CALLING ALPHA CONTROL: DR. STEVEN D. BLOOM PART I EPISODE SYNOPSIS: We welcome a special guest to Alpha Control; Dr. Steven D. Bloom. As well as being a big fan of LIS & Science Fiction in general, Steve is the author of a fascinating book titled, The Physics and Astronomy of Science Fiction. Published in 2016 by McFarland; the book explores a wide range of Sci-Fi Movies, TV series, Books & Short Stories by exploring their underlying concepts of physics & astronomy. Written for those of us who are NOT real ‘rocket scientists’, Steve’s entertaining & highly readable book assesses the accuracy and plausibility of many of the complex concepts that often appear in science fiction, such as Interstellar Travel, Time Travel, Teleportation, Robots, Alien Life as well as other genre fixtures. STEVE’S BIO: Steve Bloom grew up in the New York City suburbs where in the early 1970’s he would rush home from his neighborhood school to watch re-runs of Lost in Space. There began his love for science and astronomy in particular. Later, he would go on to major in Astrophysics at Columbia University and then earned his Ph.D. in Astronomy from Boston University in 1994. After that, he continued doing research as a post-doctoral fellow at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center located outside Washington DC in Greenbelt, MD and then at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, CA. Today Dr. Bloom is a professor of physics and astronomy at Hampden-Sydney College, located near Farmville, Virginia, where he lives with his wife, daughter and cat. When we recorded this episode, I had a lot of questions for the Professor & he was VERY generous with his time. In fact, so much so, I’ve decided to split our conversation into TWO Special Calling Alpha Control interviews, where we’ll discuss Steve’s love for Sci-Fi entertainment, (especially LIS) and dig deeply into his wonderfully informative book on the “science of science fiction”. I think you’ll be both delighted & amazed by what you learn in this two-parter interview. So, sit back, relax & enjoy Part I of this intriguing conversation with DOCTOR STEVEN D. BLOOM. PODCAST INFO: This interview was conducted on 6 JAN 2022. LINKS: Amazon.com: Steven D Bloom: Books, Biography, Blog, Audiobooks, Kindle https://mcfarlandbooks.com/product/the-physics-and-astronomy-of-science-fiction/ https://physastro.net/ www.stevendbloom.net https://www.facebook.com/alphacontrolpodcast/ http://www.monsterwax.com/LIScards.html EMAIL: [email protected]