NWSFS Science And Science Fiction News

Big Picture Science for 12/19/11 - Sensor Sensibility

2011-12-19T23:47:00.001-08:00

Big Picture Science - Sensor Sensibility

Have you lost your senses? You’ll find them everywhere you look. Sensors respond to external stimuli – light, sound, temperature and much else – to help us make sense (ha!) of our universe. And more are on their way. “Ubiquitous sensing” is the term that describes a world blanketed by tiny sensors: on bridges, in paint and medicine bottles, and even in our brains!

Discover where you’ll find sensors next. And, has the world’s largest detection device found the elusive particle that will help explain the universe? Where are you, Higgsy-wiggsy?

Also, out-of-this world sensors have detected a possibly Earth-like planet. What’s next for the Kepler planet-hunters?

Plus, DIY sensor kits, and, if computers can do all that, why can’t we send the odor of, say, freshly-baked bread over the Internet? The case for a smell-o-meter.

Guests:

Frank Close – Physicist at Oxford University, author of The Infinity Puzzle: Quantum Field Theory and the Hunt for an Orderly Universe
Jan Rabaey – Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences (EECS), University of California, Berkeley
Barry Shell – Writer in Vancouver, Canada
Andy Huntington – Interaction designer, based in London
Sara Seager – Professor of planetary science and physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Planet hunters – Daryll LaCourse and Tom Jacobs,

Permalink: http://radio.seti.org/episodes/Sensor_Sensibility

You can listen to this and other episodes at http://radio.seti.org/, and be sure to check out Are We A Blog?, the companion blog to the radio show.

Apex Magazine issue 31 released

2011-12-12T23:56:00.000-08:00

Apex Magazine is a monthly science fiction, fantasy, and horror
magazine featuring original, mind-bending short fiction from many of
the top pros of the field. Visit http://apex-magazine.com for more
information.

Table of Contents
Fiction:
“The 24 Hour Brother” by Christopher Barzak
“Faithful City” by Michael Pevzner (first professional sale!)

Classic Revisited:
“The Yellow Dressing Gown” by Sarah Monette

Poetry:
“To a Gentleman Who Is Visited” by Sandi Leibowitz
“A Woman of a Certain Age” by FJ Bergmann

Nonfiction:
“Editorial: Blood on Vellum” by Lynne M. Thomas
“Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Genre All the Way” by EE Knight

Interviews:
Jennifer Pelland

Apex Magazine is edited by Hugo Award-winning editor Lynne M. Thomas.

Apex Publications - Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror
http://www.apexbookcompany.com

EMP Museum’s Science Fiction + Fantasy Short Film Festival: Feb. 4, 2012 Tickets On Sale Now!

2011-12-12T23:55:00.000-08:00

EMP Museum’s Science Fiction + Fantasy Short Film Festival: Feb. 4, 2012

Tickets On Sale Now!

SEATTLE— EMP Museum in partnership with Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF), is pleased to present the 7th annual Science Fiction + Fantasy Short Film Festival (SFFSFF) at the historic Cinerama Theatre in Seattle on Saturday, February 4, 2012. SFFSFF brings together industry professionals from both the filmmaking and science fiction and fantasy genres to encourage and support new, creative additions to science fiction and fantasy cinema.

Tickets are on sale now through the SIFF website at www.siff.net. Tickets are $10 for a single session, $18 for both sessions. For more information, please call 206.464.5830.

From a field of more than 140 films from all over the world, 21 entries were selected for inclusion in the festival. All films were required to be no longer than 15 minutes in length, and produced after January 2007. Entries included animated or live-action films in science fiction (examples: futuristic stories, space adventure, technological speculation, social experiments, utopia and dystopia) and fantasy (examples: sword and sorcery, folklore, urban fantasy, magic, mythic adventure). Some films may contain adult material, parental discretion advised.

A nationally recognized panel of distinguished film, television, literature, and science fiction industry professionals, peers and film critics, will review qualifying submissions and determine the winners. This year’s judges include Academy Award and two-time Golden Globe winning producer Jon Landau; filmmakers Simon Cartwright, Jessica Cope, Howard McCain, Ilona Rossman Ho, and Adam Sekular; and writers Paul Constant and David Goldberg.

The judges will award Grand Prize, Second Place, Third Place, and the Douglas Trumbull Award for Best Special Effects. The audience will determine the Audience Favorite Award during the festival.

During the festival on Saturday, February 4, 2012, 11 short films will be screened in the first session from 4:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. and ten short films will be screened in the second session from 7:30 p.m. – 9:30 p.m. An awards ceremony follows the second session. This year’s festival includes a world premiere film screening with several others being shown in North America and Seattle for the first time.

The mission and objective of the Science Fiction + Fantasy Short Film Festival is to promote and encourage an awareness, appreciation and understanding of the art of science fiction and fantasy cinema. Its mandate is to create a forum for creative artistry in science fiction and fantasy film and recognize the most outstanding short films produced.

The Science Fiction + Fantasy Short Film Festival is generously sponsored by Cinerama Theatre, Vulcan Inc. and NORWESCON.

Science Fiction + Fantasy Short Film Festival 2012 FILMS:

For more information, including film stills and director bios, please visit www.empmuseum.org/filmfestival

4:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. Screening

ATTACK OF THE KILLER MUTANT CHICKENS (MURGI KENO MUTANT) - Seattle Premiere!

Director: Nayeem Mahbub

Running Time:15 minutes

Country: Bangladesh

Year: 2011

In the near future, Bangladesh is terrorized by killer mutant chickens. A team of kung-fu fighting chefs must fight to keep chicken on their menu. But one chicken sets its sights on revenge. It's time for the ultimate poultry showdown.

CHOREBOT - Seattle Premiere!

Director: Greg Omelchuck

Run Time: 8.5 minutes

Country: USA

Year: 2011

Chorebot is set in the near future where humans use robots to do chores and take care of the pets. In a modern neighborhood, Chorebot and the dog Simon spend their days together as the human owner spends his days surfing the Internet and chatting on-line. Will Chorebot and Simon even notice when their human owner mysteriously disappears?

THE COMET CHRONICLES - World Premiere!

Director: Wade Chitwood

Run Time: 12 minutes

Country: USA

Year: 2011

Set in Seattle 2139 AU, The Comet Chronicles is a tongue-in-cheek, retro-futuristic, Harryhausen-ish, science fiction story involving Galactic Patrol Officer Ashley Comet. The story opens with Ashley Comet narrating the circumstances that led her to become a private detective. Flashing back to that day, we find Ashley off-duty and heading home from her daily patrol when she answers a distress call from the Planet Andar 5. Warned by her commanding officer to be alert, the planet holds secrets that Ashley Comet is not aware of.

DEAD HAPPY - Seattle Premiere!

Director: Nicky Lianos

Run Time: 11 minutes

Country: UK

Year: 2010

The Grim Reaper is depressed. She's fed up with her daily routine of guiding the dead and wishes the guy she sees every day would acknowledge her. But when her chance for love and happiness finally comes it's not quite what she expected.

DECAPODA SHOCK - Seattle Premiere!

Director: Javier Chillon

Run Time: 9 minutes

Country: Spain

Year: 2011

An astronaut returns to Earth after a fatal accident on a distant planet. When he discovers he has been the victim of a sinister plot, he decides to take vengeance on those responsible for the death of his family.

DOLLS FACTORY (FÁBRICA DE MUÑECAS) - Seattle Premiere!

Director: Ainhoa Menéndez

Run Time: 11 minutes

Country: Spain

Year: 2010

Anna works in a doll factory. Her whole life revolves around performing mechanical motions to insert the dolls' eyes. But a small change at her work changes her life forever.

MAHAHULA THE GIANT RODENT OF HAPPINESS

Director: Nomint Motion Design

Run Time: 1 minute

Country: UK

Year: 2011

Happiness is a very serious matter, definitely worthy of an awesome deity like Mahahula, a gigantic ancient infant rodent born from an alien space travelling seed that crash-landed on primordial earth.

MATTER FISHER - Seattle Premiere!

Director: David Prosser

Run Time: 7 minutes

Country: UK

Year: 2010

A perplexed fisherman becomes united with a fragment of estranged matter.

OLIVER BUMP'S BIRTHDAY - Seattle Premiere!

Director: Jordan Canning

Run Time: 15 minutes

Country: Canada

Year: 2011

On the eve of his 13th birthday, child prodigy Oliver Bump is about to die -- unless his mysterious plan can save him from his impending demise.

TIME FREAK

Director: Andrew Bowler

Run Time: 11 minutes

Country: USA

Year: 2010

A neurotic inventor creates a time machine only to get lost traveling around yesterday.

TERMINUS

Director: Trevor Cawood

Run Time: 8 minutes

Country: Canada

Year: 2007

A businessman inadvertently offends a concrete megalith and has trouble ridding himself of his unlikely stalker.

7:30 p.m. – 9:30 p.m. Screening

BIRDBOY

Director: Pedro Rivero and Alberto Vasquez

Run Time: 13 minutes

Country: Spain

Year: 2010

A terrible industrial accident changes Little Dinki's life forever. Now Dinki's fate may ride on the wings of her eccentric friend Birdboy, a misfit who hides in the Dead Forest lost in his fantasies.

THE CAPTIVUS - Seattle Premiere!

Director: Casey Tebo

Run Time: 14 minutes

Country: USA

Year: 2011

For six years, two humanoid men have sat aboard a tiny, cramped, rescue ship, searching deep space for a lost freighter. When the ship receives transmission that one of them is finally leaving the mission, they have no choice but to spend their last moments reflecting on their relationship. What has being in this small place for this long, done to these men?

CARTA A JULIA - Seattle Premiere!

Director: David González Rúdiez

Run Time: 7 minutes

Country: Spain

Year: 2010

Maria and Paco, a retired couple, have decided to leave behind the noisy and stressful city and move to the countryside. One day Paco comes from his morning walk telling an incredible and odd story. Maria needs to share it with her best friend Julia and writes her a letter.

CRYSTAL JAM - North American Premiere!

Director: Leonie Savvides

Run Time: 15 minutes

Country: Australia

Year: 2010

Crystal and James fell in love in an online fantasy world, but never met in real life. When James suddenly dies, Crystal travels to attend his funeral. But some residue of James is still alive online.

THE DUNGEON MASTER

Director: Rider and Shiloh Strong

Run Time: 13 minutes

Country: USA

Year: 2011

Shane and his friends thought it would be fun to recapture their geeky youth with a game of Dungeons and Dragons. But then someone showed up in a cape.

THE EPIPHANY

Director: SJ Chiro

Run Time: 7 minutes

Country: USA

The Epiphany, Earth's subtlest, secretest, most selfless superhero, finds himself strapped to the chair of death by his nemesis: the snide, jaded, and callous French Supervillain Le Petit Mort! Based on a short story by Jonathan Lethem, which is based on a painting by Scott Alden.

THE HUNTER AND THE SWAN DISCUSS THEIR MEETING - Seattle Premiere!

Director: Emily Carmichael

Run Time: 8 minutes

Country: USA

Year: 2010

A Brooklyn couple have dinner with a hunter and his girlfriend, a magical swan woman. It doesn't go well.

MADAME PERRAULT'S BLUEBEARD - Seattle Premiere!

Director: A.J. Bond

Run Time: 6 minutes

Country: Canada

Year: 2010

A fantasy re-envisioning of the classic fairytale Bluebeard by Charles Perrault, in which Perrault's young wife reads herself into his dark allegory on marital mistrust.

PROTOPARTICULAS

Director: Chema Garcia Ibarra

Run Time: 7 minutes

Country: Spain

Year: 2010

The experiment was almost a success: protomatter exists.

THE SIERRA PROJECT - Seattle Premiere!

Director: Gabriel de Urioste

Run Time: 15 minutes

Country: USA

Year: 2011

Scientist Sam Newman has dedicated his life to researching and unlocking the secret of how the human brain functions. When his latest attempt to copy the neural network of a human brain into a computer construct fails, he must come to terms with his personal sacrifices and the strange consequences of his work.

###

ABOUT THE SCIENCE FICTION + FANTASY SHORT FILM FESTIVAL

The Science Fiction + Fantasy Short Film Festival promotes and encourages an awareness, appreciation and understanding of the art of science fiction and fantasy cinema. Its mandate is to create a forum for creative artistry in science fiction and fantasy film and recognize the most outstanding short films produced.

