you’re carrying two or three devices at least partia...

This interview is a two-fer, with both the FABULOUS Cosmetologist (and Starbase Indy regular) Moxie Ann Magnus, and the brilliance behind her, Brantley Moate. The conversation ranges from the Kobyashi Hairdo challenge Moxie passed to graduate from Starfleet Academy, to the nature of Captain Kirk's coiffure, to the purpose of joy and kindness in the world. I hope you enjoy listening as much as I en...

Dan McGlaun is an expert on eclipses, and he's working to get the state of Indiana ready for the total eclipse that will cross the state in 2024. We talk to Dan about the experience of viewing a total eclipse, the science behind eclipses, and why all eclipses are not created equal.

We have a special treat for our 50th episode - an interview with Emmy Award Winner Doug Drexler. Doug has been involved in Star Trek since TNG, in roles including makeup, visual effects, conceptual design, and more - having a major effect on the look and feel of the Star Trek many of us grew up with. Hear him talk about his career and about the special magic that was working on Picard's third seas...