Seth Shostak 7 podcast@seti.org Are We Alone? - SETI Science and Skepticism SETI, science, Are We Alone, skepticism, aliens, Seth Shostak, astronomy, astrobiology, physics, biology, space, universe, evolution Searching for life as we don't know it begins with understanding life as we do. From amoebas to zebras, from androids to antimatter, Are We Alone? explores the science that makes life possible. Find out, how to extract DNA from a banana, what size wrench you need to build a time machine, and whether dark energy can be bottled (yes). Also, separate the science from pseudoscience during our monthly feature on critical thinking. Are We Alone? - science radio for thinking species on any world http://radio.seti.org Searching for life as we don't know it begins with understanding life as we do. From amoebas to zebras, from androids to antimatter, Are We Alone? explores the science that makes life possible. Find out how to extract DNA from a banana, what size wrench you need to build a time machine, and whether dark energy can be bottled (yes). Also, separate the science from pseudoscience during our monthly feature on critical thinking. Are We Alone? - science radio for thinking species on any world. en-us ℗ © SETI Institute May 2005 Mon, 24 Mar 2008 08:14:55 PDT Tucker Bradford tucker@seti.org http://podcast.seti.org/images/AWAlogo.jpg http://radio.seti.org/ 1 Seth Shostak Seth Shostak Why wait until the robins are bobbin' to do a bit of spring cleaning? Join Seth and Molly as they dare to enter the cobweb-cluttered confines of Seth's attic and sort out trash from treasure in his dusty collection. Find out which of these odds and ends are salvageable and which should be deep-sixed in the dumpster. Don't forget to bring the Hefty bags and a dust mop! Guests: Fred Sharpe - Principal Investigator at the Alaska Whale Foundation Jeffrey Van Cleve - Engineer for NASA's Kepler Mission Paul Hammond - Director, California State Railroad Museum Norman Sleep - Professor of Geophysics, Stanford University Monday, 18 August 2008 0:0:0 PDT http://dlc.sun.com/seti/podcast/AWA_08-08-18.mp3 Why wait until the robins are bobbin' to do a bit of spring cleaning? Join Seth and Molly as they dare to enter the cobweb-cluttered confines of Seth's attic and sort out trash from treasure in his dusty collection. Find out which of these odds and ends are salvageable and which should be deep-sixed in the dumpster. Don't forget to bring the Hefty bags and a dust mop! Guests: Fred Sharpe - Principal Investigator at the Alaska Whale Foundation Jeffrey Van Cleve - Engineer for NASA's Kepler Mission Paul Hammond - Director, California State Railroad Museum Norman Sleep - Professor of Geophysics, Stanford University no Seth Shostak Seth Shostak The discovery of water on Mars has scientists asking whether they're could have once been life on the Red Planet. It's a big question - and it's prompted us to follow up with a few of our own, such as: what is our relationship to the cosmos? How do we find meaning in a universe that is destined to end? Plus, in response to Seth's appearance on Larry King Live: have aliens visited Earth? Any questions? If you missed Seth on Larry King Live, check out our blog and watch the videos. You can read Seth's article about the experience here. Guests: Janice Bishop - Planetary Scientist at the SETI Institute and at NASA Ames Research Center Roy Gould - Education Analyst at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics Monday, 11 August 2008 0:0:0 PDT http://dlc.sun.com/seti/podcast/AWA_08-08-11.mp3 The discovery of water on Mars has scientists asking whether they're could have once been life on the Red Planet. It's a big question - and it's prompted us to follow up with a few of our own, such as: what is our relationship to the cosmos? How do we find meaning in a universe that is destined to end? Plus, in response to Seth's appearance on Larry King Live: have aliens visited Earth? Any questions? If you missed Seth on Larry King Live, check out our blog and watch the videos. You can read Seth's article about the experience here. Guests: Janice Bishop - Planetary Scientist at the SETI Institute and at NASA Ames Research Center Roy Gould - Education Analyst at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics no Seth Shostak Seth Shostak We see a man laughing and we smile in response. Our heart goes out to the sad-looking woman on the train. Humans are empathetic creatures - we feel what others feel, even the emotions of strangers. And it may be due to brain cells that researchers have only recently discovered: mirror neurons. Find out how these mimicking cells help us survive cocktail parties, keep society humming, and even give rise to the concept of self. Also, are humans born with a moral code? And, if human behavior is hard-wired - whatever becomes of free will? Guests: Marc Hauser - Evolutionary psychologist and biologist at Harvard, author of Moral Minds: How Nature Designed Our Universal Sense of Right and Wrong Take Marc's Moral Sense Test Marco Iacoboni - Psychologist and neuroscientist at UCLA and the author of Mirroring People: The New Science of How We Connect With Others Allen Stairs - Philosopher at the University of Maryland John-Dylan Haynes - Neuroscientist, Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience, Berlin Monday, 04 August 2008 0:0:0 PDT http://dlc.sun.com/seti/podcast/AWA_08-08-04.mp3 We see a man laughing and we smile in response. Our heart goes out to the sad-looking woman on the train. Humans are empathetic creatures - we feel what others feel, even the emotions of strangers. And it may be due to brain cells that researchers have only recently discovered: mirror neurons. Find out how these mimicking cells help us survive cocktail