Science, Actually Presents : The Nerd and the Scientist

Kovi and Benjamin get all wibbly-wobbly as they talk about the timey-wimey scifi gadgets in scifi films and shows. Independence Day, Doctor Who, Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, and 2001: A Space Odyssey. We don't have a sonic screwdriver just yet - but we're getting there, the HAL 900 was, basically, Siri and AI all wrapped up with a thirst for murder, and that goodness our phones can translate just about anything without the need of squeezing a Babel fish in our ears.

The science between the science! Kovi put on his special science goggles as he and Benjamin discussed the Interstellar Medium (ISM). The space between the stars is massive - but not empty! Going back to the 1860's we began to learn there's something out there, in 1904 we confirmed it, and since 1909 we learned that there's gas, dust, cosmic rays, shock-heating from supernovae, nebluae and more. Where does a nebula end and interstellar space begin? What IS a nebula? Join the nerd and the scientist is they wrap up their third season (their 30th episode!) with some learnin' and laughin'!

Astronauts go to space. Space tourists go to space. So... What's the difference? Kovi and Benjamin have a conversation this episode about when space travel switched from only sending the best of the best military trained and/or highly science educated into space to just sending anyone who could afford a ticket. A space traveler was once a young, healthy, heavily trained person who's been pushed to the physical limits in preparation for a solo flight. Nowadays anyone can go, old or young, as part of a crew just for the fun of it. Will Shatner's overview effect was a beautiful thing to watch, and so long and thanks for all the fish.

Ever since we've been sending spacecraft out into the universe, we've sent little bits of cargo with them. Be it for hope and optimism, the preservation of our culture, or an olive branch of sorts to whomever might find it drifting out there in space, human beings have long been fans of the ultimate messages in a bottle. From the famous golden records on Voyagers 1 and 2, to an astronomer's ashes speeding past Pluto, Kovi and Benjamin take a look at messages humans have sent to space and are planning to send to space. And if you're planning a trip to Mars, watch out for Elon's car.

Transits and microlensing and radial velocity - oh my! Are there other civilizations out there? Maybe. What there's definitely a ton of beyond our Solar System are other worlds. This week Kovi and Benjamin talk about exoplanets - from the beginning of how we first began discovering them in the 90's, to today where we not only have a catalog of thousands of exoplanets, but we know their sizes, masses, atmospheres, and have even snapped a photo of a few.

This week Kovi and Benjamin discuss the aurorae many of us witnessed last week as a result of a particularly large solar storm. ...and not just that! They also go on to discuss how aurorae are formed, why the northern and southern lights are different, what they look like on other worlds, and mention that even some brown and red dwarf stars that have aurorae. They even discuss the proper pluralization of aurora ... aurorae. Trust us - it gets nuts.

Getting things to space is relatively easy - just hop on a rocket - but still somewhat expensive. Once in space getting from place to place is hard - once you've launched you're either going into orbit and staying there, or on your way to a far away destination - and takes a very long time. What can we do to make space travel quicker and cheaper, can we speed up communication with these far away places, and is that a giant dinner plate standing in the desert? Kovi and Benjamin answer all these questions - and talk about their dogs - in this episode.

We want to wish a Happy Passover to all of our listeners who celebrate, and in that spirit this week we're talking about things that are 'passing over' us! Get it? Passover? Passing over? Trust us, it's funny. Don't touch that dial, as Kovi and Benjamin discuss all the different altitudes and orbital zones in which things actually do pass over us - from satellites to space stations, comets to asteroids, and a mind altering, life changing experience Kovi had in Texas.

At last, Kovi and Benjamin meet again for the first time for the last time. It is a period of science skepticism in the world. A fledgling podcast, recording from a hidden location, had just finished their second season. During the recording, the podcasters kept quiet so as not to be discovered until they met the ultimate nerd, the first person to BUY THEIR T-SHIRT - a comfortable, all cotton garment powerful enough to have a rubber duck on it. With onlookers getting suspicious, and even beginning to laugh, they kept their recording brief and then raced home aboard their spaceship - custodians of the stolen plans that can save the galaxy...

Benjamin used to be super impressed with Kovi's profession, but when he learned that back in 1937 all you needed was some wood, piece of sheet metal, and a few parts from a broken down Model T... eh, now, not so much. Tune is as Kovi talks shop - we learn about the accidental invention of radio astronomy, how insanely big radio telescopes can be and how they work, and some incredible discoveries they've made along the way.

Kovi and Benjamin kick off season three of The Nerd and the Scientist with an episode about water worlds. Tune in as they discuss many of the worlds we know have water, and worlds for which the data suggests they have water - regardless of said worlds' Kevin Costner content (KCC).

There are so many things in our day-to-day lives that we take for granted that got their start as part of humanity's greatest endeavor - exploring the universe. Before memory foam mattresses carried you off to sleep, they were the lining of pilot seats for NASA's jet planes and even the space shuttle, the best Speedo bathing suit got its start in a wind tunnel, and the jaws of life that firefighters might use to open wrecked car doors first were used separating spacecraft. Join Kovi and Benjamin as they talk about how space inventions help us down here on Earth.

