Questions, suggestions, or feedback? Send us a message!

Our guest this week is Natalie Batalha. Natalie is professor of Astronomy and Astrophysics at UC Santa Cruz where received her PhD. Previously, she was a research astronomer in the Space Sciences Division of NASA Ames Research Center. She held the position of Science Team Lead on the Kepler Mission, the first mission capable of finding Earth-size planets around other stars. This mission revolutionised our understanding of planetary systems.

The Kepler Mission discovered thousands of exoplanets revealing that planets are common in the galaxy, not rare and many even lie in the habitable zone.

Natalie is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and was listed as one of Time Magazine's 100 Most Influential People in the World in 2017.

We talk about:

• Where is everyone AKA the Fermi Paradox
• What is an exoplanet
• The Drake equation in simple terms
• The revelation that planets like ours are more common than ever imagined
• What was the Kepler mission and what did it achieve?
• Who owns space?
• Will our alien friends be receptive?
• Can we be trusted to become multi-planetary?

Unfortunately, we had a couple of technical issues on this recording but have done our very best to iron them out.

Let’s look through the telescope!

Web: www.whereshallwemeet.xyz
Twitter: @whrshallwemeet
Instagram: @whrshallwemeet

Questions, suggestions, or feedback? Send us a message!

Our guest this week is Jacinda Ardern. She became the world's youngest female head of government at age 37. Ardern served as Prime Minister of New Zealand from 2017 to 2023, earning global admiration for her empathetic and decisive leadership through crises like the Christchurch attacks and the COVID-19 pandemic. Her trademark “be kind” approach redefined what modern political leadership could look like.

In 2025, she released her memoir A Different Kind of Power, reflecting on how empathy can drive real progress. It’s more than a political memoir, it’s a profound insight into how it feels to lead.

Since leaving office, Ardern has turned her focus to global initiatives on climate action, online safety, and compassionate leadership. She’s a Senior Fellow at Harvard’s Kennedy School, a Distinguished Fellow of Oxford University's Blavatnik School of Government and a Trustee of Prince William’s Earthshot Prize, continuing her work to inspire change on the world stage.

She was recently made a Dame Grand Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit — a fitting recognition for a leader whose grace and humanity have left a lasting mark far beyond her time in office.

We talk about:

• A kinder definition of leadership
• Media’s new incentives
• Changing the culture of engagement
• Taking the money out of politics
• The dangerous loss of nuance
• Caring is more important than caring about politics
• Allowing politicians to change their mind
• Buying back guns from civilians

Let’s do this!

Web: www.whereshallwemeet.xyz
Twitter: @whrshallwemeet
Instagram: @whrshallwemeet

Questions, suggestions, or feedback? Send us a message!

Our guest this week is Kim Stanley Robinson, also know as Stan. He is an American science fiction writer best known for his Mars trilogy of novels. Over his career he has published over 20 books. Many of his novels and stories have ecological, and political themes, featuring scientists as heroes.

Robinson has won numerous awards, including the Hugo Award and the Nebula Award for Best Novel, as well as the World Fantasy Award.

The Atlantic magazine has called Robinson's work "the gold standard of realistic, and highly literary, science-fiction writing." According to an article in The New Yorker magazine, Robinson is "generally acknowledged as one of the greatest living science-fiction writers." Time magazine named him “the hero of the environment” for his optimistic focus on future possibilities.

His most recent novel “The Ministry for the Future” presents a vision for how humanity might unite together to overcome the climate crisis.

We talk about:

• What is science fiction
• The difference between Utopia and Optopia
• Being optimistic whilst remaining vigilant
• Predicting the future
• What the hell is terraforming
• Finance as a tool for changing civilisation
• The current state of American politics
• Championing scientists
• If anything is possible, is nothing interesting?

If you want to support the podcast please follow us on your favourite podcast apps, rate the show and share it with your friends.

You can now message us with feedback and ideas following the link at the top of the episode description.

Let’s talk about the future!

Web: www.whereshallwemeet.xyz
Twitter: @whrshallwemeet
Instagram: @whrshallwemeet