Big Picture Science

The stars are out tonight. And they do more than just twinkle. These boiling balls of hot plasma can tell us something about other celestial phenomena. They betray the hiding places of black holes, for one. But they can also fool us. Find out why one of the most intriguing discoveries in astrobiology – that of the potentially habitable exoplanet Gliese 581g – may have been just a mirage. Plus, the highest levels of ultraviolet light ever mentioned on Earth’s surface puzzles scientists: is it a fluke of nature, or something manmade? And a physicist suggests that stars could be used by advanced aliens to send hailing signals deep into space. Guests: Paul Robertson – Postdoctoral fellow, Penn State Center for Exoplanets and Habitable Worlds Mike Joner – Research professor of astronomy at Brigham Young University Nathalie Cabrol – Planetary scientist, SETI Institute Anthony Zee – Theoretical physicist at the Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics at the University of California, Santa Barbara First aire

Sure you have a big brain; it’s the hallmark of Homo sapiens. But that doesn’t mean that you’ve cornered the market on intelligence. Admittedly, it’s difficult to say, since the very definition of the term is elusive. Depending on what we mean by intelligence, a certain aquatic mammal is not as smart as we thought (hint: rhymes with “caulpin”) … and your rhododendron may be a photosynthesizing Einstein. And what I.Q. means for A.I. We may be building our brilliant successors. Guests: •  Laurance Doyle – Senior researcher, SETI Institute •  Justin Gregg – Animal behaviorist, The Dolphin Communication Project, author of Are Dolphins Really Smart?: The mammal behind the myth •  Michael Pollan – Journalist, author of Cooked: A Natural History of Transformation and The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals. His article, “The Intelligent Plant,” appeared in the December 23rd issue of The New Yorker •  Luke Muehlhauser – Executive Director of the Machine Intelligence Research Institute   First aired M

We may be connected, but some say we’re not communicating. The consequences could be dire. A U.S. Army major says that social media are breaking up our “band of brothers,” and that soldiers who tweet rather than talk have less cohesion in combat. What’s the solution? Maybe more connectivity to jump start conversation? The makers of Hello Barbie say its sophisticated speech recognition system will engage children in conversation. But an alternative strategy is to go cold turkey: sign up for a device-free camp (for adults) or stuff a NoPhone in your pocket, and wean yourself from the real thing. But MIT’s Sherry Turkle says there’s only one solution: more face-to-face time. Without it, we are in danger of losing our empathy.  Guests: John Spencer – Major in the United States Army, scholar at the Modern War Institute, United States Military Academy, West Point. His op-ed, “A Band of Tweeters,” appeared in the New York Times.  Sarah Wulfeck – Head writer and creative director for Hello Barbie Oren Jacob – C

Do you feel happy today? How about happily disgusted? Maybe sadly surprised, or sadly disgusted? Human emotions are complex. But at least they’re the common language that unites us all – except when they don’t. A tribe in Namibia might interpret our expression of fear as one of wonderment. And people with autism don’t feel the emotions that others do. So if you’re now delightfully but curiously perplexed, tune in and discover the evolutionary reason for laughter … how a computer can diagnose emotional disorders that doctors miss … and why the world’s most famous autistic animal behaviorist has insight into the emotional needs of cattle. Guests: Scott Weems – Cognitive scientist, author of Ha!: The Science of When We Laugh and Why Brian Malow – Science comedian Aleix Martinez – Cognitive neuroscientist at The Ohio State University Maria Gendron – Post-doctoral researcher at Northeastern University Temple Grandin – Professor of animal science, Colorado State University, author of 
Animals Make Us Hum

The Paris climate talks are scheduled to go ahead despite the terrorist attacks, and attendees hope to sign an international agreement on climate change. A BBC reporter covering the meetings tells us what we can expect from the conference. Also, it’s unclear whether Pope Francis himself will travel to the City of Light, but his encyclical may have already influenced the talks there. A historian considers whether the Church’s acceptance of climate change represents a departure from its historical positions on science. Galileo, anyone? Plus, Hollywood may have stretched the science facts to maximum effect in its cli-sci thriller, The Day After Tomorrow, but find out why the film may not be pure fiction.  And why the developing world may take most of the hit as the planet warms. Guests: Sybren Druifhout – Physical oceanographer and climate scientist, Netherlands Meteorological Institute and the University of Southampton, U.K.  Virginia Burkett – Associate Director for Climate and Land Use Change at the Unite