ABOUT EMP MUSEUM

EMP is a non-profit organization dedicated to the exploration of creativity and innovation in music, science fiction, and popular culture. EMP combines interpretative, interactive exhibitions with state-of-the-art technologies, and educational programming to offer visitors of all ages a first-hand, multi-dimensional experience of the creative and artistic process.

EMP is housed in a 140,000 square foot Frank O. Gehry-designed building. This spectacular, prominently visible structure has the presence of a monumental sculpture set amid the backdrop of the Seattle Center.

FEATURED EXHIBITIONS AT EMP

Battlestar Galactica: The Exhibition

Open now through March 4, 2012

AVATAR: The Exhibition

Open now through September 3, 2012

Can’t Look Away: The Lure of Horror Film

Open now

EMP MUSEUM HOURS

Winter Hours: September 6, 2011 – May 24, 10:00 am - 5:00 pm

CONTACT INFO

325 5th Avenue North, Seattle, WA 98109

206-770-2700, main line

206-770-2702, box office

1-877-367-7361, toll-free

www.empmuseum.org

SOCIAL MEDIA

facebook.com/EMPmuseum

twitter.com/EMPmuseum

youtube.com/EMPmuseum

Big Picture Science for 12/12/11 - Going Viral

2011-12-12T23:51:00.000-08:00

Big Picture Science - Going Viral

The term “bird flu” is a misnomer, scientists say, because almost all human influenza originates in our feathered friends. How it lands in you and spreads is another matter …

Hear what it takes for a virus to go global, from a virus hunter who plans to stop epidemics in their tiny DNA tracks with an innovative global surveillance system.

Also, why your genome is littered with fossil viruses of the past … the two largest viruses discovered so far, Mimi and Mega, square off … and, what it takes for ideas to “go viral.”

Guests:

Nathan Wolfe – Viral Ecologist, Director of the Global Viral Forecasting Initiative
Robert Gifford – Evolutionary virologist, Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center at Rockefeller University
Vincent Racaniello – Virologist at Columbia University’s College of Physicians and Surgeons, host of the podcast, “This Week in Microbiology,” and author of the “Virology Blog”
Bill Wasik – Senior Editor at Wired, author of And Then There’s This: How Stories Live and Die in Viral Culture

Permalink: http://radio.seti.org/episodes/Going_Viral

You can listen to this and other episodes at http://radio.seti.org/, and be sure to check out Are We A Blog?, the companion blog to the radio show.

Big Picture Science for 12/05/11 - Science's Alliances

2011-12-05T09:23:00.001-08:00

Big Picture Science - Science's Alliances

Mom and apple pie. Computers and silicon. Martians and death rays. Some things just go together naturally. But how about science and politics? Science and religion? Science and fiction? These pairings are often unnatural and contentious … but they don’t have to be.

Discover how science can team up with other endeavors in productive, if surprising, symbiosis.

Meet a particle physicist, turned U.S. Congressman, who calls for more scientists on Capitol Hill. Also, a tour of the Golden Age of Islamic Science.

Plus, scientists named Elmo and Super Grover 2.0 teach small children to conduct experiments with the help of chickens and dancing penguins.

And, it’s not quite science but it’s not entirely ficition either: how sci-fi helps shape our cultural debates about the future.

Guests:

Bill Foster – Physicist and former U.S. representative from Illinois
Carol-Lynn Parente – Executive Producer, Sesame Street
Ranjana Mehra – Docent at The Tech Museum, San Jose, California
Brooks Peck – Curator, EMP Museum, Seattle, Washington

Permalink: http://radio.seti.org/episodes/Science_s_Alliances

You can listen to this and other episodes at http://radio.seti.org/, and be sure to check out Are We A Blog?, the companion blog to the radio show.

Big Picture Science for 11/28/11 - Skeptic Check: Dubiology

2011-11-27T20:31:00.001-08:00

Big Picture Science - Skeptic Check: Dubiology

There’s no harm talking to your houseplant, but will your chatter really help it grow? We look at various biological claims, from whether plants feel pain to the ability of cats to predict earthquakes. Feline forecasters, anyone?

Also, when does understanding biology have important implications for health and policy? The arguments for and against genetically modified foods, and the danger of “pox parties” as a replacement for childhood vaccination.

Plus, the history and current state of scientific literacy in the United States. When did we stop trusting science?

Guests:

Andy Michael – Seismologist with the U.S. Geological Survey in Menlo Park, California
Ron Lindsay – President of the Center for Inquiry, headquartered in Amherst, NY
Steven Novella – Clinical neurologist and Director of General Neurology at Yale University School of Medicine; host of the Skeptics Guide to the Universe podcast
Shawn Lawrence Otto – Author of Fool Me Twice: Fighting the Assault on Science in America
Chelsea Specht – Professor, Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of California, Berkeley

Permalink: http://radio.seti.org/episodes/Skeptic_Check_Dubiology

You can listen to this and other episodes at http://radio.seti.org/, and be sure to check out Are We A Blog?, the companion blog to the radio show.

Apex Magazine subscription drive update

2011-11-20T21:28:00.000-08:00

Posted on behalf of Jason Sizemore - Apex Publications:

As you might know, Apex has teamed up with Weightless Books for an Apex Magazine subscription drive. Our goal is 200 new or renewed subscriptions by the end of November.

We've done well so far, gaining 44 toward 200.

Subscribe now for $14.95 and save $5 off our standard yearly price ($19.95). Now is a great time to join. The magazine's new editor, Lynne M. Thomas, just released her first issue (that received a rare "Highly Recommended" from Locus Magazine reviewer Lois Tilton).

If you subscribe or renew, you will receive eBook version of volume 1 and 2 of Descended from Darkness. Ten random subscribers will win a trade paperback copy of Dark Faith.

What happens if we reach 200?

Somebody wins a Barnes & Noble NOOK Tablet!
We want to give away that Tablet, but we still need 156 more subscribers. I know it can be done, so subscribe, tell a friend, and let's make this happen!

Go here to subscribe for $14.95.

Apex Publications - Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror
http://www.apexbookcompany.com

Big Picture Science for 11/21/11 - We've Got You Made

2011-11-20T21:26:00.001-08:00

Big Picture Science - We've Got You Made

ENCORE Wish you could ditch computers? There’s no escape button for that. Computers are not only a part of your daily grind, they may soon be a part of you. We’ll hear from the world’s first cyborg about why we should make nice in our arms race with machines.

Also, the secret behind the extraordinary breakthroughs that DARPA scientists are making – from building autonomous cars to wiring robotic surgeons.

Plus, making space for humans… and their bodily functions: the engineering tricks of toiletry. And, a carbon-based astronaut on the view of Earth from orbit.

Guests:

Kevin Warwick – Professor of Cybernetics at University of Reading in the U.K.
Santiago Bilinkis – Student at the Singularity University
Mary Roach – Writer and author of Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void
Tom Jones – United States astronaut, space consultant, and veteran of four Space Shuttle flights
Michael Belfiore – Space and Technology writer, and author of The Department of Mad Scientists: How DARPA Is Remaking Our World, from the Internet to Artificial Limbs

First aired August 23, 2010.

Permalink: http://radio.seti.org/episodes/We_ve_Got_You_Made

You can listen to this and other episodes at http://radio.seti.org/, and be sure to check out Are We A Blog?, the companion blog to the radio show.

Big Picture Science for 11/14/11 - Blame it on Bacterio

2011-11-13T23:13:00.000-08:00

Big Picture Science - Blame it on Bacterio

Think small! Microbes are tinier than the dot at the end of this sentence, yet they can make humans sicker than dogs, dogs sicker than humans, jump from animal to human and keep scientists guessing when and where the next disease will appear.

Discover how doctors diagnosed one man’s mysterious infection, the role that animals play as hosts for disease, and why the rate of emerging diseases is increasing worldwide.

Also, why your kitchen is a biosafety hazard, and how the Human Microbiome Project will tally all the microbes on – and in – you.

Plus, the extreme places on Earth where microbes thrive and what it suggests for the existence of alien life. And, how one strain of bacteria helped a farmer grow a pumpkin the weight of a small car!

Guests:

Peter Hudson – Biologist, Director of Life Sciences at Penn State University
Peter Krause – Senior research scientist at the Yale School of Public Health
Durland Fish – Epidemiologist at the Yale School of Public Health. Information on his Lyme disease app
David Relman – Stanford University microbiologist and infectious disease clinician
Erich Fleming – Biologist, SETI Institute
O. Peter Snyder – Hospitality Institute of Technology and Management
John Raeside – Oakland, California
Frances Raeside – Oakland, California
Jennifer Kate Arnold – Infectious Disease Clinic, Kaiser Permanente Medical Group
Dave Stelts – Farmer, head of the Great Pumpkin Commonwealth
Neil Anderson – Owner, president of Reforestation Technologies International. Find retail products.

Permalink: http://radio.seti.org/episodes/Blame_it_on_Bacterio

You can listen to this and other episodes at http://radio.seti.org/, and be sure to check out Are We A Blog?, the companion blog to the radio show.

Big Picture Science for 11/07/11 - NASA or What?

2011-11-07T23:02:00.001-08:00

Big Picture Science - NASA or What?

“Making space for everyone” could be NASA’s motto. But as commercial spaceships get ready to blast off, that populist idea is being tested. Space cowboys in the private sector say they’re the ones who can provide unfettered access to space, for tourists and scientists alike.

Meet a scientist who already has a ticket to ride on SpaceShip Two and discover what he hopes to learn about asteroids during his five minutes of weightlessness.

Plus, NASA in motion: it’s back to the moon as the GRAIL mission probes the interior of our lovely lunar satellite. Also, can you dig it? The rover Curiosity can. It’s headed to Mars to hunt for clues to alien life … with a jackhammer.

Also, as the Hubble Space Telescope shuts down, the James Webb Space Telescope revs up. Or does it? The telescope is designed to study the birth of galaxies and hunt for evidence of water on far away worlds. But will Congress pull the plug?

Guests:

James Oberg – former Space Shuttle Mission Control engineer, and space expert
Maria Zuber – Planetary scientist, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Principal Investigator of NASA’s GRAIL mission
Joy Crisp – Geologist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Principal Investigator on the Mars Science Laboratory, Curiosity
Massimo Stiavelli – Astronomer at the Space Science Telescope Institute, and Project Scientist for the James Webb Space Telescope
Dan Durda – Planetary scientist, Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, Colorado

More about the Next Generation Suborbital Researchers Conference

Permalink: http://radio.seti.org/episodes/NASA_or_What_

You can listen to this and other episodes at http://radio.seti.org/, and be sure to check out Are We A Blog?, the companion blog to the radio show.

Apex Magazine is giving away a NOOK color

2011-11-06T22:54:00.000-08:00

To welcome our new editor—2010 Hugo Award-winner Lynne M. Thomas—and to honor the magnificent accomplishments of departing editor Catherynne M. Valente—subscriptions are 25% off the regular price at Weightless Books.

At the end of the drive, every new subscriber will receive two free eBooks, Descended from Darkness Vol 1 AND Descended from Darkness Vol 2, the anthologies that gathered year one and year two of Apex Magazine into print—including work from Genevieve Valentine, Ekaterina Sedia, Maurice Broaddus, Peter M. Ball, Alethea Kontis, Aliette de Bodard, J.M. McDermott, Seanan McGuire, Mary Robinette Kowal, Theodora Goss, and many more.

And: Ten random subscribers will win a trade paperback of Apex’s Stoker Award-nominated anthology DARK FAITH (Featuring Jay Lake, Catherynne M. Valente, Mary Robinette Kowal, Brian Keene, Lavie Tidhar, Ekaterina Sedia, Tom Piccirilli, Alethea Kontis, and 23 others!)

And Also! If we reach 200 new subscriptions (this will count people who add 12 months to their current subscription and new subscribers), Apex will award one random subscriber a Barnes & Noble Nook Color!!

Twelve issues of Apex Magazine, plus two anthologies AND the chance to win a Nook Color all for just $14.95! Subscribe!

http://weightlessbooks.com/format/magazine/apex-magazine-12-month-subscription/

--
Apex Publications - Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror
http://www.apexbookcompany.com

Jeff Carlson short fiction collection - Long Eyes

2011-11-03T23:29:00.000-07:00

Jeff Carlson has just released an all-inclusive SF/F short fiction collection called “Long Eyes” with sixteen stories, two essays, and afterwords discussing each story's inspiration and circumstances. It's on Kindle, Nook, and iBooks for a whopping $2.99.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004S81VYE/

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Long-Eyes/Jeff-Carlson/e/2940012189660/

http://itunes.apple.com/us/book/long-eyes/id452350317?mt=11

"Long Eyes" is also available in trade paperback on Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/Long-Eyes-Jeff-Carlson/dp/1466362286/

Cover art, blurbs, and more are posted on Jeff's blog at http://www.jverse.com/blog/

Meanwhile here’s the back jacket copy:

From the mind that brought you Plague Year and The Frozen Sky...

