On this episode of Star Warsologies, we talk to bioengineering professor Benjamin Smarr about technology integrated into the body.

There's tons of wearable tech in Star Wars! Luke has a prosthetic hand and Darth Vader is more machine than man. How does that technology integrate into their bodies and minds? Benajmin Smarr shares his insights from researching health technology that helps people understand the patterns our bodies go through. He also speculates about projects he'd pursue if he was a professor in the Star Wars galaxy - including whether Jedi's midichlorian count changes are they age, train, or even just don't sleep well. We also get into women's reproductive health. How could Padme's pregnancy with twins have gone overlooked? Here on Earth, why are there still so many mysteries surrounding the female body? We also tackle circadian rhythms and (just weeks into daylight savings time) ponder how so many species from hundreds of planets manage to adjust to a standard time.

Show Notes:

Check out the Smarr Lab's website for tons more info about his research projects and publications.

Book recommendations by Benjamin about circadian rhythm: Satchin Panda's "The Circadian Code" and "The Inner Clock" by Lynne Peeples.

Learn more about UCSD's Center for Microbiome Innovation.

Listen to our feminism episode mentioned in this conversation. And also our episode about prosthetics!

You can order James's crossword puzzle book now! For a free puzzle, download the activity kit from Star Wars Reads!

Subscribe to Star Warsologies on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Did you miss an earlier episode? Catch up here!

Follow us on BlueSky and Instagram or join our Facebook fan group!

Star Warsologies is a podcast about science and other fields in a galaxy far, far away. Hosts James Floyd and Melissa Miller combine their love of storytelling in the franchise with their keen interest in all things academic.

This episode of Star Warsologies we talk to earthquake geologist Wendy Bohon about planets, lava and lots and lots of explosions!

Dr. Wendy Bohon joins us this month to discuss how life might begin and be sustained on planets in a galaxy far, far away. The answer is earthquakes! Or are they called Tatooine-quakes and Hoth-quakes? We dive into Naboo's watery core and discuss whether Mustafar was the right place to build an evil lair. And of course we get in to the Death Star's ability to destroy planets. Alderaan is in pieces but what happened during the tests on Jedha and Scarif?

Show Notes:

Follow Wendy on YouTube, Instagram, BlueSky, and other social media sites. And check out her website!

Learn more about the Cave of the Crystals Wendy mentions, that reminds her of Crait and the crystal foxes!

If you can't get enough geology talk, give our debut episode (from 2021!) a listen. We also talked more about Mustafar in our Revenge of the Sith panel at Star Wars Celebration 2025.

You can order James's crossword puzzle book now! For a free puzzle, download the activity kit from Star Wars Reads!

Subscribe to Star Warsologies on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Did you miss an earlier episode? Catch up here!

Follow us on BlueSky and Instagram or join our Facebook fan group!

Star Warsologies is a podcast about science and other fields in a galaxy far, far away. Hosts James Floyd and Melissa Miller combine their love of storytelling in the franchise with their keen interest in all things academic.

This episode of Star Warsologies we delve into classical studies - languages, archeology, and epigraphy, which is study of ancient inscriptions!

Giraffe joins us to talk about her early introduction to languages with Stargate and The Mummy. She explains the difference between scripts and languages. She also answers important questions like: Does Yoda talk that way just to be different? and Why does anyone hang out with C-3PO? We also get into the inevitable discussion of AI's role in translating and understanding ancient languages and scripts, as well as how the Empire removing people from their individual cultures comes straight from the colonizer's playbook.

Show Notes:

Check out Giraffe on the Star Trek podcast Strange New pod, which is live every Thursday at 6:30pm Pacific time! And find her on Instagram and BlueSky!

We mentioned some relevant past episodes during this discussion: check out our languages episode with David Peterson, who created languages for Game of Thrones, Marvel movies, and more, and our anti-fascism episode with historian and author Chris Kempshall.

You can order James's crossword puzzle book now! For a free puzzle, download the activity kit from Star Wars Reads!

Subscribe to Star Warsologies on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Did you miss an earlier episode? Catch up here!

Follow us on BlueSky and Instagram or join our Facebook fan group!

Star Warsologies is a podcast about science and other fields in a galaxy far, far away. Hosts James Floyd and Melissa Miller combine their love of storytelling in the franchise with their keen interest in all things academic.

As a holiday bonus, please enjoy this recording of a panel from San Diego Comic-Con 2025 - Celebrating the Puppetry Arts!

Panel Description: Puppets have entertained and educated the masses for centuries but the artistry also changes and advances with new technology. Professional puppet builders and performers share insights from their careers working on franchises like Star Wars and the Muppet movies, as well as their experiences with non-traditional puppetry like animatronics, motion capture, and claymation. Panelists include Cheralyn Lambeth (puppet builder, Dinosaurs!, Avenue Q), Kirk Thatcher (writer and director, The Muppets Haunted Mansion), and Fon Davis (model maker, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Coraline). Moderated by Melissa T. Miller (Star Warsologies podcast).