What’s for dinner? Meat, acorns, tubers, and fruit. Followers of the Paleo diet say we should eat what our ancestors ate 10,000 years ago, when our genes were perfectly in synch with the environment. We investigate the reasoning behind going paleo with the movement’s pioneer, as well as with an evolutionary biologist. Is it true that our genes haven’t changed much since our hunter-gatherer days? Plus, a surprising dental discovery is nothing for cavemen to smile about. And another fad diet that has a historical root: the monastic tradition of 5:2 – five days of eating and two days of fasting. It’s our monthly look at critical thinking, Skeptic Check … but don’t take our word for it. Guests: Loren Cordain – Professor of health and exercise science, Colorado State University, founder of the modern-day paleo diet, author, The Paleo Diet Revised: Lose Weight and Get Healthy by Eating the Foods You Were Designed to Eat Andrew Jotischky – Professor of medieval history, Lancaster University Louise Humphrey –

One day, coffee is good for you; the next, it’s not. And it seems that everything you eat is linked to cancer, according to research. But scientific studies are not always accurate. Insufficient data, biased measurements, or a faulty analysis can trip them up. And that’s why scientists are always skeptical. Hear one academic say that more than half of all published results are wrong, but that science still remains the best tool we have for learning about nature. Also, a cosmologist points to reasons why science can never give us all the answers. And why the heck are scientists so keen to put a damper on spontaneous combustion? Studies discussed in this episode: Chocolate and red wine aren’t good for you after all The Moon is younger than we thought Guests: John Ioannidis – Professor of medicine, health research and policy, and statistics, and co-director of the Meta-Research Innovation Center at Stanford University. His paper, “Why Most Published Research Findings are False,” was published in PLoS Medicine.

For many, the word virus is a synonym for disease – diseases of humans, plants, and even computers. Ebola is an example: a virus with a big and terrifying reputation. And yet the vast majority of viruses are not only friendly, they are essential for life. Find out how viruses make plant life in Yellowstone’s hottest environments possible, and fear your spinach salad no longer: a scientist recruits viruses to defeat E. coli bacteria. Plus, a new study presents the disconcerting facts of just how far a sneeze travels, and viruses in another kind of culture: but is ours benevolent? Find out from the man who coined the term, “viral media.” Guests: David Quammen – Science journalist, contributing writer for National Geographic Magazine, author of Spillover: Animal Infections and the Next Human Pandemic. His Op Ed about Ebola appeared in the New York Times. Marilyn Roossinck – Professor of plant pathology and environmental microbiology, Penn State, Center for Infectious Disease Dynamics Paul Ebner – Microbiol

Is space the place for you? With a hefty amount of moolah, a trip there and back can be all yours. But when the price comes down, traffic into space may make the L.A. freeway look like a back-country lane. Space is more accessible than it once was, from the development of private commercial flights … to a radical new telescope that makes everyone an astronomer … to mining asteroids for their metals and water to keep humanity humming for a long time. Plus, move over Russia and America: Why the next words you hear from space may be in Mandarin. Guests: Leonard David – Space journalist, writer for SPACE.com Mario Juric – Astronomer working on data processing for the LSST – the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope John Lewis – Chemist, professor emeritus of planetary sciences, University of Arizona, chief scientist, Deep Space Industries Philip Lubin – Professor of physics, University of California, Santa Barbara James Oberg – Retired NASA rocket scientist, space historian, and a self-described space nut F

It’s the starkly beautiful setting for the new film “The Martian,” and – just in time – NASA has announced that the Red Planet is more than a little damp, with liquid water occasionally oozing over its surface. But Mars remains hostile terrain. Mark Watney, the astronaut portrayed by Matt Damon, struggles to survive there. If he has a hard time, what chance does anyone else have? Find out how long you could last just eating Martian potatoes. Also, author Andy Weir describes how he prevailed upon his readers to turn his serialized blog posts into a technically accurate thriller that inspired the film.  Plus, the NASA advisor to “The Martian” sorts the science from the fiction. And, how the discovery of water on Mars might change NASA’s game plan. Guests: Andy Weir – Author, “The Martian” James Green - Director, NASA’s Planetary Science Christopher Wanjek - Health and science reporter based in Baltimore, Maryland James Watzin – Director, NASA’s Mars Exploration Program Learn more about your ad choices

