Guest: Gabriel Santos Paleontologist and science communicator Gabriel Santos beams aboard to share how Cosplay for Science, an initiative he co-founded, brings science education to Comic-Cons and other pop culture conventions. Then, he and Mike discuss the paleontology of the Star Trek: Voyager episode "Distant Origin." Learn more about Cosplay for Science: https://www.cosplayforscience.com/
Guests: Kayla Smith & Prof. Patrick Anderson Astrobiology Kayla Smith and philosopher Patrick Anderson beam aboard to celebrate the diversity of scientific thought that goes into astrobiology, and how astrobiology can continue to grow by pulling on threads from outside of science too. They co-authored a paper called "Epistemic Pluralism & Astrobiology" with host Mike Wong. Kayla, Patrick, and Mike's paper "Epistemic Pluralism & Astrobiology": https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007...
Guest: Dr. Katie Mack Cosmologist Katie Mack beams aboard to discuss how the universe will end. Using the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode "Chrysalis" as a launchpad, Katie and Mike go through various scenarios for the fate of everything: Will there be a "big crunch," a "big rip," or will it all simmer away into "heat death"? And is there anything we can do about it? "The End of Everything (Astrophysically Speaking)" by Katie Mack: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-End-of-Everything/K...
Guests: Joe Praska & Nicole Praska The hosts of Deep Space Love podcast, Joe & Nicole Praska, beam aboard to tell us about their "Antifascist Star Trek Watch List," a compilation of at least one episode from every major Star Trek series that contains themes of resistance to authoritarianism. "15 Episodes for Your Antifascist Star Trek Watch List" by Joe Praska: https://twincitiesgeek.com/2026/01/15-episodes-for-your-antifascist-star-trek-watch-list/ Join Mike & colleagues on April 13...
Guest: Dr. Bob Hazen Mike is joined by his Carnegie Science colleague Dr. Bob Hazen. Together, they have written a new popular science book titled "Time's Second Arrow: Evolution, Order, and a New Law of Nature," which launches on February 10, 2026. This book describes how the marvelously complex constituents of our universe came to be. Evolution, they boldly propose, is a universal phenomenon—not only in biology, but in the entire atomic, chemical, mineral, and physical universe. Showing how a ...
Guest: Dr. Caleb Scharf Becoming a spacefaring civilization is a major transition in the story of life on Earth. Senior scientist for astrobiology at NASA Ames Dr. Caleb Scharf beams aboard to discuss the themes in his latest book, "The Giant Leap: Why Space Is the Next Frontier in the Evolution of Life," and what it all means for achieving a Star Trek future. "The Giant Leap: Why Space Is the Next Frontier in the Evolution of Life" by Caleb Scharf: https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/caleb...
Guest: Dr. Kristina Šekrst Philosopher, linguist, and AI researcher Kristina Šekrst beams aboard to discuss the TNG episode "Darmok," where Picard and crew encounter the Tamarians, a species who only speak in metaphor. Why do we use metaphors? How would you lie in Tamarian? And can the universal translator ever exist? Follow us on Bluesky! Mike: https://bsky.app/profile/miquai.bsky.social Kristina: https://bsky.app/profile/epiphenomenal.bsky.social
Guest: Dr. Anirudh Prabhu Mike brings aboard Dr. Anirudh Prabhu to discuss an exciting new study of theirs that uses machine learning trained on organic chemical data to detect the "whispers" of life—including photosynthetic life—in ancient rocks. This exciting technique could one day be used to seek out new life on strange new worlds. Mike & Anirudh's paper, "Organic geochemical evidence for life in Archean rocks identified by pyrolysis–GC–MS and supervised machine learning": https://www.pn...
Mike beams aboard Sean Carroll's Mindscape Podcast to talk about astrobiology, the origins of life, complexity, and the proposal for a "law of increasing functional information." Pre-order your copy of "Time's Second Arrow: Evolution, Order, and a New Law of Nature" by Robert M. Hazen & Michael L. Wong: https://wwnorton.com/books/9781324105480 Mike's 2023 paper "On the roles of function and selection in evolving systems": https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2310223120 Learn more about Mind...
Guest: Prof. Jason Kaufman Professor Jason Kaufman beams aboard to chat about a trio of papers he wrote exploring the themes of human space exploration, sustainable futures, and our relationships to nature. "An Interplanetary Land Ethic" by Kaufman et al. (2022): https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/abs/10.1089/scc.2021.0068 "Artemis and an environmentally sustainable future beyond earth" by Kaufman et al. (2023): https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0265964623000425?via%3Dihub "A Ca...
