Phil Plait Videos

ENCORE Hollywood has a few ideas of how the world will end: killer asteroids … lethal pandemics … deadly ice-ages. These themes have all played out on the big screen. But, hey, they’re only movies, right? We’ll separate the science from the fiction in doomsday movies. From the 2012 prophesy of the Mayans … to colliding worlds … to abrupt climate change, find out which among this crowd of cinematic scares are for real, and which aren’t worth the price of popcorn. Guests: Dave Morrison Astrobiologist, NASA Ames Research Center Phil Plait Astronomer, keeper of badastronomy.com, and author of Death from the Skies!: These Are the Ways the World Will End . . . Lynn Rothschild Astrobiologist, NASA Ames Research Center Ken Caldeira Scientist at the Carnegie Institution for Science s Department of Global Ecology Descripción en espa�ol

http://twitter.com/gnomedex - http://twitter.com/chrispirillo - Phil talked to us about science communication online, and how the "new" (now teenaged, in more ways than one) media has affected it. Specifically how instant info - passed on Twitter - can actually make misinformation spread faster than good info, and how freaking hard it is to clean up once that happens. http://www.gnomedex.com - http://chris.pirillo.com

Hollywood has a few ideas of how the world will end: killer asteroids … lethal pandemics … deadly ice-ages. These themes have all played out on the big screen. But, hey, they’re only movies, right? We’ll separate the science from the fiction in doomsday movies. From the 2012 prophesy of the Mayans … to colliding worlds … to abrupt climate change, find out which among this crowd of cinematic scares are for real, and which aren’t worth the price of popcorn. Guests: Dave Morrison Astrobiologist, NASA Ames Research Center Phil Plait Astronomer, keeper of badastronomy.com, and author of Death from the Skies!: These Are the Ways the World Will End . . . Lynn Rothschild Astrobiologist, NASA Ames Research Center Ken Caldeira Scientist at the Carnegie Institution for Science s Department of Global Ecology

We could choose not to pay income tax and suffer the consequences. But we can’t avoid death. The biological functions of all organisms eventually cease. But why should this be? Find out why animals die and meet one creature that is biologically immortal. Plus, a trip to the Body Farm where decaying bodies help science…how we might cheat the Big Sleep with drugs… why Mexican cemeteries look like villages… and a doctor’s fight against one of the world’s deadliest diseases. Guests: Bill Bass Forensic Anthropologist, founder of the University of Tennessee Forensic Research Facility. Author of Beyond the Body Farm: A Legendary Bone Detective Explores Murders, Mysteries, and the Revolution in Forensic Science and fiction, written under the pen name, Jefferson Bass. The latest: Bones of Betrayal: A Body Farm Novel . Stanley Brandes Cultural Anthropologist, University of California, Berkeley, author of Skulls to the Living, Bread to the Dead: The Day of the Dead in Mexico and Beyond Matt Kaeberlein Pathologist, University of Washington Ross Donaldson Doctor and author of The Lassa Ward Descripción en espa�ol

The Bad Astronomer himself, Dr. Phil Plait and Skepchick A Kovacs sat down with us at Balticon 43 to discuss science, skepticism, NASA, and social media. Dr. Plait is the president of the James Randi Educational Foundation a.k.a. The JREF. And A Kovacs is the JREF Director of Operations. When it comes to skepticism, there [...]

Watch out, the moon is full… of intrigue. Our lovely satellite is blamed for all sorts of Earth-bound mischief – from robberies to shape-shifting to general nutty behavior. It’s also the setting for more than one loony tale. In this hour, as NASA spacecraft return to the moon, a look at the mythology it inspires. Discover the true correlation between crime and a full moon… the 1835 reports of unicorns and man-bats living on moon… and, our favorite hair-raising howler: the werewolf! Also, why some still insist the Apollo moon landing is a hoax. Discover the true correlation between crime and a full moon… the 1835 reports of unicorns and man-bats living on moon… and, our favorite hair-raising howler: the werewolf! Also, why some still insist the Apollo moon landing is a hoax. Plus, space travel – boxed and bundled. Guests: Phil Plait Keeper of the skeptical website badastronomy.com and author of Death from the Skies!: These Are the Ways the World Will End . . . Matthew Goodman Author of The Sun and the Moon: The Remarkable True Account of Hoaxers, Showmen, Dueling Journalists, and Lunar Man-Bats in Nineteenth-Century New York Jim Underdown Executive Director for the Center for Inquiry West, Los Angeles and keeper of the blog Hollywood Reality Check June Pulliam English professor, Louisiana State University Cynthia Phillips Scientist at the SETI Institute Paul Spudis Senior scientist at the Lunar and Planetary Institute

