Location:
United States
Description:
Cosmic Log's podcast from the place where science and technology intersect with science fiction and popular culture, hosted by science writer Alan Boyle and science-fiction writer Dominica Phetteplace. Become a supporter for less than (or more than) a dollar a month.
Language:
English
Website:
https://www.cosmiclog.com
Episodes
The real 'Project Hail Mary': Looking for E.T.
3/10/2026
SETI astronomer Seth Shostak talks about the parallels between the alien connection in "Project Hail Mary" and the real-world search for signs of extraterrestrial intelligence.
Duration:00:23:23
Occupy Mars? Or the moon? Get a reality check
2/17/2026
Now Elon Musk wants to build a city on the moon before building a city on Mars. Biologist Scott Solomon, author of a new book titled "Becoming Martian," sizes up the prospects for building a city anywhere that's beyond Earth.
Duration:00:42:43
Why NASA is going nuclear on the moon
1/30/2026
Aerospace consultant Roger Myers explains why space nuclear power will play a big role in the competition between the U.S. and China to establish bases on the moon in the 2030s.
Duration:00:46:11
Pluto shines as a science-fiction star
10/31/2025
Space scientist Les Johnson tells the story behind his role in creating "Pluto," the last novel in sci-fi master Ben Bova's Grand Tour series and one of the first works of fiction to incorporate revelations from NASA's New Horizons mission.
Duration:00:33:46
Native American legends are woven into a UFO tale
10/13/2025
Cherokee science-fiction author Daniel H. Wilson blends ancient tales about extraterrestrials with up-to-date speculation about alien visitations in a new novel called "Hole in the Sky."
Duration:00:33:06
'Rocket Dreams' and rocket realities
9/25/2025
Washington Post staff writer Christian Davenport, author of "Rocket Dreams," discusses the parallel space races between America and China, and between Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos.
Duration:00:39:47
Thriller explores Florida's flooded future
8/11/2025
Tim Chawaga, the author of a climate-fiction thriller titled "Salvagia," weaves the implications of future sea-level rise and other high-tech twists into a Florida murder mystery.
Duration:00:30:02
Dinosaur facts vs. fiction in 'Jurassic World: Rebirth'
7/4/2025
Tech pioneer Nathan Myhrvold and paleontologist Thomas Holtz discuss how dinosaur science has evolved over the past three decades - and do a reality check on the latest "Jurassic World" dino-movie.
Duration:00:59:37
How the Rubin Observatory will change astronomy
6/18/2025
Mario Juric, director of the University of Washington's DiRAC Institute, explains why astronomers are celebrating the Vera C. Rubin Observatory's "First Look" at the cosmos - and tells you how to join the party.
Duration:00:34:58
Get a reality check on AI hype
5/19/2025
Emily M. Bender and Alex Hanna, authors of "The AI Con," say the benefits of AI are being played up while the costs are being played down — and they lay out strategies for fighting the hype.
Duration:00:40:42
How dictators use tech in fact and fiction
4/1/2025
Science-fiction author Ray Nayler talks about his latest book, "Where the Axe Is Buried," a chilling tale of AI-powered repression and resistance that was inspired by current events as well as Nayler's familiarity with authoritarianism.
Duration:00:43:46
How humans will be reinvented for life in space
3/8/2025
Copies of human bodies can't be printed out, as shown in the space-based satire "Mickey 17," but biomedical researcher Christopher Mason says it should be possible to re-engineer humans to make them more suited for living in space.
Duration:00:30:49
Mary Roach on the science of space sex
2/13/2025
In a Valentine's Day episode, Mary Roach, the author of "Packing for Mars," brings us up to date on one of the big questions about living in space: What would zero-G sex be like?
Duration:00:21:32
Scientists dream up solar system adventures
1/29/2025
Planetary scientist John E. Moores and astrophysicist Jesse Rogerson weave tales about interplanetary adventures that are like nothing on Earth in a book titled "Daydreaming in the Solar System."
Duration:00:23:45
Will AI cross the line into personhood?
11/5/2024
Law professor James Boyle, author of "The Line: AI and the Future of Personhood," explains why he thinks intelligent machines will eventually be considered persons.
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Duration:00:39:08
How to defend against disinformation
10/21/2024
TrueMedia.org founder Oren Etzioni and Annalee Newitz, author of "Stories Are Weapons," discuss the escalating arms race between the purveyors of political disinformation and those who are trying to defend against it.
Duration:00:41:26
Hard science fiction explained
9/4/2024
Allan Kaster, the editor of "The Year's Top Hard Science Fiction Stories," traces the connections between science fiction and real-world science.
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Duration:00:28:40
Authors of 'The Expanse' create their next saga
8/8/2024
Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck, who wrote the books of "The Expanse" sci-fi series under the pen name James S.A. Corey, talk about the completely different alien-invasion saga they're in the midst of creating.
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Duration:00:32:45
OpenScope focuses on the mind's mysteries
7/28/2024
Allen Institute neuroscientist Jerome Lecoq explains how the OpenScope program is expanding the frontiers of brain science, from the effects of psychedelic substances to the mechanisms of memory.
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Duration:00:25:46
The fact and fiction of moonshot marketing
7/12/2024
Marketing executive Richard Jurek, co-author of "Marketing the Moon," talks about how NASA sold the Apollo space effort — and how that campaign is portrayed in a new movie titled "Fly Me to the Moon," starring Scarlett Johansson and Channing Tatum.
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Duration:00:35:44