Kim Stanley Robinson on Geoengineering in 'The Ministry For The Future'

Kim Stanley Robinson on Geoengineering in 'The Ministry For The Future'

Author: Marty Kurylowicz and Holly Carson February 1, 2024 Duration: 1:09:19
In this episode we are super excited to present our conversation with Kim Stanley Robinson, one of the greatest science fiction writers of all time, whose legacy will surely last deep into our sci-fi future. We discuss his latest book The Ministry for the Future, and some of the many extraordinary ideas in that book for getting humanity through to the other side of the climate crisis. We focus our conversation on various geoengineering projects as well as innovations in economics ...

Ever wonder how close that far-future technology in your favorite novel really is, or what a biologist thinks about the alien ecosystems a writer dreams up? That’s the space where The Science in The Fiction lives. Hosted by Marty Kurylowicz and Holly Carson, this series bridges two worlds that often talk past each other. Each episode begins with a conversation with a science fiction author, pulling apart the big ideas and speculative concepts woven into their work. Then, they bring a scientist or expert into the studio to examine those same ideas through the lens of current research and theory. The real magic happens when these perspectives collide, creating a genuine dialogue. You’ll hear a physicist geek out over warp drive mechanics with an author who just wrote about them, or an ethicist debate artificial consciousness with the novelist who imagined it. It’s not just about fact-checking fiction; it’s about using narrative to ask better questions and using science to deepen our sense of wonder. This podcast operates on a simple, powerful belief: that science fiction can make science more compelling and accessible, and that solid science can, in turn, inspire more thoughtful and visionary stories. If you’ve ever finished a brilliant sci-fi book and immediately fallen down a research rabbit hole, this show feels built for you. Tune in for conversations that are as insightful about human creativity as they are about quantum mechanics or xenobiology, all designed to fuel your curiosity.
Author: Language: en-us Episodes: 50

The Science in The Fiction
Podcast Episodes
Edward M. Lerner on First Contact in 'On The Shoals of Space-Time' [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:04:00
We talk to a returning guest and friend of the show, science fiction author Edward M. Lerner, about his latest book 'On The Shoals of Space-Time', on the topic of First Contact. Ed is a fount of scientific insight and in…
Mark Milne on Geoengineering in 'The Ministry for the Future' [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:08:03
In this episode we talk to Mark Milne as a follow-up on our interviews with science fiction author Kim Stanley Robinson and glaciologist Heidi Sevestre in episodes 21 and 22, on the topic of Geoengineering as portrayed i…
Peter Watts in Conversation with Justin Gregg - Part 2 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 38:34
We continue the conversation between science fiction author Peter Watts and scientist Justin Gregg, and now they get down to the tricky business of discussing the nature of consciousness. We discuss Peter's premise of 'B…
Peter Watts in Conversation with Justin Gregg - Part 1 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 49:29
In this episode we present a conversation between science fiction author Peter Watts and scientist Justin Gregg, following up on our individual interviews with each of them on the general theme of intelligence and consci…
George Paxinos on Neuroscience and Cloning in 'A River Divided' [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 46:04
Marty and Holly talk to George Paxinos - neuroscientist, environmental activist and author of 'A River Divided', a book that explores neurological determinism - the claim that we have no free will and that our actions ar…
David Brin on First Contact in 'Existence' [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:04:12
We speak with David Brin, science fiction icon, scientist, futurist and civilizational optimist. We discuss his particular view of first contact with extraterrestrial intelligence, as portrayed in his 2012 novel 'Existen…
Avi Loeb on First Contact in 'Extraterrestrial' [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:07:55
Marty and Holly speak with Professor Avi Loeb from the Harvard Astronomy department, and he is one of the most generous, gregarious, kind and thoughtful people we’ve ever spoken with. Not only that, he embodies the spiri…
David Curtin on Dark Matter in 'Sunfall' (Part 2) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 38:20
This is the second part of our interview with Dr. David Curtin, Canada Research Chair in Theoretical Particle Physics at the University of Toronto. In response to the kind of dark matter model found in Jim Al-Khalili's s…
David Curtin on Dark Matter in 'Sunfall' (Part 1) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 45:40
Dr. David Curtin is the Canada Research Chair in Theoretical Particle Physics at the University of Toronto, and specializes in exotic theories of dark matter that describe a "dark sector" which may include complex dark m…