Conversations With Joe

With all the talk of UFOs, or as they're now known, UAPs (Unidentified Aerial Phenomena), and the soon-to-be-released Pentagon report addressing the phenomenon, and the leaked fighter pilot videos, and the hundreds of emails and comments I've received... I decided to chime in on the situation.This should go over well. In no way will this video be taken too seriously.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The downside of nuclear power is, of course, nuclear waste. But there are a lot of myths around nuclear waste, and uses for it that might surprise you.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Small Modular Reactors are shipping container-sized reactors that can be scaled up to meet any energy need. And they may be the future of nuclear energy. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Marion Stokes was an eccentric Philadelphia native who obsessively recorded multiple TV channels on VHS tapes for 35 years. Her archive of over 40,000 tapes have become a priceless document of a pivotal period of American history - and may help us to better understand the world today.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The end of the ISS is less than 10 years away. Here's what's coming next.From the luxury space hotels of Axiom Space to the inflatable super habitats of Bigelow Aerospace to future international efforts, these are the places where we could be living and working in the coming decades.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Science fiction films usually focus more on the fiction than the science. But some filmmakers go to great lengths to make sure their movies get the science right. Here are some of the best of recent years.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

As we turn our eyes to Mars, one concept is starting to get more attention - the Mars Cycler. A ship that remains in permanent orbit between Mars and Earth, providing a constant exchange between the two planets and using only gravity assists as fuel. And it was devised by the one and only Buzz Aldrin.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

They've got the right stuff, but how do they take care of business? The solutions for waste disposal in space are both low and high technology - and it's still a work in progress. Let's talk about the dark side of space travel in today's episode.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

For as long as humans have been around, we've been asking why we're here, what's our purpose, and how did all this happen. Along the way, we've come up with some doozies.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Going from the Space Shuttle back to flying in capsules might feel like a bit of a step backwards, but the Space Shuttle had its problems. Problems that a new generation of space planes are looking to solve.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Space has been blowing our minds from the beginning. And yet it feels like every question we answer only brings up more questions. From evidence of a parallel universe to the young surface of Venus to everybody's favorite, Omuamua, here are 5 space mysteries that have not yet fully been solved.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The metric system revolutionized the world and simplified how we measure things. But one part of our lives never quite got the metric treatment - time. The reason why highlights the importance of time on our lives.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Henrietta Lacks died of cancer in 1951, but her cells mysteriously kept on living. Since then her "immortal" cell line has been the cornerstone of medical breakthroughs that have saved millions.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

If we are ever going to return the atmosphere to pre-industrial levels, we have to take out some of the carbon we've already put into the sky. Still, carbon capture is a controversial topic and one that many people know very little about. So let's look at 7 carbon capture methods and how they work.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Plagues of locusts have been a pestilence since biblical times. But swarm behavior is a fascinating survival tool that many species engage in, and as scientists are learning, they have a lot to teach us about intelligence. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

You've heard the myth... A note exists that makes you evacuate your bowels. Obviously it's not true... or is it? Acoustical weapons exist, could one make you ruin your pants? Let's check it out.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The rush to develop a vaccine for COVID-19 threw billions of dollars at mRNA vaccine technology, which was being researched as a potential cancer treatment. This influx of money into this field could lead to a major breakthrough in that department that is really exciting.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Human experiments are conducted ethically all the time. But throughout history, especially during wartime, horrifying human experiments have been conducted that are little more than an excuse for cruelty and torture. Here are some of the worst examples.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

People have been talking about Hyperloop for years now, but what's actually happening with this proposed 5th form of transportation? Turns out there's a lot. And... not much. I'll explain.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

A team of researchers have figured out how to turn the Sahara desert into lush, green farmland. It could save the world... But it is insane.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Dyson spheres come up a lot in science fiction, as well as in discussions around alien civilizations. But what are they? Do they exist and the even bigger question... Could humans ever make one?See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Animal intelligence is a subject of much debate, but new studies have shown that in many ways, animals are much smarter than we give them credit for, and have entirely different kind of intelligence than we understand.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Water covers 71% of the Earth's surface. We are a water planet, it makes life possible. But where exactly it came from is still a bit of a mystery. Some new studies have shared some light on this question, and it may require us to think about water in a whole new way.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Mars is far away. So far, it takes light anywhere from 3 to 22 minutes to travel there. This means the way we communicate is going to be very, very different - and will have long-term effects we can't really know right now.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

