Strange New Worlds: A Science & Star Trek Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Episode 118: The Last Best Hope Jul 12, 2021

Show notes

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 Hope, by Dr. Una McCormack: https://unamccormack.co.uk/?books=star-trek-picard-the-last-best-hope Follow us on Twitter! Mike: https://twitter.com/Miquai Una: https://twitter.com/unamccormack

Episode 117: The History of Women in Space & Star Trek Jul 07, 2021

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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 and Department Chair of the Space History Department at the Smithsonian's National Air & Space Museum in Washington, DC. Together, they delve into the role of women during the earliest days of the American space program, how Nichelle Nichols helped recruit a more diverse workforce for NASA, and how women have been portrayed in Star Trek over the generations. Info about the IDIC Podcast Festival, July 17 & 18, 2021: https://www.womenatwarp.com/idic-fest/ Dr. Weitekamp's book "Right Stuff, Wrong Sex: America's First Women in Space Program": https://airandspace.si.edu/research/publications/right-stuff-wrong-sex-americas-first-women-space-program The Nichelle Nichols documentary "Woman In Motion": https://twitter.com/WIMthefilm The Atlantic article about Wally Funk's selection as a Blue Origin astronaut, by Marina Koren: https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2021/07/jeff-bezos-wally-funk-blue-origin/619344/ Follow us on Twitter! Mike: https://twitter.com/Miquai Margaret: https://twitter.com/mgtwspace Ingrid: https://twitter.com/ingrid_rocket

Episode 116: Balance of Nature May 16, 2021

Show notes

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 Mike Wong: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/uw-astrobiology-presents-where-is-the-best-place-to-look-for-life-tickets-152784280897 This episode features original music by EEP, a band founded by Justin Oser's wife, Rosie Varela: https://eepshoegaze.bandcamp.com/ Follow us on Twitter! Mike: https://twitter.com/Miquai Justin: https://twitter.com/trekfan4747 Infinite Diversity Podcast: https://twitter.com/IDICPodcast EEP: https://twitter.com/eepshoegaze

Episode 115: Ishtar Rising May 03, 2021

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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

Episode 114: Time, Togetherness, & Sci-Fi Stuff Apr 16, 2021

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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: https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B000FC0QDE/?coliid=I3G6KX1BYMZTI3&colid=NOXPRFDT8IGO&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it Ishtar Rising, Book 2: https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B000FC0QD4/?coliid=I3UPXV55KYQHEA&colid=NOXPRFDT8IGO&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it Balance of Nature: https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B000FBJFZK/?coliid=I4CMTVCW35WI6&colid=NOXPRFDT8IGO&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it

Episode 113: I Never Met a Magnetic Field I Didn't Like Apr 03, 2021

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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.com/astro_tiff Star Trek novellas that Mike will discuss with Justin Oser on a future episode of Strange New Worlds: Ishtar Rising, Book 1: https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B000FC0QDE/?coliid=I3G6KX1BYMZTI3&colid=NOXPRFDT8IGO&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it Ishtar Rising, Book 2: https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B000FC0QD4/?coliid=I3UPXV55KYQHEA&colid=NOXPRFDT8IGO&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it Balance of Nature: https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B000FBJFZK/?coliid=I4CMTVCW35WI6&colid=NOXPRFDT8IGO&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it

Episode 112: Habitable Worlds 2021 Mar 27, 2021

Show notes

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 rotation rate. Follow us on Twitter! Mike: https://twitter.com/Miquai Tiffany: https://twitter.com/astro_tiff AAPI Resources: StarTrek.com's statement: https://www.startrek.com/news/star-trek-stands-with-our-aapi-community Buzzfeed article on Asian hate crimes: https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/venessawong/asian-american-invisible-hate-crimes Bystander intervention resources: https://www.ihollaback.org/bystander-resources/ Google Doc with links to more resources: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1hHRhuF1qy4lju58Rcuw_TShjAaK9BPwjvCuvpTVZzVI/edit?usp=sharing

Episode 111: Writing Galadjian & Georgiou Mar 12, 2021

Show notes

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 on Twitter! Mike: twitter.com/Miquai John: twitter.com/jjmfaraway

Episode 110: Show Your Homework Mar 07, 2021

Show notes

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's so important to show your homework when telling Star Trek stories. John's website: https://farawaypress.com/ Follow us on Twitter! Mike: https://twitter.com/Miquai John: https://twitter.com/jjmfaraway

Episode 109: Preparing for Perseverance Feb 08, 2021

Show notes

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 what happened to Mars's water. Eva's scientific paper on the geological context of Perseverance's landing site: https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1029/2019JE006190 Follow us on Twitter! Mike: https://twitter.com/Miquai Eva: https://twitter.com/EvaLScheller

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