Big Picture Science

Computers and DNA have a few things in common. Both use digital codes and are prone to viruses. And, it seems, both can be hacked. From restoring the flavor of tomatoes to hacking into the president’s DNA, discover the promise and peril of gene tinkering. Plus, computer hacking. Just how easy is it to break into your neighbor’s email account? What about the CIA’s? Also, one man’s concern that radio telescopes might pick up an alien computer virus. Guests: George Weinstock – Microbiologist, geneticist, associate director at the Washington University Genome Institute, St. Louis Jim Giovannoni – Plant molecular biologist, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Cornell University campus Andrew Hessel – Faculty member, Singularity University, research scientist at Autodesk, and co-author of “Hacking the President’s DNA” in the November 2012 issue of The Atlantic Dan Kaminsky – Chief scientist of security firm DHK Dick Carrigan – Scientist emeritus at Fermilab, Batavia, Illinois Descripción en español First released December 10, 2012 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Zombies are making a killing in popular culture. But where did the idea behind these mythical, cerebrum-supping nasties come from? Discover why they may be a hard-wired inheritance from our Pleistocene past. Also, how a whimsical mathematical model of a Zombie apocalypse can help us withstand earthquakes and disease outbreaks, and how the rabies virus contributed to zombie mythology. Plus, new ideas for how doctors should respond when humans are in a limbo state between life and death: no pulse, but their brains continue to hum. Meet the songwriter who has zombies on the brain …. and we chase spaced-out animated corpses in the annual Run-For-Your-Lives foot race. Guests: Guy P. Harrison – Science writer and author of 50 Popular Beliefs That People Think Are True Jonathan Coulton – Singer and songwriter Robert Smith? – Mathematician and epidemiologist at the University of Ottawa, in Canada Dick Teresi – Science writer and author of The Undead: Organ Harvesting, the Ice-Water Test, Beating Heart Cadavers—How Medicine Is Blurring the Line Between Life and Death Bill Wasik and Monica Murphy – - Respectively Senior Editor at Wired Magazine and veterinarian, and the co-authors of Rabid: A Cultural History of the World’s Most Diabolical Virus Descripción en español First released November 12, 2012 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You can get your point across in many ways: email, texts, or even face-to-face conversation (does anyone do that anymore?). But ants use chemical messages when organizing their ant buddies for an attack on your kitchen. Meanwhile, your human brain sends messages to other brains without you uttering a word. Hear these communication stories … how language evolved in the first place… why our brains love a good tale …and how Facebook is keeping native languages from going extinct. Guests: Mark Moffett – Entomologist, research associate at the Smithsonian Institution, author of Adventures among Ants: A Global Safari with a Cast of Trillions V.S. Ramachandran – Neuroscientist, director of the Center for Brain and Cognition at the University of California, San Diego Clare Murphy – Performance storyteller, Ireland Mark Pagel – Evolutionary biologist, University of Reading, U.K., and author of Wired for Culture: Origins of the Human Social Mind Margaret Noori – Poet and linguist at the University of Michigan, specializing in Ojibwe, and director of the Comprehensive Studies Program Descripción en español First released June 11, 2012 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mooooove over, make way for the cows, the chickens … and other animals! Humans can learn a lot from our hairy, feathered, four-legged friends. We may wear suits and play Sudoku, but Homo sapiens are primates just the same. We’ve met the animal, and it is us. Discover the surprising similarity between our diseases and those that afflict other animals, including pigs that develop eating disorders. Plus, what the octopus can teach us about national security … how monkeying around evolved into human speech … and the origins of moral behavior in humans. Guests: Rafe Sagarin – Marine ecologist, Institute of the Environment, University of Arizona, author of Learning From the Octopus: How Secrets from Nature Can Help Us Fight Terrorist Attacks, Natural Disasters, and Disease Barbara Natterson-Horowitz – Professor of cardiology, David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA, and co-author of Zoobiquity: What Animals Can Teach Us About Health and the Science of Healing Kathryn Bowers – Writer, co-author of Zoobiquity: What Animals Can Teach Us About Health and the Science of Healing Asif Ghazanfar – Neuroscientist, psychologist, Princeton University Christopher Boehm – Biological and cultural anthropologist at the University of Southern California, director of the Jane Goodall Research Center, author of Moral Origins: The Evolution of Virtue, Altruism, and Shame Descripción en español First released July 9, 2012 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If two is company and three a crowd, what’s the ideal number to write a play or invent a new operating system? Some say you need groups to be creative. Others disagree: breakthroughs come only in solitude. Hear both sides, and find out why you always have company even when alone: meet the “parliament of selves” that drive your brain’s decision-making. Plus, how ideas of societies lead them to thrive or fall, and why educated conservatives have lost trust in science. Guests: Susan Cain – Author of Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking Keith Sawyer – Psychologist at Washington University in St. Louis and author of Group Genius: The Creative Power of Collaboration David Eagleman – Neuroscientist, Baylor College of Medicine and author of Incognito: The Secret Lives of the Brain Gordon Gauchat – Sociologist, University North Carolina, Chapel Hill Joseph Tainter – Professor, Environment & Society Department, Utah State University and author of The Collapse of Complex Societies Descripción en español First released April 30, 2012. