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This is a rather special episode, and something of a delightful experiment. Barron Wenham is on of the smartest and most well-informed 10-year-olds you are ever likely to encounter - especially on the subjects of particle physics, astrophysics and cosmology. As an exercise in exploring big ideas, mind-blowing science and science fictional creative invention, Marty sat down with him to discuss the birth of the universe, the balance of matter and anti-matter, as well as some of the things we discussed with Dr. David Curtin in episodes 30 and 31 on Dark Matter. We also cover the black holes, white holes, the standard model of particle physics - right down to neutrinos and strange quarks - and Barron explains the theory of strange matter, which is a real thing! Barron also presents his own cosmological model that accounts for the accelerating expansion of the universe as well as the balance of matter and antimatter, and also his theory of super-matter in a brain-structured universe.
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Marty speaks with Dr. Henry Erlich, whose research career gave him a front seat to the development of DNA sequencing technology from its infancy in the 80’s, to the development of forensic applications in the criminal justice system in the 90’s and through to it’s maturity in Next Generation Sequencing methods now used to study evolutionary biology and the deep history of human and hominid evolution. His book is called 'Genetic Reconstruction of the Past - DNA analysis in Forensics and Human Evolution ', and its unifying theme is how we can now use DNA sequencing technology to study historical events, from the recent past in the case of forensic investigation of crimes, to the ancient past in studies of fossil remains to understand the evolution of the human species and the relationships among contemporary and extinct populations. We talk about the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR), detecting sequence and length polymorphism, how DNA tests are used to identify individuals in forensic investigations, how they can be used to track relationships among human populations both ancient and contemporary, and how what we've learned using this technology may help us grow bigger, better, faster brains in our science fictional future.
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Marty talks to Alan Smale, a professional astronomer and author of hard science fiction, alternate history, historical fiction, fantasy, and horror. We talk to him about his most recent book 'Hot Moon' - an alternate history set in 1979 where the USSR won the space race to land the first man on the moon, changing the balance of power during the cold war and accelerating the space race to push both the Americans and the Soviets to have permanent moon bases, orbiting space stations, and manned spy satellites. We talk about the kind of warfare that would have been possible with the technology available following the first moon landings, what happens when you shoot a bullet in space, the geopolitics of the cold war as well as relations with Russia today. We also discuss spy-craft in space, whether there may be a hidden base on the far side of the moon, and Alan also tells us a little about his research career at NASA studying X-rays from black hole binaries and other extreme space events, and how that research translates to applications on earth.
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Holly and Marty speak with science fiction author Micaiah Johnson about her absolutely incredible 'Ashtown' duology. This isn't really an episode about the Multiverse so much as it is about the deeply human and social themes in Micaiah's books, whose writing is laden with literary pearls and deeply human insights about complex characters, social and economic structures, and the interplay between science and spirituality. She uses science fiction as a lightning rod for discourse of social dynamics, power and justice, privilege and grace and ambition. We talk about choosing your monsters, the vacuous rich and the authenticity of the poor, community care, and crying from beauty, with stories about allowing people the chance to to love you in the way that you love them, and how giving and receiving are two sides of the same miracle.
https://www.micaiahjohnson.com/Email:
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Marty and Holly speak for a second time with Mike Carey in the first installment on our new topic: The Multiverse. Mike has written comics for many big titles in both the DC and Marvel universes, and has also written 19 books including his most recent 'The Pandominion' duology which is comprised of 'Infinity Gate' and 'Echo of Worlds'. The idea of parallel universes arises from an interpretations of quantum mechanics which posits that the wavefunction never actually collapses, just branches into new, independent universes for every possible outcome. It’s a mind-boggling idea offering rich and unique narrative possibilities for science fiction. We discuss some of the ideas which support the existence of the Multiverse, dark matter, the evolutionary history of alternate worlds, colonialism and slavery, sentience and necropolitics.