Sixteen stories about strange worlds, biotech, commandos, and the girl next door.

"Striking." -- Locus Online

"Exciting." -- SF Revu

"Chilling and dangerous." -- HorrorAddicts.net

First published in top venues such as Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine and cult 'zines like The Vampire's Crypt, these stories have been translated into fourteen languages worldwide. Several received honorable mentions in Gardner Dozois's The Year's Best Science Fiction or in Ellen Datlow's Year's Best Fantasy and Horror. As part of the Fast Forward 2 anthology, "Long Eyes" was also a finalist for the Philip K. Dick Award.

The first complete collection from international bestseller Jeff Carlson, this ebook is 80,000 words and packed with artwork from award-winning illustrators such as Frank Wu and Billy Tackett.

Apex Magazine Issue 30 -- Welcomes new editor-in-chief, new fiction from Elizabeth Bear and Catherynne M. Valente

2011-11-03T23:27:00.000-07:00

Apex welcomes new editor-in-chief Lynne M. Thomas (a 2010 Hugo Award-winner for the nonfiction anthology Chicks Dig Timelords)!

This issue contains 30k of content, including new short stories by Elizabeth Bear and Catherynne M. Valente.

Subscriptions to the magazine can be bought for $19.95 (12 issues) or single copies are $2.99. More information at http://apex-magazine.com.

Full table of contents below:

Table of Contents
Fiction:
"The Leavings of the Wolf" by Elizabeth Bear
"The Bread We Eat in Dreams" by Catherynne M. Valente

Classic Revisited:
"This Creeping Thing" by Robert Shearman

Poetry:
"Lion Heart" by Tim Pratt
"Swallowing the Moon" by Bryan Thao Worra
"Wight" by Bryan Thao Worra

Nonfiction:
"Editorial: Blood on Vellum" by Lynne M. Thomas
"Editorial: Good-bye" by Catherynne M. Valente
"The Australian Dark Weird" by Tansy Rayner Roberts

Interviews:
Lynne M. Thomas
Scott Murphy
Elizabeth Bear

--
Apex Publications - Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror
http://www.apexbookcompany.com

Big Picture Science for 10/31/11 - Bug Off!

2011-10-30T23:24:00.001-07:00

Big Picture Science - Bug Off!

ENCORE: What you can’t see … can make you sick. Humans have been battling viruses and bacteria since the beginning of time. The malaria parasite has been keeping deadly company with us for 500,000 years. King Tut had it and so did Julius Caesar. What’s keeping this bug going today?

Also, how disease almost halted the most ambitious engineering project in the world … how elite disease detectives puzzle out perplexing epidemics … And – could tiny bugs from spaaace, ace, ace be our ancestors?

Guests:

Sonia Shah – Author of The Fever: How Malaria Has Ruled Humankind for 500,000 Years
Michael Conniff – Historian, director of Global Studies at San Jose State University, and author of Black Labor on a White Canal: Panama, 1904-1981 (Pitt Latin American Series)
Mark Pendergrast – Author of Inside the Outbreaks: The Elite Medical Detectives of the Epidemic Intelligence Service
Robert Zubrin – President of the Mars Society

First aired August 2, 2010

Permalink: http://radio.seti.org/episodes/Bug_Off_

You can listen to this and other episodes at http://radio.seti.org/, and be sure to check out Are We A Blog?, the companion blog to the radio show.

Big Picture Science for 10/24/11 - Anthropocene and Heard

2011-10-24T00:10:00.001-07:00

Big Picture Science - Anthropocene and Heard

What’s in a name? “Holocene” defines the geologic epoch we’re in. Or were in? Goodbye to “Holocene” and hello “Anthropocene!” Yes, scientists may actually re-name our geologic era as the “Age of Man” due to the profound impact we’ve had on the planet.

We’ll examine why we’ve earned this new monikor and who votes on such a thing. Plus, discover the strongest evidence for human-caused climate change.

Also, why cities should be celebrated, not reviled… a musing over the possible fate of alien civilizations … and waste not: what an unearthed latrine – and its contents – reveal about ancient Roman habit and diet.

Guests:

William Steffen – Climate scientist and the Executive Director of the Climate Change Institute at the Australian National University, Canberra
Simon Donner – Geographer at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver
Edward Glaeser – Economist, Harvard University, author of Triumph of the City: How Our Greatest Invention Makes Us Richer, Smarter, Greener, Healthier, and Happier
Douglas Vakoch – Director of Interstellar Message Composition at the SETI Institute
Mark Robinson – Director of Environmental Archaeology at the University of Oxford
Erica Rowan – Doctoral student, University of Oxford

Permalink: http://radio.seti.org/episodes/Anthropocene_and_Heard

You can listen to this and other episodes at http://radio.seti.org/, and be sure to check out Are We A Blog?, the companion blog to the radio show.

Apex Magazine Issue 29 released

2011-10-16T20:13:00.000-07:00

Apex Magazine is a monthly science fiction, fantasy, and horror magazine featuring original, mind-bending short fiction from many of the top pros of the field.

Table of Contents
Fiction:
“I Am Thinking of You in the Spaces Between” by Shira Lipkin
“To the Mistress of the Labyrinth Give Honey” by Heather McDougal

Classic Revisited:
“A Life in Fictions” by Kat Howard

Poetry:
“In Search of a North Countrie” by Amal El-Mohtar
“Hot Wet Mess” by S.J. Tucker

Interview:
“R.A. Salvatore” by Stephanie Jacobs

Apex Magazine is edited by award-winning author and editor Catherynne M. Valente.

Apex Publications - Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror
http://www.apexbookcompany.com

Big Picture Science for 10/17/11 - Happy Daze

2011-10-16T20:09:00.001-07:00

Big Picture Science - Happy Daze

Calling all pessimists! Your brain is wired for optimism! Yes, deep down, we’re all Pollyannas. So wipe that scowl off your face and discover the evolutionary advantage of thinking positive. Also, enjoy other smile-inducing research suggesting that if you crave happiness, you should do the opposite of what your brain tells you to do.

Plus, why a “well-being index” may replace Dow Jones as a metric for success … a Twitter study that predicts your next good mood … and whether our furry and finned animal friends can experience joy.

Guests:

Tali Sharot – Cognitive neuroscientist at the Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging at the University College London and the author of The Optimism Bias: A Tour of the Irrationally Positive Brain
Michael Macy – Sociologist at Cornell University

His team’s Twitter study: http://timeu.se/
Carol Graham – Economist at the Brookings Institution and author of The Pursuit of Happiness: An Economy of Well-Being
David DiSalvo – Science and technology writer, author of What Makes Your Brain Happy and Why You Should Do the Opposite
Robin Ince – U.K.-based comedian
Jonathan Balcome – Animal behavior scientist and author of The Exultant Ark: A Pictorial Tour of Animal Pleasure

Permalink: http://radio.seti.org/episodes/Happy_Daze

You can listen to this and other episodes at http://radio.seti.org/, and be sure to check out Are We A Blog?, the companion blog to the radio show.

Big Picture Science for 10/10/11 - What's Your Poison?

2011-10-10T10:22:00.000-07:00

Big Picture Science - What's Your Poison?

ENCORE “Aspirin and Old Lace?” Okay, it would take a bottle full of pills in a glass of elderberry wine to really harm you, but aspirin can be deadly. So can too much of anything, including water. Dose is key in toxicology, after all, but there are some poisons that can do deadly work in tiny amounts.

Hear about the chemistry of poisons … why Botox may freeze your emotions as well as your face… which animal is most lethal to humans… and how 19th-century poisoners got away with murder – until the birth of forensic science.

Guests:

Deborah Blum – Pulitzer Prize-winning science writer, author of The Poisoner’s Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York

Martyn Smith – Toxicologist, University of California, Berkeley
Joshua Ian Davis – Psychologist, Barnard College, New York
Jamie Seymour – Venom biologist, director of The Tropical Australian Stinger Research Unit, School of Marine Tropical Biology, James Cook University, Cairns, Australia

Permalink: http://radio.seti.org/episodes/What_s_Your_Poison_

You can listen to this and other episodes at http://radio.seti.org/, and be sure to check out Are We A Blog?, the companion blog to the radio show.

Big Picture Science for 10/03/11 - Skeptic Check, Beast Of

2011-10-03T23:43:00.001-07:00

Big Picture Science - Skeptic Check, Beast Of

Zombies, aliens, Bigfoot, oh my!! We’ve covered – or rather uncovered – them all and more on Skeptic Check, our monthly look of critical thinking. And now we’ve collected enough strange encounters to assemble a sordid retrospective of sorts.

Sharpen your brain, it’s Skeptic Check, Beast Of. But don’t take our word for it!

Guests:

Phil Plait – Skeptic and keeper of Discover Magazine’s blog, badastronomy.com
Bruce Hood – Cognitive scientist at the University of Bristol in the U.K. and author of The Science of Superstition: How the Developing Brain Creates Supernatural Beliefs
Susan Jacoby – Author of The Age of American Unreason
Steve Silberman – Contributing editor, Wired Magazine, author of “The Placebo Problem” in the September 2009 issue
Mary Pope-Handy – Estate Agent, Silicon Valley and keeper of the website hauntedrealestate.com
Jim Underdown – Executive Director, Center for Inquiry, West – Los Angeles
Paul Offit – Pediatrician, Chief of Infectious Diseases at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, and author of Autism’s False Prophets: Bad Science, Risky Medicine, and the Search for a Cure
Stephen Schneider – Climate scientist, Stanford University
Brendan Riley – Assistant professor of English, Columbia College, Chicago

Permalink: http://radio.seti.org/episodes/Skeptic_Check_Beast_Of

You can listen to this and other episodes at http://radio.seti.org/, and be sure to check out Are We A Blog?, the companion blog to the radio show.

Big Picture Science for 09/26/11 - Rend Me Your Ears

2011-09-25T20:19:00.001-07:00

Big Picture Science - Rend Me Your Ears

ENCORE Shh – can you keep it down? Nope. Not unless you want to do away with civilization. Our buzzing, humming, whirling, machine-driven world is a poster child for technological progress, right?

As is hearing loss. It’s driven one man to search the world for silence. We’ll hear what he didn’t hear, and what Einstein predicted we should hear in deep space, where gravitational waves may reveal the hidden sounds of the universe, including the birth of black holes.

Guests:

George Foy – Author of Zero Decibels: The Quest for Absolute Silence
Garret Keizer – Author of The Unwanted Sound of Everything We Want
Craig Hogan – Director for Particle Astrophysics at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory

Permalink: http://radio.seti.org/episodes/Rend_Me_Your_Ears

You can listen to this and other episodes at http://radio.seti.org/, and be sure to check out Are We A Blog?, the companion blog to the radio show.

Big Picture Science for 09/19/11 - Whodunit, Who'll Do It?

2011-09-18T21:21:00.001-07:00

Big Picture Science - Whodunit, Who'll Do It?

The tools of forensics have moved way beyond fingerprint kits. These days, a prosecutor is as likely to wave a fMRI brain scan as a smoking gun as “Exhibit A.” Discover what happens when neuroscience has its day in court.

Meanwhile, research into the gold standard of identification, DNA, marches on. One day we may determine a suspect’s eye color from a drop of blood.

Plus, why much of forensic science – from fingerprinting to the polygraph – is more like reading tea leaves than science. And will future crime victims be robots?

Guests:

Owen Jones – Professor of law, Professor of biological sciences at Vanderbilt University, in Nashville, Tennessee
Manfred Kayser – Forensic molecular biologist, Erasmus University Medical Centre, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Marc Goodman – Founder, The Future Crimes Institute
David Faigman – Law professor, University of California, Hastings College of the Law in San Francisco

Permalink: http://radio.seti.org/episodes/Whodunit_Who_ll_Do_It_

You can listen to this and other episodes at http://radio.seti.org/, and be sure to check out Are We A Blog?, the companion blog to the radio show.

Big Picture Science for 09/12/11 - Whither the Weather?

2011-09-11T21:09:00.000-07:00

Big Picture Science - Whither the Weather?

We all talk about the weather. And now scientists are doing something about it: providing more accurate warnings before big storms hit. Discover how smart technology – with an eye on the sky – is taking monster weather events by storm.

