Fri, Jan 6, 2023
Metaverses and 3D environments are giving us glimpses of humanity's future among the stars, a purview once reserved to science fiction. We talk with Tony Tellado, host of the Sci-Fi Talk podcast. --- To kick off the new year, we'll be looking at our collective future in space, as seen through the new tools of interactive 3D environments. Such prescience was once exclusively the hallmark of science-fiction. Today, as Star Trek goes into its sixth decade with hit-or-miss series, movies and episodes, as the Rolling Stones of sci-fi franchises, a revolutionary new media is taking shape. Later in the episode, we will welcome Tony Tellado, host of the Sci-Fi Talk podcast to the show, discussing how the development of metaverses is shaping insights into the future of the human race.
Fri, Jan 13, 2023
We welcome Shark Week regular Paul de Gelder to the show. We will be talking about his new book, Shark: Why We Need to Save the World's Most Misunderstood Predator. Life on other worlds is likely to be far different than life on Earth. However, most lifeforms throughout the Cosmos are likely to share a few common traits. The laws of chemistry and physics suggest that carbon is an ideal chemical backbone for the formation of life, and water is a perfect medium if you want to create a bunch of complex chemicals and spread them around a planet. Also many lifeforms on Earth depend on other life for their sustenance and survival. Even herbivores and vegans consume other forms of life. We can't all be plants, living off photosynthesis, all snooty and stuff, you know... This means that life on other worlds is likely to include... PREDATORS FROM SPACE.
Sat, Jan 21, 2023
We look at Teaching Kids About Space, as we welcome astronomer Dean Regas to the show. He is the author of a new book, 1,000 Facts About Space from National Geographic Kids. In years past, students didn't have a lot of resources for learning about the stars and planets. They would have to rely on books, or perhaps a telescope if they were lucky. But all that began to change in the 20th century. In the 1920s and 30s, planetariums began to pop up in schools and museums around the world. These dome-shaped theaters make use of special projectors, simulating the night sky, providing viewers with an up-close and personal look at the stars and planets. This was a game changer for astronomy education, as it allowed kids and adults a means to experience the night sky in a way that wasn't possible before that time.
Fri, Jan 27, 2023
The Apollo and Artemis programs are just the first steps on humanity's journey to the stars. We talk with NASA historian Andy Saunders. We will be talking with NASA historian Andy Saunders. His new book, Apollo Remastered, is filled with never-before-seen and newly-remastered photographs exploring the history of humanity's first forays to our planetary companion. The Apollo Program, one of the greatest accomplishments in human history, lifted off (Ha. See what I did there?) in 1961, when President John F. Kennedy announced that the United States would put an astronaut on the moon before the end of the decade, a goal many people considered impossible.
Fri, Feb 3, 2023
We look at the future of living on Mars, talking with James Burk, executive director of The Mars Society --- This week on The Cosmic Companion, we look at our shared future, living on the surface of the Red Planet. Later in the show, we'll be talking with James Burk, executive director of The Mars Society. Science-fiction has fueled the human quest to live on Mars for generations, from the technically-adept-if-illness-prone aliens of H.G. Wells' "The War of the Worlds," onward to Ray Bradbury's "The Martian Chronicles," and through Red Mars from Kim Stanley Robinson. Writers have long envisioned a future where humans have the technology to terraform the Red Planet, making it hospitable for life. The idea of settling our planetary neighbor is so common in science fiction that it's nearly impossible to separate the genre from the idea of living on Mars.