Why Should I Care About Space? #188
November 04, 2012
This episode was recorded when Science for the People was called Skeptically Speaking.
In almost any discussion of space exploration and observation, one question always arises. Why should we spend the money, when there are problems here on Earth? This week, we’re going to tackle this question, with a panel of people who know just how important the science of space actually is. Penny4NASA‘s John Zeller and Noisy Astronomer Nicole Gugliucci return to the show, along with Scientific American Associate Editor John Matson, and Cynthia Phillips, Senior Research Scientist at the SETI Institute. They’ll discuss the technological, social and economic benefits of exploring space, and what it really means to all of us.
Guests:
- John Matson
- Nicole Gugliucci
- John Zeller
- Cynthia Phillips
Other Episodes About Science & Culture
Losing Our Minds
Mental illness is being discussed openly and publicly more than it ever has been, but our understanding of what it is and its impacts are still a work-in-progress. What is mental illness... Read More
March 29, 2022
Pests: How Humans Create Animal Villains
We all know what a "pest" is. We can all point to creatures that are pests in our neighborhoods, those invasive hard-to-get-rid-of, disruptive animals that civilization seems to be in constant battle... Read More
November 10, 2022
This is your brain on music
Humans are musical. Really, really musical. But why? What is it for, how did it come about, and what do we get from it? Let's get between the science and the hype... Read More
January 30, 2023
Other Episodes About Environment
The Devil’s Element
With fertilizers that supply phosphorus–what Asimov called “life’s bottleneck”– people broke the circle of life. Dan Egan’s new book The Devil’s Element traces the history of this essential element from curiosity to... Read More
April 24, 2023
Brave the Wild River
In 1938, two botanists, Elzada Clover and Lois Jotter, made an ambitious voyage down the Colorado River driven by the desire to chronicle the plant life of the American Southwest. In her... Read More
June 19, 2023
Tenacious Beasts
In his book Tenacious Beasts, philosopher and writer Christopher Preston explores creature comebacks. Some of these stories highlight the evolutionary advantages that animals have racked up over millennia, while others are marked... Read More
August 14, 2023
Other Episodes About Futurism
The Brain Electric
This week, we're looking at the progress we've made toward connecting our minds with machines. We talk with journalist Malcolm Gay about the challenge of creating prosthetics, how close we are to... Read More
February 19, 2016
Self-Driving Cars
This week on Science for the People, we’re talking with three guests about the technology challenges, possible repercussions, and ethical quandaries of self-driving cars. We'll speak with University of Waterloo Professor and... Read More
April 22, 2016
Technology, Work and The Future
This week, we're thinking about how rapidly advancing technology will change our future, our work, and our well-being. We speak to Richard and Daniel Susskind about their book "The Future of Professions:... Read More
July 01, 2016
Other Episodes About Science Literacy
What Doesn't Kill You...
This week we're discussing public perception of entomologists and their study organisms of choice: insects. We speak with Justin Schmidt, author of the new book "The Sting of the Wild", and an... Read More
December 16, 2016
Is Our Children Learning
This week on science for the people, we're taking on the educational system. We'll be talking with Ulrich Boser about what people think they know about education. It turns out that education... Read More
May 19, 2017
The State of Science Journalism
This week we step into the world of science journalism from the perspectives of two unique and reputable popular science publications. Guest host Anika Hazra speaks with Katie Palmer, senior editor of... Read More
August 04, 2017
Other Episodes About Space
2019, But Make It Science
It's 2020, but we're looking back. What were the biggest science stories of 2019? Well, it was a big year for lots of things. Black hole pictures, vaping illnesses... and lots and... Read More
January 04, 2020
Translating Science, Part 2
This week on Science for the People, we're discussing how Siksika become one of the official translation languages for press releases from the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO). The area of the... Read More
February 16, 2020
Science to look forward to in 2022
2021 has vanished, sucked into the black hole created by 2020. But while the pandemic continues, we are steadily climbing our way out. And what better way to gain momentum than to... Read More
January 04, 2022
Other Episodes About Technology
Because Internet
This week we dig into the grammar, idiosyncracies, and patterns of mondern writing the internet has made not just possible, but necessary: the writing you and I do all the time via... Read More
July 20, 2020
The Alchemy of Us
We live in a material world. Each piece of that stuff has a story behind it – from the inconspicuous glass and steel that fashions our built environments to the transistors in... Read More
September 07, 2020
Cities Lost and Found
What do ancient cities have to tell us about ourselves and our future? Annalee Newitz talks about their latest book, "Four Lost Cities: A Secret History of the Urban Age", and what... Read More
March 01, 2021