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
53 episodes
Ep 53: Douglas Phillips on Extra Dimensions in 'Quantum Space'
This is one of those episodes that exemplifies what we try to do here on this show, going deep on some very big science ideas, and then going off the deep end to expand those ideas into the realm of fiction and making them even bigger! Marty ha...
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Season 2
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Episode 53
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46:09
Ep 52: Barron Wenham on Cosmology and Astrophysics in the Mind of a Super Smart Kid
This is a rather special episode, and something of a delightful experiment. Barron Wenham is on of the smartest and most well-informed 10-year-olds you are ever likely to encounter - especially on the subjects of particle physics, astroph...
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Season 2
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Episode 52
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41:34
Ep 51: Henry Erlich on DNA Sequencing Technology in 'Genetic Reconstruction of the Past'
Marty speaks with Dr. Henry Erlich, whose research career gave him a front seat to the development of DNA sequencing technology from its infancy in the 80’s, to the development of forensic applications in the criminal justice system in the 90’s...
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Season 2
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Episode 51
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1:06:50
Ep 50: Alan Smale on Lunar Warfare in 'Hot Moon'
Marty talks to Alan Smale, a professional astronomer and author of hard science fiction, alternate history, historical fiction, fantasy, and horror. We talk to him about his most recent book 'Hot Moon' - an alternate history set in 1979 where t...
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Season 2
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Episode 50
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1:04:46
Ep 49: Micaiah Johnson on The Multiverse in 'The Space Between Worlds' and 'Those Beyond the Wall'
Holly and Marty speak with science fiction author Micaiah Johnson about her absolutely incredible 'Ashtown' duology. This isn't really an episode about the Multiverse so much as it is about the deeply human and social themes in Micaiah's ...
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Season 2
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Episode 49
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1:07:22
Ep 48: Mike Carey on The Multiverse in 'The Pandominion' Duology
Marty and Holly speak for a second time with Mike Carey in the first installment on our new topic: The Multiverse. Mike has written comics for many big titles in both the DC and Marvel universes, and has also written 19 books including hi...
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Season 2
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Episode 48
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52:16
Ep 47: James Kerwin on Quantum Consciousness in 'Yesterday Was A Lie'
Marty speaks with Hollywood writer and director James Kerwin about Quantum Consciousness in his sci-fi film noir ‘Yesterday Was a Lie’, as well as in Robert J. Sawyer's books 'Quantum Night' and 'The Downloaded. We do a bit of a deep dive...
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Season 2
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Episode 47
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46:57
Ep 46: Robert J. Sawyer on Quantum Consciousness in 'Quantum Night'
Robert J. Sawyer is one of the world’s science fiction luminaries, and a great source of Canadian pride as one of our most prolific, successful and decorated science fiction authors. In the following conversation Rob discusses his book 'Q...
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Season 2
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Episode 46
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1:08:05
Ep 45: Daniel H. Wilson on Planetary Protection in 'The Andromeda Evolution'
Daniel H. Wilson has a PhD in robotics and is the author of the non-fiction books ‘How to Survive a Robot Uprising’, ‘How to Build a Robot Army’ and ‘Where’s my Jetpack’, as well as the bestselling science fiction novels ‘Robopocalypse’ and its...
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Season 2
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Episode 45
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1:01:42
Ep 44: Alex Moskaluk on the Science of Sci-Fi Fungi
This is our fourth and final episode on the theme of Sci-Fi Fungi, where we dig a little deeper into the current science and future science of mycology with Dr. Alex Moskaluk, a mycologist and professor of biology at the University of Guelph.&n...
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Season 2
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Episode 44
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34:22
Ep 43: Kaitlyn Kuehn on Sci-Fi Fungi on The Flora Funga Podcast
Marty speaks with Kaitlyn Kuehn (KK), creator and host of the Flora Funga Podcast, discussing recent developments in real world applications of fungi, and speculating about the possible roles fungi may play in our science fictional future. ...
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Season 2
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Episode 43
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55:38
Ep 42: Mike Carey on Sci-Fi Fungi in 'The Girl With All The Gifts'
We speak with M. R. Carey about his book 'The Girl With All The Gifts', where the zombie fungus Cordyceps plays a central role in bringing about the end of civilization. We talk about the appeal of a post-apocalyptic story and discuss some of t...
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Season 2
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Episode 42
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57:23
Ep 41: Benjamin Percy on Sci-Fi Fungi in 'The Unfamiliar Garden'
Beginning our highly anticipated new topic of Sci-Fi Fungi, we talk to science fiction author Benjamin Percy about the second book of his Comet Cycle, 'The Unfamiliar Garden'. We discuss Ben's writing career in comic books and novels and ...
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Season 2
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Episode 41
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42:00
Ep 40: Marty and Holly on Sci-Fi Fungi and The Multiverse in Upcoming Books and Interviews
Marty and Holly discuss our upcoming theme of Sci-Fi Fungi with interviews of science fiction authors Benjamin Percy and Mike Carey, along with mycologists Dr. Alex Moskaluk from the University of Guelph and Kaitlyn Kuehn (KK) from the Flora Fu...
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Season 2
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Episode 40
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37:37
Ep 39: Edward M. Lerner on First Contact in 'On The Shoals of Space-Time'
We talk to a returning guest and friend of the show, science fiction author Edward M. Lerner, about his latest book 'On The Shoals of Space-Time', on the topic of First Contact. Ed is a fount of scientific insight and information on space...
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Season 2
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Episode 39
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1:04:00
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...
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Season 2
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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...
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Season 2
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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...
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Season 2
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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...
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Season 2
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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...
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Season 2
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Episode 34
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1:04:12
Ep 33: Avi Loeb on First Contact in 'Extraterrestrial'
Marty and Holly 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 inq...
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Season 2
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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...
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Season 2
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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...
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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 ...
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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...
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Season 1
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Episode 29
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51:18
