Guest: Dr. Anirudh Prabhu Artificial intelligence is rapidly becoming a part of every aspect of our lives—and science is no exception. Data scientist Dr. Anirudh Prabhu returns to the show to discuss the 2024 Nobel Prizes involving AI. Then,
Guest: Dr. Shi En KimMike and science journalist Shi En Kim discuss the first half of Star Trek: Lower Decks' fifth season. Is solar sailing a real thing? When is it advantageous to play dead?Follow us on Bluesky!Mike: https://bsky.app/pro
Guest: Prof. Amitai Shenhav On this episode, Mike is joined by his fellow TEDxNewEngland speaker Amitai Shenhav, a professor of psychology at UC Berkeley who is known for his work on decision making. How does Prof. Shenhav use Star Trek (or a
On this short solo episode, Mike shares his TEDxNewEngland experience.Mike's paper, "On the roles of function and selection in evolving systems": https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2310223120Follow us on Twitter!Strange New Worlds: twi
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 tribb
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,
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 explorat
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
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?Follow
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?Follow us on Twitter!Strange New Worlds: twitter.com/scienc
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?Follow us on Twitter!Strange New Worlds: twitter.com/scienceoftrekMike:
Guest: Dr. Shi En KimMike 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?Follow us on Twitter!Strange New Worlds: twitter.com/sci
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.Follow us on Twitter!Strange New Worlds: twitter.com/scienceoftrek
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 artif
Guest: Prof. Paul Rimmer In the Star Trek: The Next Generation finale, Q and Picard time travel to the origin of life on Earth. How does that scene compare to our modern scientific understanding of life's emergence? Prof. Paul Rimmer walks us
Guest: Jaime Green Author Jaime Green beams aboard to talk about how we imagine alien life in science and in science fiction. Her new book is "The Possibility of Life: Science, Imagination, and Our Quest for Kinship in the Cosmos.""The Poss
Guest: Kayla Smith Getting accepted to grad school isn't something that happens every day. Episode 167 of Strange New Worlds is dedicated to celebrating Kayla Smith, an undergraduate who works with Mike, and her recent acceptances to PhD prog
Guest: Elise Cutts Science journalist Elise Cutts returns to reflect on Caltech's 2016 Star Trek musical, "Boldly Go!", and dissect the 2023 Star Trek: Strange New Worlds musical episode, "Subspace Rhapsody."Watch "Boldly Go! A Star Trek Pa
On the first episode of 2024, we present Mike's interview on the Dice in Mind podcast, where hosts Jason and Brad ask Mike about his scientific journey, his podcasting journey, and his Star Trek journey.Follow us on Twitter!Strange New World
Guests: Jason von Stietz & David SmithSport psychologists Jason von Stietz and David Smith return for the final installment of our trilogy about Data as a strategist. In this episode, we analyze how Data defeats Lore in PIC: "Surrender" and s
Guests: Jason von Stietz & David SmithSport psychologists Jason von Stietz and David Smith return for part two of our trilogy about Data as a strategist. In this episode, we examine how Data deals with prejudice from his subordinates while co
Guests: Jason von Stietz & David Smith Sport psychologists Jason von Stietz and David Smith join Mike to explore Data's evolution as a strategist. In Part I of this conversation, they focus on TNG: "Peak Performance," where Data faces off aga
Guest: Desun Oka Historian Desun Oka beams aboard to talk about the intersection of nationalism and Star Trek. The United Federation of Planets is often likened to the United States of America, but in space. In what ways is the Federation lik
On this short solo episode, Mike shares his address to the students of the 2023 International Society for Artificial Life summer school.Read more about the concept of "lyfe": https://www.mdpi.com/2075-1729/10/4/42Read more about the concept
Guests: Tim Russ & Dr. Kayla Iacovino On this episode of Strange New Worlds, we're bringing you a panel that Mike hosted for the Nichelle Nichols Foundation's "Hailing Frequencies Open!" speaker series. This panel features Star Trek actor and