PODCAST · fiction
Fiction Science
by Alan Boyle
Cosmic Log's podcast from the place where science and technology intersect with science fiction and popular culture, hosted by science writer Alan Boyle and science-fiction writer Dominica Phetteplace. Become a supporter for less than (or more than) a dollar a month.
Episodes
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Quantum physicist explains the mysteries of time
British physicist Jim Al-Khalili, author of "On Time: The Physics That Makes the Universe Tick," discusses why time flows in only one direction, and why time travel into the past is highly unlikely - but not yet completely ruled out.
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How 'Star City' reimagined the Soviet space race
Cinematographer Brendan Uegama discusses how he and his teammates created a fictional world for "Star City," an Apple TV series that traces a dramatically different version of the U.S.-Soviet space race.
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The facts and fiction of UFO 'Disclosure Day'
A podcast double-feature delves into scientific and social issues raised by the "Disclosure Day" movie. Our guests are Adam Kirsch, author of "We Want to Believe"; and Meg Charlton, author of an alien-abduction novel titled "Voyagers."
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Sci-fi pioneer's final novel bridges cultures
Nisi Shawl discusses the genesis of "The Curve of the World," a newly published novel about an ancient odyssey from Crete to the Pacific Northwest that science-fiction pioneer Vonda N. McIntyre finished writing just before her death in 2019.
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The real 'Project Hail Mary': Looking for E.T.
SETI astronomer Seth Shostak talks about the parallels between the alien connection in "Project Hail Mary" and the real-world search for signs of extraterrestrial intelligence.
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Occupy Mars? Or the moon? Get a reality check
Now Elon Musk wants to build a city on the moon before building a city on Mars. Biologist Scott Solomon, author of a new book titled "Becoming Martian," sizes up the prospects for building a city anywhere that's beyond Earth.
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Why NASA is going nuclear on the moon
Aerospace consultant Roger Myers explains why space nuclear power will play a big role in the competition between the U.S. and China to establish bases on the moon in the 2030s.
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Pluto shines as a science-fiction star
Space scientist Les Johnson tells the story behind his role in creating "Pluto," the last novel in sci-fi master Ben Bova's Grand Tour series and one of the first works of fiction to incorporate revelations from NASA's New Horizons mission.
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Native American legends are woven into a UFO tale
Cherokee science-fiction author Daniel H. Wilson blends ancient tales about extraterrestrials with up-to-date speculation about alien visitations in a new novel called "Hole in the Sky."
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'Rocket Dreams' and rocket realities
Washington Post staff writer Christian Davenport, author of "Rocket Dreams," discusses the parallel space races between America and China, and between Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos.
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Thriller explores Florida's flooded future
Tim Chawaga, the author of a climate-fiction thriller titled "Salvagia," weaves the implications of future sea-level rise and other high-tech twists into a Florida murder mystery.
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Dinosaur facts vs. fiction in 'Jurassic World Rebirth'
Tech pioneer Nathan Myhrvold and paleontologist Thomas Holtz discuss how dinosaur science has evolved over the past three decades - and do a reality check on the latest "Jurassic World" dino-movie.
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How the Rubin Observatory will change astronomy
Mario Juric, director of the University of Washington's DiRAC Institute, explains why astronomers are celebrating the Vera C. Rubin Observatory's "First Look" at the cosmos - and tells you how to join the party.
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Get a reality check on AI hype
Emily M. Bender and Alex Hanna, authors of "The AI Con," say the benefits of AI are being played up while the costs are being played down — and they lay out strategies for fighting the hype.
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How dictators use tech in fact and fiction
Science-fiction author Ray Nayler talks about his latest book, "Where the Axe Is Buried," a chilling tale of AI-powered repression and resistance that was inspired by current events as well as Nayler's familiarity with authoritarianism.
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How humans will be reinvented for life in space
Copies of human bodies can't be printed out, as shown in the space-based satire "Mickey 17," but biomedical researcher Christopher Mason says it should be possible to re-engineer humans to make them more suited for living in space.
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Mary Roach on the science of space sex
In a Valentine's Day episode, Mary Roach, the author of "Packing for Mars," brings us up to date on one of the big questions about living in space: What would zero-G sex be like?
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Scientists dream up solar system adventures
Planetary scientist John E. Moores and astrophysicist Jesse Rogerson weave tales about interplanetary adventures that are like nothing on Earth in a book titled "Daydreaming in the Solar System."
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Will AI cross the line into personhood?
Law professor James Boyle, author of "The Line: AI and the Future of Personhood," explains why he thinks intelligent machines will eventually be considered persons.
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How to defend against disinformation
TrueMedia.org founder Oren Etzioni and Annalee Newitz, author of "Stories Are Weapons," discuss the escalating arms race between the purveyors of political disinformation and those who are trying to defend against it.
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Hard science fiction explained
Allan Kaster, the editor of "The Year's Top Hard Science Fiction Stories," traces the connections between science fiction and real-world science.
