Podcast: Richard Dawkins Joins the Podcast Ranks

Posted on by onespaceman2000

Stay tuned for a new podcast from British evolutionary biologist and author Richard Dawkins. It is called The Poetry of Reality, and can be found here and elsewhere. The 2-minute preview clip sounds interesting as he discusses humans colonizing a new planet.

This is the write-up accompanying the new podcast:

The Poetry of Reality is hosted by world renowned evolutionary biologist and best-selling author, Professor Richard Dawkins. He has been celebrated globally for his honest critique of religion and tradition and his push for critical thinking. His books include The Selfish Gene, Climbing Mount Improbable, The God Delusion and Outgrowing God: A Beginner’s Guide. As founder of the Richard Dawkins Center for Reason and Science, Dawkins has long been known for his uncompromising passion for science, calling out for the pressing need in modern societies for scientific literacy and rational thinking, especially in the education of young minds. His relentless pursuit of truth, and his recognition of the beauty of life on earth, will feature in this podcast, as he charts his way through scientific and existential inquiries like ‘What are we doing here?’ and ‘When did life begin?’

I just listened to an interview with Dr. Dawson on another podcast, Unherd with Freddie Sayers. Listen to the last 3.5 minutes in the podcast for Dr. Dawson’s views on extraterrestrial life.

Podcast: A Conversation with William Shatner

Posted on by onespaceman2000

WTF Podcast host Marc Maron interviewed William Shatner recently. Overall, it was a fun conversation with Mr. Shatner discussing his early acting career, his family, his flight into space on Blue Origin, his various ongoing projects, and more.

In terms of projects, Mr. Shatner mentioned a variety of interests, including horse shows, television series, and even designing his own watch (shown below). Yes, the man is still busy in his 90s.

I recommend you check it out (the interview starts at about the 11 minute mark).

Note: One of the television series discussed is Fox’s new series Stars on Mars, which premieres today.

Image (Credit): New watch design created by William Shatner and Ilan Muallem Srulovicz. (Egard Watch Co.)

Podcast/Book Review: Jesuits Find an Exoplanet to Explore

Posted on by onespaceman2000

If you are looking for a new podcast as well as a new book, the two come together via the podcast Alienating the Audience. Comedian Andrew Heaton and his buddies have plenty of fun poking various science fiction topics, including Star Wars and Star Trek.

One of the recent episodes discussed a new book, The Sparrow, by author Mary Doria Russell. The story is about a group of Jesuits exploring a new planet with all of the mayhem that follows.

Here is a quick summary from the book itself:

A visionary work that combines speculative fiction with deep philosophical inquiry, The Sparrow tells the story of a charismatic Jesuit priest and linguist, Emilio Sandoz, who leads a scientific mission entrusted with a profound task: to make first contact with intelligent extraterrestrial life. The mission begins in faith, hope, and beauty, but a series of small misunderstandings brings it to a catastrophic end.

You can listen for yourself to this episode here at Jesuits in Space. But be careful, because there are a number of spoilers. You can always start with the book first, which is part of a series.

Credit: Ballantine Books

Podcast: Two Worlds Collide in This Episode

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): Artist’s rending of exoplanet GJ 1132b. (MIT News)

If you are looking for a fun podcast this week, you cannot go wrong with Neil DeGrasse Tyson’s Startalk podcast when it hosts Cool Worlds‘ creator David Kipping. The episode, Cosmic Queries – Cool Worlds with David Kipping, covers questions related to exoplanets, exomoons, and more. It is fun to hear the two scientists play off each other.

You will also learn from this podcast that Cool Worlds should be releasing its own podcast in the near future. Its Youtube videos are already a great source of information, so I expect more of the same in these podcasts.

At the end of the podcast, Professor Kipping also mentioned a few upcoming space missions related to exoplanets, including the European PLAnetary Transits and Oscillations of stars (Plato) mission in 2026. You can learn more about the mission from this European Space Agency factsheet, which notes:

Does a second Earth exist in the Universe? Planet hunter Plato will focus on the properties of rocky planets orbiting Sun-like stars. In particular, Plato will discover and characterise planets in orbits up to the habitable zone – the ‘goldilocks’ region around a star where the temperature is just right for liquid water to exist on a planet’s surface.

Plato will characterise hundreds of rocky (including Earth twins), icy or giant planets by providing exquisite measurements of their radii (3% precision), masses (better than 10% precision) and ages (10% precision). This will revolutionise our understanding of planet formation and the evolution of planetary systems, as well as the potential habitability of these diverse worlds.

As well as looking at these planets, Plato will analyse their host stars. Using data from the mission, scientists hope to perform stellar seismology, gathering evidence of ‘starquakes’ in the imaged stars. This will give insight into the characteristics and evolution of the stars, improving our understanding of entire planetary systems.

It’s a fun, fact-filled show worth your time.

A Day in Astronomy: The Birth of Kim Stanley Robinson

Posted on by onespaceman2000

On this day in 1952, science fiction writer Kim Stanley Robinson born in Waukegan, Illinois. As a writer, he has won numerous awards, including the Hugo Award for Best Novel, the Nebula Award for Best Novel and the World Fantasy Award. 

Some of his works include:

  • Mars Trilogy
  • Aurora
  • The Ministry of the Future
  • 2312
  • New York 2140
  • The Years of Rice and Salt
  • Three Californias Triptych

You can learn a lot more about the man and his work at this Kim Stanley Robinson reference site.

You might also enjoy this podcast, Crafting with Ursula : Kim Stanley Robinson on Ambiguous Utopias, where Mr. Robinson discusses his encounters with science fiction author Ursula LeGuin as well as his ideas about utopian novels.