We've heard a lot about electric cars lately, but what about electric airplanes? The air transportation industry is a huge contributor to greenhouse gasses. Could we electrify our air fleet as well? Turns out... it might be next to impossible.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Cognitive biases. We all have them. But we only seem to notice them in other people. Today we're looking at 3 of the most prevalent and destructive cognitive biases that we all have, and what we can do to prevent them from negatively impacting ourselves and our society.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The funeral industry is a $16 billion industry that has an enormous environmental footprint. The numbers are staggering, really. But there are options that we can make that can change that. It just requires us to think about some pretty heavy stuff.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Bermuda Triangle has held our collective attention for decades. This area of the ocean is blamed for countless missing ships and planes, spawning theories as wide-ranging as time/space vortexes, methane bubbles, the City of Atlantis, and, of course, aliens. But is there a rational explanation for all the weird phenomena reported in the Bermuda Triangle, or is it more of a pop culture phenomenon? Let's take a look.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Big Bang Theory of the origin of the universe is pretty much set in stone - or so you would think. Turns out there are several problems with the Big Bang model, some of which are answered with Inflation Theory; the idea that in the first trillionth of a second the universe expanded from a singularity to something the size of a basketball, then slowed its expansion. But there is another idea, one based on string theory and gives the possibility for the universe to renew itself over and over again in cycles. It's called the Ekpyrotic Universe Theory. And it's weird. Real weird.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Centralia is a town at the heart of coal country that now sits abandoned and forgotten. The story behind what happened there is far from uncommon, and may give us a glimpse of what's to come in the future.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Lance Geiger, better known as The History Guy on YouTube, is a storyteller at heart and focuses on lesser-known history - or "forgotten history" as he calls it - on his YouTube channel. I've been following his channel for a while and decided it would be a lot of fun to do a long-form interview with him, and I was right. Hope you enjoy it.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

What makes a person join a cult? What makes a person give up their families, their life savings, even take their own lives in the service of a cult? We often think of cult members as weak-minded or sheep, but the fact is, cults work by employing psychological tactics that work on everybody. And that may be the scariest thing about them.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Genetic editing has advanced by leaps and bounds in the last decade, but many are worried that it may lead to something terrible - a new kind of eugenics. Do the potential benefits outweigh the risk? Let's take a look.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Quantum Suicide experiment (ironically also known as quantum immortality) is a product of the many-worlds interpretation of quantum physics, which says that quantum particles never leave superposition, just that our perspective makes it look to us like the wave function collapses. It gets deep. And weird.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

A recent paper has made some waves theorizing a way to generate wind energy with no moving parts. I spoke with the author of the paper and break down how it works, with a bit of a reality check.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

I recently talked about some of the most habitable exoplanets which unfortunately we'll never be able to reach because our technology can't do it. But there are some very interesting concepts being developed that could change all that - if they work.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The number of known exoplanets seems to grow every day. Most of them are worlds completely unlike our own. But some get pretty close to something resembling home - and may someday become exactly that.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Spiros Michalakis is the Caltech quantum physicist who served as the science advisor on Bill & Ted: Face The Music and he was kind enough to sit down and chat about quantum physics, the nature of time, and the brilliant minds behind Bill & Ted. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

It's a term you've probably heard a lot. Late Stage Capitalism. People use it to describe the absurdities and wild inequalities of the world today. But what is it exactly, and are we really living in it? And if so, what comes next?See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Our traditional view of robots as metal machines with computer brains is pretty hard-wired (pun intended) into the human psyche. But there are reasons to believe that living robots - robots made of soft or living tissue - might be the better option. Here's why.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Magnetars are a type of neutron star with a magnetic field a quadrillion times stronger than the strongest magnets here on Earth. These stellar monsters are mind-blowing in every way and possibly the source of massive gamma ray bursts and fast radio bursts. So what would happen if you fell into one? Let's find out. :)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

We're all pretty much over COVID-19 at this point. But how close are we to getting a handle on this disease? How much longer will this go on? And where are we with the race for a vaccine? The answer... It's still early folks.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This video starts with a sketch that may be hard to follow in audio form. But this is an update on solid state batteries and what we can expect from them in the future.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Space shades are often touted as our last hope if our climate change situation gets too out of control. If we can't keep carbon emissions down, we could just block the sun. I hear this option get thrown out very casually, but I've never seen a realistic look at what that would look like. How big would it need to be? How much would it cost? Wound it even work? So I decided to take a serious deep dive.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This is my full interview with Dr. Becky Smethurst, YouTube star and Oxford Astrophysicist. We talk about the life of an astrophysicist and what it's like to be a part of academia, plus she gets me up to speed on the cosmological crisis, and we make fun of each others' accents. And much more.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Astrophysicists are currently struggling to explain an inconsistency that has become a cosmological crisis, and it has to do with the Hubble Constant, which determines the expansion of the universe. Special thanks to Dr. Becky Smethurst for chatting with me! You can follow her channel at: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYNbYGl89UUowy8oXkipC-QSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

I haven't posted a podcast episode in a while! But this interview with David Quammen was was perfect for an audio-only version. So here you go! David Quammen is the author of Spillover: Animal Infections And The Next Human Pandemic. He spent years working with National Geographic tracking viral outbreaks in Africa, Australia, and around the world, and he has a unique perspective on the COVID-19 pandemic as well as what we can expect in regard to pandemics in the future.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Andy Weir, bestselling author of The Martian and Artemis, sits down with me to talk about all kinds of things, including the creative process, the importance of mental health, and of course, Mars.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Pamela Newenham is the co-founder of GirlCrew, a social media app designed to help women connect in the real world. Here we talk about how GirlCrew came to be (through Tinder of all places), the importance of connecting with people face-to-face, and the power and perils of being an entrepreneur. Find more about GirlCrew here: https://www.girlcrew.com/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.