parties, keep society humming, and even give rise to the concept of self. Also, are humans born with a moral code? And, if human behavior is hard-wired - whatever becomes of free will? Guests: Marc Hauser - Evolutionary psychologist and biologist at Harvard, author of Moral Minds: How Nature Designed Our Universal Sense of Right and Wrong Take Marc's Moral Sense Test Marco Iacoboni - Psychologist and neuroscientist at UCLA and the author of Mirroring People: The New Science of How We Connect With Others Allen Stairs - Philosopher at the University of Maryland John-Dylan Haynes - Neuroscientist, Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience, Berlin no Seth Shostak Seth Shostak REPEAT Airplanes falling out of the sky! Lethal bird flu! Killer rocks from space! There's a lot that can do us in, and it would seem you have good reason to worry. Except that you're worried about the wrong things! Many of our fears are misplaced. It's more likely you'll die from food poisoning or falling out of bed than in an airplane crash. And, the odds that an asteroid impact will ruin your entire weekend? Oh, about a billion to one. Find out why we worry about all the wrong things and don't fret enough about things that really are a threat, as we examine the science - and psychology - of risk. Also, why sword-swallowing is bad for your health... and how well lab rats can recognize Dutch spoken backwards: meet the winners of this year's Ig Nobels. Plus, our Hollywood skeptic raises an eyebrow at monkey feng shui, and Phil Plait investigates claims that the world is on "tilt". It's Skeptical Sunday... but don't take our word for it! Guests: Phil Plait - author of badastronomy.com David Ropeik - consultant in risk communication, co-author of Risk: A Practical Guide for Deciding What's Really Safe and What's Dangerous John Adams - Emeritus Professor, Geography Department, University College London Marc Abrahams - editor, Annals of Improbable Research James Underdown - Executive Director of the Center for Inquiry, Los Angeles Monday, 28 July 2008 0:0:0 PDT http://dlc.sun.com/seti/podcast/AWA_08-07-28.mp3 REPEAT Airplanes falling out of the sky! Lethal bird flu! Killer rocks from space! There's a lot that can do us in, and it would seem you have good reason to worry. Except that you're worried about the wrong things! Many of our fears are misplaced. It's more likely you'll die from food poisoning or falling out of bed than in an airplane crash. And, the odds that an asteroid impact will ruin your entire weekend? Oh, about a billion to one. Find out why we worry about all the wrong things and don't fret enough about things that really are a threat, as we examine the science - and psychology - of risk. Also, why sword-swallowing is bad for your health... and how well lab rats can recognize Dutch spoken backwards: meet the winners of this year's Ig Nobels. Plus, our Hollywood skeptic raises an eyebrow at monkey feng shui, and Phil Plait investigates claims that the world is on "tilt". It's Skeptical Sunday... but don't take our word for it! Guests: Phil Plait - author of badastronomy.com David Ropeik - consultant in risk communication, co-author of Risk: A Practical Guide for Deciding What's Really Safe and What's Dangerous John Adams - Emeritus Professor, Geography Department, University College London Marc Abrahams - editor, Annals of Improbable Research James Underdown - Executive Director of the Center for Inquiry, Los Angeles no Seth Shostak Seth Shostak Remember Mr. Potato Head? You changed his look by snapping in plastic mustaches, googly eyes and feet. Now imagine doing the same with a living cell: inserting the genes you want to create the organism you want. Welcome to the world of synthetic biology. It has potential to create new bio-fuels and life-saving drugs. It also ushers in a host of ethical and safety concerns. We examine both when we discuss this emerging science of mix and match genes. Plus, does doing an end run around Mother Nature challenge the essence of life itself? Guests: Jay Keasling - professor of chemical engineering and biological engineering at UC Berkeley and founder of Amyris Biotechnologies Jonathan Eisen - biologist at UC Davis Jim Thomas - researcher at ETC group in Ottawa, Canada Ed Regis - science writer and author of What Is Life: Investigating the Nature of Life in the Age of Synthetic Biology Michael Dosmann - curator of Living Collections at the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University Monday, 21 July 2008 0:0:0 PDT http://dlc.sun.com/seti/podcast/AWA_08-07-21.mp3 Remember Mr. Potato Head? You changed his look by snapping in plastic mustaches, googly eyes and feet. Now imagine doing the same with a living cell: inserting the genes you want to create the organism you want. Welcome to the world of synthetic biology. It has potential to create new bio-fuels and life-saving drugs. It also ushers in a host of ethical and safety concerns. We examine both when we discuss this emerging science of mix and match genes. Plus, does doing an end run around Mother Nature challenge the essence of life itself? Guests: Jay Keasling - professor of chemical engineering and biological engineering at UC Berkeley and founder of Amyris Biotechnologies Jonathan Eisen - biologist at UC Davis Jim Thomas - researcher at ETC group in Ottawa, Canada Ed Regis - science writer and author of What Is Life: Investigating the Nature of Life in the Age of Synthetic Biology Michael Dosmann - curator of Living Collections at the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University no Seth Shostak Seth Shostak REPEAT Every year, computing machines become more powerful, a fact that hasn't escaped the notice of anyone who occupies an office. Many experts now