People didn't always know that meteors were from space. How did they figure THAT out? From the moments of terror during historical meteor storms to clever ways that early astronomers figured out what meteors were, I take you on a journey through the history of meteor showers.

Can we trust machines that are making decisions for us? What if these decisions are life or death? We talk to Dr. David Danks about self-driving cars, autonomous weapons systems, and AI algorithms, and how we can trust machines that think but don't feel.

One million species are close to extinction. To make a difference, we need massive societal change. But how can such a change happen over a range of countries and cultures? Today we talk to scientists who are part of the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) about how we can intelligently save the world.

Is it possible to upload your brain to a computer? Would your consciousness follow? Would it still be you? I talk to Dr. Michael Hauskeller about mind uploading, immortality, and consciousness.

Can we reverse climate change? Today we talk to two scientists from Reykjavik Energy, Dr. Kári Helgason and Dr. Bergur Sigfússon. They work to take greenhouse and toxic gases and turn them into a rock in a project called CarbFix.

Imagine that you have a mystical experience that changes your life.  Perhaps you see the face of Jesus, Muhammad, or Buddha.  Perhaps you feel the Universe pouring out love into your being.  Or perhaps you just feel immense peace. Now imagine that this experience is actually the result of an epileptic seizure.  This is the case for many who undergo this unique type of seizure.  Instead of having a seizure that affects the parts of the brain that control muscle movements, their seizures...

When we accept tech into our lives, we often sacrifice a small piece of our privacy. But if we want complete privacy, we can always leave our tech at home.  What about people who have tech embedded within them, and who need it to live? Today we talk to Dr. Marie Moe, a cyborg who is also involved in information security about the privacy concerns and hackability of her own pacemaker. 

Today we're talking to David Lindell, a PhD student in the Stanford Computational Imaging Lab. He and his group are making a camera that can see around corners and through objects, which has amazing applications for things like self-driving cars.

If we were to hear a message from extraterrestrials, how would we go about decoding it? And what's the best way to send our own message? Today we talk to Dr. Sheri Wells-Jensen, a xenolinguist, who studies aliens languages.

We first set foot on the moon 50 years ago. A lot has changes since then. Jim Bell joins us from the School of Earth and Space Exploration at Arizona State University to talk about how space industry is changing, the future of corporations in space, how governments, companies, and academia will all have a part, and even space tourism!

Brian David Johnson is a futurist. He looks at a combination of ethnographic data, history, technological trends, and scientific knowledge to help companies and groups see what's in store for the next decade or two. We talk about what the future may hold, how social media will continue to influence us, how cyberthreats will change in the future, if the technological singularity is real, and if we should fear the future.

Today we look at the plausibility of some implausible science fiction concepts. Can the transporter from Star Trek or an invisibility cloak from Harry Potter really exist? Can we hope to build a space elevator? And should we fear the singularity, asteroid impacts, or sharknados?

Living with autism has many challenges.  One of these is making a living as an adult.  Especially for individuals with severe autism, this can seem like a challenging, insurmountable task.  Today we talk to two individuals who have their own personal experiences with autism and thriving with autism. Colin Weiss is a Research Assistant for the Autism and Neurodevelopmental Disorders Institute at George Washington University.  He studies autism in both children and adults, and develops...

If a controversial treatment that would potentially alter who you are is the only treatment for your disease, do you accept therapy? Today we are joined by Dr. Laura Cabrera from Michigan State University to discuss the ethics of deep brain stimulation.

How can we improve women's healthcare? Lack of access, shame and fear of exams, and lack of information are all reasons that women do not receive the care they deserve. Today we talk to Libby Dotson and Andrea Kim on how we can improve it.

Why was Notre Dame built the way it was? We talk about technology of today and at the time when Notre Dame was built, how the church may be reconstructed, and how laser scans may be of help.

Today we talk to religious leaders from a range of faiths on science and religion, and how these two worldview can come together. We also discuss the Clergy Letter Project and Evolution Weekend.

Today on the podcast we talk to Dr. Adam Frank about climate change on alien worlds, and how we can use them to see what the future holds for Earth.

Does dementia and Alzheimer's change who you are? Today we talk to Dr. Nina Strohminger about how loved ones see patients with diseases of the mind change.

What is the far future of the Universe? Today we are joined by Dr. Avi Loeb and Dr. Ethan Siegel to discuss the future of our sun, and our Galaxy, if black holes will last forever, and what the Universe will be like once the stars burn out.

What is time? Why do we see time only run in one direction? Is time travel possible? And what happened "before" the Big Bang? We talk to Dr. Jonathan Tallant about the philosophy of time, and how these ideas stand up to modern science.

Some locations are so remote it’s hard to deliver materials to build houses and infrastructure. Today we talk to Keegan Kirkpatrick from RedWorks, a company that seeks to use 3D printers to print an entire building using in-situ material.

We are joined with Samantha Salimu and discuss about how technology, economic policies, and women's rights are transforming agriculture in Africa.

Scientific comics can be a surprising, yet effective way to communicate science. I talk to Dr. Matteo Farinella about how he uses comics to teach science, his graphic novels and comics, and how he uses characters and metaphor to bring science to life.

Today we talk to Dr. Sarah Evanega from the Alliance for Science about the safety of GMO crops and how they view GMOs in the developing world.