EPISODE · May 31, 2025 · 1H 1M

Contact

In this episode of "Popcorn Science," John and Catherine discuss the science behind the 1997 movie "Contact". Based on the 1985 novel of the same name by Carl Sagan, Contact explores what would happen if humanity were to receive a message from an extraterrestrial civilization. Topics Science Gripes (4:37) Headphones? (6:01) Opening Sequence (9:40) Hitler, Messenger of Earth (11:20) Arecibo Message (12:28) Arecibo Geography (16:00) Ellie the Astronaut (17:28) Funding (20:08) Arecibo v. VLA (21:15) Timeline Issue (48:35) The Good Things (24:59) On Location (25:05) Science Culture (27:40) Signal from Vega (30:32) Is Space Exploration Worth it? (34:48) Crewed Spaceflight (38:50) Transit Network / Wormholes (#42:25) Of Their Time (44:35) Computer Technology (44:53) Bill Clinton (47:00) Space Industrialists (49:56) Science v. Faith (52:52) Fragile Institutions (54:59) Accuracy and Significance (56:39) References Contact (film) Contact (book) Kent Cullers Frank Drake Arecibo Message Arecibo Telescope (RIP) Project Phoenix Jill Tarter Rendezvous with Rama Robert Zemeckis Carl Sagan The Demon Haunted World Cosmos

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This episode was published on May 31, 2025.

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