Plus, why severe weather events caused by a warming planet may trigger social and economic chaos.

Also, meet the storm chaser who runs toward tornadoes as everyone else flees… and why your cell phone goes haywire when the sun kicks up a storm of its own.

Guests:

Michael Smith – Meteorologist, founder of WeatherData and author of Warnings: The True Story of How Science Tamed the Weather
George Kourounis – Explorer and storm chaser
Jeffrey Scargle – Research astrophyscisit in the Astrobiology and Space Science Division at NASA Ames Research Center
Ken Caldeira – Climate scientist at the Carnegie Institution for Science’s Deparment of Global Ecology
Christian Pareti – Contributing editor of The Nation, visiting scholar at the City Univeristy of New York, and author of Tropic of Chaos: Climate Change and the New Geography of Violence

Permalink: http://radio.seti.org/episodes/Whither_the_Weather_

You can listen to this and other episodes at http://radio.seti.org/, and be sure to check out Are We A Blog?, the companion blog to the radio show.

Apex Magazine Issue 28 released

2011-09-11T20:30:00.000-07:00

Posted on behalf of Jaszon Sizemore - Apex Publications:

Apex Magazine is a monthly science fiction, fantasy, and horror
magazine featuring original, mind-bending short fiction from many of
the top pros of the field. This is issue 28.

Table of Contents
Fiction:
“Namasté Prime” by Grá Linnaea
“Frank” by Betsy Phillips

Classic Revisited:
“Gemphalon” by Elizabeth Engstrom

Poetry:
“And Cut Down a Moment Later” by Erik Amundsen

Nonfiction:
“The Improbable, Inevitable Domestication of the Great Old Ones: H.P.
Lovecraft’s Iconic Influence on 21st-Century Fantastic Literature and
Culture” by John H. Stevens

Apex Magazine is edited by award-winning author and editor Catherynne
M. Valente.

Our website is http://www.apex-magazine.com.
Apex Publications - Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror
http://www.apexbookcompany.com

Big Picture Science for 09/05/11 - Seth's Tool Shed

2011-09-05T12:29:00.001-07:00

Big Picture Science - Seth's Tool Shed

Anyone who does gardening knows that life is tough. It’s also ancient – the first living things appeared on this planet nearly as soon as our world was habitable. We consider life on real worlds – like Earth and Mars – as well as fictional ones, such as the desert planet from the movie “Dune”. We’ll hear about a new scheme to find Martians, and practical approaches to coping with climate change.

And is Pluto seeking revenge? The unmasking of a fourth moon around this former planet!

We’re making some lively discoveries in Seth’s Tool Shed on Big Picture Science.

Guests:

Philip Duffy – Physicist and senior scientist at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Kevin Zahnle – Planetary scientist at the NASA Ames Research Center
David Summers – Astrobiologist at the SETI Institute
Christopher Carr – Researcher in the Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Mark Showalter – Research scientist at the SETI Institute

Permalink: http://radio.seti.org/episodes/Seth_s_Tool_Shed

You can listen to this and other episodes at http://radio.seti.org/, and be sure to check out Are We A Blog?, the companion blog to the radio show.

Big Picture Science for 08/29/11 - Into the Unknown

2011-08-28T22:02:00.000-07:00

Big Picture Science - Into the Unknown

During the great age of exploration men risked their lives to set foot upon unknown lands, whether in the humid jungles of Peru or on the barren ice cap of the South Pole. We’ll hear those dramatic tales…

… but also where modern exploration is taking us. Could it be to the deepest, darkest part of the sea?

Or to space? Discover how to build a space suit that will let you move like an athlete on Mars. Also, why some say that the ultimate frontier requires no packing and no travel: voyages into the human brain.

Guests:

Dava Newman – Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics Engineering Systems, MIT
David Eagleman – Neuroscientist, Baylor College of Medicine and author of Incognito: The Secret Lives of the Brain
Mark Adams – Author of An Empire of Ice: Scott, Shackleton and the Heroic Age of Antarctic Science
Edward Larson – Author of An Empire of Ice: Scott, Shackleton and the Heroic Age of Antarctic Science
Liz Taylor – President, Deep Ocean Exploration and Research, Alameda, CA

Permalink: http://radio.seti.org/episodes/Into_the_Unknown

You can listen to this and other episodes at http://radio.seti.org/, and be sure to check out Are We A Blog?, the companion blog to the radio show.

Big Picture Science for 08/22/11 - Swarm in Here... or Is It Just Me?

2011-08-21T22:07:00.001-07:00

Big Picture Science - Swarm in Here... or Is It Just Me?

ENCORE: An ant … can’t … move a rubber tree plant… but the colony can. As a group, ants are an efficient, organized, can-do bunch. And a model for humans trying to manage complex systems.

Find out about the eerie collective intelligence of animals, and how an MIT researcher is hoping to put humans to work collaboratively to solve problems like climate change.

Also … hear how research into flocking behavior helps Hollywood film a herd of stampeding dinosaurs.

Guests:

Steve Strogatz – Applied mathematician at Cornell University and author of Sync: How Order Emerges From Chaos In the Universe, Nature, and Daily Life

Craig Reynolds – Senior researcher for Sony Computer Entertainment
Thomas Malone – Director of the Center for Collective Intelligence at MIT
Iain Couzin – Biologist at Princeton University

Permalink: http://radio.seti.org/episodes/Swarm_in_Here_or_Is_It_Just_Me_

You can listen to this and other episodes at http://radio.seti.org/, and be sure to check out Are We A Blog?, the companion blog to the radio show.

Apex Publications Signs Current Hugo Award Nominee Lynne M. Thomas to Head Apex Magazine

2011-08-14T21:28:00.000-07:00

Posted on behalf of Jason Sizemore - Apex Publications:

Apex Publications Signs Current Hugo Award Nominee Lynne M. Thomas to Head Apex Magazine

(LEXINGTON, Kentucky) — (August 12^th, 2011) — Apex Publications has signed current Hugo Award nominated editor Lynne M. Thomas to head its science fiction, fantasy, and horror periodical Apex Magazine.

One of the top genre fiction publications in the United States, Apex Magazine is a professional level venue currently publishing on a monthly schedule. As of August 10^th, twenty-seven issues have been released, and during that time talented writers such as Jeff VanderMeer, Seanan McGuire, and Theodora Goss have appeared within its pages. In 2010, work from the magazine earned Nebula, Million Writer, and Rhysling Award nominations. Under the guidance of its current editor, New York Times bestselling author Catherynne M. Valente, the magazine has seen its circulation increase to 12,000 unique visitors a month to its website.

“Under the editorial hand of Cat Valente, Apex Magazine has become one of the leading sources of short form science fiction, fantasy, and horror,” says Apex owner and publisher Jason Sizemore. “Having someone as talented and well-regarded as Lynne Thomas taking over the editorial wheel this November makes me confident that our magazine will only continue to rise in stature and readership.”

The hiring of Lynne Thomas caps a highly successful year for Apex Publications that includes signing multi-award winning authors such as Gary A. Braunbeck and Brian Keene, the release of the highly acclaimed and Stoker nominated anthology Dark Faith, and the parent imprint picking up national distribution via Diamond Book Distributors.

“I'm thrilled and honored to be following in the footsteps of Catherynne M. Valente at such an exciting time for Apex Publications.” said Lynne M. Thomas, editor of the Hugo-nominated essay collection Chicks Dig Time Lords: A Celebration of Doctor Who by the Women Who Love It. “Apex Magazine has thrived with Cat as its editor, publishing cutting-edge and award-worthy dark science fiction, fantasy, and horror fiction and poetry. I look forward to continuing and building upon her editorial legacy.”

Lynne M. Thomas is the Curator of Rare Books and Special Collections at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, IL, where she is responsible for popular culture special collections that include the literary papers of over 50 SF/F authors. She is the co-author of Special Collections 2.0, a book about web 2.0 technologies and special collections in libraries with Beth Whittaker (Libraries Unlimited, 2009), as well as academic articles about cross-dressing in dime novels and using libraries to survive the zombie apocalypse. She is perhaps best known as the co-editor of the Hugo-nominated Chicks Dig Time Lords (2010) with Tara O’Shea, and Whedonistas (2011) with Deborah Stanish, essay collections celebrating women involved in media fandoms and the production of television series, published by Mad Norwegian Press. Her next book will be Chicks Dig Comics, with Sigrid Ellis (2012).

Current plans call for issue thirty (November, 2011) to be Lynne’s first.

ABOUT APEX PUBLICATIONS—Apex Publications (http://www.apexbookcompany.com/) is an independent press dedicated to publishing exemplary works of science fiction, fantasy, and horror. Owned and operated by Jason B. Sizemore, Apex publishes the online professional fiction ezine Apex Magazine. In 2006, Apex Publishing branched into producing novellas, collections, and anthologies, earning a Bram Stoker Award for the company’s first title, Aegri Somnia.

Apex Publications - Science Fiction, Fantasy,

Big Picture Science for 08/15/11 - Skeptic Check: Plotting Along

2011-08-14T21:24:00.001-07:00

Big Picture Science - Skeptic Check: Plotting Along

It’s been ten years since the fall of the Twin Towers, but some still believe that the attack was an inside job. They’re not the only ones to buy into a conspiratorial view of world events. Others deny

President Obama’s American birth… link autism with vaccines… and even claim that the fluo
ride in our drinking water is there to control our minds. Is it the truth – or the fringe groups – that are “out there?”

Find out why some tinfoil hat ideas never go away. Also, the roots of rational argument: did our brains evolve to seek the truth… or just win arguments?

It’s Skeptic Check… but don’t take our word for it!

Guests:

Jonathan Kay – Managing editor of National Post in Canada and author of Among the Truthers: A Journey Through America’s Growing Conspiracist Underground
Michael Shermer – Founding Publisher of Skeptic Magazine and author of The Believing Brain: From Ghosts and Gods to Politics and Conspiracies – How We Construct Beliefs and Reinforce Them As Truths
Phil Plait – Skeptic and keeper of Discover Magazine’s blog, badastronomy.com
Hugo Mercier – Postdoctoral researcher at the University of Pennsylvania
Darcia Narvaez – Psychologist at the University of Notre Dame
Ben Recht – Computer Scientist at the University of Wisconsin, Madison and author of the paper “On the Effectiveness of Tinfoil Hats”

Permalink: http://radio.seti.org/episodes/Skeptic_Check_Plotting_Along

You can listen to this and other episodes at http://radio.seti.org/, and be sure to check out Are We A Blog?, the companion blog to the radio show.

Apex Magazine Issue 27 released

2011-08-07T19:15:00.000-07:00

Just released! Issue 27 of Apex Magazine.

http://apex-magazine.com

Table of Contents
Fiction:
“The Whispered Things” by Zach Lynott
“The Tiger Hunt” by Rabbit Seagraves

Classic Revisited:
“The Secret Protocol of the Elders of Zion” by Lavie Tidhar

Poetry:
“The Djinn Prince in America: A Microepic in 9 Tracks” by Saladin Ahmed
“Down Cycles” by Elizabeth R. McClellan

Nonfiction:
“Five Genre Books that Raises Mind-numbing Philosophical Questions” by Jason Sizemore

Apex Magazine is edited by award-winning author and editor Catherynne M. Valente.

Buy current issue

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Apex Publications - Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror
http://www.apexbookcompany.com

Big Picture Science for 08/08/11 - Written in Code

2011-08-07T19:12:00.001-07:00

Big Picture Science - Written in Code

ENCORE Genes – what are they good for? Absolutely… something. But not everything. Your “genius” genes need to be turned on – and your environment determines that. Find out how to unleash your inner-Einstein, and what scientists learned from studying the famous physicist’s brain.

Also, the bizarre notion that your children inherit not just your genes, but also the consequences of your habits – smoking, stress, diet, and other behaviors that turn the genes on.

Plus Francis Collins on affordable personal genomes, and a man who decoded his own DNA in under a week.

Guests:

Francis Collins – Geneticist, Director of the National Institutes of Health
David Shenk – Journalist, and author of The Genius in All of Us: Why Everything You’ve Been Told About Genetics, Talent and IQ is Wrong
Stephen Quake – Biophysicist, Stanford University
Dean Falk – Anthropologist and Senior Scholar at the School For Advanced Research in Santa Fe, New Mexico

Permalink: http://radio.seti.org/episodes/Written_in_Code

You can listen to this and other episodes at http://radio.seti.org/, and be sure to check out Are We A Blog?, the companion blog to the radio show.

