[Note: Sadly, one side of the recording was lost due to massive Skype issues and some portions of this episode had to be reconstructed. This is why there are places where the audio sounds quite different. This appears to be the only episode of the season where this happened, but my apologies for the audio sounding inconsistent.  -Blake]

Jeb and Blake discuss "Martians" - wherein the In Search Of team examines the possibility that the planet Mars once had (or still contains) life on its harsh surface. The Viking missions as well as many Mars-related pop-culture topics are discussed.

Watch the ISO episode on YouTube. 

A lot of the material in this episode dealt with the Viking program. 

The surprisingly lengthy introduction to our solar system embedded in the 1953 film War of the Worlds.

A Trip to the Moon (1902) - colorized, restored, 720p

Space 1889 - The early "Steam Punk" roleplaying game

William Graves Hoyt's book Lowell and Mars

Missing from this episode (but expected) Italian astronomer:  Giovanni Schiaparelli 

The Difference Engine - by Gibson & Sterling (What if Babbage's Difference Engine had worked?)

Fantastic Planet - French Animated Film

The Silurian Hypothesis - Jeb mentions as an aside, lots to read there.

Face on Mars & Cydonia  (1976)

Pyramids of Mars Doctor Who (1975)

Pareidolia phenomena (Face on Mars is literally part of the article)

Tonight Tonight Smashing Pumpkins

Panspermia (directed and accidental)

(I couldn't help but think about the Errol Otis' view of the Myconoids in D&D when looking at A Trip To The Moon. -B)

 

Dr. Gerald A. Soffen (February 7, 1926 – November 22, 2000) was a Viking project scientist and Mars geologist.

Harold P. Klein (April 1, 1921 - July 15, 2001) was a chemist and microbiologist.

 

Leslie Orgel (January 12, 1927 - October 27, 2007) was a chemist interested in life origins.