Best Holly Carson Podcasts (2025)

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Ep 56: Chris Beckett on Dark Ecology in Dark Eden 56:01

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12d ago56:01

56:01

Send us a text Holly and Marty speak with Chris Beckett about his Dark Eden trilogy, comprised of Dark Eden – which won the Arthur C. Clarke Award in 2012, and was followed by Mother of Eden in 2015 and Daughter of Eden in 2016. Dark Eden has been described as “a superior piece of the theologically nuanced science fiction”, and is also a story abou…

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Ep 55: Susan MacKinnon on Ursula K. LeGuin in "The Left Hand of Darkness" and "The Dispossessed" 47:29

28d ago47:29

47:29

Send us a text Holly and Marty get together with their friend Susan MacKinnon to discuss the science fiction of Ursula K. LeGuin, literary icon of speculative fiction. We talk about her Hugo and Nebula winning books "The Left Hand of Darkness" and "The Dispossessed", which are among the most celebrated classics in science fiction. The first was a p…

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Ep 54: Douglas Phillips on Extra Dimensions in 'Quantum Void' and 'Quantum Time' 42:55

1M ago42:55

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Send us a text This is part 2 of Marty's conversation with Douglas Phillips about his 'Quantum' Series of hard science fiction novels. In our last episode we talked about 'Quantum Space', and this time we discuss the next two books in the series, 'Quantum Void' and 'Quantum Time'. As before, today’s exchange focusses on the unifying theme of extra …

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Ep 53: Douglas Phillips on Extra Dimensions in 'Quantum Space' 46:09

2M ago46:09

46:09

Send us a text This is one of those episodes that exemplifies what we try to do here on this show, going deep on some very big science ideas, and then going off the deep end to expand those ideas into the realm of fiction and making them even bigger! Marty has the great pleasure of speaking with Douglas Phillips, who has turned his wide range of sc…

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Ep 52: Barron Wenham on Cosmology and Astrophysics in the Mind of a Super Smart Kid 41:34

2M ago41:34

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Send us a text This is a rather special episode, and something of a delightful experiment. Barron Wenham is on of the smartest and most well-informed 10-year-olds you are ever likely to encounter - especially on the subjects of particle physics, astrophysics and cosmology. As an exercise in exploring big ideas, mind-blowing science and science fict…

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Ep 51: Henry Erlich on DNA Sequencing Technology in 'Genetic Reconstruction of the Past' 1:06:50

3M ago1:06:50

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Send us a text Marty speaks with Dr. Henry Erlich, whose research career gave him a front seat to the development of DNA sequencing technology from its infancy in the 80’s, to the development of forensic applications in the criminal justice system in the 90’s and through to it’s maturity in Next Generation Sequencing methods now used to study evolu…

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Ep 50: Alan Smale on Lunar Warfare in 'Hot Moon' 1:04:46

3M ago1:04:46

1:04:46

Send us a text Marty talks to Alan Smale, a professional astronomer and author of hard science fiction, alternate history, historical fiction, fantasy, and horror. We talk to him about his most recent book 'Hot Moon' - an alternate history set in 1979 where the USSR won the space race to land the first man on the moon, changing the balance of power…

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Ep 49: Micaiah Johnson on The Multiverse in 'The Space Between Worlds' and 'Those Beyond the Wall' 1:07:22

4M ago1:07:22

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Send us a text Holly and Marty speak with science fiction author Micaiah Johnson about her absolutely incredible 'Ashtown' duology. This isn't really an episode about the Multiverse so much as it is about the deeply human and social themes in Micaiah's books, whose writing is laden with literary pearls and deeply human insights about complex charac…

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Ep 48: Mike Carey on The Multiverse in 'The Pandominion' Duology 52:16

4M ago52:16

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Send us a text Marty and Holly speak for a second time with Mike Carey in the first installment on our new topic: The Multiverse. Mike has written comics for many big titles in both the DC and Marvel universes, and has also written 19 books including his most recent 'The Pandominion' duology which is comprised of 'Infinity Gate' and 'Echo of Worlds…

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Ep 47: James Kerwin on Quantum Consciousness in 'Yesterday Was A Lie' 46:57

5M ago46:57

46:57

Send us a text Marty speaks with Hollywood writer and director James Kerwin about Quantum Consciousness in his sci-fi film noir ‘Yesterday Was a Lie’, as well as in Robert J. Sawyer's books 'Quantum Night' and 'The Downloaded. We do a bit of a deep dive into the role of consciousness in the foundations of quantum mechanics, discussing the Copenhage…

