Dumb Stuff In Space with Assoc. Prof. Michael Brown (471)

We're living through the great Space Boom and with great innovation comes a lot of whacky ideas... Astronomer and Associate Professor Michael Brown from Monash University joins me to discuss stupid things in space. The conversation dives into some of the more bizarre and ambitious ideas circulating the space industry, from firing villains and radioactive waste in to the sun to deploying giant orbital mirrors to light up Earth's dark side. Brown breaks down why many of these concepts are far less practical than they sound. With over 15,000 satellites circling earth, Brown also examines the promises and downsides of mega-constellations like Starlink, including how they operate and the challenges they pose for astronomers and the environment. It's a fascinating and critical peek in to the intersection of innovation, risk, and imagination in the new space age.

You can listen to Dumb Stuff In Space with Assoc. Prof. Michael Brown (471) online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

Dumb Stuff In Space with Assoc. Prof. Michael Brown (471) is an episode from Shirtloads of Science by Karl Kruszelnicki.

This episode is 33:08 long.

This episode was published on Apr 25, 2026.

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