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Strange New Worlds: A Science & Star Trek Podcast

Strange New Worlds: A Science & Star Trek Podcast

By: Michael L. Wong
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 Hosted by planetary scientist and astrobiologist Dr. Michael L. Wong, Strange New Worlds examines science, technology, and culture through the lens of Star Trek!All rights reserved Science
Episodes
  • Episode 192: Whispers of Life in Ancient Rocks

    Episode 192: Whispers of Life in Ancient Rocks
    Nov 17 2025
    Guest: Dr. Anirudh Prabhu Mike brings aboard Dr. Anirudh Prabhu to discuss an exciting new study of theirs that uses machine learning trained on organic chemical data to detect the "whispers" of life—including photosynthetic life—in ancient rocks. This exciting technique could one day be used to seek out new life on strange new worlds. Mike & Anirudh's paper, "Organic geochemical evidence for life in Archean rocks identified by pyrolysis–GC–MS and supervised machine learning": https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2514534122 Follow us on Bluesky! Mike: https://bsky.app/profile/miquai.bsky.social Anirudh: https://bsky.app/profile/anirudhprabhu.bsky.social
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    30 mins
  • Episode 191: Mike on Sean Carroll's Mindscape

    Episode 191: Mike on Sean Carroll's Mindscape
    Nov 8 2025
    Mike beams aboard Sean Carroll's Mindscape Podcast to talk about astrobiology, the origins of life, complexity, and the proposal for a "law of increasing functional information." Pre-order your copy of "Time's Second Arrow: Evolution, Order, and a New Law of Nature" by Robert M. Hazen & Michael L. Wong: https://wwnorton.com/books/9781324105480 Mike's 2023 paper "On the roles of function and selection in evolving systems": https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2310223120 Learn more about Mindscape: https://www.preposterousuniverse.com/podcast/ Follow us on Bluesky! Mike: https://bsky.app/profile/miquai.bsky.social Sean: https://bsky.app/profile/seanmcarroll.bsky.social
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    1 hr and 17 mins
  • Episode 190: Relating to Nature in Space and on Earth

    Episode 190: Relating to Nature in Space and on Earth
    Oct 25 2025
    Guest: Prof. Jason Kaufman Professor Jason Kaufman beams aboard to chat about a trio of papers he wrote exploring the themes of human space exploration, sustainable futures, and our relationships to nature. "An Interplanetary Land Ethic" by Kaufman et al. (2022): https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/abs/10.1089/scc.2021.0068 "Artemis and an environmentally sustainable future beyond earth" by Kaufman et al. (2023): https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0265964623000425?via%3Dihub "A Case for Nature in Long-Haul Space Exploration" by Kaufman et al. (2023): https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0265964623000425 "Second Star to the Right: Essays on Leadership and Star Trek": https://vernonpress.com/book/2348?srsltid=AfmBOoryKvMaSjTZ6mTVevEgwGA2dg9LiHWD7Y8Jt1WpR-r05UoA4Imh
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    53 mins
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