Guest: Dr. Bob Hazen

Mike is joined by his Carnegie Science colleague Dr. Bob Hazen. Together, they have written a new popular science book titled "Time's Second Arrow: Evolution, Order, and a New Law of Nature," which launches on February 10, 2026. This book describes how the marvelously complex constituents of our universe came to be. Evolution, they boldly propose, is a universal phenomenon—not only in biology, but in the entire atomic, chemical, mineral, and physical universe. Showing how a natural process of selection for increasing function has shaped the universe since its inception, they explore how a new law of nature could possibly help us identify life on other planets and—perhaps—even understand the purpose and meaning of life on Earth in a new way.

"Time's Second Arrow: Evolution, Order, and a New Law of Nature" by Robert M. Hazen & Michael L. Wong: https://wwnorton.com/books/9781324105480

Bob & Mike's scientific papers that "Time's Second Arrow" is based on:

1. https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2310223120

2. https://academic.oup.com/pnasnexus/advance-article/doi/10.1093/pnasnexus/pgae248/7698354

3. https://royalsocietypublishing.org/rsfs/article/15/6/20250009/366157/Selective-funnelling-and-state-space-expansion-a

Guest: Dr. Caleb Scharf

Becoming a spacefaring civilization is a major transition in the story of life on Earth. Senior scientist for astrobiology at NASA Ames Dr. Caleb Scharf beams aboard to discuss the themes in his latest book, "The Giant Leap: Why Space Is the Next Frontier in the Evolution of Life," and what it all means for achieving a Star Trek future.

"The Giant Leap: Why Space Is the Next Frontier in the Evolution of Life" by Caleb Scharf: https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/caleb-scharf/the-giant-leap/9781541604186/?lens=basic-books

"Teaching A.I. to Detect Life: Carnegie Scientist Co-Leads NASA-Funded Effort": https://carnegiescience.edu/news/teaching-ai-detect-life-carnegie-scientist-co-leads-nasa-funded-effort

Follow us on Bluesky!

Mike: https://bsky.app/profile/miquai.bsky.social

Caleb: https://bsky.app/profile/calebscharf.bsky.social

Guest: Dr. Kristina Šekrst

Philosopher, linguist, and AI researcher Kristina Šekrst beams aboard to discuss the TNG episode "Darmok," where Picard and crew encounter the Tamarians, a species who only speak in metaphor. Why do we use metaphors? How would you lie in Tamarian? And can the universal translator ever exist?

Follow us on Bluesky!

Mike: https://bsky.app/profile/miquai.bsky.social

Kristina: https://bsky.app/profile/epiphenomenal.bsky.social

Guest: Dr. Anirudh Prabhu

Mike brings aboard Dr. Anirudh Prabhu to discuss an exciting new study of theirs that uses machine learning trained on organic chemical data to detect the "whispers" of life—including photosynthetic life—in ancient rocks. This exciting technique could one day be used to seek out new life on strange new worlds.

Mike & Anirudh's paper, "Organic geochemical evidence for life in Archean rocks identified by pyrolysis–GC–MS and supervised machine learning": https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2514534122

Follow us on Bluesky!

Mike: https://bsky.app/profile/miquai.bsky.social

Anirudh: https://bsky.app/profile/anirudhprabhu.bsky.social

Mike beams aboard Sean Carroll's Mindscape Podcast to talk about astrobiology, the origins of life, complexity, and the proposal for a "law of increasing functional information."

Pre-order your copy of "Time's Second Arrow: Evolution, Order, and a New Law of Nature" by Robert M. Hazen & Michael L. Wong: https://wwnorton.com/books/9781324105480

Mike's 2023 paper "On the roles of function and selection in evolving systems": https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2310223120

Learn more about Mindscape: https://www.preposterousuniverse.com/podcast/

Follow us on Bluesky!

Mike: https://bsky.app/profile/miquai.bsky.social

Sean: https://bsky.app/profile/seanmcarroll.bsky.social

Guest: Prof. Jason Kaufman

Professor Jason Kaufman beams aboard to chat about a trio of papers he wrote exploring the themes of human space exploration, sustainable futures, and our relationships to nature.

"An Interplanetary Land Ethic" by Kaufman et al. (2022): https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/abs/10.1089/scc.2021.0068

"Artemis and an environmentally sustainable future beyond earth" by Kaufman et al. (2023): https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0265964623000425?via%3Dihub

"A Case for Nature in Long-Haul Space Exploration" by Kaufman et al. (2023): https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0265964623000425

"Second Star to the Right: Essays on Leadership and Star Trek": https://vernonpress.com/book/2348?srsltid=AfmBOoryKvMaSjTZ6mTVevEgwGA2dg9LiHWD7Y8Jt1WpR-r05UoA4Imh

Guest: Bob Picardo

Legendary Star Trek actor Bob Picardo beams aboard to talk about his decades-long work with The Planetary Society and his involvement in this October's Day of Action, where over 200 space advocates gathered in D.C. to speak to members of Congress about the importance of funding NASA science.

Learn more about The Planetary Society: https://www.planetary.org/

Read about October's Day of Action: https://www.planetary.org/articles/second-2025-day-of-action-retrospective

Watch Caltech's "Boldly Go!" musical: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YdtBArmWHdY

Follow us on Bluesky!

Mike: https://bsky.app/profile/miquai.bsky.social

Bob: https://bsky.app/profile/robertpicardo.bsky.social

The Planetary Society: https://bsky.app/profile/planetarysociety.bsky.social

Mike reads his Noema Magazine essay "What Searching For Aliens Reveals About Ourselves."

Read the essay: https://www.noemamag.com/what-searching-for-aliens-reveals-about-ourselves/

Watch Mike's Royal Astronomical Society of Canada talk that inspired the essay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bewJxOCdM5I

Mike beams aboard Deep Space Love—a podcast that explores love, in all its forms, throughout the final frontier—to discuss the relationship between D'Vanna Tendi and Samanthan Rutherford on Star Trek: Lower Decks.

Check out more Deep Space Love: https://www.podpage.com/deep-space-love/

Follow us on Bluesky!

Mike: https://bsky.app/profile/miquai.bsky.social

Deep Space Love: https://bsky.app/profile/dslovepod.bsky.social

Guest: Emilie Lafleche

Astrobiologist Emilie Lafleche beams aboard to introduce us to the Habitable Worlds Observatory, a next-generation space-based telescope that will be designed specifically to seek out new life in the cosmos. Then, she and Mike discuss two collaborations at the intersection of science and society: principles of astrobioethics and the PortAL Linking Artists and Scientists (PALLAS).

Learn more about the Habitable Worlds Observatory: https://habitableworldsobservatory.org/home

Emilie & Mike's paper "How to chart a moral future for space exploration": https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-02070-3

Join the PALLAS mailing list: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScocUP4sZ9S4CF3BUnC85Tm2QPKLe39qE6cN5hFp5q7kep0rg/viewform