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Ep 46: Robert J. Sawyer on Quantum Consciousness in 'Quantum Night' 1:08:05

5M ago1:08:05

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Send us a text Robert J. Sawyer is one of the world’s science fiction luminaries, and a great source of Canadian pride as one of our most prolific, successful and decorated science fiction authors. In the following conversation Rob discusses his book 'Quantum Night', which explores the social and philosophical consequences of an empirical test for …

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Ep 45: Daniel H. Wilson on Planetary Protection in 'The Andromeda Evolution' 1:01:42

6M ago1:01:42

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Send us a text Daniel H. Wilson has a PhD in robotics and is the author of the non-fiction books ‘How to Survive a Robot Uprising’, ‘How to Build a Robot Army’ and ‘Where’s my Jetpack’, as well as the bestselling science fiction novels ‘Robopocalypse’ and its sequel ‘Robogenesis’, ‘The Clockwork Dynasty’, and most recently ‘The Andromeda Evolution’…

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Ep 44: Alex Moskaluk on the Science of Sci-Fi Fungi 34:22

6M ago34:22

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Send us a text This is our fourth and final episode on the theme of Sci-Fi Fungi, where we dig a little deeper into the current science and future science of mycology with Dr. Alex Moskaluk, a mycologist and professor of biology at the University of Guelph. She specializes in zoonotic fungi, fungal pathogens that can jump from animals to humans and…

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Episode #53: Kimberly Cole (Dargan) 50:24

6M ago50:24

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Kimberly Cole née “Kim” joins Mike and Steve to talk about her illustrious high school career, home schooling six children, and surviving a very (VERY) difficult pregnancy. (recorded November 21 2024). Here is Kimberly now:By Mike C

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Episode #52: Todd Leiby 1:01:29

7M ago1:01:29

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Mike and Steve interview classmate Todd Leiby, a man whose father was older than his grandfather but younger than his uncle. Todd talks to Mike and Steve about working his way through college, the recent passing of his mother, and how he became a 2-time burrito-for-a-year winner at Moe’s Southwest Grill. (recorded November 6 2024). Here is Todd wit…

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Ep 43: Kaitlyn Kuehn on Sci-Fi Fungi on The Flora Funga Podcast 55:38

7M ago55:38

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Send us a text Marty speaks with Kaitlyn Kuehn (KK), creator and host of the Flora Funga Podcast, discussing recent developments in real world applications of fungi, and speculating about the possible roles fungi may play in our science fictional future. We discuss their use as recreational drugs, and the current regulatory and legalization landsca…

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Episode #51: Holly Mazzeo (Kwartler) 56:06

7M ago56:06

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Classy Holly Mazzeo (Kwartler) is this episode’s guest. She tells Mike and Steve about her long journey to finding her career niche and feeling like a lab rat as she underwent IVF treatment (successfully). Also discussed are wild senior year study hall memories and a dramatic on-stage kiss that was caught by the class yearbook photographers. (recor…

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Ep 42: Mike Carey on Sci-Fi Fungi in 'The Girl With All The Gifts' 57:23

7M ago57:23

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Send us a text We speak with M. R. Carey about his book 'The Girl With All The Gifts', where the zombie fungus Cordyceps plays a central role in bringing about the end of civilization. We talk about the appeal of a post-apocalyptic story and discuss some of the science in Merlin Sheldrake’s book 'Entangled Life': scientific revolutions and evolutio…

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Ep 41: Benjamin Percy on Sci-Fi Fungi in 'The Unfamiliar Garden' 42:00

7M ago42:00

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Send us a text Beginning our highly anticipated new topic of Sci-Fi Fungi, we talk to science fiction author Benjamin Percy about the second book of his Comet Cycle, 'The Unfamiliar Garden'. We discuss Ben's writing career in comic books and novels and soon TV and film, the literary treatment that space fungus gets in this book, as well as the huma…

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Episode #50: Vince Dalchuk 46:49

8M ago46:49

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Vince Dalchuk is the guest for episode 50. Vince talks about living in Houston during Hurricane Ike, a job assignment in Kuwait, and a lifetime of swimming–including an upcoming bid to make the (senior) Olympics. (recorded October 9 2024). Here is Vince now:By Mike C