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We all may prefer the goldilocks zone – not too hot, not too cold. But most of the universe is bitterly cold. We can learn a lot about it if we’re willing to brave a temperature drop. A chilly Arctic island is the closest thing to Mars-on-Earth for scientists who want to go to the Red Planet. Meanwhile, the ice sheet at the South Pole is ideal for catching neutrinos – ghostly particles that may reveal secrets about the nature of the universe. Comet ISON is comet ice-off after its passage close to the Sun, but it’s still giving us the word on solar system’s earliest years. Also, scientists discover the coldest spot on Earth. A champion chill, but positively balmy compared to absolute zero. Why reaching a temperature of absolute zero is impossible, although we’ve gotten very, very close. Guests: Francis Halzen – Physicist, University of Wisconsin-Madison, principal investigator of The IceCube Neutrino Observatory Ted Scambos – Glaciologist, lead scientist, National Snow and Ice Data Center, University of Colorado Pascal Lee – Planetary scientist, SETI Institute, director, NASA Haughton-Mars Project, and co-founder of the Mars Institute. His new book is Mission: Mars Andrew Fraknoi – Chair, astronomy department, Foothill College Vladan Vuletić – Physicist, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Descripción en español Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Imagine a world without algebra. We can hear the sound of school children applauding. What practical use are parametric equations and polynomials, anyway? Even some scholars argue that algebra is the Latin of today, and should be dropped from the mandatory curriculum. But why stop there? Maybe we should do away with math classes altogether. An astronomer says he’d be out of work: we can all forget about understanding the origins of the universe, the cycles of the moon and how to communicate with alien life. Also, no math = no cybersecurity + hackers (who have taken math) will have the upper hand. Also, without mathematics, you’ll laugh < you do now. The Simpsons creator Matt Groening has peppered his animated show with hidden math jokes. And why mathematics = love. Guests: Andrew Hacker – Professor of political science and mathematics at Queens College, City University of New York. His article, “Is Algebra Necessary?”, appeared in The New York Times in 2012. Bob Berman – Astronomy editor of The Old Farmer’s Almanac, the author of The Sun’s Heartbeat: And Other Stories from the Life of the Star That Powers Our Planet, and columnist for Astronomy Magazine. His article, “How Math Drives the Universe” is the cover story in the December 2013 issue. Simon Singh – Science writer, author of The Simpsons and Their Mathematical Secrets Rob Manning – Flight system chief engineer at the Jet Propulsion Lab, responsible for NASA’s Curiosity rover Edward Frenkel – Professor of mathematics at the University of California, Berkeley, author of Love and Math: The Heart of Hidden Reality. His article, “The Perils of Hacking Math,” is found on the online magazine, Slate. Descripción en español Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We’ve all had an “oops” moment. Scientists are no exception. Sometimes science stumbles in the steady march of progress. Find out why cold fusion is a premier example why you shouldn’t hold a press conference before publishing your results. Also, how to separate fumbles from faux-science from fraud. Plus, why ignorance is what really drives the scientific method. And our Hollywood skeptic poses as a psychic for Dr. Phil, while our Dr. Phil (Plait) investigates the authenticity of a life-bearing meteorite. Guests: Phil Plait – Skeptic and author of Slate Magazine’s blog Bad Astronomy Michael Gordin – Historian of science at Princeton University, author of The Pseudoscience Wars: Immanuel Velikovsky and the Birth of the Modern Fringe David Goodstein – Physicist, California Institute of Technology Stuart Firestein – Neuroscientist, chair of the biology department, Columbia University, and author of Ignorance: How It Drives Science Jim Underdown – Executive Director, Center for Inquiry, Los Angeles Descripción en español First released January 28, 2013. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After the winds and water of Typhoon Haiyan abated, grief and hunger swept though the Philippines, along with the outbreak of disease. Are monster storms the new normal in a warmer world? Some scientists say yes, and if so, climate change is already producing real effects on human life and health. A hotter planet will serve up casualties from natural disasters, but also higher rates of asthma, allergies and an increase in mosquito-borne diseases. It is, according to one researcher, the greatest challenge of our time, straining health care efforts worldwide. But could a “medical Marshall Plan” save us? Also, why the conservative estimates from the U.N.‘s climate change group don’t help people prepare for worst-case scenarios. And, a controversial approach to saving our overburdened planet: a serious limit on population growth. Guests: • Jeff Masters – Meteorologist, Wunderground • Linda Marsa – Investigative journalist, contributing editor at Discover, author of Fevered: Why a Hotter Planet Will Hurt Our Health — and how we can save ourselves • Fred Pearce – Freelance author and journalist, environment consultant for New Scientist. His article, “Has the U.N. Climate Panel Outlived It’s Usefulness?” appeared on the website Yale Environment 360 • Alan Weisman – Author, Countdown: Our Last, Best Hope for a Future on Earth? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Time keeps on ticking, ticking … and as it does, evolution operates to produce remarkable changes in species. Wings may appear, tails disappear. Sea creatures drag themselves onto the shore and become landlubbers. But it’s not easy to grasp the expansive time scales involved in these transformative feats. Travel through millennia, back through mega and giga years, for a sense of what can occur over deep time, from the Cambrian Explosion to the age of the dinosaurs to the rise of Homo sapiens. Guests: Lorna O’Brien – Evolutionary biologist, University of Toronto Ivan Schwab – Professor of ophthalmology, University of California, Davis. His blog Don Henderson – Curator of dinosaurs, Royal Tyrrell Museum, Drumheller, Canada Gregory Cochran – Physicist, anthropologist, University of Utah Todd Schlenke – Biologist, Emory University Descripción en español First released April 2, 2012 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“Sorry, closed for business.” That sign hung on doors of national laboratories when the US government shut down. What that meant for one Antarctic researcher: her critically important work was left out in the cold. So just what do we lose when public funds for science fade? The tools for answering big questions about our universe for one, says a NASA scientist … while one of this year’s Nobel Prize winners fears that it is driving our young researchers to pursue their work overseas. Yet one scientist says public funding isn’t even necessary; privatizing science would be more productive. Plus, an award-winning public-private research project changes the way we use GPS … and a BBC reporter on the fate of international projects when Americans hang up their lab coats. Guests: Jill Mikucki – WISSARD principal investigator and a microbiologist at the University of Tennessee Max Bernstein – Lead for research at NASA’s Science Mission Directorate James Rothman – Professor and chairman of the department of cell biology at Yale University, recipient of the 2013 Nobel Prize in Medicine Alexandre Bayen – Civil engineer and computer scientist, University of California, Berkeley Pat Michaels – Director for the Study of Science at the Cato Institute Roland Pease – BBC science reporter Descripción en español Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It was the most famous invasion that never happened. But Orson Welles’ 1938 “War of the Worlds” broadcast sure sounded convincing as it used news bulletins and eyewitness accounts to describe an existential Martian attack. The public panicked. Or did it? New research says that claims of mass hysteria were overblown. On the 75th anniversary of the broadcast: How the media manufactured descriptions of a fearful