offworld

Spoiler alert! Ariel, Norm, and Kishore dive into the questions raised by the season finale of Star Trek: Picard and the resolution of the season-long mystery. What does the Star Trek universe look like now after the events of the show? We discuss the themes of the season, rewarding moments for Star Trek fans, and what we hope to see in Season 2!

Once a hot topic of popular science, we check in on the science and state of human cloning in our discussion of the 2009 film Moon. Ariel and Norm are joined by Hank Greely, Director of the Center for Law and Biosciences at Stanford to talk biomedical ethics, cloning body parts, and artificial wombs as they relate to the future of human space travel.

Star Trek: Picard is finally released! Ariel, Norm, and Kishore commemorate the show's debut by opening a bottle of Chateau Picard and reviewing the pilot episode. We dive into light spoilers throughout the discussion, so watch the pilot before jumping in! What did you think of the episode and the direction the show is taking?

This week, we take a look at one of the most ambitious space movies of the past year, The Wandering Earth. Joined by Sarafina Nance, astrophysics PhD student at UC Berkeley, we discuss the film's idea of moving the Earth out of our solar system to find a new home four light years away. Would that undertaking be possible?

Season 4 of the The Expanse is finally out! Ariel, Norm, and guest Violet Blue discuss the first two episodes of the new season, catching up with the crew of the Rocinante and speculating about the possibilities that lay before them. We do our best to be light on spoilers, too. What do you think of the new season?

What if the Soviets landed on the Moon before the United States? That's the premise of Apple TV+'s new show, For All Mankind, which explores the consequences of a "red moon" and NASA's response. Ariel is joined by Emily Calandrelli and Shannon Stirone to discuss the details of the show's alternate history, and what the show's writers took from NASA's own history to build their story.

On Offworld this week, Ariel is joined by guests Rose Eveleth and Laura Welcher to discuss the 1977 film Close Encounters of the Third Kind. From the culture of UFO obsessives and the idea of music as a communication tool, we look at this science fiction film's legacy in popular media and the search for extraterrestrial life.

Ariel and Adam are joined by spacesuit replica maker Ryan Nagata to talk about one of their favorite space movies, Apollo 13. We hear how the 1995 docudrama inspired Ryan to make his own spacesuits, and what the portrayal of the on-screen portrayal of the storied mission got right.

We review the new science fiction space film Ad Astra! Ariel and Norm are joined by Dr. Douglas Vakoch, the President of METI (Messaging Extraterrestrial Intelligence) to discuss the film's portrayal of space travel through the solar system, astronaut psychology, and what commercial spaceflight could look like in the near future. Spoiler warning: we discuss many plot details about the film beyond what is shown in the trailers!

Asteroids have been the subject of numerous science fiction stories, in both destructive and constructive depictions. Joining Ariel to set the record straight on asteroids are Michael Busch of SETI and planetary astronomer Sondy Springmann. They discuss the form and composition of asteroids, the state of asteroid mining, and why there are so many misconceptions about asteroids in pop culture.