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EP. # 1235 The Alien Mirror: How 2,500 Years of Cosmic Imagination Shapes Who We Are

Today on Strange Planet, we embark on a 2,500-year journey through humanity’s obsession with aliens—not as sci-fi oddities, but as profound reflections of ourselves. Astrobiologist and bestselling author Mark Brake reveals how ancient philosophers, satirists, and dreamers imagined alien empires, Moon serpents, and interstellar wars long before Roswell or SETI. His new book, The Science of Aliens, is a cosmic romp through history, myth, and science, challenging everything we think we know about the alien question. Are we searching for others—or just projecting our hopes and fears into the stars?

GUEST: Mark Brake is an astrobiologist, science communicator, and pioneer in the public understanding of science and science fiction. He created the world’s first university course on life in the universe and collaborated with the London Science Museum’s Science of Aliens exhibition. Brake has taught science fiction and cosmology across five continents and authored bestselling books including The Science of Star Trek and The Science of James Bond. His latest work, The Science of Aliens, explores 2,500 years of humanity’s fascination with extraterrestrial life, blending history, philosophy, and science in a provocative and entertaining narrative.

WEBSITE:

https://www.skyhorsepublishing.com

BOOKS:

The Science of Aliens: The Real Science Behind the Gods and Monsters from Space and Time

The Science of The Beatles

The Science of Jurassic World

The Science of James Bond

The Science of Superheroes

The Science of Science Fiction

The Science of Star Trek

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