ENCORE When the economy s down, will humans still be going up into space, that is? We investigate the future of human spaceflight at the International Astronautical Congress in Glasgow, Scotland and find out whether sending Homo sapiens to the Moon and Mars is still a good idea. Also, the chief of Virgin Galactic is happy to send you into space on a private flight but it may max out your credit card. Plus, an Apollo astronaut s view from orbit dining with South Korea s first astronaut and one of Britain s great science fiction authors on how space science fuels the imagination. Guests: Rusty Schweickart Former NASA astronaut and Chairman of the Board of the B612 Foundation John Mankins 25-year NASA veteran who managed the Agency s exploration technology activities Sanjoy Som Planetary scientist at the University of Washington, Seattle Will Whitehorn President of Virgin Galactic Yi So-yeon Biomechanical engineer and South Korean astronaut Stephen Baxter Science fiction author, most recently of Weaver: Time s Tapestry, Book Four Descripción en espa�ol

A new herbal supplements is on the shelf, and it claims to improve memory. Should you take it? It’s not easy to sort through the firehose of health and nutrition advice that comes at us daily. Find out how to get healthy about health advice, plus hear the story of Bernarr Macfadden, the eccentric who kicked off America’s fitness craze; he believed that eating less was good for you, but he didn’t believe germ theory. Plus, our Hollywood skeptic spills his guts and other entrails for a phony class for nurses and Phil Plait gives us the latest lapse in critically-thinking brains. It’s Skeptic Check… but don’t take our word for it. Guests: Phil Plait Author, badastronomy.com and Death from the Skies!: These Are the Ways the World Will End . . . Mark Adams writer and editor, and author of Mr. America: How Muscular Millionaire Bernarr Macfadden Transformed the Nation Through Sex, Salad, and the Ultimate Starvation Diet Jim Underdown Executive Director, Center for Inquiry, West Los Angeles Steven Novella Assistant professor of neurology at Yale School of Medicine Descripción en espa�ol

ENCORE We see a man laughing and we smile in response. Our heart goes out to the sad-looking woman on the train. Humans are empathetic creatures we feel what others feel, even the emotions of strangers. And it may be due to brain cells that researchers have only recently discovered: mirror neurons. Find out how these mimicking cells help us survive cocktail parties, keep society humming, and even give rise to the concept of self. Also, are humans born with a moral code? And, if human behavior is hard-wired whatever becomes of free will? Guests: Marc Hauser Evolutionary psychologist and biologist at Harvard, author of Moral Minds: How Nature Designed Our Universal Sense of Right and Wrong Take Marc s Moral Sense Test Marco Iacoboni Psychologist and neuroscientist at UCLA and the author of Mirroring People: The New Science of How We Connect with Others Allen Stairs Philosopher at the University of Maryland John-Dylan Haynes Neuroscientist, Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience, Berlin

With more water than land on this planet, Earth is more aptly-named “Ocean” or “Water.” The oceans have been here for billions of years, and make all life possible. Yet, it’s taken less than a century for humans to deal some serious blows to the watery cradle of our existence. Discover how our oceans are changing and the worrisome increase in their acidity from the maker of the documentary film, A Sea Change Also, hear how hope is bubbling up for ocean recovery from famed oceanographer Sylvia Earle. Learn about her record-breaking voyages underwater and how her reprimand to a Silicon Valley entrepreneur gave birth to Google Ocean. Plus, farming the seas for new antibiotics. Guests: Sylvia Earle Oceanographer, National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence, founder of DeepSearch Foundation, and author of Ocean: An Illustrated Atlas (National Geographic Atlas) Sven Huseby Co-producer of the documentary A Sea Change Peter Moeller Toxin and Natural Products Chemist at NOAA Pacific Ocean Largest oceanic division of the world, overlay of the Pacific Plate

