Lady Astronaut Series with author Mary Robinette Kowal
In this special episode, I got to ask a really smart person lots of questions. Specifically, the author, voice actor, puppeteer, and science...
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Science & Medicine
Fact and Science Fiction
A podcast about the real science behind your favorite science fiction themes and tropes. Each episode, I choose a recurring topic or two in science fiction, and then dive into how it works i...
Episodes
20 of 35 episodesSpecial announcement: Afrofuturism and diverse science fiction
I was going to create a podcast episode on afrofuturism but I found that this genre/aesthetic/artform can speak for itself so instead I'm go...
Cyborgs and Cybernetics
In this episode I discuss real examples of cyborgs, cybernetic organisms living today, human or otherwise, and these examples may surprise y...
Earthquakes & Landslides: Science of Disaster Movies
Disaster movies can be fun. They can be scary or thought-provoking. And they can be really, really bad. But how close are they to the scienc...
The Many Worlds Interpretation and Parallel Universes in Sci-Fi
In this episode of Fact and Science Fiction, I'm discussing the science and science fiction of parallel universes. I review the famous Many...
Animal Mimicry in Nature and Carpenter's The Thing
In this episode I'm sharing types of animal mimicry. From owl butterflies to cuckoo birds, to the "thing" from space. I discuss defensive mi...
Super Suits, Mechsuits, and Iron Man
We are obsessed with super suits. It is the peak of imagined technology. It’s like we have recognized the limits of the human body - and we...
The Flu in Stephen King's The Stand
There have been several pandemics in human history and few are as misunderstood as the flu. In Stephen King's The Stand, a flu epidemic wipe...
Science of Superheroes: Planet Comicon Live
This special live episode was recorded March 30 in Kansas City MO. I did a round-up of the science of superheroes and superpowers, including...
Going for Orbit with Kerbal Space Program
I play a video game! Join me as I launch a rocket to space, complete an orbit path, and return back to the planet on Kerbal Space Program. K...
Interview with Author David Siegel Bernstein
David Bernstein's Blockbuster Science has been a life-saver for my research for the podcast and I was so happy he agreed to be on the show!...
Climate Change and Eco Sci Fi
Climate change is an environmental phenomena that has huge implications for life on Earth in the next few decades. I researched climate chan...
Time Travel in Fiction... and Reality?
I am back from my hiatus to talk about time travel! Time travel as a theme has been BIG in stories since before the written word. I talk abo...
Bigfoot, Mothman and More: Cryptids in History and Today
For Halloween and the podcast’s first anniversary I dedicate this special episode to cryptids! Bigfoot, Mothman, Wendigos and Loch Ness Mons...
Data Science and Predicting Crime
Science fiction and reality blurs when it comes to data science and crime. This episode I discuss predictive policing using examples from Mi...
Atlantis and Ocean Exploration
What can we learn from early science fiction about the ocean? What technology was inspired from this ocean speculation? This episode I want...
Cretaceous and Jurassic: Dinosaurs
The Jurassic Park franchise has renewed interest in dinosaurs and speculation about bringing them back to life. But speculative and scifi au...
Space Colonization Part II: Space Stations
This episode I dive deep into space. I watched 2001: A Space Odyssey and Solaris (2002) for the first time! I specifically talk about the di...
Space Colonization Part I
This episode I break down colonizing another planet or moon. Will we find an exoplanet that can support life? What kind of challenges await...
Across the Stars: Space Travel
This episode I invite my friend Paul to help me tackle the gigantic topic of traveling across space. Using examples from Interstellar, Starg...