agree that within a few decades, your laptop will be smarter than you are. Not only that, but your computer will be in touch with its byte-busting brethren. When that happens, the machines will "wake up." But what takes place next? Can we stop the machines from turning us into protoplasmic peons in a world in which they are the top intellectual dogs? Seth and Molly go to the Singularity Summit in San Francisco, and talk to some far-sighted humans who are preparing for the next generation of brainiacs - and they won't be your offspring! Guests: Eliezer Yudkowsky - Research fellow and co-founder of the Singularity Institute for Artificial Intelligence Everett Sherwood - Former research member at Motorola Labs Brad Templeton - Board member, Foresight Nanotech Institute, and Chair, Electronic Frontier Foundation Charles Harper - Senior Vice President, John Templeton Foundation Monday, 14 July 2008 0:0:0 PDT http://dlc.sun.com/seti/podcast/AWA_08-07-14.mp3 REPEAT Every year, computing machines become more powerful, a fact that hasn't escaped the notice of anyone who occupies an office. Many experts now agree that within a few decades, your laptop will be smarter than you are. Not only that, but your computer will be in touch with its byte-busting brethren. When that happens, the machines will "wake up." But what takes place next? Can we stop the machines from turning us into protoplasmic peons in a world in which they are the top intellectual dogs? Seth and Molly go to the Singularity Summit in San Francisco, and talk to some far-sighted humans who are preparing for the next generation of brainiacs - and they won't be your offspring! Guests: Eliezer Yudkowsky - Research fellow and co-founder of the Singularity Institute for Artificial Intelligence Everett Sherwood - Former research member at Motorola Labs Brad Templeton - Board member, Foresight Nanotech Institute, and Chair, Electronic Frontier Foundation Charles Harper - Senior Vice President, John Templeton Foundation no Seth Shostak Seth Shostak Ever try talking to an alien? In the movies, they always speak perfect English. But what if we really made contact? Could we just whip out a universal translator - or even a babelfish - to understand one another? Let's say we do learn to communicate: what to say, what to say? We'll hear the protocol for just how to reply to ET. And, from Klingon to Esperanto: the recipe for creating a language from scratch. Plus, get ready to babble with your Blackberry: how computers are learning to recognize - and respond - to human speech. Q1=B4<D2&=D5>t'.f:t'.ql. P4&=tr'w.k*.k*n.=D5^Q5=P4^B5 P4&=D1>s'.t*.ql.=B5 What does this mean? Listen to the show to find out! Guests: Terrence Deacon - Professor of anthropology and neuroscience, University of California, Berkeley Douglas Vakoch - Director of Interstellar Message Composition, SETI Institute Donald Boozer - Librarian, Coordinator of Cleveland Public Library's recent exhibit "Esperanto, Elvish, and Beyond...The World of Constructed Languages" Jim Glass - Director of the Spoken Language Systems Group at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory Systems. Ask MIT's Jupiter about the weather! Monday, 07 July 2008 0:0:0 PDT http://dlc.sun.com/seti/podcast/AWA_08-07-07.mp3 Ever try talking to an alien? In the movies, they always speak perfect English. But what if we really made contact? Could we just whip out a universal translator - or even a babelfish - to understand one another? Let's say we do learn to communicate: what to say, what to say? We'll hear the protocol for just how to reply to ET. And, from Klingon to Esperanto: the recipe for creating a language from scratch. Plus, get ready to babble with your Blackberry: how computers are learning to recognize - and respond - to human speech. Q1=B4<D2&=D5>t'.f:t'.ql. P4&=tr'w.k*.k*n.=D5^Q5=P4^B5 P4&=D1>s'.t*.ql.=B5 What does this mean? Listen to the show to find out! Guests: Terrence Deacon - Professor of anthropology and neuroscience, University of California, Berkeley Douglas Vakoch - Director of Interstellar Message Composition, SETI Institute Donald Boozer - Librarian, Coordinator of Cleveland Public Library's recent exhibit "Esperanto, Elvish, and Beyond...The World of Constructed Languages" Jim Glass - Director of the Spoken Language Systems Group at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory Systems. Ask MIT's Jupiter about the weather! no Seth Shostak Seth Shostak REPEAT Is the public interested in science? The signs aren't encouraging. The Hubble Telescope teeters on the edge of breakdown, and the public's response is lukewarm. Science coverage in the media continues to shrink like cheap cotton... and science superstars on TV or in the movies are as rare as lanthanum. As we consider why today's folk give science the big yawn, we'll talk to people whose job it is to bring lab findings to the public. Also, a new study traces to childhood our psychological aversion to science. Plus, Seth re-lives his childhood at the San Francisco Exploratorium. BONUS: sing along with Seth! Click here for the lyrics to "The Maunderer". Guests: Natalie Angier - New York Times reporter and author of The Canon: A Whirligig Tour of the Beautiful Basics of Science Charlie Petit - veteran science reporter and Head Tracker of the Knight Science Journalism Tracker Paul Bloom - Psychologist at Yale University Paul Doherty - Senior Scientist at the Exploratorium in San Francisco Monday, 30 June 2008 0:0:0 PDT http://dlc.sun.com/seti/podcast/AWA_08-06-30.mp3 REPEAT Is the public interested in science? The signs aren't encouraging. The Hubble Telescope teeters on the edge of breakdown, and the public's response is lukewarm. Science coverage in the media continues to shrink like cheap cotton... and