Special(ish) 005 – Pale Blue Dot

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Special(ish) 005 – Pale Blue Dot

FromScience(ish)

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10 minutes

Released:

May 18, 2016

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Podcast episode

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Milan Kundera once wrote; “While pondering the infinity of the stars, we ignore the infinity of our father.” We asked experts from our Interstellar episode if they agree. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
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Released:

May 18, 2016

Format:

Podcast episode

Titles in the series (100)

Flâneur and irrepressible commentator, Rick Edwards, and "Indiana Jones in a lab coat" Dr. Michael Brooks, delve into the science behind popular culture.

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010 – Interstellar: The boys go intergalactic with Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar. We’re talking gravity, we’re talking black holes, and we’re talking the theory of how every single thing in our universe came into existence. No biggie.https://radiowolfgang.com/s/scien... by Science(ish)
51 min listen
013 – The Abyss: Rick & Michael delve into the underwater world of James Cameron’s 'The Abyss'. Ignoring, as Michael puts it “those silly wet aliens” this episode explores the limits of the human body, liquid breathing & what lurks in the deep.https... by Science(ish)
46 min listen
008 – The Circle: What’s the Internet doing to us? Are we being controlled by our office spaces? How transparent is online transparency? Michael, Rick and web psychologist Nathalie Nahai dissect Dave Eggars’ dystopian masterpiece The Circle.https://radiowolfgang.com/s... by Science(ish)
52 min listen
001 – Inception: Dr. Michael Brooks attempts to enter the world of lucid dreaming. Rick – not so much.https://radiowolfgang.com/s/scienceish by Science(ish)
46 min listen
006 – The Time Machine: Dr Michael ‘Morlock’ Brooks and Rick ‘Eloi’ Edwards transcend time and explore the future of humanity.https://radiowolfgang.com/s/scienceish by Science(ish)
49 min listen
002 – Brave New World: Brace yourself for stories about cloning, aggressive ice hockey players, happy buildings… oh, and the ethics of using genetics to create a content underclass.http://radiowolfgang.com/s/scienceish by Science(ish)
51 min listen
009 – Planet of the Apes: The boys go back to basics with an exploration of the 1968 classic Planet of the Apes. How did we humans end up on top? Could the apes ever take over? And of course will dolphins ever have hands?https://radiowolfgang.com/s/scienceish by Science(ish)
46 min listen
Special(ish) 002 – Rise of the Machines: Following AlphaGo’s trouncing of the World ‘Go’ champion, we’ve pulled some unheard material from our Ex-Machina episode about the potential impacts of the ever-extending arm of AI, as told by contributor Jeremy Howard. by Science(ish)
10 min listen
Special(ish) 003 – A Head Above: Transhumanist and neurosurgeon Dr Sergio Canavero shares his big plans for 2017, which include a sharp knife, some polyethylene glycol, and a pair of human heads. by Science(ish)
14 min listen
005 – Comics: Tackling all things super - the boys delve into the world of comics, superheroes and villains. Along the way, they take a look at the weird and wonderful history of animals in warfare, the power of poisonous plants, and reveal that we're a lot clo... by Science(ish)
48 min listen
Special(ish) 006 – A Criminal Mind: Neuroscientist Jim Fallon spent years searching for patterns in the brain scans that he saw. But it wasn’t until he turned to the scans of his own brain that he stumbled upon his biggest discovery yet. by Science(ish)
9 min listen
Special(ish) 022 – The Red Planet: Dr Joe Michalski talks us through the terrain of Mars. Michalski specialises in the mineralogical and geomorphic studies of the Red Planet. Turns out we've got more in common with the martians than we thought. by Science(ish)
19 min listen
011 – Minority Report: Michael and Rick gaze into the criminal crystal ball, as per Spielberg’s 2002 thriller Minority Report. Can we predict a criminal? Should we pre-convict them? And is the Universe pre-determined? Standard.https://radiowolfgang.com/s/scienceish by Science(ish)
51 min listen