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Marty speaks with Hollywood writer and director James Kerwin about Quantum Consciousness in his sci-fi film noir ‘Yesterday Was a Lie’, as well as in Robert J. Sawyer's books 'Quantum Night' and 'The Downloaded. We do a bit of a deep dive into the role of consciousness in the foundations of quantum mechanics, discussing the Copenhagen interpretation, the Many Worlds theory, and the Penrose/Hameroff Orchestrated Objective Reduction theory. We go all the way from the quantum superposition of subatomic particles to the possible emergence of collective consciousness, and the possibility of consciousness playing a central role in creating objective reality. We also talk about James’ favorite books and movies, as well as his current project – a new film he is developing called Contre-Coup.
James Kerwin:
Webpage:
https://www.jameskerwin.com/
Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Kerwin
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/jameskerwin/
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/thejameskerwin/
IMDB:
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0450123/Email:
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Robert J. Sawyer is one of the world’s science fiction luminaries, and a great source of Canadian pride as one of our most prolific, successful and decorated science fiction authors. In the following conversation Rob discusses his book 'Quantum Night', which explores the social and philosophical consequences of an empirical test for consciousness, self-awareness and conscience. He tells us about the science of evil i.e. the science of psychopathy, and we discuss philosophical zombies as well as the very timely political consequences of blind followers and psychopathic demagogues. We also talk about the disappointing and negative effects of artificial intelligence, the multi-dimensional landscape of the human psyche, and the use of science fiction as an early warning system for the future.
https://www.sfwriter.com/Email:
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Daniel H. Wilson has a PhD in robotics and is the author of the non-fiction books ‘How to Survive a Robot Uprising’, ‘How to Build a Robot Army’ and ‘Where’s my Jetpack’, as well as the bestselling science fiction novels ‘Robopocalypse’ and its sequel ‘Robogenesis’, ‘The Clockwork Dynasty’, and most recently ‘The Andromeda Evolution’ - the authorized sequel to Michael Crichton’s 'The Andromeda Strain'. We talk about how he came to inherit Michael Crichton's mantle and be chosen to write 'The Andromeda Evolution', discussing Planetary Protection as well as the biotech/nanotech crossover in material science in this book. We also consider Artificial Intelligence, First Contact, and the more human and cultural themes in his recent work, especially in his short story ‘The Blue Afternoon That Lasted Forever’ and his upcoming book ‘Heliopause’, which gives an indigenous perspective on First Contact with an alien intelligence. Finally, we talk about the Western reductionist perspective compared with a more indigenous approach to science, with biomimetic strategies of studying systems embedded in their natural context, as well as developing respect and comfort with the unknown.
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This is our fourth and final episode on the theme of Sci-Fi Fungi, where we dig a little deeper into the current science and future science of mycology with Dr. Alex Moskaluk, a mycologist and professor of biology at the University of Guelph. She specializes in zoonotic fungi, fungal pathogens that can jump from animals to humans and vice versa. We discuss how fungi are evolving resistance to antifungal treatments in much the same way as bacteria are developing antibiotic resistance, developing mechanisms for evading the human immune system, and learning to specialize in human infection. So basically continuing along our apocalyptic sci-fi themes… did you know that some fungi can kill you by growing abscesses into your brain!? But on the brighter side, we also talk about some cool science fictional possibilities these organisms may offer us in the future: some fungi can absorb radiation and could be used to shield space ships and extraterrestrial colonies from space radiation! They can break down moon regolith or rock on other planets to make soil and building materials. And it seems we are just scratching the surface of even more amazing capabilities – like actually reducing the radioactivity of disaster sites like Chernobyl by… well, you can’t do that with plain old chemistry so, are they somehow capable of inducing nuclear reactions? Can we create future super-materials one day, like fungal Kevlar or a fungal cable for space elevators? Just a few of the crazy ideas that came out of this conversation, in the finest tradition of digging deeper into the science in the fiction.
