Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar was a phenomenon in 2014. Set in the future, Earth has been struck by a global crop blight. Former NASA pilot Cooper (Matthew McConaughey) is pulled into a NASA mission to transport the human race to a new planet, via wormhole. Back on Earth, Cooper’s daughter, Murph (Jessica Chastain), attempts to complete an equation that will allow this mass-transport of humanity from Earth. 


Many scientists praised the film, particularly for its depiction of black holes. In this episode co-hosts Regina G. Barber and Emily Kwong talk about Interstellar with Star Trek scientific advisor and astrophysicist Erin Macdonald. They walk through wormholes, black holes and all the ways space-time stretches in the film. 


Interested in more on the science behind science fiction? Email us your question at [email protected] – we may feature it in an upcoming episode!


Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave.

See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.

NPR Privacy Policy