Bea Cadigan
Appears in 22 Episodes
“2001” and Artificial Intelligence
Artificial Intelligence is common in science fiction, with one of the most famous cases being HAL 9000 in “2001: A Space Odyssey.” AI is a topic of much debate and con...
“Gravity” and Astrophysics
“Gravity” depicts a scientist’s fight against the forces of the universe while orbiting Earth. Gravity is one of the fundamental forces of the universe, and it works i...
“Outer Wilds” (yes, again) and the History of the Universe
“Outer Wilds” makes predictions for a universe not dissimilar from our own. Our universe is very vast and very, very old, with a long and fascinating history. But what...
Probes and Space Telescopes Pt. 2
Continuing our discussion of probes and space telescopes. Two space telescopes that often go unrecognized in the face of the James Webb Space Telescope and Hubble, as ...
“Andor” and Ground Telescopes
“Andor” is a Star Wars show exploring the tactics of fascism and imperial powers. As a separate topic, a number of ground telescopes tend to be overshadowed by their s...
“Wall-E” and Climate Change
“Wall-E” follows a little robot who cleans up trash in what is left of the Earth after an environmental disaster. While this is an extreme example, climate change occu...
“2010” and Rocket Science
In many sci-fi movies, including “2010: The Year We Made Contact,” astronauts pull daring maneuvers in rockets and spaceships. While we aren’t there quite yet, rocket ...
“The Europa Report” and Life in Space
In “The Europa Report,” a team of scientists heads to Europa to find evidence of life. What they find is far beyond their capabilities. We’re still trying to confirm t...
“Arrival,” Aliens, and Linguistics
In “Arrival,” a linguist is given a task of planetary importance: deciphering the language of aliens who have come to Earth for unknown reasons. Linguistics may not be...
"Slingshot,” Titan, and Saturn
In "Slingshot” three astronauts (or maybe just one?) embark on a voyage to Saturn’s moon Titan to retrieve methane. We tour the beauty that is Saturn, and its unique m...
"Cosmos" and Amateur Astronomy
In "Cosmos," three amateur astronomers find evidence of extraterrestrial life. Amateur Astronomy may not be that glamorous, but there’s still lots to explore with just...
"Star Trek", probes, and space telescopes
In "Star Trek: the Motion Picture," the crew of the iconic USS Enterprise face off against a human probe returned to destroy Earth. While that probe was not actually m...
"The Martian" and the Red Planet
In “The Martian”, a stranded astronaut must fight to survive on a hostile world. In reality, NASA is working to put humans on Mars in the next decade.
"Outer Wilds" (again) and the outer Solar System
In Outer Wilds, a satellite goes undiscovered because it orbits vertically, while the planets orbit horizontally. In reality, some outer solar system objects have gone...
History of Astronomy, pt. 2
Continuing our discussion of the history of astronomy, we talk about the “Dark Ages” and highlight later figures like Copernicus, Galileo, and Einstein.
"Star Wars" and Galaxies
In a galaxy far, far away, the forces of good and evil fight for control. In some not so far, far away, there is plenty for humanity to explore.
"Hidden Figures" and the History of Astronomy, pt. 1
"Hidden Figures" tells the (exaggerated) story of three Black women who made history at NASA. We dive into different cultures’ historical impacts on astronomy.
"Cowboy Bebop" and the major Jovian Moons
"Cowboy Bebop” is a jazzy sci-fi Western about bounty hunters in our solar system, sometimes on Jupiter’s moons. Each of the four biggest moons is unique, with feature...