ENCORE Remember Mr. Potato Head? You changed his look by snapping in plastic mustaches, googly eyes and feet. Now imagine doing the same with a living cell: inserting the genes you want to create the organism you want. Welcome to the world of synthetic biology. It has potential to create new bio-fuels and life-saving drugs. It also ushers in a host of ethical and safety concerns. We examine both when we discuss this emerging science of mix and match genes. Plus, does doing an end run around Mother Nature challenge the essence of life itself? Guests: Jay Keasling professor of chemical engineering and biological engineering at UC Berkeley and founder of Amyris Biotechnologies Jonathan Eisen biologist at UC Davis Jim Thomas researcher at ETC group in Ottawa, Canada Ed Regis science writer and author of What Is Life?: Investigating the Nature of Life in the Age of Synthetic Biology Michael Dosmann curator of Living Collections at the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University Descripción en espa�ol

It’s always a surprise to go digging in Seth’s garage – who knows what we’ll find! In this impressive heap of paraphernalia, tucked between boxes of old radio tubes and hydraulic jacks, we stumble upon the secrets to our galaxy’s central black hole… witness the dance of the PhD theses… uncover the genome of milk (while moo-ving boxes) and … hey? Who’s that crunching numbers in the corner? It’s astrophysicist Mario Livio addressing the mathematical mysteries of universe. Guests: Andrea Ghez Astronomer at University of California, Los Angeles Kathryn Denning Professor of Anthropology at York University Mario Livio Senior Astronomer at the Hubble Space Telescope Science Institute and author of Is God a Mathematician? John Bohannon Gonzo Scientist and Contributing Correspondent for Science Katrien Kolenberg Astrophysicist, University of Vienna Danielle Lemay Nutrition Scientist at the University of California, Davis Descripción en espa�ol

Europe is a country. Six justices sit on the Supreme Court. The Vietnamese attacked Pearl Harbor. If ignorance is bliss, this is one happy-go-lucky country. The average American's grasp of history, current events, and geography is so poor, according to one journalist, we've become a nation of dunces, seriously undermining our own future. Keeping ourselves in the dark. Find out why "F" stands for American intellect and what's behind the national trend of dumbing down. Also, the story of the brilliant Russian geneticist who paid the ultimate price during Stalin's Terror in the 1930s. Plus, Brains on Vacation assesses the doomsday threat of the Large Hadron Collider. And, hunting for ghosts in Hollywood. It's Skeptical Sunday... but don't take our word for it. Guests: Susan Jacoby - Author of The Age of American Unreason Peter Pringle - Journalist and author of The Murder of Nikolai Vavilov: The Story of Stalin's Persecution of One of the Greatest Scientists of the Twentieth Century Phil Plait - Astronomer and keeper of the website www.badastronomy.com James Underdown - Executive Director of the Center for Inquiry West in Los Angeles Descripción en espa�ol

ENCORE Forgot your own birthday? Misplaced your Shih Tzu? Did you put the milk in your backpack and the iPod in the fridge? Age may bring wisdom but alas not a boost in RAM. But there s hope scientists are discovering that the brain is more malleable than thought. We ll hear about the science of neuroplasticity and what you can do to slow that cerebellum slide. Ever been to a brain gym? p Plus, why the brains of London cabbies are bigger than those of your average commuter. Guests: Michael Merzenich Professor Emeritus Neuroscientist, University of California, San Francisco Gordy Slack Science journalist and author of The Battle Over the Meaning of Everything: Evolution, Intelligent Design, and a School Board in Dover, PA Sam Wang Associate Professor of Neuroscience and Molecular Biology at Princeton University and the author of Welcome to Your Brain: Why You Lose Your Car Keys but Never Forget how to Drive and other Puzzles of Everyday Life Lisa Schoonerman Co-founder, VibrantBrains Jan Zivic Co-founder, VibrantBrains Descripción en espa�ol

This is the full version of the theme song written for the 365 Days of Astronomy podcast and performed at the International Year of Astronomy opening ceremonies during the AAS conference, Long Beach, California, 2009. The video features Hrab, a number of silly hats, and the city of Bethlehem. No Geos were harmed during the making of this film. They were however made to feel really dizzy. Enjoy!