Links from the panel discussion:

Check out Adam Kreutinger's @PuppetNerd YouTube Channel and the Stan Winston School for puppetry building tips.

Watch the Tested video Fon mentioned where he shows Adam Savage around Fonco Studio's effects lab.

Here's the TikTok video Kirk mentioned where the baby in Dinosaurs talks back to the director.

If you want to hear more about Coraline and The Nightmare Before Christmas, check out the LA Comic Con panel about those movies that Melissa and Fon did together in 2024.

This episode of Star Warsologies is all about maps! We talk with Jason Fry, who helped map the galaxy far, far away in The Essential Atlas.

How do you map a galaxy? Storytellers get to add their own details in movies, books, comics, TV shows, and even board games, so it's a huge job and nearly impossible to keep it all straight. Jason shares what went into creating the lore for Star Wars: The Essential Atlas and how the book is literally a childhood dream come true. It turns out a lot of the mapping framework came from a video game mechanic!

Show Notes:

Follow Jason on BlueSky @jasoncfry and send any cartographic errors you find to [email protected]

Check out the official Galaxy Map on starwars.com!

Buy your copy of Jason's Star Wars: The Essential Atlas, or peruse some of the maps on Wookieepedia.

Check out all of Jason Fry's other Star Wars books, including The Last Jedi (adult novelization) and Rebels: Servants of the Empire series.

Other books mentioned in this episode include Atlas of Middle Earth, Atlas of Medieval History, The Mask of Fear from the Reign of the Empire series.

You can order James's crossword puzzle book now! For a free puzzle, download the activity kit from Star Wars Reads!

Subscribe to Star Warsologies on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Did you miss an earlier episode? Catch up here!

Follow us on BlueSky and Instagram or join our Facebook fan group!

Star Warsologies is a podcast about science and other fields in a galaxy far, far away. Hosts James Floyd and Melissa Miller combine their love of storytelling in the franchise with their keen interest in all things academic.

This episode of Star Warsologies covers feminism and gender representation in Star Wars with author and historian Becca Harrison.

Becca Harrison tallied up all the screen time for female characters in Star Wars movies over the decades and even made cuts of the film with only dialogue from female characters. They get a lot more screen time these days and we talk about why that's important. We discuss feminism, gender identity, and the importance of representation when it comes to Star Wars, including within the fandom itself. Becca is a freelance academic who has studied Star Wars from multiple academic angles including historical, data technology, gender identity, and even environmental.

Show Notes:

Check out Becca's website for more of her work on Star Wars as well as resources for for film analysis and research.

Get your copy of Becca's book "The Empire Strikes Back (BFI Film Classics)"

Listen to our episode recreating the panel from 2023's Celebration in London about Andor that included Becca and other experts.

Find out more about the Galaxy Tour science field trip. And if you do sign up to go, make sure to put "Star Warsologies" in the Order Notes when you check out!

You can order James's crossword puzzle book now! For a free puzzle, download the activity kit from Star Wars Reads!

Subscribe to Star Warsologies on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Did you miss an earlier episode? Catch up here!

Follow us on BlueSky and Instagram or join our Facebook fan group!

Star Warsologies is a podcast about science and other fields in a galaxy far, far away. Hosts James Floyd and Melissa Miller combine their love of storytelling in the franchise with their keen interest in all things academic.

This episode of Star Warsologies is our LA Comic Con panel about critters in a galaxy far, far away!

Hear our panel of experts talk about their favorite animals in Star Wars! Melissa and James are joined by herpetologist Earyn McGee, conservation biologist Sam Wynns, and geochemist Randy Flores. Also check this episide out on YouTube as it includes our slides and other visuals!

From womp rats to wampas, Star Wars creatures great and small are a beloved part of the galaxy far, far away. Moderator S.T. Bende (author of Star Wars Bestiary, Vol. 1: Creatures of the Galaxy) will quiz this panel of animal experts and fans on how everything from porgs to purrgil are adapted to their environments and show similarities to life here on Earth. New members to the Galactic Society of Creature Enthusiasts are welcome, bring questions about your favorite sci-fi and fantasy animals!

Show Notes:

Buy the Star Wars Bestiary!

Check out our episode with panelists Earyn McGee, all about lizards, and with Sam Wynns about wildlife conservation!

We love to talk about critters, as you may have noticed. Here's our panels from Star Wars Celebration 2022 and Legacy Expo 2025!

Find out more about the Galaxy Tour science field trip. And if you do sign up to go, make sure to put "Star Warsologies" in the Order Notes when you check out!

You can order James's crossword puzzle book now! For a free puzzle, download the activity kit from Star Wars Reads!