public and why – with our continued fondness for conspiracies – we could be hoodwinked again. Plus, journalism ethics in the age of social media. Can we tweet “Mars is attacking!” with impunity? And why we’re obsessed with the Red Planet. Guests: Michael Socolow – Associate professor of communication and journalism at the University of Maine Jesse Walker – Senior editor at Reason Magazineand author of The United States of Paranoia: A Conspiracy Theory Katy Culver – Assistant professor at the school of journalism and mass communication at the University of Wisconsin, Madison Kevin Schindler – Outreach manager at the Lowell Observatory Descripción en español Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Your brain is made up of cells. Each one does its own, cell thing. But remarkable behavior emerges when lots of them join up in the grey matter club. You are a conscious being – a single neuron isn’t. Find out about the counter-intuitive process known as emergence – when simple stuff develops complex forms and complex behavior – and all without a blueprint. Plus self-organization in the natural world, and how Darwinian evolution can be speeded up. Guests: Randy Schekman – Professor of molecular and cell biology, University of California, Berkeley, 2013 Nobel Prize-winner Steve Potter – Neurobiologist, biomedical engineer, Georgia Institute of Technology Terence Deacon – Biological anthropologist, University of California, Berkeley Simon DeDeo – Research fellow at the Santa Fe Institute Leslie Valiant – Computer scientist, Harvard University, author of Probably Approximately Correct: Nature’s Algorithms for Learning and Prospering in a Complex World Descripción en español Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Imagine: Your pint-sized pup is descended from a line of predatory wolves. We have purposefully bred a new species – dogs – to live in harmony with us. But interactions between species, known as co-evolution, happen all the time, even without deliberate intervention. And it’s frequently a boon to survival: Without the symbiotic relationship we have with bugs in our gut, one that’s evolved with time, we wouldn’t exist. Discover the Bogart-and-Bacall-like relationships between bacteria and humans, and what we learn by seeing genes mutate in the lab, real time. Also, the dog-eat-dog debate about when canines were first domesticated, and how agriculture, hip-hop music, and technology can alter our DNA (eventually). Plus, why some of the fastest humans in history have hailed from one small area of a small Caribbean island. Is there a gene for that? Guests: Greger Larsen – Evolutionary biologist, department of archaeology, Durham University Peter Richerson – Professor emeritus, University of California, Davis, department of Environmental Science and Policy, author of Not by Genes Alone: How Culture Transformed Human Evolution Dave van Ditmarsch – Biologist, post-doctoral researcher, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center David Epstein – Senior writer, Sports Illustrated, author of The Sports Gene: Inside the Science of Extraordinary Athletic Performance Descripción en español Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Day After. 2001. Prometheus. There are sci-fi films a’plenty … but how much science is in the fiction? We take the fact checkers to Hollywood to investigate the science behind everything from space travel to human cloning. Plus, guess what sci-fi film is the most scientifically accurate (hint: we’ve already mentioned it). Also, why messing with medical facts on film can be dangerous … and the inside scoop from a writer of one of television’s most successful sci-fi franchises. And, a robot who surpasses even Tinseltown’s lively imagination: a humanoid that may become a surrogate you. Guests: David Kirby – Senior lecturer in science communication studies at the University of Manchester in the U.K. and author of Lab Coats in Hollywood: Science, Scientists, and Cinema Lucas Kavner – Reporter, Huffington Post, author of a piece on the rise of robot surrogates Wayne Grody – Medical geneticist, director of the DNA diagnostic Laboratory, UCLA Medical Center Andre Bormanis – Television writer and science consultant for Star Trek Descripción en español First released July 30, 2012. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Let there be light. Otherwise we couldn’t watch a sunset or YouTube. Yet what your eye sees is but a narrow band in the electromagnetic spectrum. Shorten those light waves and you get invisible gamma radiation. Lengthen them and tune into a radio broadcast. Discover what’s revealed about our universe as you travel along the electromagnetic spectrum. There’s the long of it: an ambitious goal to construct the world’s largest radio telescope array … and the short: a telescope that images high-energy gamma rays from black holes. Also, the structure of the universe as seen through X-ray eyes and a physicist sings the praises of infrared light. Literally. And, while gravity waves are not in the electromagnetic club, these ripples in spacetime could explain some of the biggest mysteries of the cosmos. But first, we have to catch them! Guests: Anil Ananthaswamy – Journalist and consultant for New Scientist in London Harvey Tananbaum – Director of the Chandra X-Ray Center, located in Cambridge Massachusetts at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory David Reitze – Executive director of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory (LIGO), California Institute of Technology Albert Lazzarini – Deputy director, LIGO, California Institute of Technology Alan Marscher – Professor of astronomy at Boston University Descripción en español First released March 19, 2012 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“Follow the water” is the mantra of those who search for life beyond Earth. Where there’s water, there may be life. Join us on a tour of watery solar system bodies that hold promise for biology. Dig beneath the icy shell of Jupiter’s moon Europa, and plunge into the jets of Enceladus, Saturn’s satellite. And let’s not forget the Red Planet. Mars is rusty and dusty, but it wasn’t always a world of dry dunes. Did life once thrive here? Also, the promise of life in the exotic hydrocarbon lakes of Titan. Science-fiction author Robert J. Sawyer joins us, and relates how these exotic outposts have prompted imaginative stories of alien life. Guests: Robert J. Sawyer – Hugo award-winning science fiction author Cynthia Phillips – Planetary geologist at the SETI Institute Alexander Hayes – Planetary scientist at the University of California, Berkeley Rachel Mastrapa – Planetary scientist for NASA and the SETI Institute Robert Lillis – Space and planetary scientist at the Space Sciences Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley Descripción en español First released February 27, 2012. