Michael recaps the exciting science from the first three days of the 2018 Division for Planetary Sciences (DPS) Meeting in a series of Captain's Logs. DPS is the annual conference for planetary scientists of the American Astronomical Society (AAS).

Follow me on Twitter!

Michael: @Miquai

Guest: Dr. Peter Gao

In this BONUS episode of Strange New Worlds, Michael and Dr. Peter Gao pick apart the Discovery Season 2 trailer (released at the New York Comic Con in October) from a science and Star Trek perspective.

NYCC Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6eoD9rQHL4

Oxygen on Mars, from PBS/NOVA: https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/article/living-mars-oxygen/

Follow us on Twitter!

Michael: @Miquai

Peter: @PlanetaryGao

Guest: Dr. Peter Gao

Postcard: Dr. James T. Keane

Dr. Peter Gao visits Michael in Seattle to share his research on how atmospheric oxygen can be made without life. Such copious amounts of oxygen might fool astronomers as false-positive biosignatures—but there are clever ways to combat this uncertainty. Then, Michael and Peter respond to Dr. James T. Keane's digital postcard reviewing the first-ever Short Treks episode, "Runaway."

Follow us on Twitter!

Michael: @Miquai

Peter: @PlanetaryGao

James: @jtuttlekeane

In this BONUS episode of Strange New Worlds, Michael wishes you a Happy Thanksgiving and talks about the recent groundbreaking discovery of the amino acid tryptophan deep below the bottom of the ocean—and what that might mean for the origin of life.

Follow us on Twitter!

Michael: @miquai

Guests: Dr. Tony Del Genio, Maria Steinrueck, Ryan MacDonald

Clouds and hazes play important roles in controlling planetary climates and can both help and get in the way of astronomers who are trying to learn about an exoplanet. In this episode, Michael interviews scientists at The Cloud Academy at the Les Houches Advanced School for Physics, and stumbles upon some surprising connections to Star Trek.

Follow us on Twitter!

Michael: @Miquai

NASA NExSS (contributed to by Tony): @nexssinfo

Maria: @MariaSteinrueck

Ryan: @MartianColonist

Guest: Desun Oka

The Kepler Space Telescope has discovered thousands of exoplanets—perhaps some of them are ripe for future human colonies. But is colonialism the right framework to think about humanity's expansion into the cosmos? Or is it a problematic concept mired in our own Eurocentric/Amerocentric mythologies? Historian Desun Oka helps me discuss how colonialism is reflected in science fiction at large, whether the Space Force an extension of manifest destiny, and why Vulcans are the Orientals of Star Trek.

Follow us on Twitter:

Michael: @Miquai

Desun: @desunoka

Guests: Dr. Laura Mayorga, Dr. Peter Gao, Dr. Alex Lockwood, Dr. James T. Keane, Dr. Rob Zellem, Josh Lothringer

We time travel to Day 4 of the 2018 DPS Meeting, where Michael interviews planetary scientists about the breaking news of Star Trek: Lower Decks, an animated comedy series coming to CBS All-Access.

Follow us on Twitter!

Michael: @Miquai

Laura: @mayorgalc

Peter: @PlanetaryGao

Alex: @AskAstroAlex

James: @jtuttlekeane

Josh: @JDLothringer

For their final episode together at Caltech before Michael leaves for the University of Washington, Elise and Michael choose a random Star Trek episode and comment on the exciting science that they find within! Get ready for a random journey of asteroids, life detection, and facepalms.

Follow us on Twitter:

Michael: @Miquai

Elise: @emcuttsy

Guest: Celeste Labedz

"The Vulcans say that the desert teaches men the meaning of endurance, but it's the ice that forges real strength." In Episode 48, cryoseismologist Celeste Labedz talks about the science of glaciers and how knowing more about the physics of ice could have helped Captain Archer and Shran during their visit to Andoria in ENT: "The Aenar."

Follow us on Twitter:

Michael: @Miquai

Celeste: @celestelabedz

Guest: Brian Brophy

BREAKING! We have our very first Star Trek alumnus on Strange New Worlds! Brian Brophy portrayed Commander Bruce Maddox in the seminal episode of TNG "The Measure of a Man" and is now the director of Theater Arts at Caltech. In this episode, Brian tells us about going face-to-face with Patrick Stewart on the set of Star Trek, putting on a Star Trek parody musical at Caltech, and how he believes that the art of storytelling can bring scientists to their full potential.

Watch "Boldly Go!" on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YdtBArmWHdY&t=1s

Follow us on Twitter!

Michael: @Miquai

Theater Arts at Caltech: @CaltechPlayers