In 1964, Russian-Soviet astrophysicist and radio astronomer Nikolai Kardashev wrote a paper where he described how alien civilizations could be categorized based on the energy they could harness. At the time, Kardashev was trying to suggest the kinds of transmissions astronomers should be looking for in their pursuit of finding extraterrestrial intelligence (ETI). However, this paper spawned a means of classifying ETIs based on the amount of energy they could harness.

This has come to be known as the Kardashev Scale, which categories civilizations into the planetary, stellar, and galactic scales. Today, it remains a central feature in the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI).

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• Spotify
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• Simplecast

For this latest episode, I got to talk with space philosopher and author Frank White, the man who literally wrote the book on the Overview Effect. This term describes the psychological shift astronauts experience when going to space and seeing Earth without national boundaries or divisions. The first edition was released in 1987 when only two space agencies sent people to space, and the commercial space sector barely existed.

Today, the term has become mainstream with the rise of the NewSpace industry and commercial astronauts. There’s also a renewed interest in space exploration, thanks to new and exciting missions that are doing everything from exploring Mars and the outer reaches of the Solar System to preparing to send humans back to the Moon (to stay, this time!) Twenty-five years ago, Frank predicted that these sorts of changes would allow more people to experience the Overview Effect and how it could contribute to creating a better world.

It’s little wonder why Frank’s book has been re-released several times with updated material, more interviews with astronauts, and more thoughts on the future. Today, Frank continues to spread the lessons astronauts have learned via the Overview Institute and countless education and outreach efforts.

Be sure to check out The Overview: Effect Space Exploration and Human Evolution and other books by Frank White on his website, and head over to the Overview Institute to learn more about its efforts.

Where to Listen:

• Spotify
• Apple Podcasts
• Amazon Music
• Simplecast

For this most recent episode, my guest was none other than Joan Marie (Joan Melendez Misner), also known by her handle @yourfemaleengineer. Marie is a NASA engineer who worked on jet fighters for the US Navy, the Double-Asteroid Redirect Test (DART), and is currently developing the Europa Clipper and Dragonfly missions. During our chat, we talked about what it’s like to land your dream job, how to persevere in the face of adversity, and what it’s like being a female scientist in a field still dominated by men.

Marie is also a science communicator and social media personality who advocates for space exploration, the STEMs, and young women who want to pursue careers in both. Her brand of mixing personal experience and life lessons with music and humor has earned her an international following. As if that wasn’t enough, Marie was selected for Uplift Aerospace‘s first commercial astronaut training program (Space⁺) and will be going to space in the near future (fingers crossed)!

You can access the episode by following the links below, and don’t forget to check out her social media channels for more information:

Where to Listen:

• Simplecast
• Apple Podcasts
• Spotify
• Amazon Music

Joan Marie (yourfemaleengineer):

• Instagram
• TikTok
• Twitter

The subject of this podcast was architecture and living for Mars, and my featured guest was none other than the world’s first “Marschitect” herself, Vera Mulyani. Mulyani is an esteemed architect, artist, filmmaker, entrepreneur, and the founder and CEO of Mars City Design – an education, outreach, and entrepreneurial organization dedicated to ensuring that humans can live on Mars someday. Their philosophy is that with the right combination of science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics (STEAM), humans can not only survive on Mars but thrive.

For years, MCD has hosted design competitions that have produced some of the most intricate, detailed, and awesome designs for Martian habitats and cities. A few years ago, I did a series of articles* about their design competitions and other events. Between 2018 and 2020, I had the honor of working with Mulyani and MCD on a podcast series. Keep an eye out for it. It’s called “The Martian Dispatches,” and it will be premiering in the near future! You can check out this latest episode on any of the channels below:

Where to Listen:

• Spotify
• Apple Podcasts
• Amazon Music
• Simplecast

*And be sure to check out the articles I did on MCD:

• “Ideas for Sustainable Cities and Urban Farming… on Mars?“
• “Winning Urban Farming Ideas for Mars!“
• “Behold! The Martian Menu, Courtesy of Mars City Design!“

The subject of my latest podcast is the Great Filter Hypothesis, where I discuss the subject with Robin Hanson – the man who proposed it back in 1998. This proposed resolution to the Fermi Paradox (aka. “where are all the aliens?”) basically states that if like is so ubiquitous in our Universe (and we have every reason to think it is), then there must be “a great filter between death and expanding lasting life.”

In other words, the reason we aren’t seeing advanced alien civilizations is that there’s something that prevents life from reaching an advanced, installer phase. What could that be? And as Hanson asks in his original paper, “how far along this filter are we?” We also got into his more recent study that places estimates on when we might actually hear from an advanced civilization.

Where to Listen:

• Spotify
• Apple Podcasts
• Amazon Music
• Simplecast