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I need my space… but oh, how to get there? Whether it’s a mission to Mars or an ascent to an asteroid, we explore the hows of human spaceflight. Also, the whys, as in, why send humans to the final frontier if robots are cheaper? Neil deGrasse Tyson weighs in. Plus, the astronaut who lived on the ocean floor training for a visit to an asteroid. Also, the 100YSS – the 100 Year Starship project – and interstellar travel. And, as private rockets nip at NASA’s heels, meet one of the first tourists to purchase a (pricey) ticket-to-ride into space. Guests: Neil deGrasse Tyson – Astrophysicst, American Museum of Natural History, and author of Space Chronicles: Facing the Ultimate Frontier Shannon Walker – NASA astronaut Nathan J. Strange – Formulation system engineer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory C. C. Culver – Former NASA mission controller, and motivational speaker with International Stars. How to contact: [email protected] Marc Millis – Physicist who has been NASA’s foremost expert on advanced propulsion concepts and founder of the Tau Zero Foundation Descripción en español First released February 6, 2012. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What’s the world made of? Here’s a concrete answer: a lot of it is built from a dense, knee-scraping substance that is the most common man-made material. But while concrete may be here to stay, plenty of new materials will come our way in the 21st century. Discover the better, faster, stronger (okay, not faster) materials of the future, and Thomas Edison’s ill-conceived plan to turn concrete into furniture. Plus, printing objects in 3D… the development of artificial skin… and unearthing the scientific contributions of African-American women chemists. Guests: Darren Lipomi – Chemical Engineering post-doc, Stanford University’s “Skin Lab” Linda Schadler – Professor of materials science and engineering, and associate dean for academic affairs at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York Nicolas Weidinger – Research assistant at the Institute for the Future, Palo Alto, California Jeannette Elizabeth Brown – Retired research chemist; author of African American Women Chemists Robert Courland – Author of Concrete Planet: The Strange and Fascinating Story of the World’s Most Common Man-made Material Descripción en español First released January 30, 2012 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You may be unique, but is your home planet? NASA’s Kepler spacecraft has uncovered thousands of planetary candidates, far far beyond our solar system. Some may be habitable and possibly even Earth-like. But now a failure in its steering apparatus may bring an abrupt end to this pioneering telescope’s search for new worlds. But Kepler has a massive legacy of data still to be studied. Many new worlds will undoubtedly be found in these data. Hear why the astronomer who has discovered the greatest number of exoplanets is hopeful about the hunt for alien life, and meet the next generation of planet-hunting instruments. Also, “Weird worlds? That was our idea!” Sci-fi writers lay claim to the first musings on exotic planetary locales. And a biographer of Magellan and Columbus describes the dangerous hunt for new worlds five centuries ago. Guests: Charlie Sobeck – Engineer, deputy project manager, Kepler Mission, NASA Ames Research Center Geoff Marcy – Astronomer, University of California, Berkeley Dan Clery – Deputy news editor, European office of Science Laurence Bergreen – author of Voyage to Mars, Columbus: The Four Voyages, 1492-1504, Over the Edge of the World: Magellan’s Terrifying Circumnavigation of the Globe (P.S.) Robert J. Sawyer – Hugo Award-winning author; most recently of Red Planet Blues Descripción en español Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s all about you. And you, and you, and you and you… that is, if we live in parallel universes. Imagine you doing exactly what you’re doing now, but in an infinite number of universes. Discover the multiverse theory and why repeats aren’t limited to summer television. Plus, the physics of riding on a light beam, and the creative analogies a New York Times science writer uses to avoid using the word “weird” to describe dark energy and other weird physics. Also, people who concoct their own theories (some would say fringe) of the universe: is all matter made up of tiny coiled springs? Guests: Brian Greene – Physicist and mathematician, Columbia University, and author of The Hidden Reality: Parallel Universes and the Deep Laws of the Cosmos Dennis Overbye – Reporter, New York Times Simon Steel – Science educator at University College London Margaret Wertheim – Science writer, author of Physics on the Fringe: Smoke Rings, Circlons, and Alternative Theories of Everything Descripción en español First released January 9, 2012. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s a record we didn’t want to break. The carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere hits the 400 parts-per-million mark, a level which some scientists say is a point of no return for stopping climate change. A few days later, a leading newspaper prints an op-ed essay that claims CO2 is getting a bad rap: it’s actually good for the planet. The more the better. Skeptic Phil Plait rebuts the CO2-is-awesome idea while a paleontologist paints a picture of what Earth was like when the notorious gas last ruled the planet. Note: humans weren’t around. Plus, our skit says NO to O2 … and a claim that climate change skeptics have borrowed from the Creationists’ playbook in challenging the teaching of established science in schools. Guests: Phil Plait – Astronomer, skeptic, and author of Slate Magazine’s blog Bad Astronomy Peter Ward – Paleontologist and biologist, Department of Earth and Space Sciences, University of Washington in Seattle Josh Rosenau – Programs and Policy Director at the National Center for Science Education Eugenie Scott – Executive Director of the National Center for Science Education Descripción en español Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Not all conversation is appropriate for the dinner table – and that includes, strangely enough, the subject of eating. Yet what happens during the time that food enters our mouth and its grand exit is a model of efficiency and adaptation. Author Mary Roach takes us on a tour of the alimentary canal, while a researcher describes his invention of an artificial stomach. Plus, a psychologist on why we find certain foods and smells disgusting. And, you don’t eat them but they could wiggle their way within nonetheless: surgical snakebots. Guests: Mary Roach – Author, most recently, of Gulp: Adventures on the Alimentary Canal Martin Wickham – Head of Nutrition, Leatherhead Food Research, U.K. Paul Rozin – Professor of psychology, University of Pennsylvania Michael Gershon – Professor in the Department of Pathology and Cell Biology, Columbia University Medical Center Howie Choset – Professor of robotics at Carnegie Mellon University Descripción en español Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Just remember this: memory is like Swiss cheese. Even our recollection of dramatic events that seem to sear their images directly onto our brain turn out to be riddled with errors. Discover the reliability of these emotional “flashbulb” memories. Also, a judge questions the utility of eyewitness testimony in court. And, don’t blame Google for destroying your powers of recall! Socrates thought the same thing about the written word. Plus, Brains on Vacation! Guests: Phil Plait – Astronomer, Skeptic, and author of Slate Magazine’s blog Bad Astronomy Craig Stark – Neurobiologist, Director