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Ep 40: Marty and Holly on Sci-Fi Fungi and The Multiverse in Upcoming Books and Interviews 37:37

8M ago37:37

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Send us a text Marty and Holly discuss our upcoming theme of Sci-Fi Fungi with interviews of science fiction authors Benjamin Percy and Mike Carey, along with mycologists Dr. Alex Moskaluk from the University of Guelph and Kaitlyn Kuehn (KK) from the Flora Funga Podcast. We'll be discussing space fungi from cometary debris in Ben Percy's book 'The …

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Episode #49: Marlo Emch (Zaber) 1:03:59

8M ago1:03:59

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Mike and Steve return after a long hiatus to chat with classmate Marlo Emch (Zaber). Together, they recount infamous senior pranks (not our class). Marlo talks about meeting one or more Kardashians, having to choose a parent to live with at age 12, and her experiences with in vitro fertilization. Marlo also learns she had been a cheerleader in high…

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Ep 39: Edward M. Lerner on First Contact in 'On The Shoals of Space-Time' 1:04:00

8M ago1:04:00

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Send us a text We talk to a returning guest and friend of the show, science fiction author Edward M. Lerner, about his latest book 'On The Shoals of Space-Time', on the topic of First Contact. Ed is a fount of scientific insight and information on space science and the possibilities for extraterrestrial encounters, having written 25 books – 5 of th…

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Ep 38: Mark Milne on Geoengineering in 'The Ministry for the Future' 1:08:03

9M ago1:08:03

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Send us a text In this episode we talk to Mark Milne as a follow-up on our interviews with science fiction author Kim Stanley Robinson and glaciologist Heidi Sevestre in episodes 21 and 22, on the topic of Geoengineering as portrayed in Kim Stanley Robinson’s book 'The Ministry for the Future'. Mark speaks about a number of strategies for mitigatin…

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Ep 37: Peter Watts in Conversation with Justin Gregg - Part 2 38:34

9M ago38:34

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Send us a text We continue the conversation between science fiction author Peter Watts and scientist Justin Gregg, and now they get down to the tricky business of discussing the nature of consciousness. We discuss Peter's premise of 'Blindsight – that consciousness is an illusory, unnecessary and possibly parasitic phenomenon that will get us all k…

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Ep 36: Peter Watts in Conversation with Justin Gregg - Part 1 49:29

10M ago49:29

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Send us a text In this episode we present a conversation between science fiction author Peter Watts and scientist Justin Gregg, following up on our individual interviews with each of them on the general theme of intelligence and consciousness. Justin Gregg is the author of ‘If Nietzsche were a Narwhal - What Animal Intelligence Reveals About Human …

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Ep 35: George Paxinos on Neuroscience and Cloning in 'A River Divided' 46:04

10M ago46:04

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Send us a text Marty and Holly talk to George Paxinos - neuroscientist, environmental activist and author of 'A River Divided', a book that explores neurological determinism - the claim that we have no free will and that our actions are entirely determined by our genetics and the neurological consequences imposed on us by the environment which shap…

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Ep 34: David Brin on First Contact in 'Existence' 1:04:12

11M ago1:04:12

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Send us a text We speak with David Brin, science fiction icon, scientist, futurist and civilizational optimist. We discuss his particular view of first contact with extraterrestrial intelligence, as portrayed in his 2012 novel 'Existence', along with his predictions about how artificial intelligence and virtual reality will change our world in the …

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Ep 33: Avi Loeb on First Contact in 'Extraterrestrial' 1:07:55

11M ago1:07:55

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Send us a text Marty and Holly speak with Professor Avi Loeb from the Harvard Astronomy department, and he is one of the most generous, gregarious, kind and thoughtful people we’ve ever spoken with. Not only that, he embodies the spirit of true scientific inquiry and discovery that can be sadly lacking in the scientific culture of our time. Our con…

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Ep 32: Anniversary Special - Marty and Holly on The First Year of The Sci in The Fi 41:37

12M ago41:37

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Send us a text To celebrate the first anniversary of our podcast, Marty and Holly do a little retrospective to discuss their favorite books, people and interviews from the last year. We discuss some of the best science fiction books we read: 'Red Team Blues' by Cory Doctorow, 'Semiosis' by Sue Burke, 'Neverness' by David Zindell, 'Night Owls' by St…

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Ep 31: David Curtin on Dark Matter in 'Sunfall' (Part 2) 38:20

