Strange New Worlds: A Science & Star Trek Podcast

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

Guests: Dr. Kayla Iacovino & Dr. David Williams Can you really get high off of volcanic gases, like Cadet Tilly did in Star Trek: Discovery? Or stop a volcano from erupting, like Spock did in Into Darkness? Volcanologists Kayla Iacovino and David Williams are here to set the record straight about how volcanoes work both on Earth and across the solar system. Follow us on Twitter: Michael: @Miquai Kayla: @kaylai David: @davidaw222

Guest: Ollie Stephenson In Episode 43, Michael chats with geophysicist Ollie Stephenson about the science of earthquakes, using examples of earthquakes in Star Trek to guide the discussion. Caltech Letters: https://caltechletters.org/ Michael's story, "Stolen": https://caltechletters.org/science/stolen Follow us on Twitter! Michael: @Miquai Ollie: @SeismoOllie Caltech Letters: @caltechletters

Guest: Nicole Wallack In Episode 42, Michael sits down with Nicole Wallack to talk about the lighting, cinematography, and costuming of Season 1 of Star Trek: Discovery. Follow us on Twitter! Michael: @Miquai Nicole: @Nicole_Wallack

Guest: Professor Jonathan Lunine In Episode 41, Michael talks to Professor Jonathan Lunine about ocean worlds, the Cassini–Huygens mission, and searching for life on Enceladus.

Guest: Dr. Peter Gao In Episode 40, Michael chats with Dr. Peter Gao about various science and Star Trek topics, from Michael's thesis defense to DS9: "Starship Down" to whether or not Cancri IV in Star Trek: Discovery is a real exoplanet. Follow us on Twitter! Michael: @Miquai Peter: @PlanetaryGao

Guest: Dr. Peter Gao In this emergency episode of Strange New Worlds, Michael tags up with Dr. Peter Gao to dissect the BRAND-NEW Star Trek: Discovery Season 2 trailer that dropped at Comic-Con on Friday, June 20, 2018! Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yDIlBDRkPDI Follow us on Twitter! Michael: @Miquai Peter: @PlanetaryGao

Guest: Erika Carlson In Episode 39, Michael opens a hailing frequency to speak to Erika Carlson—a AAAS Mass Media Fellow at Discover magazine—about what it's like to be a science writer and why science communication is important, both in our society and in Star Trek. Erika's bibliography at Discover: http://discovermagazine.com/authors?name=Erika+K.+Carlson Follow us on Twitter! Michael: @Miquai Erika: @erikakcarlson

In Episode 38, Michael and Elise cover some recent Star Trek news, tell the story of how they met, watch ENT: "Two Days and Two Nights" and recap their own shore-leave adventures, and watch TNG: "Genesis" to facilitate a discussion of the theory of evolution. The Star Trek: Discovery Season 2 teaser: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tgohe_W_0Po "Boldly Go!" Caltech's Star Trek parody musical: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YdtBArmWHdY&t=1s Follow us on Twitter! Michael: @Miquai Elise: @emcuttsy

In this bonus episode of Strange New Worlds, Dr. Peter Gao helps Michael prepare for his PhD thesis defense and reminisces about his own Star Trek–themed dissertation talk. Follow Peter (@PlanetaryGao) on Twitter to watch a live stream of Michael's (@Miquai) thesis defense on Thursday, May 31, at 1:30 pm Pacific.

Guest: Harriet Brettle In Episode 37, Michael asks first-year Caltech planetary science graduate student Harriet Brettle, "Can science fiction predict the future?" We also talk about The Planetary Society—an international nonprofit foundation advocating for space exploration—that Harriet and Star Trek: Voyager's Bob Picardo are heavily involved in. Follow us on Twitter: Harriet: @harriet_brettle The Planetary Society: @exploreplanets Michael: @Miquai

Guest: Jon Wong In Episode 36, Michael brings aboard his brother, Jon Wong, to talk about diet and nutrition and critique the breakfast that Burnham orders for Tilly in DSC: "Lethe." Follow us on Twitter! Michael: @Miquai

Guest: Desun Oka In Episode 35, Michael and Desun Oka chat about Star Trek: Discovery's bonus scene featuring Section 31, clandestine organizations in general, and the metaphor behind the Battle of the Binary Stars. Bonus Scene: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGRJ4CvOvhc Follow us on Twitter! Michael: @Miquai

Guest: Dr. Pushkar Kopparla In Episode 34, Michael invites Dr. Pushkar Kopparla to speculate on what "polarize the hull plating" means and explain how he uses polarization in real life to characterize the properties of exoplanets. Follow us on Twitter! Michael: @Miquai

Guest: Dr. Stuart Bartlett In Episode 33, Michael and Elise continue their discussion about the origin and nature of life by bringing in Dr. Stuart Bartlett to share his "four pillars of life" and how molecular machines drive life's functions in the face of Brownian chaos. Follow us on Twitter! Elise: @emcuttsy Michael: @Miquai

In Episode 32, Michael and Elise watch TNG: "All Good Things..." and discuss different theories for the origin of life. Follow us on Twitter! Elise: @emcuttsy Michael: @Miquai

Guests: Cecilia Sanders, Shreyas Vissapragada, & Dr. James T. Keane In Episode 31, Michael recaps Star Trek: Discovery Season 1 by hosting a roundtable discussion featuring Cecilia Sanders, Shreyas Vissapragada, and Dr. James T. Keane, who are all joined by Elise Cutts via transporter midway through. Follow us on Twitter: James: @jtuttlekeane Elise: @emcuttsy Michael: @Miquai

Guest: Dr. Morgan Cable In Episode 30, Michael sits down with NASA JPL's Dr. Morgan Cable to talk about the exotic chemistry on Saturn's moon Titan and the possibility of life not as we know it. Follow us on Twitter: Morgan: @starsarecalling Michael: @Miquai

Guests: Dr. James T. Keane & Dr. Peter Gao In Episode 29, Michael and Elise are joined by Dr. James T. Keane & Dr. Peter Gao to talk about James' scientific illustrations from the 38th New Horizons Science Team Meeting, the #SuperBlueBloodMoon, and all of the wildest developments in Star Trek: Discovery. Follow us on Twitter! James: @jtuttlekeane Peter: @PlanetaryGao Elise: @emcuttsy Michael: @Miquai