offworld

Latest Episodes:

Offworld: Gravity (2013) Aug 12, 2019

Show notes

This week, Ariel is joined by Dr. Christianna Taylor and science youtuber Scott Manley to talk about the movie Gravity! While the 2013 film has been picked apart in popular media, we focus on the topic of orbital debris and how real astronauts and the ISS grapple with its presence in Earth orbit.

Offworld: A Trip to the Moon (1902) Jul 20, 2019

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For this very special episode of Offworld, we record from NASA Ames Research Center to talk about the 1902 film 'A Trip to the Moon', which is considered to be the first science fiction film. Ariel chats with NASA scientists about how our understanding of trips to the moon have changed over the past century, and how the moon is still ripe for exploration in both reality and sci-fi storytelling.

Offworld: Frances 'Poppy' Northcutt Jul 07, 2019

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We're thrilled this week to be joined by Frances 'Poppy' Northcutt, who was a NASA Return-to-Earth Specialist during the Apollo missions and the first woman to work inside Mission Control! We talk about her experience as an engineer during Apollo, how the public remembers that era, and how media covered the moon landing. Thanks so much to Poppy Northcutt for joining us this week! You can watch APOLLO: Missions to the Moon on National Geographic on July 7th!

Offworld: Forbidden Planet (1956) Jun 24, 2019

Show notes

Why are exoplanets--those outside our solar system--depicted the way they are in science fiction film? We revisit the 1956 movie Forbidden Planet to examine one of the first representations of exoplanets in cinema, and our expert guests help explain the state of exoplanet imaging and what we know about the planets astronomers have detected so far. What's your favorite exoplanet seen in film?

Offworld: Spacesuits in Science Fiction Film Jun 10, 2019

Show notes

Ariel is joined by two spapcesuit afficionados: our very own Adam Savage and design professor Nicholas de Monchaux to talk about their favorite science fiction spacesuits, the role of spacesuits in film, and how real-world suits have been inspired by fiction.

Offworld: Isolation and Loneliness in Space Travel Jun 03, 2019

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This week on Offworld, we explore the trope of isolation and loneliness in science fiction space travel, and how both fictional and real-world astronauts cope with being away from home for extended missions. Joining us are neuroscientist Indre Viskontas and field geophysicist Mika McKinnon for a lively discussion on how sci-fi depicts the very real challenge of isolation in space!

Offworld: The Black Hole (1979) May 20, 2019

Show notes

From Disney's The Black Hole to Interstellar, we discuss the portrayal of Black Holes in science fiction films and the misconceptions popular media has spread about this astronomical phenomena. Fatima Abdurrahman from UC Berkeley's Department of Astronomy joins us to explain the science of Black Holes and how storytellers can exploret them in film!

Offworld: Starship Troopers (1997) May 13, 2019

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Let's talk about the space bugs in Starship Troopers! Ariel is joined by Dr Brian Fisher and Dr Lauren Esposito from the California Academy of Sciences to discuss the science of insects and whether space bugs could exist as they're depicted in the film. Surprisingly, Starship Troopers gets several things right! Would you like to know more?

Offworld: The Beyond (2017) May 06, 2019

Show notes

Ariel is joined by Tested science contributor Kishore Hari and cyborg anthropologist Amber Case to discus the 2017 film The Beyond, the traditional sci-fi notion of cyborgs, and what mix of human and machine actually makes sense for the future of space exploration.

Offworld: Wall-E (2008) Apr 29, 2019

Show notes

This week on Offworld, we revisit the classic Pixar film WALL-E, and chat with roboticists from NASA and Softbank Robotics about the development of robots for use in space. What about the portrayal of space robots in WALL-E did we like, and what would apply to the kind of robots that would work alongside humans in space?

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