Science fiction has a more complex analysis of religion than either “good” or “bad.” Yonatan Huber and Josh Jennings join Heaton to discuss how scifi authors tackle it, and how the nature of religious critique has changed between centuries. 

Today we mount a defense of Star Trek’s most underrated films! Tim Sandefur rejoins the program, along with Aeon Skoble, to discuss the franchise’s least-appreciated flicks: “The Motion Picture”, “The Voyage Home”, and “The Final Frontier.”  …

The foundational elements of Star Wars are deeply mythological, influenced by Joseph Campbell’s book “The Hero with a Thousand Faces.” Professor Ryan Slesinger joins the show to explain the Hero’s Journey, archetypes, and the deepest elements of the…

Fermi’s Paradox brings up a troubling issue: if even a small fraction of stars have planets with intelligent life, much of it should be more advanced than us–so why have aliens never come by to say hello? Do civilizations all blow themselves up? Are…

Picard never left the Nexus. We caught the wrong Khan. Star Trek fandom is full of theories casting doubt on characters and plots as we know them. Brilliant or ridiculous, fan theories at least make us look at the franchise in a different light. John…

From “Futurama” to “Demolition Man,” cryonically suspending bodies for future reanimation by tomorrow’s scientists is a mainstay of science fiction. Dennis Kowalksi, President of the Cryonics Institute, joins the show to go past the tropes and explain…

Battlestar Galactica kicked off just three years after the 9/11 attacks, and tackles everything from theocratic warfare to stem cell research and waterboarding. Comedian Andrew Young joins Heaton to discuss the series, it’s relentless tension and fear…

John Varley’s novel “Steel Beach” portrays a future brimming with attractive immortals living in amusement parks on the Moon–yet the main character contemplates suicide. Absent strife, can humans find purpose? Tim Sandefur joins Heaton to discuss…

Robert Zubrin is the head of the Mars Society and author of “The Case for Mars.” He joins Heaton along with special guest co-host Andrew Mayne to discuss how to get to the Red Planet using existing technology, and the implications of finding life once…

Today we speak with physicist Stephen Granade about robots! How to build giant arm-swingin’ robots, how we can automate them, and where we stand on Mind Machine Interface technology in case we want to pilot said robots ourselves.