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PODCAST

Strange New Worlds: A Science & Star Trek Podcast

Michael L. Wong

Hosted by planetary scientist and astrobiologist Dr. Michael L. Wong, Strange New Worlds examines science, technology, and culture through the lens of Star Trek!

science

All Episodes

01:07:16

Episode 127: DSC 401–407 + PRO 106 + JWST's Launch

Strange New Worlds: A Science & Star Trek Podcast ·

2022/01/09

Guest: Dr. Peter Gao Planetary scientist Dr. Peter Gao beams aboard to discuss: the first half of Star Trek: Discovery's fourth season; the latest Star Trek: Prodigy episode, "Kobayashi"; and the successful launch and deployment of JWST, humanity's most powerful space telescope ever built. "The Five Big Ways the James Webb Telescope Will Help Astronomers Understand the Universe" by Shi En Kim:

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00:54:44

Episode 126: In Celebration of Vaccines

Strange New Worlds: A Science & Star Trek Podcast ·

2022/01/02

Guest: Jon Wong Thanks to the development of COVID-19 vaccines, many people around the world could once again feel safe gathering with loved ones over the holidays. In this episode, we celebrate the science of vaccines by talking to medical student Jon Wong about the Deep Space Nine episode "The Quickening," where Dr. Julian Bashir develops a vaccine that saves an entire planet from a horrendous viral blight. Follow Mike on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Miquai

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00:18:50

DSC 405: The Power of a Hypergiant Star

Strange New Worlds: A Science & Star Trek Podcast ·

2021/12/18

Response to DSC: "The Examples" On the latest episode of Star Trek: Discovery, Tarka deduces that the DMA has the power of a hypergiant star. Can we use that info to estimate some key stats of the USS Discovery? Follow Mike on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Miquai

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00:21:28

DSC 404: Interdisciplinarity

Strange New Worlds: A Science & Star Trek Podcast ·

2021/12/11

Response to DSC: "All Is Possible" On the latest episode of Star Trek: Discovery, Lt. Sylvia Tilly leads a cadet training exercise to survey a planetary body. Along the way, she makes a profound personal discovery. Mike shares his reaction to Tilly's mission and her revelation. Interdisciplinary organizations that Mike mentions: The Virtual Planetary Laboratory: https://depts.washington.edu/naivpl/content/welcome-virtual-planetary-laboratory The AEThER Project:

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00:17:47

DSC 403: Memory Distortion

Strange New Worlds: A Science & Star Trek Podcast ·

2021/12/04

Response to DSC: "Choose to Live" In an attempt to unravel the mystery of the Dark Matter Anomaly, President T'Rina mind melds with Book to reexamine his memories of Kwejian's destruction. Can personal memories of traumatic events be trusted? Memory distortion references: Strange & Takarangi's paper "Memory distortion for traumatic events: the role of mental imagery": https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2015.00027/full An interview with neuroscientist Donna Bridge:

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00:15:33

DSC 402: The Gravitational Anomaly

Strange New Worlds: A Science & Star Trek Podcast ·

2021/12/01

Response to DSC: "Anomaly" In the second episode of Discovery's fourth season, the crew goes face-to-face with the dangerous anomaly that radiates gravitational waves and leaves only destruction in its wake. Can you ride a gravitational wave? And why could the anomaly have a seemingly chaotic trajectory through space? A helpful Astrobites article about black hole "superkicks": https://astrobites.org/2018/03/08/recoil-detectives-searching-for-black-hole-kicks-using-gravitational-waves/ Follow

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00:20:30

DSC 401: Magnetoreception & Disorientation

Strange New Worlds: A Science & Star Trek Podcast ·

2021/11/20

Response to DSC: "Kobayashi Maru" In the first episode of Discovery's fourth season, we meet the Alshain, who navigate by their planet's magnetic field, which is in the processes of reversing polarity. Do planetary magnetic fields actually flip? And do real-life organisms use magnetism to orient themselves? Paper about protist–magnetic bacteria symbiosis: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41564-019-0432-7 Paper about human magnetoreception: https://authors.library.caltech.edu/90480/ Follow Mike