for the Center for the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory at Univeristy of California, Irvine Ronald Reinstein – Former judge on the Superior Court of Arizona and judicial consultant for the Arizona Supreme Court Betsy Sparrow – Psychologist, Columbia University Descripción en español First released May 7, 2012 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There are always surprises when we sort through Seth’s wine cellar – who knows what we’ll find! In this cramped cavern, tucked between boxes of old fuses and a priceless bottle of 1961 Chateau Palmer Margaux, we discover the next generation of atomic clock … the key to how solar storms disrupt your cell phone … nano-gold particles that could make gasoline obsolete … and what NASA’s Kepler spacecraft has learned about how our solar system stacks up to others. Tune in, find out and, help us lift these boxes, will you? Guests: • Chris Sorensen – Physicist, Kansas State University • Anne Curtis – Senior research scientist, National Physical Laboratory, U.K. • Jonathan Eisen – Evolutionary biologist, University of California, Davis • Karel Schrijver – Solar physicist, Lockheed Martin, Advanced Technology Center • Jonathan Fortney – Astronomer, University of California, Santa Cruz • Sanjoy Som – Astrobiologist, NASA Ames Research Center Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What’s in a name? “Holocene” defines the geologic epoch we’re in. Or were in? Goodbye to “Holocene” and hello “Anthropocene!” Yes, scientists may actually re-name our geologic era as the “Age of Man” due to the profound impact we’ve had on the planet. We’ll examine why we’ve earned this new moniker and who votes on such a thing. Plus, discover the strongest evidence for human-caused climate change. Also, why cities should be celebrated, not reviled… a musing over the possible fate of alien civilizations … and waste not: what an unearthed latrine – and its contents – reveal about ancient Roman habit and diet. Guests: • William Steffen – Climate scientist and the Executive Director of the Climate Change Institute at the Australian National University, Canberra • Simon Donner – Geographer at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver • Edward Glaeser – Economist, Harvard University, author of Triumph of the City: How Our Greatest Invention Makes Us Richer, Smarter, Greener, Healthier, and Happier • Douglas Vakoch – Director of Interstellar Message Composition at the SETI Institute • Mark Robinson – Director of Environmental Archaeology at the University of Oxford • Erica Rowan – Doctoral student, University of Oxford Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Calling all pessimists! Your brain is wired for optimism! Yes, deep down, we’re all Pollyannas. So wipe that scowl off your face and discover the evolutionary advantage of thinking positive. Also, enjoy other smile-inducing research suggesting that if you crave happiness, you should do the opposite of what your brain tells you to do. Plus, why a “well-being index” may replace Dow Jones as a metric for success … a Twitter study that predicts your next good mood … and whether our furry and finned animal friends can experience joy. Guests: • Frank Drake – Trustee at the SETI Institute and author of the Drake Equation • Tali Sharot – Cognitive neuroscientist at the Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging at the University College London and the author of The Optimism Bias: A Tour of the Irrationally Positive Brain • Michael Macy – Sociologist at Cornell University His team’s Twitter study: http://timeu.se/ • Carol Graham – Economist at the Brookings Institution and author of The Pursuit of Happiness: An Economy of Well-Being • David DiSalvo – Science and technology writer, author of What Makes Your Brain Happy and Why You Should Do the Opposite • Robin Ince – U.K.-based comedian • Jonathan Balcome – Animal behavior scientist and author of The Exultant Ark: A Pictorial Tour of Animal Pleasure Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The tools of forensics have moved way beyond fingerprint kits. These days, a prosecutor is as likely to wave a fMRI brain scan as a smoking gun as “Exhibit A.” Discover what happens when neuroscience has its day in court. Meanwhile, research into the gold standard of identification, DNA, marches on. One day we may determine a suspect’s eye color from a drop of blood. Plus, why much of forensic science – from fingerprinting to the polygraph – is more like reading tea leaves than science. And will future crime victims be robots? Guests: • Owen Jones – Professor of law, Professor of biological sciences at Vanderbilt University, in Nashville, Tennessee • Manfred Kayser – Forensic molecular biologist, Erasmus University Medical Centre, Rotterdam, The Netherlands • Marc Goodman – Founder, The Future Crimes Institute • David Faigman – Law professor, University of California, Hastings College of the Law in San Francisco Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Researchers have discovered life in a buried Antarctic lake. But we’re not surprised. Life is amazingly adaptive. Expose it to any environment – heat, ice, acid or even jet fuel – and it thrives. But this discovery of life under the ice may have exciting implications for finding biology beyond Earth. Scientists share their discovery, and how they drilled down through a half-mile of ice. Also, plunge into another watery alien world with director James Cameron, and the first solo dive to the deepest, darkest part of the ocean. Plus, a Nobel Prize-winning chemist tries to create life in his lab to learn more about biology’s origins, and martian fossils abound in Robert J. Sawyer’s latest sci-fi novel. Guests: • Helen Amanda Fricker – Glaciologist, Scripps Institution of Oceanography at University of California, San Diego • Jill Mikucki – Microbiologist at the University of Tennessee • Chris McKay – Planetary scientist, NASA Ames Research Center • Jack Szostak – Nobel Prize winning chemist, Harvard University, Massachusetts General Hospital • James Cameron – film director and explorer-in-residence for National Geographic • Robert J. Sawyer – Hugo Award-winning author; most recently: Red Planet Blues Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We’ve all had an “oops” moment. Scientists are no exception. Sometimes science stumbles in the steady march of progress. Find out why cold fusion is a premier example why you shouldn’t hold a press conference before publishing your results. Also, how to separate fumbles from faux-science from fraud. Plus, why ignorance is what really drives the scientific method. And our Hollywood skeptic poses as a psychic for Dr. Phil, while our Dr. Phil (Plait) investigates the authenticity of a life-bearing meteorite. Guests: • Phil Plait – Skeptic and author of Slate Magazine’s blog Bad Astronomy • Michael Gordin – Historian of science at Princeton University, author of The Pseudoscience Wars: Immanuel Velikovsky and the Birth of the Modern Fringe • David Goodstein – Physicist, California Institute of Technology • Stuart Firestein – Neuroscientist, chair of the biology department, Columbia University, and author of Ignorance: How It Drives Science • Jim Underdown – Executive Director, Center for Inquiry, Los