science superstars on TV or in the movies are as rare as lanthanum. As we consider why today's folk give science the big yawn, we'll talk to people whose job it is to bring lab findings to the public. Also, a new study traces to childhood our psychological aversion to science. Plus, Seth re-lives his childhood at the San Francisco Exploratorium. BONUS: sing along with Seth! Click here for the lyrics to "The Maunderer". Guests: Natalie Angier - New York Times reporter and author of The Canon: A Whirligig Tour of the Beautiful Basics of Science Charlie Petit - veteran science reporter and Head Tracker of the Knight Science Journalism Tracker Paul Bloom - Psychologist at Yale University Paul Doherty - Senior Scientist at the Exploratorium in San Francisco no Seth Shostak Seth Shostak He looks great in a fedora - we'll give him that. But surviving a tumble over three 100-foot waterfalls or toughing out an atomic blast by climbing into a refrigerator? We love Indy, but his exploits seem to be over the top when it comes to elementary physics. From hovercrafts to the quartz crania of aliens; find out what scientific concepts in the latest bullwhip adventure are more than a little nutty. Plus, the real crystal skulls, and the man who discovered that two of the most famous are fakes. Also, an incentive to tackle that to-do list: the 2012 Mayan apocalypse. And, If I were Indy, our Hollywood Skeptic puts himself in the hero's boots. It's Skeptical Sunday, but don't take our word for it. Guests: Ian Freestone - Archaeologist at the University of Wales at Cardiff Matt Springer - Graduate Student at Texas A and M University and keeper of the website, www.builtonfacts.com Tom Rogers - Physics teacher at Southside High School in Greenville South Carolina, author of Insultingly Stupid Movie Physics and the founder of the web site of the same name Phil Plait - Astronomer,and keeper of the Bad Astronomy web site Jim Underdown - Executive Director, Center for Inquiry West in Los Angeles Monday, 23 June 2008 0:0:0 PDT http://dlc.sun.com/seti/podcast/AWA_08-06-23.mp3 He looks great in a fedora - we'll give him that. But surviving a tumble over three 100-foot waterfalls or toughing out an atomic blast by climbing into a refrigerator? We love Indy, but his exploits seem to be over the top when it comes to elementary physics. From hovercrafts to the quartz crania of aliens; find out what scientific concepts in the latest bullwhip adventure are more than a little nutty. Plus, the real crystal skulls, and the man who discovered that two of the most famous are fakes. Also, an incentive to tackle that to-do list: the 2012 Mayan apocalypse. And, If I were Indy, our Hollywood Skeptic puts himself in the hero's boots. It's Skeptical Sunday, but don't take our word for it. Guests: Ian Freestone - Archaeologist at the University of Wales at Cardiff Matt Springer - Graduate Student at Texas A and M University and keeper of the website, www.builtonfacts.com Tom Rogers - Physics teacher at Southside High School in Greenville South Carolina, author of Insultingly Stupid Movie Physics and the founder of the web site of the same name Phil Plait - Astronomer,and keeper of the Bad Astronomy web site Jim Underdown - Executive Director, Center for Inquiry West in Los Angeles no Seth Shostak Seth Shostak What happens when particles collide? The answer may tell us the dark secrets of the cosmos. At least, that's the hope for the Large Hadron Collider, the world's largest particle accelerator. When it fires up this summer, colliding protons may produce the elusive Higgs Boson - the so-called God particle - and reveal the building blocks of the universe. We talk to the Director of CERN, home of this massive device, about what happens when they throw the big switch. Also, what if black holes happen? Find out how these weird gravity pits are created, and whether they're actually two-way streets that allow information to escape after all. Also, plans are already underway for the next particle accelerator, and playing with fire: a new fusion reactor in France. Guests: Robert Aymar - Director General of CERN in Geneva, Switzerland Barry Barish - Physicist Emeritus, California Institute of Technology and Director of the International Linear Collider Global Design Effort Norbert Holtkamp - Principle Deputy Director General of ITER and physicist at the Spallation Neutron Source at Oak Ridge National Laboratory Simon Steel - Astronomer, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics Monday, 16 June 2008 0:0:0 PDT http://dlc.sun.com/seti/podcast/AWA_08-06-16.mp3 What happens when particles collide? The answer may tell us the dark secrets of the cosmos. At least, that's the hope for the Large Hadron Collider, the world's largest particle accelerator. When it fires up this summer, colliding protons may produce the elusive Higgs Boson - the so-called God particle - and reveal the building blocks of the universe. We talk to the Director of CERN, home of this massive device, about what happens when they throw the big switch. Also, what if black holes happen? Find out how these weird gravity pits are created, and whether they're actually two-way streets that allow information to escape after all. Also, plans are already underway for the next particle accelerator, and playing with fire: a new fusion reactor in France. Guests: Robert Aymar - Director General of CERN in Geneva, Switzerland Barry Barish - Physicist Emeritus, California Institute of Technology and Director of the International Linear Collider Global Design Effort Norbert Holtkamp - Principle Deputy Director General of ITER and physicist at the Spallation Neutron Source at Oak Ridge National Laboratory Simon Steel - Astronomer, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics