“The Girl With All the Gifts” is a brilliant spin on otherwise stale zombie tropes. Nick Sperdute and Ashland Viscosi join the program for a spoiler-free discussion about the novel. Plus a refresher on Greek mythology, how John Locke and Thomas Hobbes…

Deep Space Nine masterfully tackled complex plot lines, moral ambiguity, and deep themes over its arc. Tom Merritt, host of the Sword & Laser podcast and scifi novelist, joins Heaton to suss out the deeper meaning of Star Trek’s finest series.

“Black Mirror,” a dark television series about the grim potential of technology, explores issues from social media to immortality. Comedian Myq Kaplan joins the show to look at the otherwise bleak satire through the dual lenses of optimism and Buddhism.

Nick Sperdute and Josh Jennings join Heaton for a rousing game of “First Officer, Holodeck Buddy, Red Shirt” using Star Trek characters from across the franchise. 

We’ll probably get to Mars a lot sooner if people think they can make a buck off of it. Andrew Mayne, author of the book “How to Make Money on Mars” joins the show to discuss what feasible, if not lucrative, private Mars missions might look like. 

AJ West and science consultant Mika McKinnon (“Stargate Atlantis” and “Stargate Universe”) join the program to pitch Stargate as bingable show, and suss out its themes and triumphs.

In a special just-for-kicks live episode, Star Trek consultants Dr. Erin Macdonald and Dr. Mohamed Noor return to the show to play Starfleet Draft Picks: If you could staff a new vessel with characters from any Star Trek series, who would you select?

Andrew Maynard is a scientist, professor, and expert in nanotechnology. He joins the show to answer: how likely is it that microscopic robots will go awry and turn the world into gray goo? What cool inventions are on the horizon? And finally, what are…

“The Day of the Triffids,” by John Wyndham, arguably kicked off the modern zombie genre, in which protagonists flee shambling cannibals in an urban wasteland. Josh Jennings joins Heaton to review the book, and ask: what is so fascinating about zombies…

Hugh Howey is the author of “Wool,” the New York Times bestselling thriller set in a massive post-apocalyptic bunker. He joins the show to talk about his book, the nature of existential threats, and why optimists are the ultimate heretics. 

Why is Darth Vader “Lawful Evil” or Ramsay Bolton “Chaotic Evil”? Captains Kirk and Picard are both good, but only one of them is “Neutral.” The D&D Alignment System comprehensively explains the moral temperaments of any scifi character you can…

What would first contact with an alien civilization look like? Could we handle it? If we could, would it even be possible to communicate with a vastly different (or superior) intelligence? Peter Boghossian, Professor of Philosophy at Portland State…

Brian Dunning, host of the Skeptoid Podcast, joins Heaton to talk about all things time travel–the best films, TV shows and books, plus how to get around pesky time travel paradoxes, if we should try to go back and kill Hitler, and the most…

Dr. Eric Spana (Duke University biology professor and delightful nerd) joins Heaton to discuss how genetics works in various scifi and fantasy realms: from recessive wizarding genes in Harry Potter, to the midichlorians of Star Wars, to super power…

The long-awaited “Picard” series is out now, starring Patrick Stewart and following the exploits of Jean-Luc Picard two decades after we last saw him in “Nemesis.” Nicholas Sperdute comes on to analyze the pilot, predict where the plot will take us,…

If we had to send a spaceship to start a colony on another planet, how many humans would we need to get the party started? How do you avoid inbreeding, and what’s a stable amount of people to maintain purpose on a multi-generational mission? Rob…

Mr. Spock is the most captivating character in Star Trek lore, and the embodiment of logic in popular culture. John Champion, host of “Mission Log” Star Trek podcast, joins Heaton for a deep dive into the character and meaning of Spock. 

Dr. Mohamed Noor is the author of “Live Long and Evolve: What Star Trek Can Teach Us about Evolution, Genetics, and Life on Other Worlds,” and is the head of Biology at Duke University. He joins the show to talk about the origins of life, and why…

Alright, it’s been a month–let’s discuss “The Rise of Skywalker”! Is it the franchise-busting wompa scat critics panned it as, or just a situation of haters gonna hate? Nick Sperdute joins to analyze the film. 

The central premise to The Matrix is that we’re actually living in a computer simulation, as well as think piece episodes from Star Trek, Black Mirror, and even Rick & Morty. Jay Mutzafi, host of “The Last Turtle” philosophy podcast joins Heaton…