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Authors of 'The Expanse' create their next saga
Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck, who wrote the books of "The Expanse" sci-fi series under the pen name James S.A. Corey, talk about the completely different alien-invasion saga they're in the midst of creating.
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OpenScope focuses on the mind's mysteries
Allen Institute neuroscientist Jerome Lecoq explains how the OpenScope program is expanding the frontiers of brain science, from the effects of psychedelic substances to the mechanisms of memory.
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The fact and fiction of moonshot marketing
Marketing executive Richard Jurek, co-author of "Marketing the Moon," talks about how NASA sold the Apollo space effort — and how that campaign is portrayed in a new movie titled "Fly Me to the Moon," starring Scarlett Johansson and Channing Tatum.
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David Ignatius on satellite wars and 'Phantom Orbit'
Washington Post columnist David Ignatius talks about the potential for international conflicts in space, and how that subject gave rise to his latest spy thriller, "Phantom Orbit."
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How a sci-fi star blazed a trail for diversity
We look at the legacy of the late Seattle science-fiction pioneer Vonda N. McIntyre with Una McCormack, who led the effort to publish "Little Sisters and Other Stories," a new collection of McIntyre's short stories.
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How de-extinction could change our destiny
Douglas Preston, author of a techno-thriller titled "Extinction," talks about his fictional murder mystery as well as his concerns about the real-world quest to revive the woolly mammoth and other extinct species.
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Get a reality check on the search for aliens
Pete Worden, chairman of the Breakthrough Prize Foundation, talks about the real-world search for extraterrestrial civilizations and how it's different from Netflix's "3 Body Problem" series.
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Bonus: Talking fiction with Nathaniel Rich
Nathaniel Rich, author of "Second Nature," "Losing Earth" and the sci-fi novel "Odds Against Tomorrow," discusses the state of contemporary fiction with Fiction Science co-hosts Dominica Phetteplace and Alan Boyle.
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Exploring 'The New World on Mars'
Mars Society President Robert Zubrin, author of "The New World on Mars," talks about the life that future settlers are likely to create on the Red Planet — and why they should go.
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What's so mesmerizing about the multiverse?
Physicist Paul Halpern, author of "The Allure of the Multiverse," traces the history of the scientific quest to detect parallel universes and alternate cosmic timelines.
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Rowing tech picks up the pace
John Tytus, the president of Pocock Racing Shells, talks about how the technology of rowing has changed since "The Boys in the Boat" won Olympic gold in 1936.
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Can AI become conscious?
Veteran science writer George Musser addresses the connections between artificial intelligence, quantum physics and the quest to understand the nature of consciousness in a new book, "Putting Ourselves Back in the Equation."
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What's wrong with a city on Mars?
Zach Weinersmith, co-author of "A City on Mars," explains why humanity isn't ready to have people settle down and raise a family on Mars or in any other off-Earth locale.
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Why women scientists missed out on fame
Quantum physicist Shohini Ghose, author of "Her Space, Her Time," throws a spotlight on more than a dozen women physicists and astronomers who didn't get the recognition they deserved.
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'The Creator' gets an AI reality check
How much real-world AI research is reflected in "The Creator," Hollywood's latest cinematic tale about the rise of the machines? We turn to a panel of experts on artificial intelligence and its portrayal at the movies for an in-depth reality check.
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John Scalzi sizes up billionaires and supervillains
John Scalzi talks about his latest satirical science-fiction novel, "Starter Villain," and the parallels to the antics of real-world tech billionaires.
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Searching for alien worlds and life
Astronomer Chris Impey, author of the book "Worlds Without End," discusses the study of planets beyond our solar system, the search for alien life, and the long-term prospects for humanity's progress on the final frontier.
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Indiana Jones vs. actual archaeologists
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.
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Celebrating 'the original X-File' ... in Seattle?
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.
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The roots of the spaceflight revolution
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."
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Get a reality check on space startups
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.
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Michio Kaku explains quantum computing
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.
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Meet the woman who's updating the 007 saga
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.
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'Critical Mass' charts the space frontier
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.
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Reality check on 'Quantumania'
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."
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Annalee Newitz on 'The Terraformers' and future cities
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.
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Sci-fi tale takes on consciousness and the cosmos
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.
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Avatars in science fiction and fact
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.
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How William Gibson's 'Peripheral' made the leap to video
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.
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
Cosmic Log's podcast from the place where science and technology intersect with science fiction and popular culture, hosted by science writer Alan Boyle and science-fiction writer Dominica Phetteplace. Become a supporter for less than (or more than) a dollar a month.
HOSTED BY
Alan Boyle
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Fiction Science have?
Fiction Science currently has 80 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Fiction Science about?
Cosmic Log's podcast from the place where science and technology intersect with science fiction and popular culture, hosted by science writer Alan Boyle and science-fiction writer Dominica Phetteplace. Become a supporter for less than (or more than) a dollar a month.
How often does Fiction Science release new episodes?
Fiction Science has 80 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to Fiction Science?
You can listen to Fiction Science on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Fiction Science?
Fiction Science is created and hosted by Alan Boyle.
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