Fact and Science Fiction

In this special episode, I got to ask a really smart person lots of questions. Specifically, the author, voice actor, puppeteer, and science communicator Mary Robinette Kowal, author of the Lady Astronaut series— starting with The Calculating Stars, The Fated Sky, and the new novel coming out July 14th - The Relentless Moon. We talk about why her books are set in the past, how sh

I was going to create a podcast episode on afrofuturism but I found that this genre/aesthetic/artform can speak for itself so instead I'm going to link all my research sources and then make a pledge to ensure all @FactandScifi eps from now on include black and non-black POC media rep. Afrofuturism, broadly defined, imagines a future, past or present of the African diaspora freed fr

In this episode I discuss real examples of cyborgs, cybernetic organisms living today, human or otherwise, and these examples may surprise you. I’ll define what exactly cybernetic means, and why exactly cybernetics is an exciting industry to watch. New Segment! Recommendations:-Sleeping Giants by Sylvain Neuvel (book, 2016)-Color out of Space dir. Richard Stanley (movie, 201

Disaster movies can be fun. They can be scary or thought-provoking. And they can be really, really bad. But how close are they to the science of real disasters? I talk about recent landslides and earthquakes, my own experience with natural disasters, and a model for risk communication. Follow the podcast on Twitter @factandscifi and find the transcript to this episode on factandsci

In this episode of Fact and Science Fiction, I'm discussing the science and science fiction of parallel universes. I review the famous Many Worlds Interpretation, the theory of bubble universes and more. I use examples from The Dark Tower, Golden Compass and Spider-man: Into the Spider-verse to understand why parallel universes are just so fascinating to science fiction fans.I used

In this episode I'm sharing types of animal mimicry. From owl butterflies to cuckoo birds, to the "thing" from space. I discuss defensive mimicry, aggressive mimicry and even mimicry humans have contributed to. It turns out there's no greater inspiration for horror than the natural world.Research from this episode is from my ol' pal Wikipedia andC. Blut, J. Wilibrandt, D. Fels, E.I

We are obsessed with super suits. It is the peak of imagined technology. It’s like we have recognized the limits of the human body - and we have decided that all we need to become super strong, fast and flying is robotics. From Iron Man, RoboCop to the Gundam franchise, they are known as mechsuits, exosuits, and mobile suits. I wanted to know what exactly these suits do, how can

There have been several pandemics in human history and few are as misunderstood as the flu. In Stephen King's The Stand, a flu epidemic wipes out most of the human population. How is it different from the actual flu? What are some misconceptions about the flu? How can you protect yourself? This episode goes into those questions and more.Support the show! Subscribe on Apple Podcasts

This special live episode was recorded March 30 in Kansas City MO. I did a round-up of the science of superheroes and superpowers, including Captain Marvel, the Incredible Hulk, Captain America, and Ant-Man. I discuss photon blasts, radiation, growing big and super-shrinking. Then I talked about the outliers: real life people with interesting abilities. Check out the transcript on

I play a video game! Join me as I launch a rocket to space, complete an orbit path, and return back to the planet on Kerbal Space Program. Kerbal Space Program is a popular physics simulator that teaches players science and engineering. It's for people who love space and taking notes! Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you find Fact and Science Fict