Special(ish) 010 – The Great Escape: Rick and Michael deliver some strong science chat about Inky the escaping octopus, a slippery little fella who managed to slide out of his tank and make a break for the pacific ocean. But what does this mean for evolution? by Science(ish)
7 min listen
Special(ish) 012 – Stuck in the Mud: In 1990 Professor Cindy Lee Van Dover became the first woman to pilot deep-ocean submersible Alvin. In anticipation of Science(ish) episode 'The Abyss’, Cindy recalls a particularly sticky dive involving Alvin and the seabed. by Science(ish)
7 min listen
Special(ish) 001 – Sticks & Stones: The very first instalment of our Special(ish) sees the boys dwell on some recent field research that blurs the line between animal and human. A sign of things to come in the next episode of Science(ish), Planet of the Apes. by Science(ish)
12 min listen
004 – The Day After Tomorrow: Dr Michael Brooks and Rick Edwards take on a world covered in ice – as depicted in The Day After Tomorrow – both literally and metaphorically. Along the way, they talk climate change, climate skeptics and, of course, salmon bacon.https://radiowolfgan... by Science(ish)
44 min listen
Special(ish) 005 – Pale Blue Dot: Milan Kundera once wrote; “While pondering the infinity of the stars, we ignore the infinity of our father.” We asked experts from our Interstellar episode if they agree. by Science(ish)
10 min listen
003 – Jurassic Park: Is it a bird? Is it a plane? Is it a T-Rex? No! It’s a woolly mammoth. And it’s back from the dead. Maybe. Soon. Michael and Rick are on the case.https://radiowolfgang.com/s/scienceish by Science(ish)
47 min listen
Special(ish) 013 – King of the Swingers: If you thought we were the only species capable of infidelity, think again. In this episode of Special(ish), Rick and Michael explore the cunning world of animal deception with help from primatologist, Dr. Kit Opie. by Science(ish)
9 min listen
Special(ish) 008 – Dark Night: Chris French, a professor of psychology who specialises in paranormal belief and ostensibly paranormal experiences, takes us through the terrifying ordeal of sleep paralysis and its surprising link to alien abduction. by Science(ish)
9 min listen
Special(ish) 007 – Area 51: At the southern tip of the Nevada Desert lies an area shrouded in mystery. With aliens, spaceships, and mind control, all said to be part of its history – Area 51 is a melting pot of conspiracy. by Science(ish)
13 min listen
Special(ish) 004 – Life on Mars: In anticipation of the next episode of Science(ish), we hear how the search for other habitable planets has well and truly begun. by Science(ish)
13 min listen
007 – Ex Machina: Dr Michael Brooks and Rick Edwards delve into the murky world of Artificial Intelligence as depicted in Alex Garland's masterpiece Ex Machina.https://radiowolfgang.com/s/scienceish by Science(ish)
55 min listen
014 – Lord Of The Flies: In this episode Rick and Michael dissect the 1954 novel Lord of the Flies by Nobel Prize-winning English author William Golding.https://radiowolfgang.com/s/scienceish by Science(ish)
47 min listen
012 – Alien: The boys return to the outer expanses of the universe. This time, they’re not after black holes but ET, as depicted in Ridley Scott’s classic ‘Alien’. Are we alone? What will ‘it’ look like? And are ‘they’ already amongst us?https://radiowolfgang.com... by Science(ish)
50 min listen
20: Still Alice: Could we ever cure dementia? Science(ish) takes on one of the biggest public health challenges of the 21st century: unravelling the science of Alzheimer’s disease. From chance discoveries to next generation brain imaging, the search for a cure is now b... by Science(ish)
35 min listen
Special(ish) 017 – The Uncanny: Is flesh and blood still necessary to be considered alive? Writer and psychotherapist Dr Aaron Balick and web psychologist Nathalie Nahai draw on Freud’s definition of 'The Uncanny’ to ponder the future of human level AI. by Science(ish)
9 min listen
3: Children of Men: Michael continues the dystopia with Alfonso Cuarón’s fertility thriller ‘Children of Men’ by asking ‘could humans go infertile?’ (Includes hints of a mid-life crisis from a certain Rick Edwards - not to be missed).Featuring: Professor Shanna Swan by Science(ish)
31 min listen
Special(ish) 011 – The Deep: In this Specialish, world scuba diving record holder Verna Du Preez describes her experiences of the deep and talks about just how difficult it is to ascend. Dr Oliver Firth offers insight into the extreme physiology of diving. by Science(ish)
13 min listen