There are so many things in our day-to-day lives that we take for granted that got their start as part of humanity's greatest endeavor - exploring the universe. The first, true laptop computer flew on the space shuttle, the first Bowflex helped astronauts keep in shape on the ISS, thin foil blankets often seen at the end of marathons were first used as lining on spacecraft. Join Kovi and Benjamin as they talk about how space inventions help us down here on Earth.

Set phasers to science! You know that cellphone in your hand? You can thank Star Trek for that. Medical diagnosis equipment at the hospital? Thank Star Trek. Beaming? Yeah, it works. Right now. Here in the real world. Who ya' gonna' thank? That's right - Star Trek? Join Kovi and Benjamin as they talk about Star Trek's contributions to science, and how many Riker's is enough.

Are Kovi and Benjamin neuroscientists? NOPE! ...but they think a lot, and got to thinking about thinking, which gave them a thought, "let's talk about thinking!" Join the lads from Fun Fact Science and Science Actually as they figure out how our noodle noodles.

What came first - black holes or the galaxies? Find out as Kovi and Benjamin are joined by Dr. Markus Mosbech, and discuss cosmology, astroparticle physics, and possible death and serious injury caused by dark matter.

How far away are things in space? A parsec is a measurement of distance - not time - unless you're Han Solo. Eight Taylor Swifts flew by Earth the other day - or were those alpacas? Kovi and Benjamin make their way through all that madness just to talk about the Kessler Syndrome - aka space junk.

Will the luna-cy ever stop? Get it? Luna? Moon? Hello? Holy smokes Kovi and Benjamin think they're funny - and they're in love with the Moon! It's the biggest and most familiar object in the sky after the Sun, and we've been sending landers and rovers and robots and people there since the 1950's - and next month, Canada's sending a meme.

Kovi and Benjamin are joined by their very first guest, Dr. Dimos Katsis - former Blue Origin rocketologist, clean energy aficionado, and cohost of the LuxeSci podcast. We discuss Blue Origin's New Shepard rocket, the science learned from it that can help future explorers on the Moon, and the New Glenn that'll get us there.

Purely by coincidence, the second episode of the first season and this episode - the second episode of the second season - are about how we classify things in space! Benjamin is, shall we say, just a little obsessed about how scientists categorize stars, planets, nebulae, black holes and quasars - and he asks Kovi to explain it all in a kind of quasi-quiz/Q&A conversation. Say it three times fast, "Chthonian..."

The first episode of our second season! The second episode of a two-parter! Kovi and Benjamin dive once again into some of science's weirdest NOPE's and mull over spacecraft crashing into our planet, storms on Saturn caused by aliens, and all the doomsday predictions that have come and gone without a doomsday happening.

In the beginning there was only ice! (say Welteislehre three times fast!) Venus was comet before it was a planet! The Moon doesn't turn! Bigfoot seen on Mars! Kovi and Benjamin discuss some of science's biggest NOPE's.

From ancient stone calendars to the cosmic calendar, can Kovi and Benjamin cram 10,000 years of humans documenting the seasons and the passage of time into 30 minutes? NOPE! They do try - and made up two commercials - so buckle up.

Saturn's rings are the biggest in the Solar System, but not the only ones? Stars don't twinkle? Mercury's the closest planet to our Sun, but has glaciers? What the what? Listen to part two of Kovi and Benjamin's debunking space myths extravaganza!

Black holes don't suck, the Sun is not on fire, and the Moon doesn't have a dark side - just a plain 'ol boring 'far side'. Join Kovi and Benjamin for part one of a two part series where they share and debunk some common myths and misconceptions about space - even if it did look cool in Star Wars.

Taurus the cockatoo? Scorpio the ostrich? Perseus the elk? Orion the baby buffalo? Leo the horse? We're familiar with the modern, western names of the constellations, but there have been countless cultures over thousands of years putting their unique stories on the same stars. This week Kovi and Benjamin discuss the emus, lost men, grills for cooking fish, and blue women that other civilizations saw in the night sky.

Kovi and Benjamin had every intention to speak about what makes for good seeing (clear skies, low light pollution, and little atmospheric turbulence) - and eventually did - but spoke about the Voyager spacecraft's famous Pale Blue Dot photo for a bit first.

Kovi and Benjamin bumble their way through an episode about asteroids, a nameless astrophysicist, and the Beatles. And what's the deal with M-class? M-class asteroids, and M-class stars, and M-class Star Trek things - we should call it mmm-class...

The longer a star burns, the more its fuel fuses into heavier and heavier elements. But that takes a long time - so if you're in a rush just find two neutron stars smack them together. Benjamin has questions about heavy elements! Kovi has answers! Do they stay on topic? ehhhhh....

Kovi and Benjamin made a number two! Buckle up and buckle in as we talk about classification of celestial objects. When does a planet become a star? Can a star become a planet? In what way are supernovae like hot dogs?

Kovi and Benjamin reunite to kick off their new show! It's our first episode! The pilot episode! The one where we figure out what we're doing, talk about space, try to sell you rubber ducks and fail, and basically have a great time.