Guest: Dr. Una McCormack
New York Times bestselling Star Trek author Dr. Una McCormack beams aboard to discuss the development of and themes within her latest Trek novel, "Strange New Worlds: Asylum."
"Asylum" by Una McCormack: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Star-Trek-Strange-New-Worlds-Asylum/Una-McCormack/Star-Trek-Strange-New-Worlds/9781668051368
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Episode 183: Alien Earths
Guest: Prof. Lisa Kaltenegger
Professor Lisa Kaltenegger, Director of the Carl Sagan Institute at Cornell University, beams aboard to talk about her book, Alien Earths, the search for life in the cosmos, what exoplanets teach us about our home world, and her love for Star Trek.
Alien Earths: The New Science of Planet Hunting in the Cosmos, by Lisa Kaltenegger: https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250283641/alienearths/
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Episode 182: A Rocket Scientist Goes to Washington
Guest: Thomas White
Mike speaks to propulsion engineer Thomas White about their experience participating in The Planetary Society's 2025 Day of Action, where they met with six Congressional offices to lobby in support of space science at a critical time.
Inspired to take action? Visit The Planetary Society's Action Center: https://www.planetary.org/action-center
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The Planetary Society: https://bsky.app/profile/planetarysociety.bsky.social
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Episode 181: Fungi Everywhere
Guest: Dr. Shi En Kim
Fungi are everywhere—from forests to deserts to cities to Star Trek! Science journalist Dr. Shi En Kim beams back aboard to talk about some of the latest developments in fungal research.
"Can Fungi Save This Endangered Hawaiian Tree?" by Shi En Kim for Smithsonian Magazine: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/can-fungi-save-this-endangered-hawaiian-tree-180985171/
"Why scientists are enlisting fungi to save endangered plants" by Shi En Kim for Knowable Magazine: https://knowablemagazine.org/content/article/food-environment/2025/mycorrhizal-fungi-help-save-endangered-plants-ecosystems
"Biocrusts: The secret world living at the surface of drylands" by Shi En Kim for BioScience: https://academic.oup.com/bioscience/advance-article/doi/10.1093/biosci/biae119/7927803
"The Netherlands’ Surprising Bus Stop Bounty" by Shi En Kim for bioGraphic: https://www.biographic.com/the-netherlands-surprising-bus-stop-bounty/
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Kim: https://bsky.app/profile/goesbykim.bsky.social
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Episode 180: Preparing for Alien Earths
In a few weeks, Professor Lisa Kaltenegger—the Director of the Carl Sagan Institute at Cornell University—will be a guest on Strange New Worlds to talk about the search for life in the universe.
To prime us for that discussion, on this episode, Mike shares his review of Professor Kaltenegger's new book, "Alien Earths: The New Science of Planet Hunting in the Cosmos."
Want to read Mike's review instead? Just click here: https://www.americanscientist.org/article/earth-2.0-could-be-just-around-the-corner
Acerca de Strange New Worlds: A Science & Star Trek Podcast
Hosted by planetary scientist and astrobiologist Dr. Michael L. Wong, Strange New Worlds examines science, technology, and culture through the lens of Star Trek!