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8: Episode 100: The Invisible Man: Will we ever be able to turn invisible? The idea of magically disappearing has fascinated humanity for centuries. Once dismissed as impossible, a promising new wave of technologies could bring this dream one step closer to reality. Rick and Michael wra... by Science(ish)
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7: Dark Waters: Have we all been poisoned? PFAS chemicals are all around us and almost certainly in your blood. But just how worried should we be? Michael sits down with Mark Ruffalo and Rob Bilott to talk about the shocking true story behind Dark Waters.Link to Rob B... by Science(ish)
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5: Silence of The Lambs: Why aren’t there more cannibals? Through the unforgettable horror of Silence Of The Lambs, Rick and Michael discover that eating your own has all sorts of surprising evolutionary benefits. So why have humans (for the most part) given it up? Time to set... by Science(ish)
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2: Game Of Thrones (Live): Rick and Michael go full Westeros at a special live show from the Underbelly comedy festival. So, could you really build an Ice Wall that big without using magic? Could a Dragon really fly and breathe fire? And the big one - just how bad is incest real... by Science(ish)
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1: Jaws: Is there such a thing as a perfect predator? Rick and Michael kick off Season 5 with the mother of all blockbusters, Steven Spielberg’s 1975 masterpiece Jaws. From a deep dive into the evolution of predation, to a nasty encounter with Free Willy, the b... by Science(ish)
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11: Deadpool: Will we ever be able to regrow limbs? The more we learn about the incredible regenerative abilities of salamanders and planarian worms, the closer we come to coaxing our bodies into repairing any injury. Through Marvel’s Deadpool, Rick and Michael tack... by Science(ish)
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10: Inside Out: Personality testing is a multi-billion dollar industry. But how reliable are assessments like the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator? Can we really find out which Lord of the Rings character Michael is? Rounding off our animated classics trilogy of animated c... by Science(ish)
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9: Antz: Does nature prefer hierarchy? When we look out into nature, we see hierarchical systems everywhere. Is it inevitable that humans follow suit? The lads dive into the 1998 animation Antz to find out why these systems evolved and more importantly, how wro... by Science(ish)
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8: WALL-E: Every year we produce over 2 billion tonnes of waste. That figure is only going up. Never before has the question been more pressing: what should we do with all our stuff? From atop a giant pile of broken printers, Rick and Michael discuss Pixar’s 2008... by Science(ish)
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7: Geostorm: What if we could control the weather? Inspired by the futuristic disaster film Geostorm, the boys delve into the contentious field of geoengineering. Can or should we tinker with the Earth’s climate to mitigate the risks of runaway climate change? What... by Science(ish)
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6: Icarus: When Bryan Fogel’s 2017 docu-thriller Icarus exposed Russia's Olympic doping programme, it sent shockwaves through the sports community. This week the boys explore the long and bizarre history of doping in sport and the perpetual arms race between... by Science(ish)
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5: Dante's Peak: Without volcanoes there would be no life on Earth. But just how afraid of supervolcanoes - like the one in Yellowstone National Park - should we be? Inspired by 90s disaster movie Dante’s Peak, the boys explore just how bad it could get for humanity an... by Science(ish)
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4: Westworld: What better way to kick off Christmas than a deep dive into the ethics of sex robots? Exploring the science and pitfalls of dystopian drama Westworld, the boys sit down with renowned computer scientist Kate Devlin to discuss her new book ‘Turned On: Sc... by Science(ish)
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3: Blindness: Could we be on the cusp of eradicating vision loss? Through the 2008 epidemic thriller ‘Blindness’, the boys explore the mind-boggling complexity of the eye and the conditions that led to its evolution in the animal kingdom. With tens of millions of pe... by Science(ish)
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2: Moonraker: With the declaration of Trump’s ‘Space Force’, the domain of space is ever closer to becoming a new and potentially terrifying theatre of war. Through the Roger Moore classic Moonraker, the boys examine our reliance on vulnerable satellites and the ram... by Science(ish)
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33: Is LIGO right?: The 2017 Nobel Prize in Physics went to ‘a discovery that shook the world’, gravitational waves. These were detected by the LIGO experiment, a century after Einstein first predicted them. But behind the celebration, another story has been brewing which... by Science(ish)
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32: First Man: Just 66 years after the Wright brothers’ first flight, humans somehow managed to put a man on the moon. How did this happen? In this bonus episode, the boys mark the release of the film First Man by delving into the perilous science behind the original... by Science(ish)
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31: Pi: Do some numbers have special significance? Inspired by Darren Aronofsky’s film Pi, Rick and Michael explore the greatest numbers known to humankind. From the mercurial zero which medieval Italy declared “illegal”, to the golden ratio that can explain s... by Science(ish)
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Special(ish) 005 – Pale Blue Dot

Special(ish) 005 – Pale Blue Dot

Description

Titles in the series (100)

More Episodes from Science(ish)

Related podcast episodes