Alienating the Audience

Brian Dunning, host of the Skeptoid Podcast, joins Heaton to talk about all things time travel--the best films, TV shows and books, plus how to get around pesky time travel paradoxes, if we should try to go back and kill Hitler, and the most interesting period of history to return to as a tourist.

Dr. Eric Spana (Duke University biology professor and delightful nerd) joins Heaton to discuss how genetics works in various scifi and fantasy realms: from recessive wizarding genes in Harry Potter, to the midichlorians of Star Wars, to super power mutations in the world of X-Men.

The long-awaited "Picard" series is out now, starring Patrick Stewart and following the exploits of Jean-Luc Picard two decades after we last saw him in "Nemesis." Nicholas Sperdute comes on to analyze the pilot, predict where the plot will take us, and generally enjoy the relief that it looks like it will be a great franchise.

If we had to send a spaceship to start a colony on another planet, how many humans would we need to get the party started? How do you avoid inbreeding, and what's a stable amount of people to maintain purpose on a multi-generational mission? Rob Raffety joins to discuss, looping in everything from "The Twilight Zone" to "Wool" and "Children of Time."

Mr. Spock is the most captivating character in Star Trek lore, and the embodiment of logic in popular culture. John Champion, host of "Mission Log" Star Trek podcast, joins Heaton for a deep dive into the character and meaning of Spock.

Dr. Mohamed Noor is the author of "Live Long and Evolve: What Star Trek Can Teach Us about Evolution, Genetics, and Life on Other Worlds," and is the head of Biology at Duke University. He joins the show to talk about the origins of life, and why aliens could probably never mate in real life despite knocking boots in Star Trek.

Alright, it's been a month--let's discuss "The Rise of Skywalker"! Is it the franchise-busting wompa scat critics panned it as, or just a situation of haters gonna hate? Nick Sperdute joins to analyze the film.

The central premise to The Matrix is that we're actually living in a computer simulation, as well as think piece episodes from Star Trek, Black Mirror, and even Rick & Morty. Jay Mutzafi, host of "The Last Turtle" philosophy podcast joins Heaton to talk about Simulation Theory, and it's scifi application.

How would Emperor Palpatine's Press Secretary describe the Galactic Empire? How would Grand Moff Tarkin spin the destruction of Alderaan? Jonathan Last of "The Bulwark" joins Heaton to describe why he believes the Empire was a good thing--an imperfect system, but on balance the best one for peace and order in the galaxy.

Robert Heinlein, author of "Stranger in a Strange Land," "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress," "Starship Troopers," and dozens of other novels, is at the tippy top of science fiction's pantheon of writers. Andrew Mayne joins the show to discuss Heinlein and the themes which pervaded his corpus: competency, rugged individualism, and free love. Want to chat about the episode with other nerds? Check out Heaton's Heathens on Discord.