Big Picture Science for 08/01/11 - Cell! Cell!

2011-07-31T21:05:00.000-07:00

Big Picture Science - Cell! Cell!

Live forever? Both cancer cells and stem cells can make a claim to immortality. Left unchecked, tumors will grow indefinitely. And stem cells offer the promise of non-stop rejuvenation.

We’ll find out whether the surprising discovery of stem cells in the brain really can keep our thinking organ young. And we’ll hear the remarkable story of Henrietta Lacks, the woman who unwittingly donated tissue to science in 1951, and whose cancer cells are still grown in laboratories around the world today.

Guests:

Rebecca Skloot – Journalist and author of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

Fred Gage – Neurobiologist at the Salk Institute
Randy Schekman – Molecular and cell biologist at the University of California, Berkeley

Permalink: http://radio.seti.org/episodes/Cell_Cell_

You can listen to this and other episodes at http://radio.seti.org/, and be sure to check out Are We A Blog?, the companion blog to the radio show.

NOTICE - Are We Alone is now Big Picture Science! You can find out more here: http://radio.seti.org/blog/2011/05/the-names-they-are-a-changin/

Big Picture Science for 07/25/11 - Water the Chances

2011-07-24T20:38:00.001-07:00

Big Picture Science - Water the Chances

Water, water everywhere. But most of it is sea water – you can’t drink it. Discover the most promising technologies for desalination and why solar cells are key. Also, how astronauts filter “water-closet water” to drink it, and how to turn a salt pond back to a wetland.

Plus, from Roman aqueducts to modern-day pumps: a history of quenching human thirst. And, why NASA strives to “follow the water.”

Guests:

Brian Fagan – Anthropologist at the University of California, Santa Barbara, author of Elixir: A History of Water and Humankind
John Bourgeois – Biologist and Executive Project Manager, South Bay Salt Pond Restoration Project
Michael Meyer – Lead scientist for the Mars Exploration Program
Farouk El-Baz – Geologist and Director of the Center for Remote Sensing, Boston University
Michael Flynn – Principal investigator for NASA’s advanced life support branch, Ames Research Center

Permalink: http://radio.seti.org/episodes/Water_the_Chances

You can listen to this and other episodes at http://radio.seti.org/, and be sure to check out Are We A Blog?, the companion blog to the radio show.

NOTICE - Are We Alone is now Big Picture Science! You can find out more here: http://radio.seti.org/blog/2011/05/the-names-they-are-a-changin/

Big Picture Science for 07/18/11 - Know Laughing Matter

2011-07-18T09:20:00.001-07:00

Big Picture Science - Know Laughing Matter

Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha. It’s nearly impossible to fake a laugh. Yet, humans will laugh even if something isn’t funny. Discover the evolutionary function of cracking up and meet the other species that love to giggle (and monkey around).

Also, hilarious science comedy. Yes, science comedy. Plus, teaching machines to write punch lines… and stretching – and splitting – your sides with laughter yoga.

Guests:

Frans de Waal – Primatologist, Emory Univeristy and the Yerkes Primate Center in Atlanta, Georgia
Brian Malow – Science comedian
Robert Provine – Neuroscientist, University of Maryland, Balitimore, author of Laughter: A Scientific Investigation
Tony Veale – Computer scientist and natural language processing researcher. University College, Dublin, Ireland
Tommy Westerfield – Instructor, We Are Laughter

Permalink: http://radio.seti.org/episodes/Know_Laughing_Matter

You can listen to this and other episodes at http://radio.seti.org/, and be sure to check out Are We A Blog?, the companion blog to the radio show.

NOTICE - Are We Alone is now Big Picture Science! You can find out more here: http://radio.seti.org/blog/2011/05/the-names-they-are-a-changin/

Big Picture Science for 07/11/11 - The Big Picture

2011-07-09T22:07:00.001-07:00

Big Picture Science - The Big Picture: Science’s Biggest Questions

How did life begin? What’s the universe made of, and what’s the nature of consciousness?

These are truly some of the biggest puzzlers in science, but answers are in the offing.

We consider the modern-day hunt for life beyond Earth, as well as a new theory of consciousness: could it be merely an illusion to entertain us and make our lives more worthwhile?

Also, after thousands of years of examining the heavens, are we finally learning the true nature of the cosmos?

Guests:

Marc Kaufman – Reporter for the Washington Post, and author of First Contact: Scientific Breakthroughs in the Hunt for Life Beyond Earth

Carolyn Porco – Planetary scientist and leader of the Cassini Imaging Team
Michael Russell – Research Scientist at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Nicholas Humphrey – Theoretical psychologist and author of Soul Dust: The Magic of Consciousness
Saul Perlmutter – Physicist at the University of California, Berkeley and senior scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National laboratory

Permalink: http://radio.seti.org/episodes/The_Big_Picture

You can listen to this and other episodes at http://radio.seti.org/, and be sure to check out Are We A Blog?, the companion blog to the radio show.

NOTICE - Are We Alone is now Big Picture Science! You can find out more here: http://radio.seti.org/blog/2011/05/the-names-they-are-a-changin/

Apex Magazine Issue 26 released

2011-07-05T09:50:00.001-07:00

Apex Magazine is a monthly science fiction, fantasy, and horror magazine featuring original, mind-bending short fiction from many of the top pros of the field.

This month we bring three outstanding stories to our dedicated readers. "The Neighborly Thing to Do" by T.J. Weyler starts as a classic Gothic tale, but a wicked twist adds a memorable dynamic. "The Widow and the Xir" by Indrapramit Das explores the pain of grief and how difficult it can be to let go of a deceased loved one. In Theodora Goss's powerful "The Rapid Advancement of Sorrow," fiction editor Catherynne M. Valente completes a three story cycle of loneliness, sorrow, and loss.

Rounding out this month's content is a nonfiction piece from Paul Jessup. Jessup lists some outstanding weird reads in his "The Top 10 Experimental Genre Books You've Never Heard Of."

Apex Magazine is edited by award-winning author and editor Catherynne M. Valente.

Apex Magazine website: http://www.apex-magazine.com.

Are We Alone for 07/04/11 - Ultimate Hook Up

2011-07-03T09:22:00.000-07:00

Are We Alone - Ultimate Hook Up

Imagine moving things with your mind. Not with telekinesis, but with the future tools of brain science. Meet a pioneer in the field of computer-to-brain connection and discover the blurry boundary where the mind ends and the machine begins.

Plus, how new technology is sharpening the “real” in virtual reality. And, whether our devotion to digital devices is changing what it means to be human.

Guests:

Miguel Nicolelis – Director for the Center for Neuroengineering at Duke University, and author of Beyond Boundaries: The New Neuroscience of Connecting Brains with Machines and How it Will Change our Lives
Jeremy Bailenson – Director of the Virtual Human Interaction Lab at Stanford University and co-author of Infinite Reality: Avatars, Eternal Life, New Worlds and the Dawn of the Virtual Revolution
Jim Blascovich – Psychologist at the University of California, Santa Barbara and co-author of Infinite Reality: Avatars, Eternal Life, New Worlds and the Dawn of the Virtual Revolution
Sherry Turkle – Professor of social studies of science and technology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and author of Alone Together: Why We Expect More from Technology and Less From Each Other

Permalink: http://radio.seti.org/episodes/Ultimate_Hook_Up

You can listen to this and other episodes at http://radio.seti.org/, and be sure to check out Are We A Blog?, the companion blog to the radio show.

NOTICE: "The Names They are a-Changin’" - Coming in July, "Are We Alone" will change to "Big Picture Science!"

Apex Publications Signs with Diamond for US/UK Book Distribution

2011-07-03T08:48:00.000-07:00

(LEXINGTON, Kentucky) — (June 28, 2011) — Apex Publications has signed an agreement with Diamond Book Distributors (DBD) to have its books placed in U.S. and U.K. bookstores.

One of the U.S.’s leading distributors, Diamond sells to a variety of bookstores and vendors including Barnes & Noble, Ingram, Baker & Taylor, WaldenBooks, Amazon.com, Borders, and more. The company represents a number of acclaimed book and comic publishers, including Borderlands Press, Night Shade Books, Subterranean Press, and Random House UK.

“Apex Publications has been building to this for the past five years,” says Apex owner and publisher Jason Sizemore. “Diamond will bring our books and authors to a national audience and allow us to grow our unique brand of science fiction, fantasy, and horror. They are among the best in the business when it comes to selling genre works.”

The partnership caps a highly successful year for Apex Publications that includes signing multi-award winning authors such as Gary A. Braunbeck and Brian Keene, the release of the highly acclaimed and Stoker nominated anthology Dark Faith, and hiring NYT bestselling author Catherynne M. Valente to helm Apex Magazine.

“We’re extremely delighted to add Apex to our list of growing science fiction, horror, and fantasy publishers,” said Kuo-Yu Liang, said Kuo-Yu Liang, DBD’s Vice President of Sales and Marketing. “They have been a terrific source of groundbreaking stories that has not only been widely acclaimed, but has also proven to have tremendous commercial appeal. We look forward to finding homes for their new releases among new audiences and across a range of book buying outlets.”

Current plans call for Apex Publications titles to be available in U.S. and U.K. bookstores by late 2011.

ABOUT DIAMOND BOOK DISTRIBUTORS (DBD)—DBD is a division of Diamond Comic Distributors, Inc., and is dedicated to making a wide selection of graphic novels and other pop culture merchandise available to bookstores, online retailers, libraries, schools, mass merchants and other retailers globally. DBD is the home to a number of world class publishers including Dark Horse Comics, publisher of award-winning and best-selling creators & series including Joss Whedon, Janet Evanovich, Mike Mignola, Frank Miller, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Conan and the Star Wars franchise; IDW, publisher of Transformers & True Blood; Image Comics, publisher of Robert Kirkman’s Walking Dead; Oni Press, publisher of the Scott Pilgrim series; and many others. For more information, visit Diamond Books on the web at www.diamondbookdistributors.com.

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Apex Book Company - Dark SF, Fantasy, and Horror
http://www.apexbookcompany.com

Are We Alone for 06/27/11 - Skeptic Check: There're Baack!

2011-06-26T09:17:00.001-07:00

Are We Alone - Skeptic Check: There're Baack!

Could you have had a past life? Is it possible that some part of you is the reincarnation of a person – or maybe an animal – that lived long ago?

We’ll hear the story of a young boy who started having nightmares about a plane crash. His parents thought he was the reincarnation of a downed, World War II fighter pilot. But his story might not fly.

Also … is there any biological basis for reincarnation? Animals that indulge in the big sleep.

Suspended animation is Hollywood’s favorite device for interstellar travel … But could we really put a dimmer switch on human metabolism? Learn how techniques for hitting the hold button for humans might be just around the corner.

Guests:

Cynthia Meyersburg – Research psychologist at Harvard University
Tori Hoehler – Astrobiologist at the NASA Ames Research Center
André Bormanis – Screenwriter, producer and former science consultant for “Star Trek”
Matt Andrews – Biologist at the University of Minnesota, Duluth
Phil Plait – Astronomer, and author of the Bad Astronomy blog at Discover Magazine
Mark Roth – Biologist at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle

Permalink: http://radio.seti.org/episodes/Skeptic_Check_There_re_Baack_

You can listen to this and other episodes at http://radio.seti.org/, and be sure to check out Are We A Blog?, the companion blog to the radio show.

NOTICE: "The Names They are a-Changin’" - Coming in July, "Are We Alone" will change to "Big Picture Science!"

Are We Alone for 06/20/11 - Alien Invasion

2011-06-19T21:48:00.001-07:00

Are We Alone - Alien Invasion

They’re heeeere! Yes, aliens are wreaking havoc and destruction throughout the land. But these aliens are Arizona beetles, and the land is in California, where the invasive insects are a serious problem.

And what of space-faring aliens? We have those too: how to find them, and how to protect our planet – and theirs.

From Hollywood to SETI’s hi-tech search for extraterrestrials, aliens are invading Are We Alone?

Guests:

Paul Davies – Physicist and author of The Eerie Silence: Renewing Our Search for Alien Intelligence
Frank Drake- Senior Scientist, SETI Institute
Andy Ihnatko – Journalist and tech blogger
Margaret Race – Biologist and Principal Investigator at the SETI Institute
Margaret McLean – Director of bioethics at the Markkula Center for Ethics, Santa Clara University
Mark Hoddle – Biological Control Specialist at the University of California, Riverside
Vanessa Lopez – Graduate student in entomology, University of California, Riverside

Permalink: http://radio.seti.org/episodes/Alien_Invasion

You can listen to this and other episodes at http://radio.seti.org/, and be sure to check out Are We A Blog?, the companion blog to the radio show.

