Popular Science Radio

The Earth is a huge biosphere with many different ecosystems. Jane Poynter tells us about the Biosphere 2 project, which was designed to simulate the individual ecosystems of the Earth in an enclosed habitat.

Society has moved away from the landline and the movie rental store, so why would we think power lines couldn't be next? Capstone Turbine President and CEO, Darren Jamison, tells us about their clean-and-green microturbines that have the potential to revolutionize the way you consume electricity.

Get access to the same tools professional mechanics use and even the playing field. Lemur Vehicle Monitors CEO, Maurice Tuff, tells us about the BlueDriver, a Bluetooth enabled vehicle diagnostics monitor that can diagnose your cars illness on the spot.

Should we be afraid of hackers remotely accessing and taking conrol of our connected vehicles? Arxan Security Solutions Architect, Matt Clemens, assures us that while we should be aware of the possibility, he is confident that the industry will continue to improve in this department and we should have nothing to worry about.

With movies like Star Wars, Star Trek, The Martian, and Interstellar cashing out at the box office, it seems we are focused as a society on outer space! Find out what bits of space science in these movies is realistic, what is happening around Tabby's star, and what Pluto means for science! Also, find out why Elon Musk and many other great minds have a beef with unchecked A.I. advancement. Segment 1: Tabby's Star Super Structure The Keppler Mission has found what could appear to be a large, alien super-structure around Tabby's Star, but could an asteroid swarm be the better explanation? Dr. Ian O'Neill says while aliens sounds like the exciting answer, a natural phenomenon is much more likely. Segment 2: Science in Sci-Fi The science in Sci-Fi movies often misses the mark, but every so often a movie gets it right. Dr. Ian O'Neill gives us his picks for the best space movies of the year. Segment 3: Hello Pluto! While Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Star Trek Beyond promise to be entertaining blockbuster hits, Dr. Ian O'Neill has more exciting news on his mind. Find out why Dr. O'Neill ranks New Horizons' visit to Pluto as THE top discovery of our time. Segment 4: Open A.I. Elon Musk has spearheaded an initiative to insure artificial intelligence doesn't get out of control with Open A.I. Ellis & Associates' John Ellis gives us a quick overview of what A.I. is and why we need to regulate it. Segment 5: Keeping A.I. in Check Artificial Intelligence can seem scary, but A.I. has a great deal of positive applications. John Ellis explains how A.I. can help us in many different fields, but like any tool it requires caution and oversight. Segment 6: Star Wars and Relativity Movies like Star Wars, and books like Dr. Jeffrey Bennett's "I, Humanity," help fuel the next generation's interest in science. Dr. Bennett explains how Star Wars' hyperspace travel actually doesn't violate Einstein's theory of relativity.

The Keppler Mission has found what could appear to be a large, alien super-structure around Tabby's Star, but could an asteroid swarm be the better explanation? Dr. Ian O'Neill says while aliens sounds like the exciting answer, a natural phenomenon is much more likely.

The science in Sci-Fi movies often misses the mark, but every so often a movie gets it right. Dr. Ian O'Neill gives us his picks for the best space movies of the year.

While Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Star Trek Beyond promise to be entertaining blockbuster hits, Dr. Ian O'Neill has more exciting news on his mind. Find out why Dr. O'Neill ranks New Horizons' visit to Pluto as THE top discovery of our time.

Elon Musk has spearheaded an initiative to insure artificial intelligence doesn't get out of control with Open A.I. Ellis & Associates' John Ellis gives us a quick overview of what A.I. is and why we need to regulate it.

Artificial Intelligence can seem scary, but A.I. has a great deal of positive applications. John Ellis explains how A.I. can help us in many different fields, but like any tool it requires caution and oversight.

Movies like Star Wars, and books like Dr. Jeffrey Bennett's "I, Humanity," help fuel the next generation's interest in science. Dr. Bennett explains how Star Wars' hyperspace travel actually doesn't violate Einstein's theory of relativity.

From war to acidity levels, our oceans are in danger. Find out how Juliet Marine System's Ghost can keep our shorelines safe for a fraction of our current military spending. Then, XPRIZE is on a mission to kick start our oceans. Segment 1: Distributed Lethality The problem with our Navy these days is all the value and lives concentrated in one spot, like with our aircraft carriers. Avalon Ventures Founder, Kevin Kinsella, explains the rising idea of "distributed lethality" and how that factors into his firms decision to invest in Juliet Marine Systems' Ghost. Segment 2: Autonomous Ghost The autonomous and drone worlds have been very much a part of the military-industrial complex for the better part of a decade now. Kevin Kinsella chats with us about the possibility of autonomous or remote Ghost use. Segment 3: Entrepreneurial Research The defense sector has been lacking in entrepreneurial spirit for many years now. Kevin Kinsella tells us why DARPA and other military researchers need to get their head in the right place and buy private research, rather than creating things that don't solve any problems. Segment 4: The Web of Lies The internet is not a safe place, in fact it's as much of a warzone as the real world. "Cyber Fraud: The Web of Lies" Author and former U.S. Marine, Bryan Seely, warns us of some of the common, but not so easily detected threats and scams on the internet, like some parts Google! Segment 5: Ocean Health Our oceans are facing a real problem: They are becoming more acidic. XPRIZE Senior Director, Dr. Paul Bunje, explains how the Wendy Schmidt Ocean Health XPRIZE is designed to motivate teams of researchers to come up with a solution to this crisis. Segment 6: Save Our Oceans Sunburst Sensors has been in business for almost 15 years and now thanks to the XPRIZE they are able to tackle a new, very real world problem. CEO James Beck explains the danger in the rising acidity in our worlds oceans caused by excessive CO2 absorption.

The problem with our Navy these days is all the value and lives concentrated in one spot, like with our aircraft carriers. Avalon Ventures Founder, Kevin Kinsella, explains the rising idea of "distributed lethality" and how that factors into his firms decision to invest in Juliet Marine Systems' Ghost.

The autonomous and drone worlds have been very much a part of the military-industrial complex for the better part of a decade now. Kevin Kinsella chats with us about the possibility of autonomous or remote Ghost use.

The defense sector has been lacking in entrepreneurial spirit for many years now. Kevin Kinsella tells us why DARPA and other military researchers need to get their head in the right place and buy private research, rather than creating things that don't solve any problems.