The Science in The Fiction
This is both a science and a science fiction podcast. We dig deep into the biggest ideas in science fiction, using science to elevate the conversation about sci-fi, and sci-fi to promote science education, curiosity and vision. We talk to science fiction authors about the science in their fiction, then talk to scientists about the same topic, and catalyze conversations between the two.
Episodes
38 episodes since 2023
Ep 38: Mark Milne on Geoengineering in 'The Ministry for the Future'
In this episode we talk to Mark Milne as a follow-up on our interviews with science fiction author Kim Stanley Robinson and glaciologist Heidi Sevestre in episodes 21 and 22, on the topic of Geoengineering as portrayed in Kim Stanley Robinson’s...
September 12, 2024
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Season 1
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Episode 38
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1:08:03
Ep 37: Peter Watts in Conversation with Justin Gregg - Part 2
We continue the conversation between science fiction author Peter Watts and scientist Justin Gregg, and now they get down to the tricky business of discussing the nature of consciousness. We discuss Peter's premise of 'Blindsight – that c...
August 29, 2024
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Season 1
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Episode 37
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38:34
Ep 36: Peter Watts in Conversation with Justin Gregg - Part 1
In this episode we present a conversation between science fiction author Peter Watts and scientist Justin Gregg, following up on our individual interviews with each of them on the general theme of intelligence and consciousness. Justin Gr...
August 15, 2024
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Season 1
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Episode 36
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49:29
Ep 35: George Paxinos on Neuroscience and Cloning in 'A River Divided'
Marty and Holly talk to George Paxinos - neuroscientist, environmental activist and author of 'A River Divided', a book that explores neurological determinism - the claim that we have no free will and that our actions are entirely determined by...
August 01, 2024
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Season 1
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Episode 35
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46:04
Ep 34: David Brin on First Contact in 'Existence'
We speak with David Brin, science fiction icon, scientist, futurist and civilizational optimist. We discuss his particular view of first contact with extraterrestrial intelligence, as portrayed in his 2012 novel 'Existence', along with hi...
July 19, 2024
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Season 1
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Episode 34
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1:04:12
Ep 33: Avi Loeb on First Contact in 'Extraterrestrial'
We speak with Professor Avi Loeb from the Harvard Astronomy department, and he is one of the most generous, gregarious, kind and thoughtful people we’ve ever spoken with. Not only that, he embodies the spirit of true scientific inquiry and disc...
July 04, 2024
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Season 1
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Episode 33
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1:07:55
Ep 32: Anniversary Special - Marty and Holly on The First Year of The Sci in The Fi
To celebrate the first anniversary of our podcast, Marty and Holly do a little retrospective to discuss their favorite books, people and interviews from the last year. We discuss some of the best science fiction books we read: 'Red Team B...
June 20, 2024
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Season 1
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Episode 32
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41:37
Ep 31: David Curtin on Dark Matter in 'Sunfall' (Part 2)
This is the second part of our interview with Dr. David Curtin, Canada Research Chair in Theoretical Particle Physics at the University of Toronto. In response to the kind of dark matter model found in Jim Al-Khalili's science fiction boo...
June 06, 2024
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Season 1
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Episode 31
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38:20
Ep 30: David Curtin on Dark Matter in 'Sunfall' (Part 1)
Dr. David Curtin is the Canada Research Chair in Theoretical Particle Physics at the University of Toronto, and specializes in exotic theories of dark matter that describe a "dark sector" which may include complex dark matter. These ...
May 30, 2024
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Season 1
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Episode 30
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45:40
Ep 29: Jim Al-Khalili on Dark Matter in 'Sunfall'
Our theme in the next two episodes is dark matter, the kind of far-out science that is stranger than fiction and presents realms of possibility that are both more plausible and more interesting than parallel worlds or extra dimensions or even w...
May 16, 2024
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Season 1
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Episode 29
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51:18
Ep 28: Edward M. Lerner on Planetary Protection in 'Life and Death on Mars'
In this episode we return to the theme of Planetary Protection, continuing the conversation we started in episodes 19 and 20 where we discussed the return of samples from Asteroid Bennu to Earth in NASA’s recent OSIRIS Rex mission. There ...
May 02, 2024
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Season 1
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Episode 27
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55:19
Ep 27: Peter Gorniak and Cydney Nielsen on Artificial Intelligence and Virtual Reality in 'Stealing Worlds'
Marty sits down with his university pals Drs. Peter Gorniak and Cyndey Nielsen, to discuss Karl Schroeder's book 'Stealing Worlds'. As it happens, they both have PhD's and lifelong careers working in their fields of expertise - Peter in ...
