Strange New Worlds: A Science & Star Trek Podcast

Welcome to 2019! In this first episode of what's bound to be a Star Trek–packed year, Mike gears up for Season 2 of Star Trek: Discovery by reviewing the first four Short Treks episodes. Also inside: how science is benefitting restoration and preservation projects in the Angkor region of Cambodia! Brandon-Shea Mutala's recent interviews with Star Trek composer's on TrekFM's Melodic Treks podcast: Dennis McCarthy: http://www.trek.fm/melodic-treks/89 Nicholas Meyer: http://www.trek.fm/melodic-treks/93 Cliff Eidelman: http://www.trek.fm/melodic-treks/94 Follow me on Twitter! Mike: @Miquai

Guest: Elise Cutts In the final episode of 2018, Michael interviews former co-host Elise Cutts about the Short Treks episode "Calypso." Also, there's plenty of space news—from InSight to OSIRIS-REx to Voyager 2. Astro Vlog: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vl__Ae2qk1Y&t=2s Michael's Planetary Report story on the emergence of life: http://www.planetary.org/explore/the-planetary-report/the-making-of-life.html Follow us on Twitter! Michael: @Miquai Elise: @emcuttsy

Guests: Dr. Peter Gao, Dr. Laura Mayorga, Danica Adams Michael is joined by Dr. Peter Gao, Dr. Laura Mayorga, and Danica Adams to recap the 2018 Division for Planetary Science meeting. Each summarizes the science that they presented at #DPS18 and shares their favorite aspect of the conference. Also, Peter talks about how he hid subtle Star Trek references in his conference talk and faculty applications. Follow us on Twitter! Michael: @Miquai Peter: @PlanetaryGao Laura: @mayorgalc

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

Guest: Cecilia Sanders The pages of Earth's history are written in its rocks, and geobiologist Cecilia Sanders is interested in a sequence of rocks that tell the story of one of Earth's coldest periods: the Cryogenian. In order to read those pages—and the fossilized fine-print that describes life some 600-700 million years ago—she has to embark on an away mission to Namibia. Follow us on Twitter! Michael: @Miquai Elise: @emcuttsy

In Episode 45, Dr. Peter Gao takes over Strange New Worlds to interview Michael and Dr. James T. Keane about their experiences at the 2018 Star Trek Las Vegas convention. Follow us on Twitter: Michael: @Miquai Peter: @PlanetaryGao James: @jtuttlekeane