no Seth Shostak Seth Shostak Forgot your own birthday? Misplaced your Shih Tzu? Did you put the milk in your backpack and the iPod in the fridge? Age may bring wisdom but - alas - not a boost in RAM. But there's hope - scientists are discovering that the brain is more malleable than thought. We'll hear about the science of neuroplasticity and what you can do to slow that cerebellum slide. Ever been to a brain gym? Plus, why the brains of London cabbies are bigger than those of your average commuter. Guests: Michael Merzenich - Professor Emeritus Neuroscientist, University of California, San Francisco Gordy Slack - Science journalist and author of The Battle Over the Meaning of Everything: Evolution, Intelligent Design, and a School Board in Dover, PA Sam Wang - Associate Professor of Neuroscience and Molecular Biology at Princeton University and the author of Welcome to Your Brain: Why You Lose Your Car Keys but Never Forget how to Drive and other Puzzles of Everyday Life Lisa Schoonerman - Co-founder, VibrantBrains Jan Zivic - Co-founder, VibrantBrains Monday, 09 June 2008 0:0:0 PDT http://dlc.sun.com/seti/podcast/AWA_08-06-09.mp3 Forgot your own birthday? Misplaced your Shih Tzu? Did you put the milk in your backpack and the iPod in the fridge? Age may bring wisdom but - alas - not a boost in RAM. But there's hope - scientists are discovering that the brain is more malleable than thought. We'll hear about the science of neuroplasticity and what you can do to slow that cerebellum slide. Ever been to a brain gym? Plus, why the brains of London cabbies are bigger than those of your average commuter. Guests: Michael Merzenich - Professor Emeritus Neuroscientist, University of California, San Francisco Gordy Slack - Science journalist and author of The Battle Over the Meaning of Everything: Evolution, Intelligent Design, and a School Board in Dover, PA Sam Wang - Associate Professor of Neuroscience and Molecular Biology at Princeton University and the author of Welcome to Your Brain: Why You Lose Your Car Keys but Never Forget how to Drive and other Puzzles of Everyday Life Lisa Schoonerman - Co-founder, VibrantBrains Jan Zivic - Co-founder, VibrantBrains no Seth Shostak Seth Shostak REPEAT Imagine if aging were a disease like measles, one that could be cured. Some scientists think it's possible and that we'll eventually halt - or at least slow - the march of time and extend lifespans into the triple digits and beyond. 100 could become the new 40, and 1000 the new 500! But that's a lot of years of filling out tax forms and showing up for dental hygiene appointments. Do we really want to live that long? If so, we should tap into the secret of longevity from Ming, a 400-year-old clam. Also, the surprising story of how aviator Charles Lindbergh helped develop a medical device that prolonged lives - all in support of the Nazi cause. Guests: Aubrey de Grey - Biogerontologist and author of Ending Aging: The Rejuvenation Breakthroughs That Could Reverse Human Aging in Our Lifetime Michael Rose - Ecologist and Evolutionary Biologist at the University of California - Irvine David M. Friedman - author of The Immortalists: Charles Lindbergh, Dr. Alexis Carrel and Their Daring Quest to Live Forever Al Wanamaker - Researcher at Bangor University's School of Ocean Sciences Monday, 02 June 2008 0:0:0 PDT http://dlc.sun.com/seti/podcast/AWA_08-06-02.mp3 REPEAT Imagine if aging were a disease like measles, one that could be cured. Some scientists think it's possible and that we'll eventually halt - or at least slow - the march of time and extend lifespans into the triple digits and beyond. 100 could become the new 40, and 1000 the new 500! But that's a lot of years of filling out tax forms and showing up for dental hygiene appointments. Do we really want to live that long? If so, we should tap into the secret of longevity from Ming, a 400-year-old clam. Also, the surprising story of how aviator Charles Lindbergh helped develop a medical device that prolonged lives - all in support of the Nazi cause. Guests: Aubrey de Grey - Biogerontologist and author of Ending Aging: The Rejuvenation Breakthroughs That Could Reverse Human Aging in Our Lifetime Michael Rose - Ecologist and Evolutionary Biologist at the University of California - Irvine David M. Friedman - author of The Immortalists: Charles Lindbergh, Dr. Alexis Carrel and Their Daring Quest to Live Forever Al Wanamaker - Researcher at Bangor University's School of Ocean Sciences no Seth Shostak Seth Shostak They can walk, roll, swim, and even dance to that funky music. Okay, so they're a little stiff on that one. But today's robots are not content to just sit and hum in a corner - they're movers and groovers, and not only on this planet. We'll go to the International Conference on Robotics and Automation and meet the latest in automatons - from aluminum chefs that whip up omelets to underwater machines that undulate like fish. Also, the robot challenge - building autonomous robots to scour the Red Planet. And, touchdown for the Phoenix Mars Lander. Guests: Gaurav Sukhatme - Co-director of Robotics Research Lab at the University of Southern California Basilio Noris - Researcher at Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne in Switzerland Eric Sauser - Researcher at Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne in Switzerland Matthew Zucker - Researcher at the Carnegie Melon Robotics Institute Brian Zenowich - Robotics Engineer at Barrett Technology Kyu-Jin Cho - Researcher at Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences Paul Rybski - System Scientist in the Robotics Institute at Carnegie Melon University Deborah Bass - Deputy Project Scientist, NASA's Phoenix Mars Scout Mission Monday, 26 May 2008 0:0:0 