Subscribe to Star Warsologies on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Did you miss an earlier episode? Catch up here!

Follow us on BlueSky and Instagram or join our Facebook fan group!

Star Warsologies is a podcast about science and other fields in a galaxy far, far away. Hosts James Floyd and Melissa Miller combine their love of storytelling in the franchise with their keen interest in all things academic.

This episode of Star Warsologies covers mass media, propaganda, and media literacy in a galaxy far, far away!

Author Samuel Spitale joins us to talk about the difference between journalism, news, propaganda, advertising, and other media terms. He posits that the lack of media in the original series was a deliberate (and wise) choice for storytelling. While it plays a role in the recent series Andor, there are also some hints in the holiday special, so of course we talk about that! Join us to help fight misinformation with the truth!

An illustration from "How to Win the War on Truth: An Illustrated Guide to How Mistruths Are Sold, Why They Stick, and How to Reclaim Reality" provided by Samuel Spitale.

Show Notes:

Check out Samuel's website and YouTube channel. He's also on Instagram.

Get a copy of Samuel's book "How to Win the War on Truth: An Illustrated Guide to How Mistruths Are Sold, Why They Stick, and How to Reclaim Reality"

Get a copy of Samuel's coffee table book "Collecting a Galaxy - The Art of Sideshow"

Find out more about the Galaxy Tour science field trip. And if you do sign up to go, make sure to put "Star Warsologies" in the Order Notes when you check out!

You can order James's crossword puzzle book now! For a free puzzle, download the activity kit from Star Wars Reads!

Subscribe to Star Warsologies on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Did you miss an earlier episode? Catch up here!

Follow us on BlueSky and Instagram or join our Facebook fan group!

Star Warsologies is a podcast about science and other fields in a galaxy far, far away. Hosts James Floyd and Melissa Miller combine their love of storytelling in the franchise with their keen interest in all things academic.

This episode of Star Warsologies covers space exploration topics with an operator of the Mars rover!

Katherine Winchell is an astrogeologist whose love of Star Wars has a lot to do with her career in the space program. She is also the head organizer of the upcoming Legacy Expo convention, which takes place in Burbank on September 13-14, 2025. We talk about the con (and Star Warsologies will be there!), but we also dive deep into the similarities between Mars and Tatooine and how early travelers explored the galaxy far, far away. Since Katherine is so well-versed in the Extended Universe books, we also talk about the few examples of scientific exploration present there.

Show Notes:

Get involved in the Save NASA Science advocacy from the Planetary Society, including participation in October 5-6 Days of Action!

Learn more about NASA's Perseverance rover and the Europa Clipper mission that Katherine mentioned.

Check out Melissa's Nerdist article about the Mars samples that look like lightsabers!

Find out more about the Galaxy Tour science field trip. And if you do sign up to go, make sure to put "Star Warsologies" in the Order Notes when you check out!

You can order James's crossword puzzle book now! For a free puzzle, download the activity kit from Star Wars Reads!

Subscribe to Star Warsologies on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Did you miss an earlier episode? Catch up here!

Follow us on BlueSky and Instagram or join our Facebook fan group!

Star Warsologies is a podcast about science and other fields in a galaxy far, far away. Hosts James Floyd and Melissa Miller combine their love of storytelling in the franchise with their keen interest in all things academic.

This episode of Star Warsologies is our San Diego Comic-Con 2025 panel entitled "Star Wars Andor - From Resistance to Rebellion" and features Dr. Drea Letamendi, Desmond Hassing, Jendia Gammon, Robert Dagnall, and Dr. Catherine Hicks as panelists, moderated by podcast co-host James Floyd.

Panel description:

Fighting the tyranny of the Galactic Empire is dangerous work, whether in the halls of power on Coruscant or in the dark recesses of the Outer Rim. Panelists will dive deep into the popular show Star Wars: Andor, especially season 2, and examine themes of resisting authoritarianism and aspects of outright rebellion. How do the choices made by Cassian Andor, Mon Mothma, and Luthen Rael make the galaxy more free but also more perilous? Psychologists Drea Letamendi (Lattes with Leia, The Arkham Sessions, Aliens Expanded) and Catherine Hicks will take you into the minds of Imperial loyalists like Dedra Meero and insurgent fighters like Saw Gerrera. Also charging into the fray will be speculative fiction author Jendia Gammon (Atacama, Doomflower, The Inn at the Amethyst Lantern), San Diego State rhetoric and writing instructor Robert Dagnall, and American Indian studies professor Desmond Hassing. Hosted by James Floyd (Star Wars author, Star Wars Insider regular contributor, Star Warsologies podcast co-host). Fight the Empire!

Check out the slides from the panel as well as some panel photos on the YouTube version of the episode: https://youtu.be/zEdBI5R-5D4

Full show notes page, including how to find the panelists online