Strange New Worlds: A Science & Star Trek Podcast

Guest: Basem Al-Shayeb Special Co-Host: Elise Cutts Scientists recently announced the discovery of Borgs (yes, Borgs), which they describe as giant genetic elements that assimilate DNA from their archaeal hosts. We speak to the lead author of the Borg paper—UC Berkeley graduate student Basem Al-Shayeb—about finding the Borgs, their global implications, and, of course, the story behind their naming...

Luke Tower is a high school student with a passion for science and engineering who is trying to figure out what he wants to study. As part of this journey, he's been interviewing different kinds of STEM professionals on his podcast, Atomic Interviews. On this BONUS episode of Strange New Worlds, we're listening to an interview that Luke did with Mike about planetary science, astrobiology, and Mike...

Guests: Prof. Myriam Telus, Dr. Jessie Christiansen, Dr. James T. Keane, and Dr. Tiffany Kataria Mike hosts a panel discussion about diversity in science & Star Trek, which initially aired live on July 18, 2021, at the IDIC Podcast Festival hosted by Women at Warp. Rewatch all of the IDIC Podcast Festival sessions: https://www.womenatwarp.com/idic-fest/ Follow us on Twitter! Mike: https://twitter....

Guest: Dr. Maddie Stone Can Star Trek help us solve climate change? Science journalist Dr. Maddie Stone joins Mike to recap specific instances of environmentalism in Star Trek—TNG: “Force of Nature,” VOY: “Thirty Days,” and Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home—and imagine how contemporary Star Trek can more directly address our present-day climate crisis. “It's Time for Star Trek to Tackle Climate Change...

Guest: Thea Weiss According to one line of thought, the emergence of robots and artificial intelligence has engendered a brand-new category of being. How should we flesh-and-blood creatures treat these synthetic entities? In part two of an interview with University of Washington psychologist and astrobiologist Thea Weiss, we discuss a study that examined whether children ascribed mental states, ci...

Guest: Thea Weiss As technology becomes increasingly pervasive, more and more people are perceiving the natural world through screens and simulated experiences. One day, astronauts on long-duration missions may only know natural environments through virtual reality...or perhaps the holodeck. What does this mean for our mental and physical health? In the first of two episodes featuring University o...

Guest: Dr. Una McCormack New York Times bestselling science fiction writer Dr. Una McCormack joins us to talk about the scientific themes in her 2020 Star Trek: Picard novel The Last Best Hope—from allegories for climate change and science denialism to the pursuit of synthetic sentience. Info about the IDIC Podcast Festival, July 17 & 18, 2021: https://www.womenatwarp.com/idic-fest/ The Last Best...

Guest: Dr. Margaret Weitekamp Special Co-Host: Dr. Ingrid Ockert Historian of science Dr. Ingrid Ockert joins Mike as a special co-host in this episode, in which they beam aboard Dr. Margaret Weitekamp to talk about the history of women in space and the history of women in Star Trek. Dr. Weitekamp is the author of "Right Stuff, Wrong Sex: America's First Women in Space Program" and is the Curator...

Guest: Justin Oser In Part 2 of a conversation with Trek podcaster and Star Trek novel enthusiast Justin Oser, we discuss the science in the Starfleet Corps of Engineers novella "Balance of Nature" by Heather Jarman, a story in which we visit the homeworld of the Nasat, a species of sentient insectoids. UW Astrobiology presents "Where is the Best Place to Look for Life in the Universe?" hosted by...

Guest: Justin Oser In Part 1 of a conversation with Trek podcaster Justin Oser, we dive into the multiverse of Star Trek novels and pick apart the Venus science in the Starfleet Corps of Engineers novellas "Ishtar Rising, Parts 1 & 2" by Michael A. Martin and Andy Mangels. Follow us on Twitter! Mike: https://twitter.com/Miquai Justin: https://twitter.com/trekfan4747

Guest: Dr. Peter Gao Mike beams Dr. Peter Gao aboard to discuss the barrage of Star Trek news from #FirstContactDay 2021 and some personal news about their scientific careers. Follow us on Twitter! Mike: https://twitter.com/Miquai Peter: https://twitter.com/PlanetaryGao Star Trek novellas that Mike will discuss with Justin Oser on a future episode of Strange New Worlds: Ishtar Rising, Book 1: http...

Guests: Tiffany Jansen & Dr. Jim Green In Part 2 of a conversation with NASA Chief Scientist Jim Green and Columbia University astronomer Tiffany Jansen, Jim describes how planetary magnetic fields can promote (or demote) planetary habitability, and Tiffany and Jim reflect on the virtual nature of the recent #HabWorlds2021 workshop. Follow us on Twitter! Mike: twitter.com/Miquai Tiffany: twitter.c...