PDT http://dlc.sun.com/seti/podcast/AWA_08-05-26.mp3 They can walk, roll, swim, and even dance to that funky music. Okay, so they're a little stiff on that one. But today's robots are not content to just sit and hum in a corner - they're movers and groovers, and not only on this planet. We'll go to the International Conference on Robotics and Automation and meet the latest in automatons - from aluminum chefs that whip up omelets to underwater machines that undulate like fish. Also, the robot challenge - building autonomous robots to scour the Red Planet. And, touchdown for the Phoenix Mars Lander. Guests: Gaurav Sukhatme - Co-director of Robotics Research Lab at the University of Southern California Basilio Noris - Researcher at Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne in Switzerland Eric Sauser - Researcher at Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne in Switzerland Matthew Zucker - Researcher at the Carnegie Melon Robotics Institute Brian Zenowich - Robotics Engineer at Barrett Technology Kyu-Jin Cho - Researcher at Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences Paul Rybski - System Scientist in the Robotics Institute at Carnegie Melon University Deborah Bass - Deputy Project Scientist, NASA's Phoenix Mars Scout Mission no Seth Shostak Seth Shostak Europe is a country. Six justices sit on the Supreme Court. The Vietnamese attacked Pearl Harbor. If ignorance is bliss, this is one happy-go-lucky country. The average American's grasp of history, current events, and geography is so poor, according to one journalist, we've become a nation of dunces, seriously undermining our own future. Find out why "F" stands for American intellect and what's behind the national trend of dumbing down. Also, the story of the brilliant Russian geneticist who paid the ultimate price during Stalin's Terror in the 1930s. Plus, Brains on Vacation assesses the doomsday threat of the Large Hadron Collider. And, hunting for ghosts in Hollywood. It's Skeptical Sunday... but don't take our word for it. Guests: Susan Jacoby - Author of The Age of American Unreason Peter Pringle - Journalist and author of The Murder of Nikolai Vavilov: The Story of Stalin's Persecution of One of the Greatest Scientists of the Twentieth Century Phil Plait - Astronomer and keeper of the website www.badastronomy.com James Underdown - Executive Director of the Center for Inquiry West in Los Angeles Monday, 19 May 2008 0:0:0 PDT http://dlc.sun.com/seti/podcast/AWA_08-05-19.mp3 Europe is a country. Six justices sit on the Supreme Court. The Vietnamese attacked Pearl Harbor. If ignorance is bliss, this is one happy-go-lucky country. The average American's grasp of history, current events, and geography is so poor, according to one journalist, we've become a nation of dunces, seriously undermining our own future. Find out why "F" stands for American intellect and what's behind the national trend of dumbing down. Also, the story of the brilliant Russian geneticist who paid the ultimate price during Stalin's Terror in the 1930s. Plus, Brains on Vacation assesses the doomsday threat of the Large Hadron Collider. And, hunting for ghosts in Hollywood. It's Skeptical Sunday... but don't take our word for it. Guests: Susan Jacoby - Author of The Age of American Unreason Peter Pringle - Journalist and author of The Murder of Nikolai Vavilov: The Story of Stalin's Persecution of One of the Greatest Scientists of the Twentieth Century Phil Plait - Astronomer and keeper of the website www.badastronomy.com James Underdown - Executive Director of the Center for Inquiry West in Los Angeles no Seth Shostak Seth Shostak Do you have some imagination? What about junk; got any of that? Thomas Edison said you need both to be an inventor. And Tom could speak with authority about switching on innovation's light bulb. Find out who today's inventors are and which devices will be changing the way we live. Also, why leave it to the pros? The Maker Faire proves that tinkering in the garage is alive, well, and guaranteed to impress the neighbors. Plus, from the Model T to Kitty Hawk: how 1908 changed the way we move. And, why the effort to build a better banana may drive the yellow fruit to extinction. Guests: Dan Koeppel - and author of Banana: The Fate of the Fruit that Changed the World Jim Rasenberger - Author of America 1908: The Dawn of Flight, the Race to the Pole, The Invention of the Model T, and the Making of the Modern Nation Mike Haney - Executive Editor for Popular Science. The Invention Awards are in the June 2008 issue. Monday, 12 May 2008 0:0:0 PDT http://dlc.sun.com/seti/podcast/AWA_08-05-12.mp3 Do you have some imagination? What about junk; got any of that? Thomas Edison said you need both to be an inventor. And Tom could speak with authority about switching on innovation's light bulb. Find out who today's inventors are and which devices will be changing the way we live. Also, why leave it to the pros? The Maker Faire proves that tinkering in the garage is alive, well, and guaranteed to impress the neighbors. Plus, from the Model T to Kitty Hawk: how 1908 changed the way we move. And, why the effort to build a better banana may drive the yellow fruit to extinction. Guests: Dan Koeppel - and author of Banana: The Fate of the Fruit that Changed the World Jim Rasenberger - Author of America 1908: The Dawn of Flight, the Race to the Pole, The Invention of the Model T, and the Making of the Modern Nation Mike Haney - Executive Editor for Popular Science. The Invention Awards are in the June 2008 issue. no Seth Shostak Seth Shostak How did the first cells make the scene? Could there be critters on some newly discovered planets? And what happens if we ever encounter weird life? These may not be the sort of