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  • Episode 195: TIme's Second Arrow

    Episode 195: TIme's Second Arrow
    2026/01/28
    Guest: Dr. Bob Hazen Mike is joined by his Carnegie Science colleague Dr. Bob Hazen. Together, they have written a new popular science book titled "Time's Second Arrow: Evolution, Order, and a New Law of Nature," which launches on February 10, 2026. This book describes how the marvelously complex constituents of our universe came to be. Evolution, they boldly propose, is a universal phenomenon—not only in biology, but in the entire atomic, chemical, mineral, and physical universe. Showing how a natural process of selection for increasing function has shaped the universe since its inception, they explore how a new law of nature could possibly help us identify life on other planets and—perhaps—even understand the purpose and meaning of life on Earth in a new way. "Time's Second Arrow: Evolution, Order, and a New Law of Nature" by Robert M. Hazen & Michael L. Wong: https://wwnorton.com/books/9781324105480 Bob & Mike's scientific papers that "Time's Second Arrow" is based on: 1. https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2310223120 2. https://academic.oup.com/pnasnexus/advance-article/doi/10.1093/pnasnexus/pgae248/7698354 3. https://royalsocietypublishing.org/rsfs/article/15/6/20250009/366157/Selective-funnelling-and-state-space-expansion-a
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    49 分
  • Episode 194: The Giant Leap

    Episode 194: The Giant Leap
    2026/01/23
    Guest: Dr. Caleb Scharf Becoming a spacefaring civilization is a major transition in the story of life on Earth. Senior scientist for astrobiology at NASA Ames Dr. Caleb Scharf beams aboard to discuss the themes in his latest book, "The Giant Leap: Why Space Is the Next Frontier in the Evolution of Life," and what it all means for achieving a Star Trek future. "The Giant Leap: Why Space Is the Next Frontier in the Evolution of Life" by Caleb Scharf: https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/caleb-scharf/the-giant-leap/9781541604186/?lens=basic-books "Teaching A.I. to Detect Life: Carnegie Scientist Co-Leads NASA-Funded Effort": https://carnegiescience.edu/news/teaching-ai-detect-life-carnegie-scientist-co-leads-nasa-funded-effort Follow us on Bluesky! Mike: https://bsky.app/profile/miquai.bsky.social Caleb: https://bsky.app/profile/calebscharf.bsky.social
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    1 時間 8 分
  • Episode 193: The Linguistics of "Darmok"

    Episode 193: The Linguistics of "Darmok"
    2026/01/18
    Guest: Dr. Kristina Šekrst Philosopher, linguist, and AI researcher Kristina Šekrst beams aboard to discuss the TNG episode "Darmok," where Picard and crew encounter the Tamarians, a species who only speak in metaphor. Why do we use metaphors? How would you lie in Tamarian? And can the universal translator ever exist? Follow us on Bluesky! Mike: https://bsky.app/profile/miquai.bsky.social Kristina: https://bsky.app/profile/epiphenomenal.bsky.social
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    52 分
  • Episode 192: Whispers of Life in Ancient Rocks

    Episode 192: Whispers of Life in Ancient Rocks
    2025/11/17
    Guest: Dr. Anirudh Prabhu Mike brings aboard Dr. Anirudh Prabhu to discuss an exciting new study of theirs that uses machine learning trained on organic chemical data to detect the "whispers" of life—including photosynthetic life—in ancient rocks. This exciting technique could one day be used to seek out new life on strange new worlds. Mike & Anirudh's paper, "Organic geochemical evidence for life in Archean rocks identified by pyrolysis–GC–MS and supervised machine learning": https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2514534122 Follow us on Bluesky! Mike: https://bsky.app/profile/miquai.bsky.social Anirudh: https://bsky.app/profile/anirudhprabhu.bsky.social
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    30 分
  • Episode 191: Mike on Sean Carroll's Mindscape

    Episode 191: Mike on Sean Carroll's Mindscape
    2025/11/08
    Mike beams aboard Sean Carroll's Mindscape Podcast to talk about astrobiology, the origins of life, complexity, and the proposal for a "law of increasing functional information." Pre-order your copy of "Time's Second Arrow: Evolution, Order, and a New Law of Nature" by Robert M. Hazen & Michael L. Wong: https://wwnorton.com/books/9781324105480 Mike's 2023 paper "On the roles of function and selection in evolving systems": https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2310223120 Learn more about Mindscape: https://www.preposterousuniverse.com/podcast/ Follow us on Bluesky! Mike: https://bsky.app/profile/miquai.bsky.social Sean: https://bsky.app/profile/seanmcarroll.bsky.social
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    1 時間 17 分
  • Episode 190: Relating to Nature in Space and on Earth

    Episode 190: Relating to Nature in Space and on Earth
    2025/10/25
    Guest: Prof. Jason Kaufman Professor Jason Kaufman beams aboard to chat about a trio of papers he wrote exploring the themes of human space exploration, sustainable futures, and our relationships to nature. "An Interplanetary Land Ethic" by Kaufman et al. (2022): https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/abs/10.1089/scc.2021.0068 "Artemis and an environmentally sustainable future beyond earth" by Kaufman et al. (2023): https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0265964623000425?via%3Dihub "A Case for Nature in Long-Haul Space Exploration" by Kaufman et al. (2023): https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0265964623000425 "Second Star to the Right: Essays on Leadership and Star Trek": https://vernonpress.com/book/2348?srsltid=AfmBOoryKvMaSjTZ6mTVevEgwGA2dg9LiHWD7Y8Jt1WpR-r05UoA4Imh
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    53 分
  • Episode 189: Bob Picardo Wants to Save NASA Science

    Episode 189: Bob Picardo Wants to Save NASA Science
    2025/10/19
    Guest: Bob Picardo Legendary Star Trek actor Bob Picardo beams aboard to talk about his decades-long work with The Planetary Society and his involvement in this October's Day of Action, where over 200 space advocates gathered in D.C. to speak to members of Congress about the importance of funding NASA science. Learn more about The Planetary Society: https://www.planetary.org/ Read about October's Day of Action: https://www.planetary.org/articles/second-2025-day-of-action-retrospective Watch Caltech's "Boldly Go!" musical: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YdtBArmWHdY Follow us on Bluesky! Mike: https://bsky.app/profile/miquai.bsky.social Bob: https://bsky.app/profile/robertpicardo.bsky.social The Planetary Society: https://bsky.app/profile/planetarysociety.bsky.social
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    52 分
  • Episode 188: What Searching For Aliens Reveals About Ourselves

    Episode 188: What Searching For Aliens Reveals About Ourselves
    2025/10/04
    Mike reads his Noema Magazine essay "What Searching For Aliens Reveals About Ourselves." Read the essay: https://www.noemamag.com/what-searching-for-aliens-reveals-about-ourselves/ Watch Mike's Royal Astronomical Society of Canada talk that inspired the essay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bewJxOCdM5I
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    33 分