Spoiler alert! Ariel, Norm, and Kishore dive into the questions raised by the season finale of Star Trek: Picard and the resolution of the season-long mystery. What does the Star Trek universe look like now after the events of the show? We disc

Offworld: Moon (2009)

Feb 3rd, 2020 29m 46s

Once a hot topic of popular science, we check in on the science and state of human cloning in our discussion of the 2009 film Moon. Ariel and Norm are joined by Hank Greely, Director of the Center for Law and Biosciences at Stanford to talk bio

Offworld: Star Trek: Picard

Jan 25th, 2020 26m 43s

Star Trek: Picard is finally released! Ariel, Norm, and Kishore commemorate the show's debut by opening a bottle of Chateau Picard and reviewing the pilot episode. We dive into light spoilers throughout the discussion, so watch the pilot before

Offworld: The Wandering Earth (2019)

Dec 31st, 2019 28m 56s

This week, we take a look at one of the most ambitious space movies of the past year, The Wandering Earth. Joined by Sarafina Nance, astrophysics PhD student at UC Berkeley, we discuss the film's idea of moving the Earth out of our solar system

Offworld: The Expanse Season 4 Premiere

Dec 15th, 2019 26m 44s

Season 4 of the The Expanse is finally out! Ariel, Norm, and guest Violet Blue discuss the first two episodes of the new season, catching up with the crew of the Rocinante and speculating about the possibilities that lay before them. We do our

Offworld: For All Mankind (2019)

Nov 25th, 2019 25m 23s

What if the Soviets landed on the Moon before the United States? That's the premise of Apple TV+'s new show, For All Mankind, which explores the consequences of a "red moon" and NASA's response. Ariel is joined by Emily Calandrelli and Shannon

Offworld: Close Encounters of The Third Kind (1977)

Nov 4th, 2019 33m 35s

On Offworld this week, Ariel is joined by guests Rose Eveleth and Laura Welcher to discuss the 1977 film Close Encounters of the Third Kind. From the culture of UFO obsessives and the idea of music as a communication tool, we look at this scien

Offworld: Apollo 13 (1995)

Oct 27th, 2019 30m 40s

Ariel and Adam are joined by spacesuit replica maker Ryan Nagata to talk about one of their favorite space movies, Apollo 13. We hear how the 1995 docudrama inspired Ryan to make his own spacesuits, and what the portrayal of the on-screen portr

Offworld: Ad Astra Review

Oct 7th, 2019 26m 49s

We review the new science fiction space film Ad Astra! Ariel and Norm are joined by Dr. Douglas Vakoch, the President of METI (Messaging Extraterrestrial Intelligence) to discuss the film's portrayal of space travel through the solar system, as

Offworld: Asteroid Exploration and Mining

Aug 19th, 2019 32m 26s

Asteroids have been the subject of numerous science fiction stories, in both destructive and constructive depictions. Joining Ariel to set the record straight on asteroids are Michael Busch of SETI and planetary astronomer Sondy Springmann. The

Offworld: Gravity (2013)

Aug 12th, 2019 23m 25s

This week, Ariel is joined by Dr. Christianna Taylor and science youtuber Scott Manley to talk about the movie Gravity! While the 2013 film has been picked apart in popular media, we focus on the topic of orbital debris and how real astronauts

Offworld: A Trip to the Moon (1902)

Jul 20th, 2019 30m 3s

For this very special episode of Offworld, we record from NASA Ames Research Center to talk about the 1902 film 'A Trip to the Moon', which is considered to be the first science fiction film. Ariel chats with NASA scientists about how our under

Offworld: Frances 'Poppy' Northcutt

Jul 7th, 2019 37m 33s

We're thrilled this week to be joined by Frances 'Poppy' Northcutt, who was a NASA Return-to-Earth Specialist during the Apollo missions and the first woman to work inside Mission Control! We talk about her experience as an engineer during Apol

Offworld: Forbidden Planet (1956)

Jun 24th, 2019 29m 40s

Why are exoplanets--those outside our solar system--depicted the way they are in science fiction film? We revisit the 1956 movie Forbidden Planet to examine one of the first representations of exoplanets in cinema, and our expert guests help ex

Offworld: Spacesuits in Science Fiction Film

Jun 10th, 2019 32m 43s

Ariel is joined by two spapcesuit afficionados: our very own Adam Savage and design professor Nicholas de Monchaux to talk about their favorite science fiction spacesuits, the role of spacesuits in film, and how real-world suits have been inspi

Offworld: Isolation and Loneliness in Space Travel

Jun 3rd, 2019 27m 59s

This week on Offworld, we explore the trope of isolation and loneliness in science fiction space travel, and how both fictional and real-world astronauts cope with being away from home for extended missions. Joining us are neuroscientist Indre

Offworld: The Black Hole (1979)

May 20th, 2019 31m 25s

From Disney's The Black Hole to Interstellar, we discuss the portrayal of Black Holes in science fiction films and the misconceptions popular media has spread about this astronomical phenomena. Fatima Abdurrahman from UC Berkeley's Department o

Offworld: Starship Troopers (1997)

May 13th, 2019 29m 55s

Let's talk about the space bugs in Starship Troopers! Ariel is joined by Dr Brian Fisher and Dr Lauren Esposito from the California Academy of Sciences to discuss the science of insects and whether space bugs could exist as they're depicted in

Offworld: The Beyond (2017)

May 6th, 2019 29m 38s

Ariel is joined by Tested science contributor Kishore Hari and cyborg anthropologist Amber Case to discus the 2017 film The Beyond, the traditional sci-fi notion of cyborgs, and what mix of human and machine actually makes sense for the future

Offworld: Wall-E (2008)

Apr 29th, 2019 21m 38s

This week on Offworld, we revisit the classic Pixar film WALL-E, and chat with roboticists from NASA and Softbank Robotics about the development of robots for use in space. What about the portrayal of space robots in WALL-E did we like, and wha

Offworld: The Right Stuff (1983)

Apr 23rd, 2019 21m 16s

This week on Offworld, Ariel is joined by Adam Savage and retired astronaut Jim Newman to talk about the 1983 movie The Right Stuff! The three discuss the film's portrayal of early NASA missions and astronaut culture, and hear some stories abou

Offworld: Life (2017)

Apr 15th, 2019 32m 48s

If astronauts ever discovered microbial life in space, what would be the procedures for studying it? That's one of the plot points of the 2017 science fiction film Life, which we discuss with Dr. Penny Boston, director of NASA's Astrobiology In

Offworld: Arrival (2016)

Apr 8th, 2019 19m 17s

This week on Offworld, we look at the science fiction film Arrival and its depiction of communication with alien life! Ariel is joined by cognitive neuroscientist Dr. Teon Brooks and Dr. Douglas Vakoch, President of METI (Messaging Extraterrest

Offworld: Star Trek The Motion Picture (1979)

Apr 1st, 2019 26m

Star Trek: The Motion Picture features a plot device inspired by NASA's Voyager missions, including the Golden Records that are aboard both spacecraft. Ariel is joined by David Pescovitz and astronomer Frank Drake (of the Drake equation) to tal

Offworld: Europa Report (2013)

Mar 25th, 2019 24m 12s

We're joined by spacecraft engineer Bobak Ferdowsi and marine scientist Vicky Vásquez to talk about the 2013 film Europa Report! There's a lot to like about the film, including how it portrays the challenges of a crewed mission to Jupiter's moo