https://ovc.uoguelph.ca/pathobiology/people/faculty/alex-moskaluk/Email:
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Marty speaks with Kaitlyn Kuehn (KK), creator and host of the Flora Funga Podcast, discussing recent developments in real world applications of fungi, and speculating about the possible roles fungi may play in our science fictional future. We discuss their use as recreational drugs, and the current regulatory and legalization landscape. We talk about creating new materials from fungi, from making bricks in space to creating new green materials for packaging, hats and shoes on earth. We consider fungi in water efficient vertical farming, using yeasts and molds as pesticides, and if they might be helpful in farming insects for as a source of protein. And finally, we do a bit of science fictional thinking about Fungi as a possible agent of panspermia for seeding life on new worlds, creating ecological footholds on dead planets, and as a catalyst for biodiversity.
https://www.florafungapodcast.com/
We touch on a couple FF episodes in this interview:
Ep 135 with Chris Pauli from Tryptomics:
https://www.florafungapodcast.com/florafungapodcast/135
Ep 77 with Adam Cobb from the Soil Food Web School
https://www.florafungapodcast.com/florafungapodcast/77Email:
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We speak with M. R. Carey about his book 'The Girl With All The Gifts', where the zombie fungus Cordyceps plays a central role in bringing about the end of civilization. We talk about the appeal of a post-apocalyptic story and discuss some of the science in Merlin Sheldrake’s book 'Entangled Life': scientific revolutions and evolutions, gestalt shifts, the ancient evolutionary history of fungi, how they can be both parasitic and symbiotic, and how all of life is like a lichen. Mike tells us how he came to be a writer, and about his experience of benevolent presences on psilocybin – and the ineffability of the psychedelic experience.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Carey_(writer)
https://www.littlebrown.co.uk/contributor/m-r-carey-2/
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17235026-the-girl-with-all-the-gifts
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4547056/Email:
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Beginning our highly anticipated new topic of Sci-Fi Fungi, we talk to science fiction author Benjamin Percy about the second book of his Comet Cycle, 'The Unfamiliar Garden'. We discuss Ben's writing career in comic books and novels and soon TV and film, the literary treatment that space fungus gets in this book, as well as the human and emotional stakes that make it a really good story. We discuss the goodies and the baddies of the fungal world, lichenification, symbiosis, collective intelligence, creating wonder and seeing the world with fresh eyes.
https://benjaminpercy.com/
https://benjaminpercy.com/novels/the-unfamiliar-garden/Email:
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Marty and Holly discuss our upcoming theme of Sci-Fi Fungi with interviews of science fiction authors Benjamin Percy and Mike Carey, along with mycologists Dr. Alex Moskaluk from the University of Guelph and Kaitlyn Kuehn (KK) from the Flora Funga Podcast. We'll be discussing space fungi from cometary debris in Ben Percy's book 'The Unfamiliar Garden', the zombie fungus Codyceps in Mike Percy's book 'The Girl With All The Gifts'. And we'll be structuring our conversations around Merlin Sheldrake's popular science book 'Entangled Life', which delves into the apparent motor-controlling abilities of the zombie fungus Cordyceps, the mind-altering effects of Psilocybin, as well as the genesis of land-based ecosystems from the symbiosis of fungi with algae in lichen. Along the way we also introduce an upcoming interview with returning science fiction author and friend of the show Robert J. Sawyer about his books 'Quantum Night' and 'The Downloaded'. Then we go on to introduce our next theme of the Multiverse, in Mike Carey's Pandominion duology - 'Infinity Gate' and 'Echo of Worlds', and Micaiah Johnson's 'The Space Between Worlds' and 'Those Beyond the Wall'.
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We talk to a returning guest and friend of the show, science fiction author Edward M. Lerner, about his latest book 'On The Shoals of Space-Time', on the topic of First Contact. Ed is a fount of scientific insight and information on space science and the possibilities for extraterrestrial encounters, having written 25 books – 5 of them with the legendary author Larry Niven, of Ringworld fame – many of which explore themes First Contact with extraterrestrials, as well as future scientific advancement that would be necessary for interstellar travel. In this interview we discuss a number of his books, we talk about fusion and anti-matter, electromagnetic bottles, the Albercurrie drive for warping space-time to get around the speed limit of light, and neutrino communications. We also discuss the Prime Directive, the Drake equation, the Fermi Paradox, scientific revolutions and evolutions, stealth technologies, and alien monitoring stations keeping an eye on Earth in the Kuiper belt and the Oort cloud. That’s quite a lot! So if you like to dig deeper into the real science and big ideas in your science fiction, this conversation is a veritable treasury of insights and learning that will help you get more out of the science fiction you read and watch.