We all have worries. But as trained observers, scientists learn things that can affect us all. So what troubles them should also trouble us. From viral pandemics to the limits of empirical knowledge, find out what science scenarios give researchers insomnia. But also, we discover which scary scenarios that preoccupy the public don’t worry the scientists at all. Despite the rumors, you needn’t fear that the Large Hadron Collider will produce black holes that could swallow the Earth. It’s Skeptic Check, our monthly look at critical thinking … but don’t take our word for it! Guests: David Quammen – Science journalist, contributing writer for National Geographic Magazine, author of Spillover: Animal Infections and the Next Human Pandemic Sandra Faber – Astronomer at the University of California, Santa Cruz Paul Saffo – Technology forecaster based in the Silicon Valley Seth Shostak – Senior astronomer, SETI Institute, host, Big Picture Science Elisa Quintana – Research scientist, SETI Institute Lawre

Imagine not knowing where you are – and no one else knowing either. Today, that’s pretty unlikely. Digital devices pinpoint our location within a few feet, so it’s hard to get lost anymore. But we can still get stranded. A reporter onboard an Antarctic ship that was stuck for weeks in sea ice describes his experience, and contrasts that with a stranding a hundred years prior in which explorers ate their dogs to survive. Plus, the Plan B that keeps astronauts from floating away forever … how animals and plants hitch rides on open sea to populate new lands … and the rise of the mapping technology that has made hiding a thing of the past. Guests: Hiawatha Bray – Technology reporter, Boston Globe, author of You Are Here: From the Compass to GPS, the History and Future of How We Find Ourselves Andrew Luck-Baker – Producer, BBC radio science unit, London Alan de Queiroz – Evolutionary biologist, University of Nevada, Reno and author of The Monkey’s Voyage: How Improbable Journeys Shaped the History of Life

Picture a cockroach skittering across your kitchen. Eeww! Now imagine it served as an entrée at your local restaurant. There’s good reason these diminutive arthropods give us the willies – but they may also be the key to protein-rich meals of the future. Get ready for cricket casserole, as our relationship to bugs is about to change. Also, share in one man’s panic attack when he is swarmed by grasshoppers. And the evolutionary reason insects revolt us, but also why the cicada’s buzz and the beetle’s click may have inspired humans to make music. Plus, the history of urban pests: why roaches love to hide out between your floorboards. And Molly adopts a boxful of mealworms. Guests: Jeffrey Lockwood – Professor of natural sciences and humanities, University of Wyoming, author of The Infested Mind: Why Humans Fear, Loathe, and Love Insects David Rothenberg – Musician, author of Bug Music: How Insects Gave Us Rhythm and Noise Dawn Day Biehler – Assistant professor of geography and environmental studies, Uni

Ever gone bungee jumping on Venus? Of course not. No one has. However your great-great-great grandchildren might find themselves packing for the cloudy planet … or for another locale in our cosmic backyard. That’s what we picture as we accelerate our imagination to escape velocity and beyond – and tour vacation spots that are out of this world.  An enormous mountain and an impressive canyon await you on Mars. If the outer solar system is more your thing, consider making a ten minute free-fall on Miranda, a moon of Uranus, or step up to the challenge of playing catch on an asteroid.  Also, just opened up: Pluto. A member of the New Horizons science team describes why the dwarf planet could be a holiday haven. Bring your crampons for ice climbing! Guests: •  Andrew Fraknoi – Chair of the astronomy department, Foothill College •  Lori Fenton - Planetary scientist, SETI Institute  •  David Grinspoon – Astrobiologist, author of Venus Express •  Mark Showalter – Planetary scientist, SETI institute, and member of th

Nuclear fission powers the Sun. Or is it fusion? At any rate, helium is burned in the process, of that you are certain. After all, you read that article on astronomy last week*. You know what you know. But you probably don’t know what you don’t know. Few of us do. Scientists say we’re spectacularly incompetent at recognizing our own incompetency, and that sometimes leads to trouble. Find out why wrongness is the by-product of big brains and why even scientists – gasp! – are not immune. Plus, a peek into the trash bin of history: the biggest scientific blunders and the brighter-than-bright brains that made them. Including Einstein. *Oh, and the Sun burns hydrogen to produce helium. But then, you knew that. Guests: •  David Dunning – Psychologist, Cornell University. His cover story, “We Are All Confidence Idiots,” appeared in the November/December issue of The Pacific Standard. •  Robert Burton – Neurologist, author, On Being Certain: Believing You Are Right Even When You’re Not and A Skeptic’s Guide to the Mi