Guest: Bob Picardo Legendary Star Trek actor Bob Picardo beams aboard to talk about his decades-long work with The Planetary Society and his involvement in this October's Day of Action, where over 200 space advocates gathered in D.C. to speak to members of Congress about the importance of funding NASA science. Learn more about The Planetary Society: https://www.planetary.org/ Read about October's Day of Action: https://www.planetary.org/articles/second-2025-day-of-action-retrospective Watch Calt...
Mike reads his Noema Magazine essay "What Searching For Aliens Reveals About Ourselves." Read the essay: https://www.noemamag.com/what-searching-for-aliens-reveals-about-ourselves/ Watch Mike's Royal Astronomical Society of Canada talk that inspired the essay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bewJxOCdM5I
Mike beams aboard Deep Space Love—a podcast that explores love, in all its forms, throughout the final frontier—to discuss the relationship between D'Vanna Tendi and Samanthan Rutherford on Star Trek: Lower Decks. Check out more Deep Space Love: https://www.podpage.com/deep-space-love/ Follow us on Bluesky! Mike: https://bsky.app/profile/miquai.bsky.social Deep Space Love: https://bsky.app/profile/dslovepod.bsky.social
Guest: Emilie Lafleche Astrobiologist Emilie Lafleche beams aboard to introduce us to the Habitable Worlds Observatory, a next-generation space-based telescope that will be designed specifically to seek out new life in the cosmos. Then, she and Mike discuss two collaborations at the intersection of science and society: principles of astrobioethics and the PortAL Linking Artists and Scientists (PALLAS). Learn more about the Habitable Worlds Observatory: https://habitableworldsobservatory.org/home...
Guest: Dr. Shi En Kim Science journalist Dr. Shi En Kim joins Mike to unpack his op-ed about how impending cuts to federal science funding will impact astrobiology—the search for life in the universe. "Federal Budget Cuts Would Sabotage NASA’s Plans to Find Alien Life" by Mike Wong: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/trumps-budget-cuts-would-sabotage-nasas-plans-to-find-alien-life/ Follow us on Bluesky! Mike: https://bsky.app/profile/miquai.bsky.social Kim: https://bsky.app/profile/goesb...
Guest: Dr. Una McCormack New York Times bestselling Star Trek author Dr. Una McCormack beams aboard to discuss the development of and themes within her latest Trek novel, "Strange New Worlds: Asylum." "Asylum" by Una McCormack: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Star-Trek-Strange-New-Worlds-Asylum/Una-McCormack/Star-Trek-Strange-New-Worlds/9781668051368 Follow us on Bluesky! Mike: https://bsky.app/profile/miquai.bsky.social Una: https://bsky.app/profile/unamccormack.bsky.social
Guest: Prof. Lisa Kaltenegger Professor Lisa Kaltenegger, Director of the Carl Sagan Institute at Cornell University, beams aboard to talk about her book, Alien Earths, the search for life in the cosmos, what exoplanets teach us about our home world, and her love for Star Trek. Alien Earths: The New Science of Planet Hunting in the Cosmos, by Lisa Kaltenegger: https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250283641/alienearths/
Guest: Thomas White Mike speaks to propulsion engineer Thomas White about their experience participating in The Planetary Society's 2025 Day of Action, where they met with six Congressional offices to lobby in support of space science at a critical time. Inspired to take action? Visit The Planetary Society's Action Center: https://www.planetary.org/action-center Follow us on Bluesky! Mike: https://bsky.app/profile/miquai.bsky.social The Planetary Society: https://bsky.app/profile/planetarysociet...
Guest: Dr. Shi En Kim Fungi are everywhere—from forests to deserts to cities to Star Trek! Science journalist Dr. Shi En Kim beams back aboard to talk about some of the latest developments in fungal research. "Can Fungi Save This Endangered Hawaiian Tree?" by Shi En Kim for Smithsonian Magazine: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/can-fungi-save-this-endangered-hawaiian-tree-180985171/ "Why scientists are enlisting fungi to save endangered plants" by Shi En Kim for Knowable Magazine: h...
In a few weeks, Professor Lisa Kaltenegger—the Director of the Carl Sagan Institute at Cornell University—will be a guest on Strange New Worlds to talk about the search for life in the universe. To prime us for that discussion, on this episode, Mike shares his review of Professor Kaltenegger's new book, "Alien Earths: The New Science of Planet Hunting in the Cosmos." Want to read Mike's review instead? Just click here: https://www.americanscientist.org/article/earth-2.0-could-be-just-around-the-...