Edward M. Lerner -- official website (edwardmlerner.com)
Books, short fiction, and essays by SF author Edward M. Lerner | Edward M. Lerner (edwardmlerner.com)Email:
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In this episode we talk to Mark Milne as a follow-up on our interviews with science fiction author Kim Stanley Robinson and glaciologist Heidi Sevestre in episodes 21 and 22, on the topic of Geoengineering as portrayed in Kim Stanley Robinson’s book 'The Ministry for the Future'. Mark speaks about a number of strategies for mitigating climate change by cooling the planet through increasing its albedo, or reflectivity. The overarching strategy that we discuss is Solar Radiation Management (SRM), and we tackle a number of different possibilities under this umbrella: stratospheric aerosol injection (SAI), marine cloud brightening, high albedo crops, reforestation, white paint, terrestrial mirrors and the Goliath that everyone likes to slay - space mirrors. Mark makes the case that terrestrial mirrors are our best hope for immediate implementation, with little or no dangerous side effects, especially in the context of canopies over agricultural land which can be created with current materials from landfill; if 10% of all agricultural land were covered with these semi-transparent mirrors it would provide enough global reflectivity to adequately offset our warming trend and avoid climate disaster. Marty proposes a sci-fi idea about adding engineered enzymes to create the materials we need, and Mark claims that if we don’t solve the climate crisis within a few decades it won’t be the heat that kills us, it’ll be people – due to the degradation of our social and economic systems. We also talk about governance and consent, what motivates scientists and determines the science we pursue, termination shock, carbon sequestration, engineering efficiency and economic policy initiatives related to modern monetary theory.
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We continue the conversation between science fiction author Peter Watts and scientist Justin Gregg, and now they get down to the tricky business of discussing the nature of consciousness. We discuss Peter's premise of 'Blindsight – that consciousness is an illusory, unnecessary and possibly parasitic phenomenon that will get us all killed when we encounter more efficient, unconscious extra-terrestrial intelligence. Then very quickly agree that nobody knows what the hell they’re talking about when they try to understand consciousness: the pan-psychics may even be right that it’s a fundamental property of matter like mass, spin and charge. We discuss examples of unconscious but intelligent behaviour like sleepwalking killers and painters, we talk about acid trips, and the possible evolutionary advantages of consciousness in connection to memory. Peter suggests humans may not actually possess general intelligence and that we may be even dumber than large language models and the current incarnation of AI (as evidenced by flat earthers, anti-vaxxers and religious fundamentalists). And Justin promises to jello-wrestle an AI next time we get together!
Echopraxia (rifters.com)
https://www.rifters.com/
Blindsight (Watts novel) - Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blindsight_(Watts_novel)
Justin Gregg
https://www.justingregg.com/
If Nietzsche Were a Narwhal — Justin Gregg
https://www.justingregg.com/narwhalEmail:
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In this episode we present a conversation between science fiction author Peter Watts and scientist Justin Gregg, following up on our individual interviews with each of them on the general theme of intelligence and consciousness. Justin Gregg is the author of ‘If Nietzsche were a Narwhal - What Animal Intelligence Reveals About Human Stupidity’, the book we spoke to him about in episode 23. Peter Watts is the science fiction author of 'Blindsight', 'Echopraxia', 'Starfish', 'Maelstrom', 'Behemoth' and many amazing short stories. We spoke to Peter in episodes 24 and 25 about his book ‘Blindsight’ and also about Justin Gregg’s book, and now we’ve put them in a room together for a very animated conversation with lots of banter and laughter. Peter discusses Justin’s book and Justin discusses Peter’s book, and they discover that they are pretty much twins separated at birth! We discuss AI, biology and evolution, the sweet spot for writing successful science fiction, Aphantasia, the secret of effective bullshit, manufactured memories and the extremely entertaining "yellow sponge hypothesis". So fasten your seatbelts kids, and get ready for two spectacularly interesting and intelligent people to light the house on fire.