12M ago38:20

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Send us a text This is the second part of our interview with Dr. David Curtin, Canada Research Chair in Theoretical Particle Physics at the University of Toronto. In response to the kind of dark matter model found in Jim Al-Khalili's science fiction book 'Sunfall', David expounds upon the "significantly weirder' models of dark matter being contempl…

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Ep 30: David Curtin on Dark Matter in 'Sunfall' (Part 1) 45:40

1y ago45:40

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Send us a text Dr. David Curtin is the Canada Research Chair in Theoretical Particle Physics at the University of Toronto, and specializes in exotic theories of dark matter that describe a "dark sector" which may include complex dark matter. These "banana-town weirdo" dark matter models include dark electrons, dark protons and dark photons that for…

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Ep 29: Jim Al-Khalili on Dark Matter in 'Sunfall' 51:18

1y ago51:18

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Send us a text Our theme in the next two episodes is dark matter, the kind of far-out science that is stranger than fiction and presents realms of possibility that are both more plausible and more interesting than parallel worlds or extra dimensions or even wormholes. In this episode we talk to Jim Al-Khalili, who is many things: physicist, author …

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Ep 28: Edward M. Lerner on Planetary Protection in 'Life and Death on Mars' 55:19

1y ago55:19

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Send us a text In this episode we return to the theme of Planetary Protection, continuing the conversation we started in episodes 19 and 20 where we discussed the return of samples from Asteroid Bennu to Earth in NASA’s recent OSIRIS Rex mission. There we talked about what measures were taken to protect the biosphere of Earth from any unforeseen bi…

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Ep 27: Peter Gorniak and Cydney Nielsen on Artificial Intelligence and Virtual Reality in 'Stealing Worlds' 1:08:06

1y ago1:08:06

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Send us a text Marty sits down with his university pals Drs. Peter Gorniak and Cyndey Nielsen, to discuss Karl Schroeder's book 'Stealing Worlds'. As it happens, they both have PhD's and lifelong careers working in their fields of expertise - Peter in artificial intelligence and Cydney in data analytics and virtual/mixed reality, so they were the p…

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Ep 26: Karl Schroeder on Artificial Intelligence and Virtual Reality in 'Stealing Worlds' 1:04:15

1y ago1:04:15

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Send us a text Karl Schroeder is a science fiction author and foresight analyst. His fiction is known for both its scientific rigour and its visionary quality of bearing witness to what we can expect just around the corner – especially with his latest book 'Stealing Worlds'. This book is jam packed with big ideas about artificial intelligence (AI) …

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Ep 25: Peter Watts (Part 2) on Intelligence and Consciousness in 'Blindsight' 58:06

1y ago58:06

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Send us a text In the second part of our interview with Peter Watts, we delve into his ideas about intelligence and consciousness. Does consciousness serve any function, or can all cognitive processes get along just fine without it? In his novel Blindsight, Peter postulates a hostile entity whose intelligence outcompetes our own, because it is not …

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Ep 24: Peter Watts (Part 1) on Intelligence and Consciousness in 'If Nietzsche Were a Narwhal' 51:02

1y ago51:02

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Send us a text We talk to acclaimed science fiction author Peter Watts about Justin Gregg's book 'If Nietzsche Were a Narwhal'. We ask if the human flavour of intelligence is maladaptive, and other creatures are smarter because they are so well adapted to their evolutionary niche - or are we comparing apples with moon rocks? Ultimately, the questio…

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Ep 23: Justin Gregg on Intelligence and Consciousness in 'If Nietzsche Were a Narwhal' 58:59

1+ y ago58:59

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Send us a text Marty and Holly sit down with zoologist Justin Gregg to discuss his book 'If Nietzsche Were a Narwhal: What Animal Intelligence Reveals About Human Stupidity'. We discuss which aspects of human intelligence (and stupidity) are unique in the animal world, and what sets our mental faculties apart from those of other animals. We talk ab…

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Ep 22: Heidi Sevestre on Geoengineering in Kim Stanley Robinson's 'The Ministry For The Future' 56:56

1+ y ago56:56

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Send us a text Marty and Holly sit down with Dr. Heidi Sevestre for a conversation about climate change and geoengineering, as portrayed in The Ministry For The Future by Kim Stanley Robinson. Dr. Sevestre is a glaciologist who is leading the call to action on climate change through her research and education initiatives. We talk about her recent e…