NOTICE: "The Names They are a-Changin’" - Coming in July, "Are We Alone" will change to "Big Picture Science!"

Apex Peerbacker project

2011-06-15T22:38:00.000-07:00

Posted on behalf of Jason Sizemore - Apex Book Company

A wonderful opportunity has fallen into my lap. A major distributor wants to carry almost all of Apex Book Company's titles. However, this opportunity requires me to shift our current business model, which is to provide short print runs, to that of a traditional press. Due to the advances of print-on-demand and e-book technology, Apex has stayed away from larger print runs, which means that our up-front costs have been minimal. This has allowed me to reduce our operational costs to invest in authors like Brian Keene, Gary A. Braunbeck, and Alethea Kontis to ensure we have a healthy release schedule. In order to leverage this exciting opportunity, I would have to invest a substantial sum in print books. This fiscal requirement goes above and beyond our normal business operations and normally, I wouldn't be opposed to that. In this instance, however, the issue is time. The distributor is anxious to get Apex out on the market. To do that, I need to come up with the initial investment for a full-scale run.

This is a great opportunity to help increase the size and the visibility of our books. Therefore, I've decided to try crowd sourcing. It's been successful for many and it seems like a fair way to ask you to invest in our success. If you're not familiar with the concept, you pledge X amount of dollars and you receive a milestone award for your money. I hope you will consider chipping in toward our goal of $5000. Not only will you receive some awesome rewards, you'll be helping push another quality genre publisher into the mainstream.

http://peerbackers.com/projects/apex-joins-the-big-leagues/home/
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Apex Book Company - Dark SF, Fantasy, and Horror
http://www.apexbookcompany.com

Are We Alone for 06/13/11 - No Expiration Date

2011-06-12T23:07:00.001-07:00

Are We Alone - No Expiration Date

We all have to go sometime, and that final hour is the mother of all deadlines. But scientists are working to file an extension. Discover how far we can push the human expiration date.

Plus, the animal with the shortest lifespan and the chemistry that causes your pot-roast to eventually clothe itself in fuzzy green mold.

Also, a clock that won’t stop ticking (for 10,000 years) and our love-hate relationship with that long-lived hydrocarbon that keeps our snack cakes fresh: plastic!

Guests:

Martin Bucknavage- Senior Food Safety Extension Associate, Department of Food Science at Penn State
Leonard Guarente – Biologist, Laboratory for the Science of Aging, M.I.T.
Alexander Rose – Executive Director and Clock Project Manager, Long Now Foundation
Rick Hochberg – Biologist, University of Massachusetts – Lowell
Susan Freinkel – Author of Plastic: A Toxic Love Story

Permalink: http://radio.seti.org/episodes/No_Expiration_Date

You can listen to this and other episodes at http://radio.seti.org/, and be sure to check out Are We A Blog?, the companion blog to the radio show.

NOTICE: "The Names They are a-Changin’" - Coming in July, "Are We Alone" will change to "Big Picture Science!"

Are We Alone for 06/06/11 - Space Archaeology

2011-06-04T20:25:00.001-07:00

Are We Alone - Space Archaeology

Indiana Jones meets Star Trek in the field of space archaeology. Satellites scan ancient ruins so that scientists can map them without disturbing one grain of sand. Discover how some archaeologists forsake their spades and brushes in favor of examining historic sites from hundreds of miles high.

Also, if you were to hunt for alien artifacts – what would you look for? Why ET might choose to send snail mail rather than a radio signal.

Plus, the culture of the hardware we send into space, and roaming the Earth, the moon, and Mars the Google way.

Guests:

Alice Gorman – Archaeologist at Flinders University, Adelaide, Australia
Robin Hanson – Economist at George Mason University, Virginia
Tiffany Montague – Engineer, and Intergalactic Federation King Almighty, Commander of the Universe, at Google, Inc.
Compton Tucker – Scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center

Permalink: http://radio.seti.org/episodes/Space_Archaeology

You can listen to this and other episodes at http://radio.seti.org/, and be sure to check out Are We A Blog?, the companion blog to the radio show.

Are We Alone for 05/30/11 - Remembers Only

2011-05-29T08:57:00.001-07:00

Are We Alone - Remembers Only

You must remember this… wait, wait… I had it… on the tip of my tongue… (Memory is a tricky thing and most of us would like to improve it)… oh, yes: Discover the secrets of stupefying, knock-your-socks-off recall by a U.S. Memory Champion.

Also, almost everything we know about memory comes from the life of one man born in 1926 and known as H.M., the world’s “most unforgettable amnesiac.”

Plus, the sum total of the global data storage capacity in hard drives, thumb drives, the Internet, you name it… guess how many exabytes it comes to?

Guests:

Larry Squire – Professor of psychiatry and neurosciences and psychology at the University of California, San Diego and a scientist at the VA Medical Center in San Diego
Jacopo Annese – Neuroanatomist and Director of the Brain Observatory at the University of California, San Diego
Joshu Foer – Author of Moonwalking with Einstein: The Art and Science of Remembering Everything
Martin Hilbert – Economist and social scientist, University of Southern California Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism

Permalink: http://radio.seti.org/episodes/Remembers_Only

You can listen to this and other episodes at http://radio.seti.org/, and be sure to check out Are We A Blog?, the companion blog to the radio show.

Are We Alone for 05/23/11 - [Rectangular Container] Thinking

2011-05-23T22:54:00.000-07:00

Are We Alone - [Rectangular Container] Thinking

By thinking different, scientists can make extrordinary breakthroughs. Learn about the creative cogitation that led to the discovery of dark matter and the invention of a.c. power grids, disinfectant, and the Greek “death ray.” Also, whether one person’s man of genius is another’s mad scientist.

And, the scientist who claims pi is wrong and biopunks who tinker with DNA – in their kitchens and on the cheap.

Plus, from string theory to the greenhouse effect – how metaphor sheds light on science. Discover why your brain is like a rain forest (that’s a simile!).

Guests:

Anil Ananthaswamy – Corresponding editor for New Scientist magazine in London and author of The Edge of Physics: A Journey to Earth’s Extremes to Unlock the Secrets of the Universe
Marcus Wohlsen – Reporter for the Associated Press, and author of Biopunk: DIY Scientists Hack the Software of Life
John Monahan – Author of They Called Me Mad: Genius, Madness, and the Scientists Who Pushed the Outer Limits of Knowledge
Michael Hartl – Physicist, creator of “Tau Day”
James Geary – Author of I Is an Other: The Secret Life of Metaphor and How It Shapes the Way We See the World

Permalink: http://radio.seti.org/episodes/_Rectangular_Container_Thinking

You can listen to this and other episodes at http://radio.seti.org/, and be sure to check out Are We A Blog?, the companion blog to the radio show.

Are We Alone for 05/16/11 - Physics Phrontiers

2011-05-14T23:23:00.001-07:00

Are We Alone - Physics Phrontiers

ENCORE Physics means getting physical if you’re tackling the biggest, most mysterious questions in the universe. Stoic scientists endure the driest, darkest, coldest spots on the planet to find out how it all began and why there’s something rather than nothing. From the bottom of an old iron mine to the top of the Andes, we’ll hear their stories.

Plus, Steven Weinberg on this weird stuff called dark energy, and Leonard Susskind sees double, no, triple, no, …infinite universes.

Guests:

Anil Ananthaswamy – Corresponding editor for New Scientist magazine in London and author of The Edge of Physics: A Journey to Earth’s Extremes to Unlock the Secrets of the Universe
Steven Weinberg – Nobel Prize-winning physicist at University of Texas at Austin and author of Lake Views: This World and the Universe
Leonard Susskind – Professor of theoretical physics, Stanford University
André de Gouvêa – Associate professor of physics, Northwestern University

Permalink: http://radio.seti.org/episodes/Physics_Phrontiers

You can listen to this and other episodes at http://radio.seti.org/, and be sure to check out Are We A Blog?, the companion blog to the radio show.

Apex Magazine Issue 24 released (May 2011)

2011-05-08T11:01:00.000-07:00

Apex Magazine is a monthly science fiction, fantasy, and horror magazine featuring original, mind-bending short fiction from many of the top pros of the field.

Our May issue is sure to delight as the stories happen to swing back toward dark SF. Jeremy R. Butler channels the adventure and dangers of deep space mining with his “Recipe Collecting in the Asteroid Belt.” Annalee Newitz explores love and particle physics in “Twilight of the Eco-Terrorist.”

Our classic reprint is Will Ludwigsen’s chilling “In Search Of” where the answers to all your questions are better left unknown.

Apex presents two poetry selections this month. The first is “Black, Red, White” by Rachel Swirsky. The second is Elizabeth McClellan’s “The Walking Man Goes Looking for the Sons of John: Six Cantos.”

Finally, Monica Valentinelli gives fans and writers some important tips on how to enjoy the world of literary fan conventions with “Grab Your Badge. Ready, Set, Meet!”

Apex Magazine is edited by award-winning author and editor Catherynne M. Valente.

Apex Book Company - Dark SF, Fantasy, and Horror

http://www.apexbookcompany.com

Are We Alone for 05/09/11 - Thanks for the Memories

2011-05-08T10:59:00.001-07:00

Are We Alone - Thanks for the Memories

ENCORE Memories are slippery things – some are crystal clear, others more like a muddy pool, and some… well, they seem to vanish completely.

Scientists admit that memory is all very complicated, but one piece of the puzzle lies in how we age – we’ll hear the latest research.

Meanwhile, meet the man who digitally logged his every waking moment – and why maybe the secret to happiness isn’t in remembering but in forgetting.

Plus, the case for deleting data from your hard-drive… and from your brain itself.

Guests:

Adam Gazzaley – Director of the Neuroscience Imaging Center at University of California, San Francisco
Gordon Bell – Principal researcher at Microsoft Research
Jim Gemmell – Senior researcher at Microsoft Research
James McGaugh – Neurobiologist at the University of California, Irvine
Viktor Mayer-Schönberger – Director of the Information and Innovation Policy Research Center at the National University of Singapore’s Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, and the author of Delete: The Virtue of Forgetting in the Digital Age
Todd Sacktor – Neurologist, SUNY Downstate Medical Center

Permalink: http://radio.seti.org/episodes/Thanks_for_the_Memories

You can listen to this and other episodes at http://radio.seti.org/, and be sure to check out Are We A Blog?, the companion blog to the radio show.

Are We Alone for 05/02/11 - Skeptic Check: Mayhem and Octoberhem

2011-04-30T23:02:00.001-07:00

Are We Alone - Skeptic Check: Mayhem and Octoberhem

The end is nigh. Only, on which nigh should we rely? According to billboards, Judgment Day is in May and the end of the world follows months later. But other authorities claim 2012 as the apocalyptic year, as predicted by the ancient Mayans. It’s a busy time for doomsday prophecy.

Find out what’s driving these pessimistic predictions and whether it’s time to cash in your stock portfolio.

Meanwhile, a survey of the real threats to Earth, and indeed to the universe, from asteroids, exploding stars, or a big cosmic rip. And the lingering menace of atomic weapons… Is nuclear war inevitable or can intelligence and political will forestall atomic Armageddon?

Finally, why everything’s going to be alright! An optimist’s tour of the future.

It’s Skeptic Check, our monthly look at critical thinking on Are We Alone.

Guests:

Phil Plait – Astronomer, and author of the Bad Astronomy blog at Discover Magazine
Ron Rosenbaum – Author of How the End Begins: The Road to a Nuclear World War III
Catherine Wessinger – Professor of religious studies at Loyola University in New Orleans
Mark Stevenson – Author of An Optimist’s Tour of the Future: One Curious Man Sets Out to Answer “What’s Next?”

Permalink: http://radio.seti.org/episodes/Skeptic_Check_Mayhem_and_Octoberhem

You can listen to this and other episodes at http://radio.seti.org/, and be sure to check out Are We A Blog?, the companion blog to the radio show.

News Release: Heroes in Hell series return

2011-04-25T10:03:00.000-07:00

Heroes In Hell Returning; New Volume, Lawyers In Hell, Coming July 2011

The award-winning Heroes in Hell series, originally published in twelve mass-market volumes in the late `80s, is set to return this July. A thirteenth volume, Lawyers in Hell, will be released in limited-edition hardcover in July 2011, followed by e-books, trade paperbacks, and mass-market editions.

