Michael Wall joined Space.com in 2010 as a senior writer reporting on Mars exploration, exoplanet discoveries, astrophysics and space technology. For Space.com, Mike has wandered through California's Mojave Desert with scientists on NASA's Mars rover Curiosity mission and helped launch balloon missions through Earth's auroras in Alaska. He's based in San Francisco, where he chronicles the space tech revolution in Silicon Valley.

Prior to joining Space.com, Mike was a science writer for the Idaho National Laboratory and interned with Wired.com, The Salinas Californian newspaper and the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory. Mike has also worked as a herpetologist and wildlife biologist. He has a Ph.D. in evolutionary biology from the University of Sydney, Australia, a bachelor's degree from the University of Arizona, and a graduate certificate in science writing from the University of California, Santa Cruz.

 

 

In this episode, Beth and Michael discuss:

•         New discoveries, the Fermi Paradox, and his new book, “Out There”
•         What METI is and what it is means for scientists
•         Space books and movies that inspired Michael
•         Digging deep and learning new things to write for Space.com

 

 

Key Takeaways:

•         We don’t know about alien life, but we do have informed speculation
•         We can only explore space with the technologies that we know. Because of this, what we may find in the future are unlimited
•         There is so much happening with space and space exploration right now it’s exciting!
•         Time is a precious commodity and effects how we do things on earth and in space

 

 

“It’s just starting. What we are seeing is a ramp up to some really exciting stuff. There is definitely going to be a lot of cool stuff happening in 2019.” — Michael Wall

 

 

 

Connect with Michael Wall:

Twitter: @MichaelDWall

Website: Space.com

Book: Out There: A Scientific Guide to Alien Life, Antimatter, and Human Space Travel (For the Cosmically Curious)

Book Recommendation: Confessions of an Alien Hunter: A Scientist’s Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence by Seth Shostak

 

About Beth Mund:

 

Beth’s love for space started as a Space Camp attendee at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, where she would return years later as an instructor.  After grad school, Beth worked as a journalist, a technical writer for Motorola, and then went on to serve as a Public Affairs Officer for the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. In addition, Beth worked to support the International Space Station program as a communication specialist. In Chicago, Beth worked as a corporate communication advisor to Fortune 50 companies including Allstate and United Airlines. She’s worked as a college instructor, a political advisor, and public relations manager for her hometown city. Beth recently founded Stellar Communications, LLC and travels the country as a keynote speaker- inspiring audiences with her lessons learned from our nation’s space program.  She’s the host of the Casual Space Podcast, and a self-proclaimed space geek.

 

Connect with Beth Mund:

Email: [email protected]

Website: bethmund.com/casualspace

Facebook: @Casual Space Podcast

 

Show notes by show producer/podcastologist: Chelsea Taylor-Sturkie