Angeles Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We all talk about the weather. And now scientists are doing something about it: providing more accurate warnings before big storms hit. Discover how smart technology – with an eye on the sky – is taking monster weather events by storm. Plus, why severe weather events caused by a warming planet may trigger social and economic chaos. Also, meet the storm chaser who runs toward tornadoes as everyone else flees… and why your cell phone goes haywire when the sun kicks up a storm of its own. Guests: • Michael Smith – Meteorologist, founder of WeatherData and author of Warnings: The True Story of How Science Tamed the Weather • George Kourounis – Explorer and storm chaser • Jeffrey Scargle – Research astrophyscisit in the Astrobiology and Space Science Division at NASA Ames Research Center • Ken Caldeira – Climate scientist at the Carnegie Institution for Science’s Deparment of Global Ecology • Christian Pareti – Contributing editor of The Nation, visiting scholar at the City Univeristy of New York, and author of Tropic of Chaos: Climate Change and the New Geography of Violence Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Imagine moving things with your mind. Not with telekinesis, but with the future tools of brain science. Meet a pioneer in the field of computer-to-brain connection and discover the blurry boundary where the mind ends and the machine begins. Plus, how new technology is sharpening the “real” in virtual reality. And, whether our devotion to digital devices is changing what it means to be human. Guests: • Miguel Nicolelis – Director for the Center for Neuroengineering at Duke University, and author of Beyond Boundaries: The New Neuroscience of Connecting Brains with Machines and How it Will Change our Lives • Jeremy Bailenson – Director of the Virtual Human Interaction Lab at Stanford University and co-author of Infinite Reality: Avatars, Eternal Life, New Worlds and the Dawn of the Virtual Revolution • Jim Blascovich – Psychologist at the University of California, Santa Barbara and co-author of Infinite Reality: Avatars, Eternal Life, New Worlds and the Dawn of the Virtual Revolution • Sherry Turkle – Professor of social studies of science and technology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and author of Alone Together: Why We Expect More from Technology and Less From Each Other Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Could you have had a past life? Is it possible that some part of you is the reincarnation of a person – or maybe an animal – that lived long ago? We’ll hear the story of a young boy who started having nightmares about a plane crash. His parents thought he was the reincarnation of a downed, World War II fighter pilot. But his story might not fly. Also … is there any biological basis for reincarnation? Animals that indulge in the big sleep. Suspended animation is Hollywood’s favorite device for interstellar travel … But could we really put a dimmer switch on human metabolism? Learn how techniques for hitting the hold button for humans might be just around the corner. Guests: • Cynthia Meyersburg – Research psychologist at Harvard University • Tori Hoehler – Astrobiologist at the NASA Ames Research Center • André Bormanis – Screenwriter, producer and former science consultant for “Star Trek” • Matt Andrews – Biologist at the University of Minnesota, Duluth • Phil Plait – Astronomer, and author of the Bad Astronomy blog at Discover Magazine • Mark Roth – Biologist at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You must remember this… wait, wait... I had it… on the tip of my tongue… (Memory is a tricky thing and most of us would like to improve it)… oh, yes: Discover the secrets of stupefying, knock-your-socks-off recall by a U.S. Memory Champion. Also, almost everything we know about memory comes from the life of one man born in 1926 and known as H.M., the world’s “most unforgettable amnesiac.” Plus, the sum total of the global data storage capacity in hard drives, thumb drives, the Internet, you name it… guess how many exabytes it comes to? Guests: • Larry Squire – Professor of psychiatry and neurosciences and psychology at the University of California, San Diego and a scientist at the VA Medical Center in San Diego • Jacopo Annese – Neuroanatomist and Director of the Brain Observatory at the University of California, San Diego • Joshua Foer – Author of Moonwalking with Einstein: The Art and Science of Remembering Everything • Martin Hilbert – Economist and social scientist, University of Southern California Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s one of the biggest questions you can ask: has the universe existed forever? The Big Bang is supposedly the moment it all began. But now scientists wonder if there isn’t an earlier chapter to our origin story. And maybe chapters before that! What happened before the Big Bang? It’s the ultimate prequel. Plus – the Big Bang as scientific story: nail biter or snoozer? Guests • Roger Penrose – Cosmologist, Oxford University • Sean Carroll – Theoretical physicist, Caltech, author of The Particle at the End of the Universe: How the Hunt for the Higgs Boson Leads Us to the Edge of a New World • Simon Steele – Astronomer, Tufts University • Andrei Linde – Physicist, Stanford University • Jonathan Gottschall – Writer, author of The Storytelling Animal: How Stories Make Us Human • Marcus Chown – Science writer and cosmology consultant for New Scientist magazine Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If there is only one show you hear about the end of the world, let it be this one. Recorded before a live audience at the Computer History Museum on October 27th, 2012, this two-part special broadcast of Big Picture Science separates fact from fiction in doomsday prediction. In this second episode: a global viral pandemic … climate change … and the threat of assimilation by super-intelligent machines. Presented as part of the Bay Area Science Festival. Find out more about our guests and their work. Guests: • Kirsten Gilardi – Wildlife veterinarian at the University of California, Davis. leader of the Gorilla Doctors program, and team leader for the US-AID Emerging Pandemic Threats PREDICT program • Ken Caldeira – Climate scientist, Carnegie Intuition for Science at Stanford University • Luke Muehlhauser – Executive Director of the Singularity Institute • Bradley Voytek – Neuroscience researcher at the University of California, San Francisco Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If there is only one show you hear about the end of the world, let it be this one. Recorded before a live audience at the Computer History Museum on October 27th, 2012, this two-part special broadcast of Big Picture Science separates fact from fiction in doomsday prediction. In this episode: Maya prophesy for December 21, 2012 … asteroid impact and cosmic threats …. and alien invasion. Presented as part of the Bay Area Science Festival. Find out more about our guests and their work. Guests: Guy P. Harrison – Science writer and author of 50 Popular Beliefs That People Think Are True Andrew Fraknoi – Chair of the Astronomy Department at Foothill College, Los Altos Hills, California Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We all have to go sometime, and that