You must not remember this. Indeed, it may be key to having a healthy brain. Our gray matter evolved to forget things; otherwise we’d have the images of every face we saw on the subway rattling around our head all day long. Yet we’re building computers with the capacity to remember everything. Everything! And we might one day hook these devices to our brains. Find out what’s it’s like – and whether it’s desirable – to live in a world of total recall. Plus, the quest for cognitive computers, and how to shake that catchy – but annoying – jingle that plays in your head over and over and over and … Guests: •  Ramamoorthy Ramesh – Materials physicist, deputy director of science and technology, Oakridge National Lab •  Michael Anderson – Neuroscientist, Memory Control Lab, MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit at the University of Cambridge in the U.K. •  Ira Hyman – Psychologist at Western Washington University in Bellingham, Washington •  James McGaugh – Neurobiologist, University of California, Irvine •  Larry

Pluto is ready for its close up – but the near encounter during this historic flyby will last less than three minutes. Be ready for the action with our special New Horizons episode! Hear from researchers who are Pluto rock stars: the astronomer who discovered two of Pluto’s five moons, the planetary scientist who coined the term “dwarf planet,” and the man who claims to have “killed Pluto.” Find out how the New Horizons spacecraft will dodge rocks and other dangers as it approaches the planet and what we might learn about planet formation once we arrive. And why the battle over Pluto’s nomenclature continues. Plus, Neil deGrasse Tyson reads his hate mail – from 3rd graders.  Guests: •  Neil deGrasse Tyson – Astrophysicist, director of the Hayden Planetarium, New York City •  Alan Stern – Planetary scientist, Principal Investigator, New Horizons mission •  Mark Showalter – Senior research scientist, SETI Institute, New Horizons team member •  Mike Brown – Astronomer, California Institute of Technology Learn m

A computer virus that bombards you with pop-up ads is one thing. A computer virus that shuts down a city’s electric grid is another. Welcome to the new generation of cybercrime. Discover what it will take to protect our power, communication and transportation systems as scientists try to stay ahead of hackers in an ever-escalating game of cat and mouse. The expert who helped decipher the centrifuge-destroying Stuxnet virus tells us what he thinks is next. Also convenience vs. vulnerability as we connect to the Internet of Everything. And, the journalist who wrote that Google was “making us stupid,” says automation is extracting an even higher toll: we’re losing basic skills. Such as how to fly airplanes. Guests: •  Ray Sims – Computer Technician, Computer Courage, Berkeley, California •  Eric Chien – Technical Director of Security Technology and Response, Symantec •  Paul Jacobs – Chairman and CEO of Qualcomm •  Shankar Sastry – Dean of the College of Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, director

It’s hard to imagine the twists and turns of evolution that gave rise to Homo Sapiens. After all, it required geologic time, and the existence of many long-gone species that were once close relatives. That may be one reason why – according to a recent poll – one-third of all Americans reject the theory of evolution. They prefer to believe that humans and other living organisms have existed in their current form since the beginning of time. But if you’ve ever been sick, you’ve been the victim of evolution on a very observable time scale. Nasty viruses and bacteria take full advantage of evolutionary forces to adapt to new hosts. And they can do it quickly. Discover how comparing the deadly 1918 flu virus with variants today may help us prevent the next pandemic. Also, while antibiotic resistance is threatening to become a major health crisis, better understanding of how bacteria evolve their defenses against our drugs may help us out. And the geneticist who sequenced the Neanderthal genome says yes, our hirsut

A century ago, Albert Einstein rewrote our understanding of physics with his Theory of General Relativity. Our intuitive ideas about space, time, mass, and gravity turned out to be wrong. Find out how this masterwork changed our understanding of how the universe works and why you can thank Einstein whenever you turn on your GPS. Also, high-profile experiments looking for gravitational waves and for black holes will put the theories of the German genius to the test – will they pass? And why the story of a box, a Geiger counter, and a zombie cat made Einstein and his friend Erwin Schrödinger uneasy about the quantum physics revolution. Guests: •  Jeffrey Bennett – Astronomer, author of What Is Relativity?: An Intuitive Introduction to Einstein’s Ideas, and Why They Matter •  Beverly Berger – Theoretical physicist and the Secretary for the International Society on General Relativity and Gravitation •  Hiawatha Bray – Technology reporter, Boston Globe, author of You Are Here: From the Compass to GPS, the History