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01:06:53

Episode 125: The Ascent of Information

Strange New Worlds: A Science & Star Trek Podcast ·

2021/10/04

Guests: Dr. Caleb Scharf & Dr. Stuart Bartlett One thing—perhaps the thing—that sets humans apart is the way we encode information in our environment. In his book "The Ascent of Information," Caleb Scharf, Director of Astrobiology at Columbia University, coined a new name for this externalization of data. It's the "dataome"—like the "biome" because this information can be seen as a living system in its own right. On this exciting episode of Strange New Worlds, Mike is joined by Dr. Scharf as well

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00:40:08

Episode 124: Tardigrade Genes & Other Science Stories

Strange New Worlds: A Science & Star Trek Podcast ·

2021/09/23

Guest: Shi En Kim Science journalist Shi En Kim joins Mike to read their StarTrek.com article about how scientists are transplanting tardigrade genes into human cells à la Stamets in Star Trek: Discovery. Then, Kim joins Mike to share some science stories from her AAAS Mass Media Fellowship at Smithsonian Magazine and their connections to Star Trek. Kim & Mike's StarTrek.com article "Discovery's Tardigrades Are Making a Name For Themselves in Our World":

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00:47:35

Episdoe 123: The Borgs in Your Backyard

Strange New Worlds: A Science & Star Trek Podcast ·

2021/09/12

Guest: Basem Al-Shayeb Special Co-Host: Elise Cutts Scientists recently announced the discovery of Borgs (yes, Borgs), which they describe as giant genetic elements that assimilate DNA from their archaeal hosts. We speak to the lead author of the Borg paper—UC Berkeley graduate student Basem Al-Shayeb—about finding the Borgs, their global implications, and, of course, the story behind their naming. Basem's paper, "Borgs are giant extrachromosomal elements with the potential to augment methane

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00:52:32

Episode 122.5: BONUS! An Atomic Interview with Mike

Strange New Worlds: A Science & Star Trek Podcast ·

2021/09/06

Luke Tower is a high school student with a passion for science and engineering who is trying to figure out what he wants to study. As part of this journey, he's been interviewing different kinds of STEM professionals on his podcast, Atomic Interviews. On this BONUS episode of Strange New Worlds, we're listening to an interview that Luke did with Mike about planetary science, astrobiology, and Mike's career path. Enjoy! Atomic Interviews:

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01:02:36

Episode 122: Diversity in Science & Star Trek

Strange New Worlds: A Science & Star Trek Podcast ·

2021/08/29

Guests: Prof. Myriam Telus, Dr. Jessie Christiansen, Dr. James T. Keane, and Dr. Tiffany Kataria Mike hosts a panel discussion about diversity in science & Star Trek, which initially aired live on July 18, 2021, at the IDIC Podcast Festival hosted by Women at Warp. Rewatch all of the IDIC Podcast Festival sessions: https://www.womenatwarp.com/idic-fest/ Follow us on Twitter! Mike: https://twitter.com/Miquai Jessie: https://twitter.com/aussiastronomer James: https://twitter.com/jtuttlekeane

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01:19:52

Episode 121: Climate Change & Star Trek

Strange New Worlds: A Science & Star Trek Podcast ·

2021/08/16

Guest: Dr. Maddie Stone Can Star Trek help us solve climate change? Science journalist Dr. Maddie Stone joins Mike to recap specific instances of environmentalism in Star Trek—TNG: “Force of Nature,” VOY: “Thirty Days,” and Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home—and imagine how contemporary Star Trek can more directly address our present-day climate crisis. “It's Time for Star Trek to Tackle Climate Change” by Maddie Stone:

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00:43:07

Episode 120: Robots, Data, and a New Category of Being

Strange New Worlds: A Science & Star Trek Podcast ·

2021/08/08

Guest: Thea Weiss According to one line of thought, the emergence of robots and artificial intelligence has engendered a brand-new category of being. How should we flesh-and-blood creatures treat these synthetic entities? In part two of an interview with University of Washington psychologist and astrobiologist Thea Weiss, we discuss a study that examined whether children ascribed mental states, civil rights, and moral standing to a robot named Robovie—and how this study relates to the battle over

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00:44:14

Episode 119: The Familiar Unfamiliar

Strange New Worlds: A Science & Star Trek Podcast ·

2021/08/01

Guest: Thea Weiss As technology becomes increasingly pervasive, more and more people are perceiving the natural world through screens and simulated experiences. One day, astronauts on long-duration missions may only know natural environments through virtual reality...or perhaps the holodeck. What does this mean for our mental and physical health? In the first of two episodes featuring University of Washington psychologist and astrobiologist Thea Weiss, we discuss whether simulated nature imparts

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01:05:48

Episode 118: The Last Best Hope

Strange New Worlds: A Science & Star Trek Podcast ·

2021/07/12

Guest: Dr. Una McCormack New York Times bestselling science fiction writer Dr. Una McCormack joins us to talk about the scientific themes in her 2020 Star Trek: Picard novel The Last Best Hope—from allegories for climate change and science denialism to the pursuit of synthetic sentience. Info about the IDIC Podcast Festival, July 17 & 18, 2021: https://www.womenatwarp.com/idic-fest/ The Last Best Hope, by Dr. Una McCormack:

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01:14:20

Episode 117: The History of Women in Space & Star Trek

Strange New Worlds: A Science & Star Trek Podcast ·

2021/07/07

Guest: Dr. Margaret Weitekamp Special Co-Host: Dr. Ingrid Ockert Historian of science Dr. Ingrid Ockert joins Mike as a special co-host in this episode, in which they beam aboard Dr. Margaret Weitekamp to talk about the history of women in space and the history of women in Star Trek. Dr. Weitekamp is the author of "Right Stuff, Wrong Sex: America's First Women in Space Program" and is the Curator and Department Chair of the Space History Department at the Smithsonian's National Air & Space Museum

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00:49:12

Episode 116: Balance of Nature

Strange New Worlds: A Science & Star Trek Podcast ·

2021/05/16

Guest: Justin Oser In Part 2 of a conversation with Trek podcaster and Star Trek novel enthusiast Justin Oser, we discuss the science in the Starfleet Corps of Engineers novella "Balance of Nature" by Heather Jarman, a story in which we visit the homeworld of the Nasat, a species of sentient insectoids. UW Astrobiology presents "Where is the Best Place to Look for Life in the Universe?" hosted by Mike Wong:

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01:00:45

Episode 115: Ishtar Rising

Strange New Worlds: A Science & Star Trek Podcast ·

2021/05/03

Guest: Justin Oser In Part 1 of a conversation with Trek podcaster Justin Oser, we dive into the multiverse of Star Trek novels and pick apart the Venus science in the Starfleet Corps of Engineers novellas "Ishtar Rising, Parts 1 & 2" by Michael A. Martin and Andy Mangels. Follow us on Twitter! Mike: https://twitter.com/Miquai Justin: https://twitter.com/trekfan4747

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01:01:58

Episode 114: Time, Togetherness, & Sci-Fi Stuff

Strange New Worlds: A Science & Star Trek Podcast ·

2021/04/16

Guest: Dr. Peter Gao Mike beams Dr. Peter Gao aboard to discuss the barrage of Star Trek news from #FirstContactDay 2021 and some personal news about their scientific careers. Follow us on Twitter! Mike: https://twitter.com/Miquai Peter: https://twitter.com/PlanetaryGao Star Trek novellas that Mike will discuss with Justin Oser on a future episode of Strange New Worlds: Ishtar Rising, Book 1:

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