final hour is the mother of all deadlines. But scientists are working to file an extension. Discover how far we can push the human expiration date. Plus, the animal with the shortest lifespan and the chemistry that causes your pot-roast to eventually clothe itself in fuzzy green mold. Also, a clock that won’t stop ticking (for 10,000 years) and our love-hate relationship with that long-lived hydrocarbon that keeps our snack cakes fresh: plastic! Guests: Martin Bucknavage- Senior Food Safety Extension Associate, Department of Food Science at Penn State Leonard Guarente – Biologist, Laboratory for the Science of Aging, M.I.T. Alexander Rose – Executive Director and Clock Project Manager, Long Now Foundation Rick Hochberg – Biologist, University of Massachusetts – Lowell Susan Freinkel – Author of Plastic: A Toxic Love Story Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Internet is not the only globally-uniting phenomenon. Viruses and bacteria can circle the globe as fast as we can, and the effects can be devastating. Discover what it takes for an animal disease to become a human pandemic. Also, was hurricane Sandy a man-made disaster? The future of severe storms and climate change. Plus, the view of our science from abroad: why Brits have no trouble accepting the theory of evolution but Americans do. And what about a new annex for Silicon Valley – 12 miles out to sea? Guests: • Jerry Meehl – Senior scientist, National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, CO • Alok Jha – Science correspondent, The Guardian • David Quammen – Science journalist and author, most recently of Spillover: Animal Infections and the Next Human Pandemic • Max Marty – Co-founder and CEO of Blueseed Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Indiana Jones meets Star Trek in the field of space archaeology. Satellites scan ancient ruins so that scientists can map them without disturbing one grain of sand. Discover how some archaeologists forsake their spades and brushes in favor of examining historic sites from hundreds of miles high. Also, if you were to hunt for alien artifacts – what would you look for? Why ET might choose to send snail mail rather than a radio signal. Plus, the culture of the hardware we send into space, and roaming the Earth, the moon, and Mars the Google way. Guests: • Alice Gorman – Archaeologist at Flinders University, Adelaide, Australia • Christopher Rose – Professor of Computer and Intellectual Engineering, Rutgers University, New Jersey • Robin Hanson – Economist at George Mason University, Virginia • Tiffany Montague – Engineer, and Intergalactic Federation King Almighty, Commander of the Universe, at Google, Inc. • Compton Tucker – Scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you’re itching it get away from it all, really get away from it all, have we got some exotic destinations for you. Mars … Jupiter’s moon Europa … asteroids . Tour some enticing worlds that are worlds away, but ripe for exploration. Also, why private spaceships may be just the ticket for getting yourself into space, unless you want to wait for a space elevator. And, why one science journalist boasts of an infectious, unabashed, and unbridled enthusiasm for space travel. Guests: • Cynthia Phillips – Planetary geologist, SETI Institute • Britney Schmidt – Research scientist, University of Texas, Austin • Paul Abell – Planetary geologist, NASA’s Johnson Space Center • Richard Hollingham – Science journalist, producer of Space Boffins podcast, living in the U.K. • Barry Matsumori – Senior vice president for commercial sales and business development, SpaceX Corporation • Peter Swan – Space System Engineer and Vice President, International Space Elevator Consortium Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

By thinking different, scientists can make extraordinary breakthroughs. Learn about the creative cogitation that led to the discovery of dark matter and the invention of a.c. power grids, disinfectant, and the Greek “death ray.” Also, whether one person’s man of genius is another’s mad scientist. And, the scientist who claims pi is wrong and biopunks who tinker with DNA – in their kitchens and on the cheap. Plus, from string theory to the greenhouse effect – how metaphor sheds light on science. Discover why your brain is like a rain forest (that’s a simile!). Guests: • Anil Ananthaswamy – Corresponding editor for New Scientist magazine in London and author of The Edge of Physics: A Journey to Earth’s Extremes to Unlock the Secrets of the Universe • Marcus Wohlsen – Reporter for the Associated Press, and author of Biopunk: DIY Scientists Hack the Software of Life • John Monahan – Author of They Called Me Mad: Genius, Madness, and the Scientists Who Pushed the Outer Limits of Knowledge • Michael Hartl – Physicist, creator of “Tau Day” • James Geary – Author of I Is an Other: The Secret Life of Metaphor and How It Shapes the Way We See the World Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Stuttering speech and facial tics are among the strange symptoms that swept through a New York high school. Discover what’s behind the odd outbreak, and why one sociologist sees parallels to Salem, Massachusetts 300 years ago. Also, an update on the cellphone cancer debate, and why one congressman wants warning labels on all new phones. Plus, the ultimate cleanse: giving up on food to survive on light and air. We investigate the claims of Breatharians. It’s Skeptic Check … but don’t take our word for it! Guests: • Dennis Kucinich – U.S. Representative, Ohio’s 10th congressional district • Joshua Muscat – Epidemiologist, professor of public health sciences, Penn State at Hershey College of Medicine • Michael Wyde – Toxicologist, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences • Robert Bartholomew – Sociologist, Botany College, Auckland, New Zealand, author of Outbreak! The Encyclopedia of Extraordinary Social Behavior • Gordy Slack – Science writer • Benjamin Radford – Deputy editor, Skeptical Inquirer magazine Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s all in the numbers. The trick is, finding what you’re looking for. But that’s the name of the game with big data. We have a giga-gigabyte of information, and combing through it will lead to new cures for disease, new discoveries about the cosmos, or clues to our social and economic behavior. But is big data Big Brother? You leave a little bit of yourself behind with each mouse click. Discover how surveillance and privacy issues bubble out of the mix, as the terabytes keep flowing in. Plus one man’s quest to know himself through the numbers as he records everything – and we do mean everything – about his body. Guests: • Atul Butte – Associate professor, division chief, systems medicine, Stanford University • Larry Smarr – Professor of computer science, University of California, San Diego, director of the California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology, (Calit2) • Karen Nelson – Microbiologist, director of the Rockville Campus of the J. Craig Venter Institute • Gerry Harp – Physicist, and Director of the Center for SETI Research at the SETI Institute • Deirdre Mulligan – Assistant professor at the University of California, Berkeley School of Information and faculty director of the Berkeley Center of Law and Technology • Ken Goldberg – Professor of engineering, information and art at the University of California, Berkeley Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