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Ep 21: Kim Stanley Robinson on Geoengineering in 'The Ministry For The Future' 1:09:19

1+ y ago1:09:19

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Send us a text In this episode we are super excited to present our conversation with Kim Stanley Robinson, one of the greatest science fiction writers of all time, whose legacy will surely last deep into our sci-fi future. We discuss his latest book The Ministry for the Future, and some of the many extraordinary ideas in that book for getting human…

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Ep 20: Tim Swindle on Planetary Protection in the OSIRIS-REx Mission and 'The Andromeda Strain' 1:03:30

1+ y ago1:03:30

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Send us a text This conversation was a great example of what we’re trying to do with this podcast, the perfect balance between Science and Science Fiction. Marty sits down with Dr. Tim Swindle to discuss The Andromeda Strain by Michael Crichton and The Andromeda Evolution by Daniel H. Wilson, in relation to NASA's OSIRIS REx mission which has retur…

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Ep 19: Thomas Zega on Planetary Protection in the OSIRIS-REx Mission and 'The Andromeda Strain' 1:05:17

1+ y ago1:05:17

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Send us a text NASA's recent OSIRIS-REx mission has returned a sample of asteroid Bennu all the way to Earth for detailed analysis. It is difficult to ignore the tempting similarities of this mission to the plot of Michael Crichton's 'The Andromeda Strain' and its sequel, Daniel H. Wilson's 'The Andromeda Evolution' - so in this episode Marty discu…

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Ep 18: Stephen Gay and Ben Feist on Moon Colonization in 'Night Owls' 59:36

1+ y ago59:36

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Send us a text This is our favorite kind of episode, hosting a conversation between e a science fiction author and a scientist, where each shares their work and expertise with the other to the benefit of both. Stephen Gay is a science fiction author whose debut novel 'Night Owls - A Moon Colony Adventure' follows a quirky band of party kids in a ne…

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Ep 17: Damien Walter Part 2 - The Sociology of Science Fiction 58:14

1+ y ago58:14

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Send us a text This is part two of our conversation with Damien Walter, the science fiction guru. He is the host of the Science Fiction Podcast and Science Fiction Facebook group. He is also a critical thinker about culture, and a prophet of the emerging mythos of science fiction. In our last episode we presented the part of our conversation about …

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Ep 16: Damien Walter Part 1 - The Psychology of Story 35:30

1+ y ago35:30

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Send us a text Damien Walter is one of the world’s foremost voices in critical thinking about science fiction as the emerging cultural mythos of our modern global civilization. In this episode we discuss some of Damien’s ideas about the psychological function of story-telling, and what he calls the operating system of human consciousness. We talk a…

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Ep 15: Cory Doctorow's 'Red Team Blues' - Chapter 1 of Audiobook 55:15

1+ y ago55:15

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Send us a text Cory Doctorow has given us permission to play the first chapter of Red Team Blues directly on our podcast! And as an added treat, the audio-book is read by none other than Will Wheaton, the actor who played Wesley Crusher on Star Trek The Next Generation - a voice that you will instantly recognize. It's pretty rare to hear excerpts f…

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Ep 14: Cory Doctorow on 'The Lost Cause', 'Red Team Blues' and 'Chokepoint Capitalism' 1:05:01

1+ y ago1:05:01

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Send us a text Marty and Holly sit down with Cory Doctorow, an author known not only for his near-future social and political science fiction, but also for his real-world journalism and activism. We talk about society, politics and economics, discussing 3 of Doctorow’s most recent books. 'Red Team Blues' is his most recently published book, an anti…

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Ep 13: Paco Calvo on Intelligent Plants in 'Planta Sapiens' 1:09:17

1+ y ago1:09:17

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Send us a text Following up on our discussion of intelligent plants with Sue Burke in our last episode, we have invited Paco Calvo, a cognitive scientist and philosopher of biology, who speaks to us about his book 'Planta Sapiens'. Paco is a cognitive scientist and philosopher of biology, who is known for his research in the field of plant cognitio…

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Ep 12: Sue Burke on Intelligent Plants in 'Semiosis' 58:41

1+ y ago58:41

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Send us a text In this episode we embark on a discussion of sci-fi botany, by way of Sue Burke’s novel 'Semiosis' and its sequel 'Interference'. We talk about a lot of interesting and surprising properties of plant behaviour that you may not be aware of, and how Sue worked these ideas into her main character Steveland and his interaction with human…