What can science fiction and social science  contribute to how we think about our algorithmic present and future?
Science fiction writers and Hugo-winning podcast hosts Annalee Newitz (author of The Future Of Another Timeline) and Charlie Jane Anders (author of The City In The Middle Of The Night) talk about their work imagining future worlds and new kinds of technology—plus how all of this fiction traces back to the present. Then, AI ethicist Rumman Chowdhury joins to discuss how social science can help the tech industry slow down and think more responsibly about the future they’re helping to build. 
Plus, everyone has face mites—including you. But they have a fascinating evolutionary story to tell. In this interview recorded live at the Sydney Goldstein Theater in San Francisco, Ira talks with entomologist Michelle Trautwein of the California Academy of Sciences about why face mites live in our skin, where we get them (spoiler: thank your parents!), and how mite lineages can help reconstruct patterns of human migration around the globe. 

Imagining The Future Of AI / Face Mites. Nov 29, 2019, Part 1

Natural Sciences

Science & Medicine

Science

Life Sciences

Earth Sciences

The Ada Hayden Herbarium preserves hundreds of thousands of specimens, including some collected by George Washington Carver. And, as the “Universe of Art” podcast turns one, listeners discuss solar music boxes and what it’s like making art with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.

Inside Iowa State’s Herbarium | Science-Inspired Art From ‘Universe of Art’ Listeners

Science Friday is in Ames, Iowa, home to prairies, greater prairie chickens, and an array of wildlife. Also, the co-emergence of two periodical cicada broods is underway. Scientists have tips for how to experience the event.

Science From Iowa’s Prairies | Planning To Go See Cicadas? Here’s What To Know

A study found aggression between male bonobos to be more frequent than aggression between male chimpanzees. Also, visual artist Todd Gilens created a walkable poem along Reno’s Truckee River that draws parallels between urbanism and stream ecology.

Maybe Bonobos Aren't Gentler Than Chimps | Art Meets Ecology In A Mile-Long Poem

An array of new products monitors users’ brain waves using caps or headbands. That neural data has few privacy protections.

When Products Collect Data From Your Brain, Where Does It Go?

Researchers are trying to develop a better picture of what’s happening in the regions closest to a black hole’s event horizon.

Imagining The Future Of AI / Face Mites. Nov 29, 2019, Part 1

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