"I feel your vibe!” Well, that describes a number of fabled locales that claim to pulse with mysterious energy – perhaps prompting books to fly across the room or airplanes to vanish into thin air. But what’s the science behind it? We examine spots marked with an X, for “extraordinary” – from a haunted house to the Bermuda Triangle – to sort out natural from supernatural phenomena. Plus, what causes the aurora borealis… a haywire Russian space probe… and just what the heck is an “energy vortex,” anyway? Guests: • Phil Plait – Skeptic and keeper of Discover Magazine’s blog: badastronomy • Mike Borg – Group Sales Coordinator, Winchester Mystery House • Jim Underdown – Executive Director, Center for Inquiry, Los Angeles • Peter Williams – Hydrodynamicist at Agilent Technologies • Guy P. Harrison – Writer and business owner in Southern California, author of 50 Popular Beliefs That People Think Are True • Rob Lillis – Space and Planetary Physicist, Space Sciences Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Before you chase it with a broom, consider this – without the rat, we might miss critical insights into the nature of stress, cancer … and even love. These furry, red-eyed rodents have a unique role in medical research – and a ubiquitous companion to our urban lives. Discover the origins of the albino laboratory rat … what rat laughter sounds like, and why these four-legged fur balls don’t fall victim to the pressure of the rat race … but we do. Guests: • Kelly Lambert – Behavioral Neuroscientist, Randolph-Macon College, Ashland, Virginia, author of The Lab Rat Chronicles: A Neuroscientist Reveals Life Lessons from the Planet’s Most Successful Mammals • Michael Gould – Professor of Oncology and Medical Physics, University of Wisconsin, Madison • Jaak Pankseep – Neuroscientist, Veterinary College, Washington State University, author of The Archaeology of Mind: Neuroevolutionary Origins of Human Emotions (Norton Series on Interpersonal Neurobiology) • Pico Iyer – Writer, author of The Man Within My Head and the New York Times article The Joy of Quiet Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

To need air is human. Our lungs thank us for each breath we take. But air is more than a transporter of O2. It shapes our weather, keeps birds aloft and moves spores from here to there. A cubic foot of air is anything but “empty” (hot dog grease particles, anyone?). The same goes for space (minus the hot dog grease). It’s a happening place. Discover why interstellar space is more than a whole lot o’ nothing; and what happens when the Voyager spacecraft leaves our solar system. Plus, catch a skydiver in action! Guests: • Mako Igarashi – Skydiving instructor, Skydive Hollister, Hollister, CA • Rhett Allain – Physicist at Southeastern Louisiana University, blogger for Wired.com • William Bryant Logan – Author of Air: The Restless Shaper of the World • Robert Wagoner – Emeritus professor of physics, Stanford University • Alex Filippenko – Astronomer, University of California, Berkeley • Ed Stone – Physicist at CalTech, former Director of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, project scientist for the Voyager mission Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If Bigfoot walks through a forest and no one sees him, does he exist? It’s the job of paranormal investigator Joe Nickell to find out! Discover whether eyewitness accounts are reliable when it comes to tracking down the hirsute big guy and other monsters. Also, on the subject of “seeing is believing”: how magic fools the brain. Plus, in our potpourri show: can music boost brain power? A new study says listening to music makes brains happy. Does this support the dubious “Mozart Effect,” that claims listening to Wolfie’s compositions boosts IQ? And, skeptic Phil Plait on why the so-called “super moon theory” doesn’t predict devastating earthquakes. It’s Skeptic Check… but don’t take our word for it. Guests: • Joe Nickell – Paranormal investigator and author of Tracking the Man-beasts: Sasquatch, Vampires, Zombies, and More • Stephen Macknik – Director of the Laboratory of Behavioral Neurophysiology at the Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix, Arizona • Susana Martinez-Conde – Director of the Laboratory of Visual Neuroscience at the Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix, Arizona • Phil Plait – Astronomer, and author of the Bad Astronomy blog at Discover Magazine • Valorie Salimpoor – Researcher at Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Quebec, Canada • Penny Glass – Developmental psychologist and associate professor of pediatrics at the George Washington University School of Medicine Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When the IBM computer, Watson, snatched the “Jeopardy” title from its human competition, that raised the question of just how smart are machines? Could artificial intelligence ever beat humans at their own game… of being human? Hear why an A.I. expert says it’s time to make peace with your P.C.; the machines are coming. Also, why technology is already self-evolving, and presenting its own demands. Find out what technology wants. And, a man who went head-to-chip with a computer and says machines will never beat the human mind. Plus, we take a voyage into “2012: An Emotional Odyssey.” Guests: • Kevin Kelly – Editor-at-large at Wired and author of What Technology Wants • Henry Lieberman – Research scientist at the M.I.T. Media Laboratory • Brian Christian – Science writer, poet and author of The Most Human Human: What Talking with Computers Teaches Us About What It Means to Be Alive • Horst Simon – Deputy Director, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory • Shankar Sastry – Dean of Engineering, University of California, Berkeley • Jean Paul Jacob – Scholar in Residence at U.C. Berkeley and IBM Researcher, Emeritus Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We dig the Red Planet! And so does Curiosity. After a successful landing, and a round of high-fives at NASA, the latest rover to land on Mars is on the move, shovel in mechanical hand. Discover how the Mars Science Laboratory will hunt for the building blocks of life, and just what the heck a lipid is. Plus, how to distinguish Martians from Earthlings, and the tricks Mars has played on us in the past (canals, anyone?). Also, want to visit Mars firsthand? We can point you to the sign-up sheet for a manned mission. The catch: the ticket is one-way. Guests: • John Grotzinger – Geologist, California Institute of Technology, and project scientist, NASA Mars Science Laboratory mission • Jennifer Heldmann – Research scientist at NASA Ames Research Center • David Blake – Principal Investigator of CheMin, a mineralogical instrument that is included in the analytical laboratory of the Mars Science Laboratory mission • Rachel Harris – Astrobiology student at the NASA Astrobiology Institute • Stuart Schlisserman – Physician in Palo Alto, California • Felisa Wolfe-Simon – NASA astrobiology research fellow, Lawrence Berkeley National Labs • Bas Lansdorp – Founder, Mars One Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices