Strange New Worlds: A Science & Star Trek Podcast

Guest: Dr. Erin Macdonald

Dr. Erin Macdonald, the official science advisor for the Star Trek universe, joins us to discuss the science behind Season 5 of Star Trek: Discovery and Season 2 of Star Trek: Prodigy.

"Chromatin remodeling in tribbles in Star Trek: Prodigy" by Prof. Mohamed Noor: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2PePbR3FPk

Erin's Nerd Nite talk, "Faster-Than-Light Travel in Science Fiction": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Lw7JOgQ_MI

Mike's Nerd Nite talk, "The Astrobiology of Star Trek": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JtgcaVg7puM

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Guests: Prof. Jason A. Kaufman & Prof. Aaron M. Peterson

Professors Jason A. Kaufman and Aaron M. Peterson join us to discuss their sweeping book "Leadership in Star Trek: Lessons from the Captain's Chair." Learn how communication, patience, and relationship underpin every good leader, from Burnham to Picard.

Book: https://mcfarlandbooks.com/product/leadership-in-star-trek/

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Guest: Prof. Mary-Jane Rubenstein

Professor Mary-Jane Rubenstein joins us to talk about her book "Astrotopia: The Dangerous Religion of the Corporate Space Race," which explores the religious narratives that underpin commercial space exploration, and its connections to Star Trek.

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Guest: Dr. Shi En Kim

Science journalist Shi En Kim joins Mike to reflect on the last three episodes of Star Trek: Discovery's fifth and final season, DSC: "Labyrinths," "Lagrange Point," and "Life, Itself." How do Mike and Kim process their fears? What is a Lagrange point? And what do they make of the Progenitor's technology?

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Guest: Dr. Shi En Kim

Mike and Kim chat about themes in DSC: "Whistlespeak" and "Erigah." Is cloud seeding a real thing, how do you create ultra-distilled water, and what are some contaminants that plague our waterways here on Earth?

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Guest: Dr. Shi En Kim

Mike and Kim unpack DSC: "Face the Strange" and "Mirrors." Can you use relativity to defeat a temporal shield? What do they make of Moll and L'ak's backstory?

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Guest: Dr. Shi En Kim

Mike and Kim take a closer look at DSC: "Jinaal." What do they make of the Trill's test? And why was Stamets so bubbly about isotope half-lives?

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Guest: Dr. Shi En Kim

Mike and Kim examine the themes in DSC: "Under the Twin Moons." What does it take to get a double solar eclipse? And what do they make of Captain Rayner's advice?

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Guest: Dr. Shi En Kim

Science journalist Dr. Shi En Kim joins Mike to talk about DSC: "Red Directive," from sand avalanches to the big revelation at the end of the episode.

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Guest: Dr. Stuart Bartlett

Complexity scientist, astrobiologist, and artificial life researcher Dr. Stuart Bartlett joins us to discuss how information processing has been a key feature of life, from its emergence 4 billion years ago to artificial intelligence today.

Stuart's paper "Provenance of life: Chemical autonomous agents surviving through associative learning": https://journals.aps.org/pre/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevE.106.034401

Mike & Stuart's paper "Searching for Life, Mindful of Lyfe’s Possibilities": https://www.mdpi.com/2075-1729/12/6/783

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