questions you hear being bandied about in your local coffee shop, but they were hot topics at the AbSciCon conference held recently in Santa Clara, California, and sponsored by the SETI Institute. AbSciCon stands for Astrobiology Science Conference, and Seth was there, talking to researchers about progress in puzzling out how life began on Earth, and where it might have gained a claw-hold elsewhere. Could there be certain parts of our Galaxy that are off-limits for life? Also, hear whether our universe has special properties that render it just dandy for life, and whether we should be looking for viruses on Mars. Guests: Diana Valencia - Planetary physicist at Harvard University Charley Lineweaver - Cosmologist at the Australian National University David Deamer - Research scientist at the University of California at Santa Cruz Baruch Blumberg - Scientist at the Fox Chase Cancer Institute, Nobel Prize winner, and Trustee at the SETI Institute Matthew Kenworthy - Astronomer at the University of Arizona Eric Korpela - Research scientist at the University of California, Berkeley Richard Muller - Physicist, University of California, Berkeley Kathryn Denning - Anthropologist at York University Monday, 05 May 2008 0:0:0 PDT http://dlc.sun.com/seti/podcast/AWA_08-05-05.mp3 How did the first cells make the scene? Could there be critters on some newly discovered planets? And what happens if we ever encounter weird life? These may not be the sort of questions you hear being bandied about in your local coffee shop, but they were hot topics at the AbSciCon conference held recently in Santa Clara, California, and sponsored by the SETI Institute. AbSciCon stands for Astrobiology Science Conference, and Seth was there, talking to researchers about progress in puzzling out how life began on Earth, and where it might have gained a claw-hold elsewhere. Could there be certain parts of our Galaxy that are off-limits for life? Also, hear whether our universe has special properties that render it just dandy for life, and whether we should be looking for viruses on Mars. Guests: Diana Valencia - Planetary physicist at Harvard University Charley Lineweaver - Cosmologist at the Australian National University David Deamer - Research scientist at the University of California at Santa Cruz Baruch Blumberg - Scientist at the Fox Chase Cancer Institute, Nobel Prize winner, and Trustee at the SETI Institute Matthew Kenworthy - Astronomer at the University of Arizona Eric Korpela - Research scientist at the University of California, Berkeley Richard Muller - Physicist, University of California, Berkeley Kathryn Denning - Anthropologist at York University no Seth Shostak Seth Shostak Maybe Dr. Doolittle was on to something; animals are smarter than we think. Birds, apes, and dolphins are all clever problem solvers with a rich vocabularly and - in some cases - self-awareness. Find out what you can learn from our furry, finned and feathered friends. Also, why you are so much an animal yourself, all the way down to the bare bones. Plus, enter the locked vaults that hold extinct and newly-discovered animal species. And why B-movie critters steal the show. A new species? This is a grey-faced sengi. Click here for another photo. Guests: Neil Shubin - Anatomist and Associate Dean at the University of Chicago, and author of Your Inner Fish: A Journey Into the 3.5-Billion-Year History of the Human Body Galen Rathbun - Biologist, California Academy of Sciences Jack Dumbacher - Curator, Birds and Mammals, California Academy of Sciences Virginia Morell - Science writer. Her cover story Inside Animal Minds is in the March, 2008 issue of National Geographic Alex Kacelnik - Behavioral Ecologist at Oxford University Lori Marino - Behavioral Biologist at Emory University Monday, 28 April 2008 0:0:0 PDT http://dlc.sun.com/seti/podcast/AWA_08-04-28.mp3 Maybe Dr. Doolittle was on to something; animals are smarter than we think. Birds, apes, and dolphins are all clever problem solvers with a rich vocabularly and - in some cases - self-awareness. Find out what you can learn from our furry, finned and feathered friends. Also, why you are so much an animal yourself, all the way down to the bare bones. Plus, enter the locked vaults that hold extinct and newly-discovered animal species. And why B-movie critters steal the show. A new species? This is a grey-faced sengi. Click here for another photo. Guests: Neil Shubin - Anatomist and Associate Dean at the University of Chicago, and author of Your Inner Fish: A Journey Into the 3.5-Billion-Year History of the Human Body Galen Rathbun - Biologist, California Academy of Sciences Jack Dumbacher - Curator, Birds and Mammals, California Academy of Sciences Virginia Morell - Science writer. Her cover story Inside Animal Minds is in the March, 2008 issue of National Geographic Alex Kacelnik - Behavioral Ecologist at Oxford University Lori Marino - Behavioral Biologist at Emory University no Seth Shostak Seth Shostak We all know how sex begins: a dimly-lit room, a come-hither smile, and a surfeit of parasol-shaded cocktails. But long before before all that, the gentle currents of the ancient sea floor set the mood. It was there, 570 million years ago, that two ropy sea creatures found each other and changed the course of evolution.Hear how sex began and where it's headed: if you think your love life is mechanical now, just wait until you're cozying up to titanium skin and the latest emotion software.Plus, everything you always wanted to know about modern sex research, but were afraid to ask.Guests: Mary Roach - Author of Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex David Levy - Artificial intelligence researcher and the author of Love and Sex with Robots Mary Droser - Professor of Earth