Guests: Tiffany Jansen & Dr. Jim Green Columbia University astronomer Tiffany Jansen and NASA Chief Scientist Jim Green join Mike to discuss factors that determine planetary habitability. In Part 1 of this interview, they discuss how Trek has influenced their careers, the definition of "habitability," and what Tiffany's climate simulations reveal about how habitability depends on a planet's rotati...

Guest: John Jackson Miller In Part 2 of an interview with New York Times bestselling author John Jackson Miller, we discuss characters, planets, and aliens from his Star Trek: Discovery novels "The Enterprise War" and "Die Standing." John's website: farawaypress.com/ Nerd Nite Victoria, where Mike will give a "Science of Star Trek" talk on March 15, 2021: https://victoriabc.nerdnite.com/ Follow us...

Guest: John Jackson Miller In Part 1 of an interview with New York Times bestselling author John Jackson Miller, we learn about John's career journey, his love for science and engineering, and what it's like to write and publish Star Trek novels. Then, we discuss John's Star Trek: Discovery novel "The Enterprise War" (in which he has the crew science their way out of a sticky situation) and why it...

Guest: Eva Scheller On February 18, 2021, NASA's Perseverance rover will touch down on Mars. Eva Scheller, a planetary scientist at Caltech, previews the strange new terrain that Perseverance will explore and prepares us for some of the experiments that the robotic astrobiologist will perform. She also shares what it's like to grow up with Star Trek in her native Denmark and her new hypothesis for...

Guests: Dr. Erin Macdonald & Prof. Mohamed Noor The Star Trek science consultants themselves join us to discuss the science of Discovery's third season. Learn how the concept of the Burn was developed and why all sorts of other scientific plot points—from a deadly prion disease to a coronal mass ejection—were included. Erin & Mohamed's StarTrek.com article on the science of the Burn: https://www.s...

Response to DSC: "That Hope Is You, Part 2" Dr. Culber suspects that Su'Kal is a polyploid, which could help explain the Kelpien's role in causing the Burn. But what is a polyploid? And could Su'Kal's polyploidal nature be related to the radiation environment in the Verubin nebula? Follow Mike on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Miquai

Guest: Desun Oka Response to DSC: "There Is A Tide..." On the latest episode of Star Trek: Discovery, Osyraa and Admiral Vance attempt to negotiate an armistice. But, in true Star Trek style, beneath this 32nd-century dialogue is a commentary on modern society. According to historian Desun Oka, in this scene, Osyraa clearly symbolizes capitalism and Vance symbolizes the critiques of capitalism in...

Guest: Shi En Kim On the final episode of 2020, Mike is joined by freelance science writer Shi En Kim to discuss what space can teach us about aging and how advances in artificial intelligence have produced a rapping robot—and, of course, how this research brings us closer to a Star Trek future. "To study aging, scientists are looking to outer space" by Shi En Kim, published in National Geographic...

Response to DSC: "Su'Kal" Expectation vs. reality: scientific commentary on what Mike thought was going to be in the Verubin nebula and what the U.S.S. Discovery actually found. Paul Stamets' TED talk: https://www.ted.com/talks/paul_stamets_6_ways_mushrooms_can_save_the_world?language=en Follow Mike on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Miquai

Response to DSC: "Terra Firma, Part 2" This week on Strange New Worlds, reflections (pun fully intended) on our latest visit to the Mirror Universe. Follow Mike on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Miquai

Guest: Rebecca Pierce Writer, filmmaker, and activist Rebecca Pierce joins Mike to discuss the intersection of racial justice, protest movements, #BlackLivesMatter, and Star Trek using the poignant Deep Space Nine episodes "Far Beyond the Stars" and "Past Tense" as launch points. Rebecca Pierce: https://www.rebeccapiercefilms.com/ Diasperse: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/diasperse/id153390...

Response to DSC: "The Sanctuary" Planet Kwejian's orbital parameters, as seen on Lt. Bryce's computer, are exactly identical to that of Venus. So why is Kwejian habitable? Mike discusses a few possibilities. Photo of Kwejian's planetary parameters: http://discovery.trekcore.com/gallery/albums/promo-photos/season3/308/308-bridge-bryce.jpg Way & Del Genio's 2020 paper on Venus's climate history: doi...

Response to DSC: "Unification III" Mike reflects on the T'Kal-in-ket. This ancient Vulcan tradition was billed as a search for new scientific truths via the crucible of logic and peer review, kind of like doctoral thesis defense. But in Michael Burnham's case, it quickly pivoted to a search for a different kind of truth. Link to register for Mike's "Science of Star Trek" talk at 7 pm on December 2...