Guest: Dr. Erin Macdonald Star Trek science consultant Dr. Erin Macdonald returns to unpack the quantum mechanical themes in the mind-bending and universe-hopping fifth and final season of Star Trek: Lower Decks. Crowdfunding for Erin's short film "Long Away": https://seedandspark.com/fund/long-away?token=c03b8b5fafc2effbb976d3c5566c1bddbb1154cb4a8b856e4ccde26c259585c4#story Follow us on Bluesky! Mike: https://bsky.app/profile/miquai.bsky.social Erin: https://bsky.app/profile/drerinmac.bsky.soci...
Guest: David Mack Award-winning Star Trek writer David Mack beams aboard to discuss his Star Trek: Picard novel Firewall, which tells the story of how Seven of Nine becomes a Fenris Ranger. More about Firewall: https://davidmack.pro/writing/firewall/ Follow us on Bluesky! Mike: https://bsky.app/profile/miquai.bsky.social David: https://bsky.app/profile/davidmack.bsky.social
Guest: Bernadette Mary Dineen Astrochemist Bernadette Mary Dineen speaks about her love for Star Trek: The Original Series, her quest to search for life on Mars, her experience participating in the NASA Astrobiology Mission Ideation Factory, and her TEDxTufts talk "Looking Out Is Looking In." Bernadette's TEDxTufts talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2nT7g3nOWxs
Guest: Dr. Shi En Kim Science journalist Dr. Shi En Kim joins Mike to discuss the final episodes of Star Trek: Lower Decks, from Tendi and T'Lyn's competitive relationship in "Fully Dilated" to Malor's crucial insight in "The New Next Generation." Follow us on Bluesky! Mike: https://bsky.app/profile/miquai.bsky.social Kim: https://bsky.app/profile/goesbykim.bsky.social
Guest: Dr. Anirudh Prabhu Artificial intelligence is rapidly becoming a part of every aspect of our lives—and science is no exception. Data scientist Dr. Anirudh Prabhu returns to the show to discuss the 2024 Nobel Prizes involving AI. Then, Anirudh and Mike use the Lower Decks episode "The Stars at Night" as a launchpad to talk about how they're using AI to help search for signs of life in the universe. Anirudh & Mike's paper "A robust, agnostic molecular biosignature based on machine learn...
Guest: Dr. Shi En Kim Mike and science journalist Shi En Kim discuss the first half of Star Trek: Lower Decks' fifth season. Is solar sailing a real thing? When is it advantageous to play dead? Follow us on Bluesky! Mike: https://bsky.app/profile/miquai.bsky.social Kim: https://bsky.app/profile/goesbykim.bsky.social
Guest: Prof. Amitai Shenhav On this episode, Mike is joined by his fellow TEDxNewEngland speaker Amitai Shenhav, a professor of psychology at UC Berkeley who is known for his work on decision making. How does Prof. Shenhav use Star Trek (or attempt to, at least) in his psychology classes? And what does his research reveal about how to make tough decisions? Follow us on Twitter! Strange New Worlds: twitter.com/scienceoftrek Mike: twitter.com/miquai Amitai: twitter.com/amitaishenhav
On this short solo episode, Mike shares his TEDxNewEngland experience. Mike's paper, "On the roles of function and selection in evolving systems": https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2310223120 Follow us on Twitter! Strange New Worlds: twitter.com/scienceoftrek Mike: twitter.com/miquai
Guest: Dr. Erin Macdonald Dr. Erin Macdonald, the official science advisor for the Star Trek universe, joins us to discuss the science behind Season 5 of Star Trek: Discovery and Season 2 of Star Trek: Prodigy. "Chromatin remodeling in tribbles in Star Trek: Prodigy" by Prof. Mohamed Noor: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2PePbR3FPk Erin's Nerd Nite talk, "Faster-Than-Light Travel in Science Fiction": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Lw7JOgQ_MI Mike's Nerd Nite talk, "The Astrobiology of Star Tr...
Guests: Prof. Jason A. Kaufman & Prof. Aaron M. Peterson Professors Jason A. Kaufman and Aaron M. Peterson join us to discuss their sweeping book "Leadership in Star Trek: Lessons from the Captain's Chair." Learn how communication, patience, and relationship underpin every good leader, from Burnham to Picard. Book: https://mcfarlandbooks.com/product/leadership-in-star-trek/ Follow us on Twitter! Strange New Worlds: twitter.com/scienceoftrek Mike: twitter.com/miquai Jason: twitter.com/vagabon...
