Humans are great at making a mess of things. So far, however, that mess has been confined to Earth. But as we develop into a spacefaring species, our capacity for destruction, pollution, and prejudice (towards aliens of earthly and unearthly origins) threatens to have cosmic consequences.
Fortunately, not everyone is resigned to letting humanity's vices impede its progress. Artists, philosophers, scientists and citizens alike are engaging in innovative new ideas to ensure our future among the stars is not plagued by the same mistakes we've made on Earth.
This hour we speak with three big thinkers about their vision for humanity's foray into the cosmos. We'll discuss President Trump's proposal for a new "Space Force," the growing problem of space debris, and a visionary project to make music with extraterrestrials.
GUESTS:
- Jonathon Keats - Artist, writer, and experimental philosopher. from San Francisco, CA; author of You Belong to the Universe, founder of Intergalactic Omniphonics and composer of the Copernican Orchestra's Universal Anthem (@jonathonkeats)
- Bryan Nakayama - Visiting Lecturer in International Relations at Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts.; author of the upcoming book From Aerospace to Cyberspace: The Evolution of Military Domains
- Mason Peck - Associate Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Cornell University and former Chief Technologist at NASA (@spacecraftlab)
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Colin McEnroe and Chion Wolf contributed to this show, which originally aired on July 12, 2018.