Janet Morris, CJ Cherryh, Chris Morris, Nancy Asire, and Michael A. Armstrong will be returning from the original series; there'll also be stories by Michael Z. Williamson, Scott Oden, Bruce Durham, Allan Gilbreath and others.

For more information, go to http://heroesinhell.wordpress.com or contact heroesinhell@gmail.com

Are We Alone for 04/25/11 - Fuel's Paradise

2011-04-24T19:33:00.000-07:00

Are We Alone - Fuel's Paradise

You know the joke about the car and the snail. Look at that escargot? Well, snails may be the only thing not powering the automobiles of the future. Trees, grass, algae, even the garbage you toss on the sidewalk has potential for conversion into biofuel. What is America’s next top model fuel? Join us on a tour of the contenders.

Meet a man who’s mad about miscanthus … an astrobiologist’s attraction to algae… and the blueprint for building your own biofuel bugs.

Also, discover whether any of these next-generation fuel sources could take us to the stars. Put that in your rocket and burn it!

Guests:

Madhu Khanna – Professor of Agriculture and Environmental Economics at the University of Illinois and at the Energy Biosciences Institute
Stephen Long – Professor of Crop Sciences and Plant Biology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Michelle Chang – Assistant Professor of Chemistry at the University of California at Berkeley
Bret Stroegn – Graduate student researcher, Energy Bioscience Institute, University of California at Berkeley
Jonathan Trent – Bioengineering Research Scientist at the NASA Ames Research Center and founder of Global Research into Energy and the Enviornment (GREEN )
Richard Obousy – Physicist and co-founder and project leader for Project Icarus

Permalink: http://radio.seti.org/episodes/Fuel_s_Paradise

You can listen to this and other episodes at http://radio.seti.org/, and be sure to check out Are We A Blog?, the companion blog to the radio show.

Apex Magazine Issue 23 released

2011-04-21T09:56:00.000-07:00

http://www.apexbookcompany.com/apex-online

Apex Magazine is a monthly science fiction, fantasy, and horror magazine featuring original, mind-bending short fiction from many of the top pros of the field.

Our April issue begins the first of our new expanded editions. More great content for one great price!

Eugie Foster returns to the pages of Apex with the Japanese-flavored “Biba Jibun.” Michael J. Deluca marks his first appearance with the rather fantastical dark story “The Eater.” Relive the horrors of Mike Allen’s Nebula Award-nominated “The Button Bin.” Rose Lemberg’s poem “Thirteen Principles of Faith”, Jennifer Pelland’s Nebula Award-nominated story “Ghosts of New York,” (Dark Faith), and the history of the Nebula Awards by Michael A. Burstein round out a robust and hefty issue of Apex Magazine.

Apex Magazine is edited by award-winning author and editor Catherynne M. Valente.

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Apex Book Company - Dark SF, Fantasy, and Horror
http://www.apexbookcompany.com

Are We Alone for 04/18/11 - Big, Really Big

2011-04-17T09:53:00.000-07:00

Are We Alone - Big, Really Big

The universe is big – really big.* Galaxies, for instance, are often large enough to hold a trillion stars. But how did these heavenly heavyweights come to be? Hear how still-mysterious dark matter is implicated in the birth of galaxies.

Also, gamma ray bursts – explosions more energetic than anything since the Big Bang – take place somewhere in the visible universe every day. What are they, and could they obliterate life on Earth?

And, the biggest cosmic mystery de jour: dark energy. Why new, super-size telescopes may finally reveal just what it is.

We’re living large on “Big, Really Big.”

*appreciative nod to Douglas Adams

Guests:

George Djorgovski – Astronomer, California Institute of Technology
Sandra Faber – Astronomer and Chair of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of California at Santa Cruz
Daniel Perley – Astronomer, University of California at Berkeley
Ed Stone – Former director of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and physicist at the California Institute of Technology
Richard Panek – Author of The 4 Percent Universe: Dark Matter, Dark Energy, and the Race to Discover the Rest of Reality

Permalink: http://radio.seti.org/episodes/Big_Really_Big

You can listen to this and other episodes at http://radio.seti.org/, and be sure to check out Are We A Blog?, the companion blog to the radio show.

Are We Alone for 04/11/11 - Skeptic Check: Swimming in Denial

2011-04-10T13:21:00.000-07:00

Are We Alone - Skeptic Check: Swimming in Denial

ENCORE: Public distrust of science is higher than at any time since the Enlightenment. New Yorker writer Michael Specter argues how our anti-science bias and our irrationalism about everything from genetically modified foods to climate change to childhood vaccines endangers our future.

And remember when… a look back at scientists who at first pooh-poohed plate tectonics… meteorites, and quantum physics. How the evidence turned them around.

It’s Skeptic Check… but don’t take our word for it.

Guests:

Michael Specter – Writer for The New Yorker and author of Denialism: How Irrational Thinking Hinders Scientific Progress, Harms the Planet, and Threatens Our Lives
Read Montague – Director of the Human Neuroimaging Lab at Baylor College of Medicine and author of Why Choose This Book?: How We Make Decisions
Spencer Weart – Historian of science

Permalink: http://radio.seti.org/episodes/Skeptic_Check_Swimming_in_Denial

You can listen to this and other episodes at http://radio.seti.org/, and be sure to check out Are We A Blog?, the companion blog to the radio show.

The Spanish Gatekeeper - Compton Crook Award Finalist

2011-04-03T20:41:00.001-07:00

Kaladar Books is exceedingly pleased to announce The Spanish Gatekeeper - Empire of the Ulfair by Bernard Dukas is a 2011 Compton Crook Award Finalist.

Written in the best traditions of Wells, Verne and Rider Haggard, The Spanish Gatekeeper is an endearing adventure that plays on history and the fables of our past. This imaginative unearthing of Spain’s long forgotten links to another world is old-school speculative fiction crafted with all the advantages of 21st century perspective.

A family heirloom steeped in Galician folklore is the key to entwined tales of adventure, romance, ignominy and courage, flush with creatures both familiar and unfamiliar. Caught in a world where the rules they’ve come to trust no longer apply, Peter and his cousin, Bonifacia, must adapt or die.

Read it now! on eBook from

Amazon.com and BN.com

Meet the author at Balticon 45!

Saturday, May 28

Coming, from Kaladar Books! Spring 2011 – Book II in the Spanish Gatekeeper series – Gwellem’s Hitch, and Summer 2011 – Book III – Og’yre War by Bernard Dukas.

For more details or to order the trade paperback, visit our website:

www.kaladarbooks.com

Are We Alone for 04/04/11 - Sex and the SETI

2011-04-03T15:44:00.001-07:00

Are We Alone - Sex and the SETI

ENCORE: Birds do it. Bees do it. But no one sings about how they do it. And frankly, not even Cole Porter can make bedroom behavior that involves decapitating your mate sound romantic. And what rhymes with “cannibalism?” But the animal world abounds with bizarre sexual behavior… and it’s all perfectly normal.

Find out how female spiders lure males to their doom… why dolphins are the friskiest of mammals… whether E.T. would have sex… and why sexual reproduction evolved in the first place.

Also, why the marketing gurus have it all wrong: driving a Hummer or wearing Gucci won’t help you land a mate. Find out what will.

Guests:

Olivia Judson – Evolutionary biologist at Imperial College in London and author of Dr. Tatiana’s Sex Advice to All Creation: The Definitive Guide to the Evolutionary Biology of Sex
Lori Marino – Evolutionary Biologist at Emory University
Sharon Moalem – Neuro-geneticist, evolutionary biologist and author of How Sex Works: Why We Look, Smell, Taste, Feel, and Act the Way We Do
Geoffrey Miller – Evolutionary psychologist at the University of New Mexico and author of Spent: Sex, Evolution, and Consumer Behavior

Permalink: http://radio.seti.org/episodes/Sex_and_the_SETI

You can listen to this and other episodes at http://radio.seti.org/, and be sure to check out Are We A Blog?, the companion blog to the radio show.

Are We Alone for 03/28/11 - ¡A.I. Caramba!

2011-03-28T23:14:00.001-07:00

Are We Alone - ¡A.I. Caramba!

When the IBM computer, Watson, snatched the “Jeopardy” title from its human competition, that raised the question of just how smart are machines? Could artificial intelligence ever beat humans at their own game… of being human?

Hear why an A.I. expert says it’s time to make peace with your P.C.; the machines are coming. Also, why technology is already self-evolving, and presenting its own demands. Find out what technology wants.

And, a man who went head-to-chip with a computer and says machines will never beat the human mind. Plus, we take a voyage into “2011: An Emotional Odyssey.”

Guests:

Kevin Kelly – Editor-at-large at Wired and author of What Technology Wants
Henry Lieberman – Research scientist at the M.I.T. Media Laboratory
Brian Christian – Science writer, poet and author of The Most Human Human: What Talking with Computers Teaches Us About What It Means to Be Alive
Horst Simon – Deputy Director, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Shankar Sastry – Dean of Engineering, University of California, Berkeley
Jean Paul Jacob – Scholar in Residence at U.C. Berkeley and IBM Researcher, Emeritus

Permalink: http://radio.seti.org/episodes/_A_I_Caramba_

You can listen to this and other episodes at http://radio.seti.org/, and be sure to check out Are We A Blog?, the companion blog to the radio show.

Are We Alone for 03/21/11 - Skeptic Check: Monsters, Magic, and Music

2011-03-20T12:52:00.001-07:00

Are We Alone - Skeptic Check: Monsters, Magic, and Music

If Bigfoot walks through a forest and no one sees him, does he exist? It’s the job of paranormal investigator Joe Nickell to find out! Discover whether eyewitness accounts are reliable when it comes to tracking down the hirsute big guy and other monsters.

Also, on the subject of “seeing is believing”: how magic fools the brain.

Plus, in our potpourri show: can music boost brain power? A new study says listening to music makes brains happy. Does this support the dubious “Mozart Effect,” that claims listening to Wolfie’s compositions boosts IQ?

And, skeptic Phil Plait on why the so-called “super moon theory” doesn’t predict devastating earthquakes.

It’s Skeptic Check… but don’t take our word for it.

Guests:

Joe Nickell – Paranormal investigator and author of Tracking the Man-beasts: Sasquatch, Vampires, Zombies, and More
Stephen Macknik – Director of the Laboratory of Behavioral Neurophysiology at the Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix, Arizona
Susana Martinez-Conde – Director of the Laboratory of Visual Neuroscience at the Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix, Arizona
Phil Plait – Astronomer, and author of the Bad Astronomy blog at Discover Magazine
Valorie Salimpoor – Researcher at Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Quebec, Canada
Penny Glass – Developmental psychologist and associate professor of pediatrics at the George Washington University School of Medicine

Permalink: http://radio.seti.org/episodes/Skeptic_Check_Monsters_Magic_and_Music

You can listen to this and other episodes at http://radio.seti.org/, and be sure to check out Are We A Blog?, the companion blog to the radio show.

Are We Alone for 03/14/11 - Who's on First?

2011-03-13T11:45:00.000-07:00

Are We Alone - Who's on First?

ENCORE Being first counts in science. Land that coveted spot and you’ll make history, whether it’s with the first steam engine or the discovery of our earliest human ancestor.

But what does “first” mean when technological invention so heavily builds on what’s come before… and evolution represents continuous change?

Find out how “publish or perish” made Darwin famous… why we’ll never find the first human fossil… and how powerful new telescopes are allowing us to see the earliest galaxies.

Plus, the chicken and egg battle it out in line.

Guests:

Garth Illingworth – Astrophysicist at the University of California, Santa Cruz
Sean B. Carroll – Molecular biologist and geneticist at the University of Wisconsin Madison and author of Remarkable Creatures: Epic Adventures in the Search for the Origins of Species
Leslea Hlusko – Paleontologist at the University of California- Berkeley. Read more about Ardi

Permalink: http://radio.seti.org/episodes/Who_s_on_First_

You can listen to this and other episodes at http://radio.seti.org/, and be sure to check out Are We A Blog?, the companion blog to the radio show.

Apex Magazine Issue 22 released

2011-03-07T23:02:00.000-08:00

Posted on behalf of Jason Sizemore - Apex Book Company:

This month we welcome original fiction from Darin Bradley and Kat Howard. Veronica Schanoes entertains us with a morbidly creepy reprint. Our poetry selections are by Jessica Wick and the trio of Mike Allen, Sonya Taaffe, and Nicole Kornher-Stace.

http://www.apexbookcompany.com/apex-online/
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Apex Book Company - Dark SF, Fantasy, and Horror
http://www.apexbookcompany.com

Are We Alone for 03/06/11 - Eureka!