Sciences, University of California, Riverside Monday, 21 April 2008 0:0:0 PDT http://dlc.sun.com/seti/podcast/AWA_08-04-21.mp3 We all know how sex begins: a dimly-lit room, a come-hither smile, and a surfeit of parasol-shaded cocktails. But long before before all that, the gentle currents of the ancient sea floor set the mood. It was there, 570 million years ago, that two ropy sea creatures found each other and changed the course of evolution.Hear how sex began and where it's headed: if you think your love life is mechanical now, just wait until you're cozying up to titanium skin and the latest emotion software.Plus, everything you always wanted to know about modern sex research, but were afraid to ask.Guests: Mary Roach - Author of Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex David Levy - Artificial intelligence researcher and the author of Love and Sex with Robots Mary Droser - Professor of Earth Sciences, University of California, Riverside no Seth Shostak Seth Shostak We all struggle with our memories. This is as true for society as a whole as it is for an individual. In some cases, the effort to preserve cultural history is also a race against time. We'll hear how a cave in Norway is helping keep our seed heritage on ice. And, can you speak Tofa? Magat Ke? As languages disappear faster than the rain forest, one group is working hard to keep native voices heard.Meanwhile, how do we back up our written and pictorial heritage, most of which is on (ultimately perishable) paper? Not to mention the torrent of info in the form of Internet bits. That's the challenge at the Library of Congress, where a new digital initiative is trying to keep our intellectual inheritance intact. And IBM may soon help out in storing it all, as they develop magnetic beads that could increase the amount of memory on a chip by hundreds of times.Guests: Cary Fowler - Executive Director of the Global Crop Diversity Trust Stuart Parkin - Physicist at IBM's Almaden Research Center David Harrison - Director of Research for the Living Tongues Institute for Endangered Languages and author of When Languages Die: The Extinction of the World's Languages and the Erosion of Human Knowledge William LeFurgy - Digital Initiative Project, Library of Congress Monday, 14 April 2008 0:0:0 PDT http://dlc.sun.com/seti/podcast/AWA_08-04-14.mp3 We all struggle with our memories. This is as true for society as a whole as it is for an individual. In some cases, the effort to preserve cultural history is also a race against time. We'll hear how a cave in Norway is helping keep our seed heritage on ice. And, can you speak Tofa? Magat Ke? As languages disappear faster than the rain forest, one group is working hard to keep native voices heard.Meanwhile, how do we back up our written and pictorial heritage, most of which is on (ultimately perishable) paper? Not to mention the torrent of info in the form of Internet bits. That's the challenge at the Library of Congress, where a new digital initiative is trying to keep our intellectual inheritance intact. And IBM may soon help out in storing it all, as they develop magnetic beads that could increase the amount of memory on a chip by hundreds of times.Guests: Cary Fowler - Executive Director of the Global Crop Diversity Trust Stuart Parkin - Physicist at IBM's Almaden Research Center David Harrison - Director of Research for the Living Tongues Institute for Endangered Languages and author of When Languages Die: The Extinction of the World's Languages and the Erosion of Human Knowledge William LeFurgy - Digital Initiative Project, Library of Congress no Seth Shostak Seth Shostak There are two kinds of people: those who are unstylish, socially inept, yet academically gifted, and those who tease them. Being a nerd is rough; it's no fun to sit alone in the cafeteria or be forced to dine on beach sandwiches. But revenge is sweet: the world depends more than ever on the witty and gifted to keep it technologically and scientifically turning. So who gets the last laugh? Just ask Bill Gates. Then again, have attitudes towards eggheads really matured? Just ask Al Gore.Hear why America has contempt for nerds, while other countries treat them as rock stars. Also, how to solve a Rubik's Cube in seconds, and a Geeksta Rap sing-along.Guests: David Anderegg - Author of Nerds: Who They Are and Why We Need More of Them Jessica Fridrich - Electrical and computer engineer at Binghamton University in New York Sun Kwok - Physicist and astronomer at the University of Hong Kong Peter Hartlaub - Pop Culture Critic for the San Francisco Chronicle Christian Ternus - Sophomore at MIT Fred Hall - Space Physicist Monday, 07 April 2008 0:0:0 PDT http://dlc.sun.com/seti/podcast/AWA_08-04-07.mp3 There are two kinds of people: those who are unstylish, socially inept, yet academically gifted, and those who tease them. Being a nerd is rough; it's no fun to sit alone in the cafeteria or be forced to dine on beach sandwiches. But revenge is sweet: the world depends more than ever on the witty and gifted to keep it technologically and scientifically turning. So who gets the last laugh? Just ask Bill Gates. Then again, have attitudes towards eggheads really matured? Just ask Al Gore.Hear why America has contempt for nerds, while other countries treat them as rock stars. Also, how to solve a Rubik's Cube in seconds, and a Geeksta Rap sing-along.Guests: David Anderegg - Author of Nerds: Who They Are and Why We Need More of Them Jessica Fridrich - Electrical and computer engineer at Binghamton University in New York Sun Kwok - Physicist and astronomer at the University of Hong Kong Peter Hartlaub - Pop Culture Critic for the San Francisco Chronicle Christian Ternus - Sophomore at MIT Fred Hall - Space Physicist no