Fiction Science

Archaeologists Chris Begley and Brittany Brown discuss how times have changed since the fictional heyday of Indiana Jones when it comes to the technologies - and people skills - that they rely on.

Steve Edmiston, a Seattle lawyer and film writer, fills us in on the Maury Island Incident - a UFO sighting that marked the first mention of the mysterious Men in Black and has now inspired a celebration called the Men in Black Birthday Bash.

Jeffrey Manber, one of the pioneers on the frontier of space commercialization, talks about his effort to document the rise of private-sector spaceflight in a series of books he calls "From the Earth to Mars."

Ashlee Vance, the author of "When the Heavens Went On Sale," talks about the romance, the risk and the ridiculousness surrounding four space ventures that were created in the wake of Elon Musk's SpaceX success.

Theoretical physicist Michio Kaku, the author of a new book titled "Quantum Supremacy" explains how quantum computing works and why it could revolutionize energy, medicine and virtually everything everywhere.

Kim Sherwood talks about writing "Double or Nothing," a James Bond novel that includes 21st-century technologies including quantum computers and climate geoengineering — but leaves out James Bond.

Science-fiction author Daniel Suarez talks about his latest novel, "Critical Mass," which picks up on the vision for space development laid out by physicist Gerard K. O'Neill and the billionaire he inspired, Jeff Bezos.

Quantum physicist Chris Ferrie, author of the book "Quantum Bullsh*t," separates the reality from the B.S. in sci-fi tales including "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania."

Annalee Newitz talks about "The Terraformers," a sci-fi novel that explores the parallels between an imagined future where corporations reshape planets and an all-too-real present where today's cities are sorely in need of reshaping.

Biologist Robert Lanza and science-fiction writer Nancy Kress talk about "Observer," a novel that delves into Lanza's view that consciousness creates the universe as we know it.

In honor of the release of "Avatar: The Way of Water," we talk with the technical adviser for the $10 million Avatar XPRIZE, plus one of the winning teams, about the parallels between the movie's sci-fi avatars and real-life robotic avatars.

Scott B. Smith, the co-creator of Amazon Prime Video's version of "The Peripheral," talks about the challenge of turning William Gibson's cyberpunk sci-fi novel into a streaming series.

Ray Nayler, author of the sci-fi novel "The Mountain in the Sea," and neuroscientist Dominic Sivitilli discuss how looking into the mind of an octopus can provide insights into the nature of artificial intelligence and alien intelligence.

Stephen Tibbitts, the co-founder and CEO of Zeva Aero, talks about his company's plans to create a flying machine that looks like a cross between a helicopter and a UFO.

Science-fiction author Harry Turtledove delves into "Three MIles Down," his novel about Watergate, a real-life spy thriller ... and don't forget the aliens!

Ryan Britt, the author of "Phasers on Stun," discusses how the Star Trek saga influenced the course of science fiction and space exploration - including the roles of space billionaires Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk.

Comedian Tim Barnes, the creator of a new Comedy Central animated series called "Maurice on Mars," discusses his show about a struggling barista on the Red Planet and touches upon the controversies surrounding race and science fiction.

Michael Rogers, a futurist who advises startups and Fortune 500 companies, uses a sci-fi novel titled "Email From the Future" to point to technologies and trends that could solve the climate crisis and end wealth inequality.

Brian Greene, a theoretical physicist at Columbia University, delves into the physics of parallel universes - a plot point featured in a Marvel superhero movie titled "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness."

Bangladeshi author Saad Z. Hossain talks about the mythical and modern influences that go into his science fiction tales - including his latest novel, "Kundo Wakes Up," which works the godly powers of AI agents and djinns into the plot. 

German filmmaker Rudolph Herzog talks about "Last Exit: Space" - a quirky documentary that focuses on space settlement efforts (and features his father, Werner Herzog, as narrator).

Geophysicist Mika McKinnon talks about her efforts to add a smidgen of scientific plausibility to "Moonfall," a big-budget disaster movie about the moon falling out of orbit and wreaking havoc on Earth.

Benjamin Percy, author of "The Unfamiliar Garden," talks about his Seattle-centric, science-centric update of the classic "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" plotline - plus, how writing for comic books made him a better novelist.

Amy Mainzer, the science adviser for "Don't Look Up," talks about the real-life astronomy behind the movie's fictional killer comet. 

Award-winning science-fiction writer Cat Rambo talks about their new novel, "You Sexy Thing," a tale about space pirates, a sentient starship and gourmet mercenaries that's been called a cross between "Farscape" and "The Great British Baking Show."

Science-fiction writer Neal Stephenson discusses his new climate-change thriller, "Termination Shock," and the status of the metaverse - a concept he came up with nearly 30 years ago.

Allen Institute neuroscientist Christof Koch talks about his quest to understand the nature of consciousness, his magic mushroom experience and his role in the documentary film "Aware: Glimpses of Consciousness."

Jeffrey Kluger, editor at large for Time magazine and author of the sci-fi novel "Holdout," talks about the fact and the fiction surrounding commercial spaceflight and NASA exploration.

Damian Duffy and John Jennings talk about how they transformed Octavia E. Butler's prescient science-fiction tale, "Parable of the Sower," into a graphic novel.

Radio astronomer Heino Falcke, one of the leaders of the Event Horizon Telescope project, discusses how the first image of a black hole's shadow was captured - and why it's so intriguing.

Veteran production designer Scott Chambliss says he took a page from SpaceX's playbook when he created the look of the multi-generational spaceship for the movie "Voyagers."

Theoretical physicist Michio Kaku talks about his latest book, "The God Equation," and explains how we might be able to use the theory of everything to escape the eventual death of our own universe.

Nathaniel Rich, the author of "Second Nature: Scenes From a World Remade," lays out his vision of a post-natural world.

In her debut novel, "Machinehood," S.B. Divya foresees a future where we merge with the machines through AI, nanotech pills and robotic implants. Would she want to be part of that future? Get the answer in this episode of Fiction Science, co-hosted by Alan Boyle and Dominica Phetteplace.

Science journalist/author Annalee Newitz discusses her new book, "Four Lost Cities," and the evolution of past and present urban centers with Fiction Science hosts Alan Boyle and Dominica Phetteplace.

Penn State climatologist Michael Mann, the outspoken author of "The New Climate War," talks about what Joe Biden, Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos and the rest of us can do to help the world avert the coming climate catastrophe.

A new movie titled "Greenland" calls attention to potential threats from comets and asteroids. Visual effects supervisor Marc Massicotte and Danica Remy, president of the B612 Foundation, discuss the science behind the spectacle.

Science-fiction author Ted Chiang delves into thought experiments on artificial intelligence and time travel - and talks about how his involvement in the movie "Arrival" changed his life.

Science-fiction author Kim Stanley Robinson talks about his latest novel, "The Ministry for the Future," and the climate science behind it.

George Zarkadakis, author of "Cyber Republic," discusses ways to reinvent democracy with Fiction Science hosts Alan Boyle and Dominica Phetteplace.

Jo Marchant, author of "The Human Cosmos," talks about the growing disconnect between humanity and the heavens - and how to fix it.

Kyle MacLachlan looks back at "Dune" and "Twin Peaks," discusses his portrayal of Thomas Edison in "Tesla" and reveals which present-day tech titan intrigues him the most. Hosted by Cosmic Log's Alan Boyle.