April 19, 2024
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Season 1
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Episode 27
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1:08:06
Ep 26: Karl Schroeder on Artificial Intelligence and Virtual Reality in 'Stealing Worlds'
Karl Schroeder is a science fiction author and foresight analyst. His fiction is known for both its scientific rigour and its visionary quality of bearing witness to what we can expect just around the corner – especially with his latest b...
April 04, 2024
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Season 1
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Episode 26
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1:04:15
Ep 25: Peter Watts (Part 2) on Intelligence and Consciousness in 'Blindsight'
In the second part of our interview with Peter Watts, we delve into his ideas about intelligence and consciousness. Does consciousness serve any function, or can all cognitive processes get along just fine without it? In his novel B...
March 21, 2024
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Season 1
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Episode 25
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58:06
Ep 24: Peter Watts (Part 1) on Intelligence and Consciousness in 'If Nietzsche Were a Narwhal'
We talk to acclaimed science fiction author Peter Watts about Justin Gregg's book 'If Nietzsche Were a Narwhal'. We ask if the human flavour of intelligence is maladaptive, and other creatures are smarter because they are so well adapted ...
March 14, 2024
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Season 1
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Episode 24
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51:02
Ep 23: Justin Gregg on Intelligence and Consciousness in 'If Nietzsche Were a Narwhal'
Marty and Holly sit down with zoologist Justin Gregg to discuss his book 'If Nietzsche Were a Narwhal: What Animal Intelligence Reveals About Human Stupidity'. We discuss which aspects of human intelligence (and stupidity) are unique in t...
February 29, 2024
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Season 1
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Episode 23
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58:59
Ep 22: Heidi Sevestre on Geoengineering in Kim Stanley Robinson's 'The Ministry For The Future'
Marty and Holly sit down with Dr. Heidi Sevestre for a conversation about climate change and geoengineering, as portrayed in The Ministry For The Future by Kim Stanley Robinson. Dr. Sevestre is a glaciologist who is leading the call to ac...
February 15, 2024
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Season 1
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Episode 22
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56:56
Ep 21: Kim Stanley Robinson on Geoengineering in 'The Ministry For The Future'
In this episode we are super excited to present our conversation with Kim Stanley Robinson, one of the greatest science fiction writers of all time, whose legacy will surely last deep into our sci-fi future. We discuss his latest book The...
February 01, 2024
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Season 1
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Episode 21
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1:09:19
Ep 20: Tim Swindle on Planetary Protection in the OSIRIS-REx Mission and 'The Andromeda Strain'
This conversation was a great example of what we’re trying to do with this podcast, the perfect balance between Science and Science Fiction. Marty sits down with Dr. Tim Swindle to discuss The Andromeda Strain by Michael Crichton and The ...
January 18, 2024
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Season 1
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Episode 20
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1:03:30
Ep 19: Thomas Zega on Planetary Protection in the OSIRIS-REx Mission and 'The Andromeda Strain'
NASA's recent OSIRIS-REx mission has returned a sample of asteroid Bennu all the way to Earth for detailed analysis. It is difficult to ignore the tempting similarities of this mission to the plot of Michael Crichton's 'The Andromeda Stra...
January 04, 2024
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Season 1
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Episode 19
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1:05:17
Ep 18: Stephen Gay and Ben Feist on Moon Colonization in 'Night Owls'
This is our favorite kind of episode, hosting a conversation between e a science fiction author and a scientist, where each shares their work and expertise with the other to the benefit of both. Stephen Gay is a science fiction author who...
December 21, 2023
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Season 1
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Episode 18
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59:36
Ep 17: Damien Walter Part 2 - The Sociology of Science Fiction
This is part two of our conversation with Damien Walter, the science fiction guru. He is the host of the Science Fiction Podcast and Science Fiction Facebook group. He is also a critical thinker about culture, and a prophet of the e...
December 07, 2023
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Season 1
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Episode 17
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58:14
Ep 16: Damien Walter Part 1 - The Psychology of Story
Damien Walter is one of the world’s foremost voices in critical thinking about science fiction as the emerging cultural mythos of our modern global civilization. In this episode we discuss some of Damien’s ideas about the psychological fu...
November 30, 2023
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Season 1
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Episode 16
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35:30
Ep 15: Cory Doctorow's 'Red Team Blues' - Chapter 1 of Audiobook
Cory Doctorow has given us permission to play the first chapter of Red Team Blues directly on our podcast! And as an added treat, the audio-book is read by none other than Will Wheaton, the actor who played Wesley Crusher on Star Trek The...
November 16, 2023
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Season 1
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Episode 15
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55:15
Ep 14: Cory Doctorow on 'The Lost Cause', 'Red Team Blues' and 'Chokepoint Capitalism'
Marty and Holly sit down with Cory Doctorow, an author known not only for his near-future social and political science fiction, but also for his real-world journalism and activism. We talk about society, politics and economics, discussing...
November 02, 2023
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Season 1
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Episode 14
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1:05:01