2011-03-05T20:26:00.001-08:00

Are We Alone - Eureka!

ENCORE From the double-helix to the expansion of the universe, great scientific discoveries reshape our understanding of who we are and how things work. But great discoveries require more than just a great mind. We tour brainy breakthroughs from Archimedes to Darwin, and find out what made their revolutionary insights possible.

Also, why you need more than a stratospheric I.Q. to be a super-achiever. And how the invention of reading re-directed the course of civilization and re-wired our brains in the process.

Guests:

Alan Hirshfeld – Professor of physics at the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth, and author of Eureka Man: The Life and Legacy of Archimedes
Richard Holmes – Author of The Age of Wonder: How the Romantic Generation Discovered the Beauty and Terror of Science
Angela Duckworth – Psychologist at the University of Pennsylvania. Her grit study can be found here
Stanislas Dehaene – Cognitive neruoscientist at the the Collège de France in Paris, and author of Reading in the Brain: The Science and Evolution of a Human Invention

Permalink: http://radio.seti.org/episodes/Eureka_

You can listen to this and other episodes at http://radio.seti.org/, and be sure to check out Are We A Blog?, the companion blog to the radio show.

The Great Apex Nebula & Stoker Award Sale!

2011-02-28T22:58:00.000-08:00

Posted on behalf of Jason Sizemore - Apex Book Company:

On the tail of receiving two Nebula nominations and two Stoker nominations within the last two weeks, Apex is having a two-week sale starting… now… on works by our authors who have received (or contains work receiving) Stoker & Nebula nominations.

The discount is 40% off the following books when ordering direct.

Dark Faith — $11.97 (Buy Here)
To Each Their Darkness — $11.37 (Buy Here)
Taste of Tenderloin — $8.37 (Buy Here)
Mama’s Boy and Other Dark Tales — $9.57 (Buy Here)
I Remember the Future — $13.17 (Buy Here)
Unwelcome Bodies — $8.97 (Buy Here)
Aegri Somnia — $8.97 (Buy Here)

The digital versions of these books are also 40% off.

Issue 18 of Apex Magazine containing Amal El-Mohtar’s Nebula-nominated story is also 40% off at all our vendors.

Apex Book Company - Dark SF, Fantasy, and Horror
http://www.apexbookcompany.com

Are We Alone for 02/28/11 - Skeptic Check: Diluted Thinking?

2011-02-28T22:53:00.001-08:00

Are We Alone - Skeptic Check: Diluted Thinking?

The weaker the mixture, the stronger the potency. That paradox is a central tenet of homeopathy. More than 200 years old and developed long before germ theory, the practice is the fastest growing form of alternative medicine worldwide.

Proponents say its diluted remedies cure disease. Most scientists maintain there’s nothing in homeopathic solution but water. We’ll hear the arguments, and also the role placebos might be playing in the cure.

Plus, skeptic Phil Plait voyages to the edge of the solar system where a new planet has been discovered … maybe!

And, consider our brains: the product of millions of years of evolution. So why aren’t we more consistent in our reasoning?

It’s Skeptic Check…. but don’t take our word for it.

Guests:

Iris Bell – Psychiatrist and researcher in alternative medicine at the Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine
Simon Singh – Science writer based in the U.K., author of Trick or Treatment: The Undeniable Facts about Alternative Medicine
Phil Plait – Astronomer, skeptic, and keeper of the web site badastronomy.com
Jim Underdown – Executive Director, Center for Inquiry, Los Angeles
Gordy Slack – Science writer and keeper of the neuroscience web site, "Brainstorm”
Robert Kurzban – Associate professor of psychology at the University of Pennsylvania and author of Why Everyone (Else) Is a Hypocrite: Evolution and the Modular Mind

Permalink: http://radio.seti.org/episodes/Skeptic_Check_Diluted_Thinking_

You can listen to this and other episodes at http://radio.seti.org/, and be sure to check out Are We A Blog?, the companion blog to the radio show.

Are We Alone for 02/21/11 - Nano Nano

2011-02-20T08:10:00.000-08:00

Are We Alone - Nano Nano

Think small to solve big problems. That, in a nutshell, is the promise of nanotechnology. In this barely visible world, batteries charge 100 times faster and drugs go straight to their targets in the body. Discover some of these nano breakthroughs and how what you can’t see can help you… …or hurt you? What if tiny machines turn out to be nothing but trouble? We’ll look at the health and safety risks of nanotech.

Plus, scaling up in science fiction: why a Godzilla-sized insect is fun, but just doesn’t fly.

Guests:

Bill Flounders – executive director of the Marvell Nanofabrication Laboratory at the University of California at Berkeley
Joseph DeSimone – professor of chemistry at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and chemical engineering at North Carolina State University
David Guston – political scientist at Arizona State University where he directs The Center for Nanotechnology in Society
Stan Williams – Senior Fellow and founding director of the Information and Quantum Systems Lab at Hewlett-Packard
Michael LeBarbera – Professor in organismal biology, anatomy and geophysical sciences, University of Chicago

Permalink: http://radio.seti.org/episodes/Nano_Nano

You can listen to this and other episodes at http://radio.seti.org/, and be sure to check out Are We A Blog?, the companion blog to the radio show.

Are We Alone for 02/14/11 - Outta This World

2011-02-13T14:19:00.001-08:00

Are We Alone - Outta This World

Earth may not be rare after all. New data from NASA’s Kepler mission suggests that the universe is chock-a-block with planets. More than a thousand new possible planets have just been found, and more than fifty of these might be suitable for life. Ready for cosmic company? We discuss the results of the Kepler mission in a roundtable with some of its top scientists.

Meanwhile, the Voyager spacecraft continues to be humanity’s point man in the race to interstellar space. Poised to leave our solar system, we reflect on the mission – including its on-board messages for aliens.

Plus, out-of-this world science. From lab coats to warp speed: does Hollywood get it right? Does it matter?

Guests:

Jon Jenkins – Co-principal investigator for the Kepler Mission
Doug Caldwell – Co-investigator and instrument scientist for the Kepler Mission
Jessie Christiansen – Data scientist working on the Kepler mission
Ed Stone – Professor of physics at the California Institute of Technology, and former Director of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Jennifer Ouellette – Writer and former director, National Academy of Sciences’ Science and Entertainment Exchange

Permalink: http://radio.seti.org/episodes/Outta_This_World

You can listen to this and other episodes at http://radio.seti.org/, and be sure to check out Are We A Blog?, the companion blog to the radio show.

Apex Magazine Issue 21 released--Cat Rambo, Forrest Aguirre, Nalo Hopkinson

2011-02-07T08:45:00.000-08:00

Posted on behalf of Apex Book Company:

This month editor Catherynne M. Valente has put together an all-star issue of science fiction, fantasy, and horror. We welcome first-timers Cat Rambo, Forrest Aguirre, Nalo Hopkinson, and Nicole Kornher-Stace. Welcome back to FJ Bergmann!

This issue marks the second issue following our new distribution model. In short, we wanted to give a premium to those who subscribe digitally and/or purchase each issue by making the content available to them one month prior to its release on our website. This means that full text of the stories and poetry will be available the first Monday of March right here, along with sneak peeks of this issue’s contents.

Purchase this issue to get a taste of some great speculative fiction.

http://www.apexbookcompany.com/apex-online

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Apex Book Company - Dark SF, Fantasy, and Horror
http://www.apexbookcompany.com

Are We Alone for 02/07/11 - Better Mousetrap

2011-02-06T13:09:00.001-08:00

Are We Alone - Better Mousetrap

It’s the perennial dream: build a better mousetrap, and the world will beat a path to your door. We go to San Jose’s famed Tech Museum to learn what it takes to turn a good idea into a grand success.

Remember the Super Soaker squirt gun? Hear how its inventor is now changing the rules for solar energy.

Where do good ideas come from? A Eureka moment in the bathtub? We’ll find out that it doesn’t happen so quickly – or easily.

And finally, the life cycle of society-changing technologies, from the birth of radio to the future of the Internet.

Inventions, inventors and innovation: all part of the mix on “Better Mousetrap.”

Guests:

Steven Johnson – Author of Where Good Ideas Come From: The Natural History of Innovation
Lonnie Johnson – Inventor and former NASA engineer; CEO of Johnson Research and Development Company
Tim Wu – Professor of Communication Law at Columbia University and author of The Master Switch: The Rise and Fall of Information Empires (Borzoi Books)

Permalink: http://radio.seti.org/episodes/Better_Mousetrap

You can listen to this and other episodes at http://radio.seti.org/, and be sure to check out Are We A Blog?, the companion blog to the radio show.

Are We Alone for 01/31/11 - Skeptic Check: ESP or Think Again

2011-01-30T18:49:00.001-08:00

Are We Alone - Skeptic Check: ESP or Think Again

You’re right: it’s a show about ESP. And, correct again: we’re excited about the publication of a paper that claims precognition exists. You’ve already divined what our paranormal investigator says about the paper, whether the statistics that it cites are significant, and what the editor-in-chief of a major scientific journal has to say on the tricky matter of publishing such a result at all.

You’re not surprised that Brains on Vacation takes on the matter of Armageddon-by-exploding-star, because, you knew that. You also knew that it will be an excellent show. But, tune in anyway – consider it a repeat.

Guests:

Bruce Alberts – Editor-in-chief of Science
Jim Underdown – Executive Director, Center for Inquiry – Los Angeles
Jeff Rouder – Quantitative psychologist, University of Missouri
Phil Plait – Skeptic and keeper of the website badastronomy.com
Steve Macknik – Neuroscientist, author of Sleights of Mind: What the Neuroscience of Magic Reveals about Our Everyday Deceptions

Permalink: http://radio.seti.org/episodes/Skeptic_Check_ESP_or_Think_Again

You can listen to this and other episodes at http://radio.seti.org/, and be sure to check out Are We A Blog?, the companion blog to the radio show.

Are We Alone for 01/24/11 - Gone Missing!

2011-01-23T11:52:00.001-08:00

Are We Alone - Gone Missing!

We all hear about research discoveries, but what about what scientists don’t find? Tune in for a round-up of eureka moments that have yet to come, such as the hunt for the dark energy of the universe and the search for the elusive elementary particle responsible for the mass of objects.

Also, we miss the woolly mammoth so much, scientists plan to clone the hairy beast and bring the extinct animal back.

Plus, why the missing link is no longer missing, what extrasolar planets have now been found, and – NASA money for science: where’d it go?

Guests:

Alan Stern – Aerospace consultant and planetary scientist
Natalie Batalha – Deputy Science Team Lead for NASA’s Kepler Mission
Leslea Hlusko – Biologist at the University of California, Berkeley
Ian Sample – Science writer, author of Massive: The Missing Particle That Sparked the Greatest Hunt in Science
Saul Perlmutter – Physicist, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Darin Croft – Professor of Anatomy, Case Western Reserve, Cleveland

Permalink: http://radio.seti.org/episodes/Gone_Missing_

You can listen to this and other episodes at http://radio.seti.org/, and be sure to check out Are We A Blog?, the companion blog to the radio show.

Are We Alone for 01/17/11 - You've Got Sol!

2011-01-16T22:41:00.001-08:00

Are We Alone - You've Got Sol!

It’s the star of our solar system, but much about the Sun is still mysterious. Find out what a new NASA mission to our favorite fireball might discover about its super-hot outer regions.

Also, why the most common stars in the galaxy don’t shine thanks to nuclear energy as our Sun does. And, recreating Sol’s energy source on Earth at the National Ignition Facility.

Plus, an ex-Star Wars animator and photographer on how to film an atomic blast.

Guests:

Peter Kuran – An animator on Star Wars, now a filmmaker, documentarian of “”http://www.atomcentral.com/trinity.html">Trinity and Beyond,” and author of How To Photograph an Atomic Bomb
Davy Kirkpatrick – Astronomer, California Institute of Technology, and scientist for NASA’s WISE mission
Stuart Bale – Physicist at the University of California, Berkeley and Director of the Berkeley Space Sciences Laboratory
Mike Dunne – Physicist, and Program Director for Fusion Energy at the Lawrence Livermore Laboratory

Permalink: http://radio.seti.org/episodes/You_ve_Got_Sol_

You can listen to this and other episodes at http://radio.seti.org/, and be sure to check out Are We A Blog?, the companion blog to the radio show.