The very first On Orbit podcast episode of 2022 features a discussion about the possibilities and challenges related to our future in space with one of the most influential physicists in the world today. Dr. Michio Kaku, science correspondent for “CBS This Morning,” and an international best selling author of 10 books, was recently awarded a lifetime achievement award by The Arthur C. Clarke Foundation for “exceptional contributions as a theoretical physicist, futurist, and science popularizer.”

Just moments before receiving the award, Kaku joined us for a discussion about humanity’s recent accomplishments in space and his role in popularizing science education. We chat about his latest book, “The God Equation: The Quest for the Theory of Everything and Future of Humanity, and The Future of the Mind,” – his ambitious quest to realize Einstein’s dream of a “theory of everything.” 

We also talk about the need for new global space policy in the wake of recent Russian anti-satellite weapon tests and the need to update 60-year-old treaties that have kept the space environment neutral and cooperative for generations. Finally, we talk about the significance of the James Webb Space Telescope launch and how it could force us to rewrite our science textbooks! (Note - the interview was conducted before the James Webb Space Telescope launch, so we talk about it in the future tense).