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Marty and Holly talk to George Paxinos - neuroscientist, environmental activist and author of 'A River Divided', a book that explores neurological determinism - the claim that we have no free will and that our actions are entirely determined by our genetics and the neurological consequences imposed on us by the environment which shapes our brain. His book comes with a very interesting twist: the modern day cloning of Jesus of Nazareth! And not only that, but the cloning of two identical copies, twins who are raised in different places and cultures. This is a bold and fascinating vehicle to explore the theme of nature vs nurture, genetic endowment vs environmental influence, and free will vs determinism. Our conversation covers a lot of ground - from atheism and reverent agnosticism, to finding the goldilocks zone for the size of our brains, the new rise of fascism and the waning of democracy, brain uploads and the transfer of consciousness.
NeuRA | George Paxinos | Neuroscience Research Australia
https://neura.edu.au/researchers/scientia-professor-george-paxinos-aoEmail:
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We speak with David Brin, science fiction icon, scientist, futurist and civilizational optimist. We discuss his particular view of first contact with extraterrestrial intelligence, as portrayed in his 2012 novel 'Existence', along with his predictions about how artificial intelligence and virtual reality will change our world in the near future. We discuss the UFO phenomenon (a sophisticated form of cat lasers for us to chase) and the unspeakably rude behaviour of these hypothetical silvery teaser punks. David speaks directly to the artificial intelligences and possibly alien intelligences who may be inveigled in our internet. We talk about Cixin Liu's 'The Three Body Problem' (there is no three body problem), the likely prevalence of life in the universe (90% of star systems), the Fermi Paradox, SETI, METI, and various forms that first contact with alien civilizations may take, among them Von Neumann machines and artificial alien intelligences stored in 'envoy eggs' orbiting our planet for millions of years. David tells us how to make the most powerful telescope in the universe, by turning the Kuiper Belt into a solar system sized lens. Finally, he implores us to fight back against the ingrate habit of cynicism and pessimism rotting our global civilization today, and declares "I'm proud as hell and nothing can stop us! ... Be citizens of wonder, help save a good civilization."
David Brin's Webpage:
https://www.davidbrin.com/
'Existence' by David Brin:
https://www.davidbrin.com/existence.html
Video Trailer for David Brin's 'Existence':
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANVT0hYbAfE
David Brin's 'Colony High' Series:
https://www.davidbrin.com/colonyhigh.html
David Brin's 'Out of Time' Series:
https://www.davidbrin.com/outoftime.html
David Brin's Advice to New Writers:
https://www.davidbrin.com/nonfiction/advice.html
David Brin on UFO's:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/calumchace/2023/01/25/why-are-ufos-still-blurry-a-conversation-with-david-brin/
David Brin on Why METI is a Bad Idea:
https://www.davidbrin.com/nonfiction/meti.html
NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts:
https://www.nasa.gov/stmd-the-nasa-innovative-advanced-concepts-niac/
The B612 Foundation:
https://b612foundation.org/
An Invitation to Extraterrestrial Intelligence:
https://ieti.org/Email:
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Marty and Holly speak with Professor Avi Loeb from the Harvard Astronomy department, and he is one of the most generous, gregarious, kind and thoughtful people we’ve ever spoken with. Not only that, he embodies the spirit of true scientific inquiry and discovery that can be sadly lacking in the scientific culture of our time. Our conversation revolves around the possibility of First Contact with intelligent extraterrestrial life, based on our encounter with the first extra-solar object ever detected - named Oumuamua - which came flying in and out of our solar system over the course of about 11 days in 2017. We also talk about the Galileo Project and the Starshot Initiative, Dyson spheres and space trash from extraterrestrial civilizations, the Drake equation, anti-gravity, negative mass and time machines, UFOs and UAPs. We also discuss building a culture of seeking evidence instead of making up unsupported stories for dismissing it, and how finding a partner in the galaxy could give meaning to our collective lives
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