Science nerds: Let's share our favorite podcasts, documentaries, books, and fiction

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taoofjord

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I'd love to hear everyone's favorite science stuff! I live for this. My favorite science topics deal with space and robotics.

Since everyone will be mentioning this, and it's one of my favorites things in the world, I'll get it out of the way and recommend the podcast Radiolab. Two guys that love science and are as good as anyone at engaging the layperson in the chosen topic. They talk about space, time, animals, robots, memory, and explore interesting questions... all in the effort to tell great, wonderous stories. It's cinematic and brilliant.

If you like it, make sure to check out Robert Krulwich's podcasts (he's one of the two radiolab hosts) on science.

And one more NPR program: Science Friday with Ira Flatow. He's not the greatest of hosts but he does cover interesting topics. You take what you can get, right?

Documentary-wise, I adore In the Shadow of the Moon and the classic For All Mankind as well as BBC's Wonders of the Solar System and everything David Attenborough. And what science nerd doesn't want to take Adam Savage of Mythbusters out for a beer?

The recent movie directed by David Bowie's son Duncan Jones, Moon, is absolutely fantastic. I even loved Danny Boyle's Sunshine.

Don't pass up these wonderful, gigantic coffee table/reference guides published by DK Adult: Ocean and Universe.

I think that'll do for now. I'll recommend more in another post after other people start sharing. Hopefully I got the basic, more popular stuff out of the way so we can spread word on the more obscure stuff!
 
Since this flew off the first page in seconds I'll add a couple more recommendations:

Space Engine is a really, really fantastic program that lets you fly around the universe. The graphics are unexpectedly fantastic (motion blur, hdr, star trails) and the features are robust. You can literally fly to any star you see and zoom in close enough to planets to even see craters and mountains (not just textures, it's actually modeled).

EVE Online is one of the best games around for lovers of space travel. The art direction is ridiculous and the whole sci-fi vibe is nailed better than pretty much any other video game out there.

Following that up is, of course, the X games. Incredibly deep space sim games that cover all the good stuff and more (trade, combat, exploration, fleet building). X3: Terran Conflict is the best of the bunch so far, but be warned, it's just as complicated, deep, and difficult to get into as EVE is. And let's not forget the upcoming game in the series with graphics and art direction that almost rival EVE online and an aim on making the game more accessible while retaining its infamous complexity: X:Rebirth.
 
I dunno if this counts but I'm a transhumanist disciple after reading the singularity is near by kurzweil, I check his website often for updates. as far as fiction i found the forever war by joe haldeman to be pretty awesome, along with several heinlein books

i listen to astronomycast but thats about as far as i go with science podcasts
 
Just bought these two, I was reading them on a friends e-reader, but wanted hard copies

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salva said:
www.wikipedia.com

Not too original but i love to browse science stuff there when i don't understand something.
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5 hours later you find yourself on a page about the China men's national junior ice hockey team and you have no idea how you got there.
 
I enjoy the dumbed down science they present on Science Channel, History, etc. Just wish that when they dumbed it down, they at least remained consistent, as they tend to say things that can seem to be contradictory. For example:

Show A: "We see that everything in the univerise is moving away from us, every galaxy is moving away from every other galaxy, and this is evidence of theory XYZ"

Show B: "Here, we see two galaxies colliding. Indeed, the Andromeda galaxy is on collision course with our very own Milky Way."
 
Think I'll use this thread for some recommendations... I'm very interested in Physics, and have recently read Black Holes, Wormholes and Time Machines by Jim Al-Khalili, and The Elegant Universe by Brian Greene. What are some recommended books to read now? Please bear in mind that I'm pretty dumb, so nothing too hardcore please :p
 
Randolph Freelander said:
I enjoy the dumbed down science they present on Science Channel, History, etc. Just wish that when they dumbed it down, they at least remained consistent, as they tend to say things that can seem to be contradictory. For example:

Show A: "We see that everything in the univerise is moving away from us, every galaxy is moving away from every other galaxy, and this is evidence of theory XYZ"

Show B: "Here, we see two galaxies colliding. Indeed, the Andromeda galaxy is on collision course with our very own Milky Way."
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I think this is because the universe is expanding, however the gravity of our two galaxies is great enough to allow us to be pulled together. Imagine two magnets loosely glued to a balloon as it is blown up, if the attraction is great enough they can still be pulled together despite the fabric they sit on expanding.
 
Isn't there already a thread for this? :S

Oh well, I second Carl Sagan's Demon Haunted World.

Skeptics Guide to the Universe podcast ftw also.
 
stolin said:
If you haven't seen his BBC science shows yet put those on your list now.
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i can't endorse this enough. i've only seen these ones:

Everything and Nothing
The Secret Life of Chaos
Atom

and they're all fucking amazing. BBC is one of the best production companies around.
 
Science pods? Allow me to cannibalize a previous post of mine:

Skeptics Guide to the Universe (science/skepticism)
Skeptoid (science/skepticism)
Point of Inquiry (science/skepticism)
Skepticality (science/skepticism)
Radio Lab (awesome! Science/skepticism)
Drunken Skeptics (new pod, science/skepticism)
Reasonable Doubts (skepticism of religion)
The Non Prophets (atheism/skepticism)
NPR Science Friday (science!)
 
The How Stuff Works podcast is cool, not strictly science-related but most of the topics are sciencey and Josh and Chuck are at least mildly entertaining.
 
OttomanScribe said:
Isn't there already a thread for this? :S

Oh well, I second Carl Sagan's Demon Haunted World.

Skeptics Guide to the Universe podcast ftw also.
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This was going to be my post.

The Demon Haunted World should be required reading for every person who can read. Such a fantastic book.

Other general audience books that are great...

Your Inner Fish by Neil Shubin
About the history of evolution.

The World Without Us by Alan Weisman
If humans suddenly disappeared, how the world would respond.

How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming by Mike Brown
Wrote by the guy who discovered the dwarf planets that led to the re-categorization of Pluto. I LOVE this book, very well written.

Annals of the Former World by John McPhee
A series of books about geology, from a non-geologist. Pulitzer Prize winner.

Physics of the Impossible by Michio Kaku
Michio Kaku is doing a great job of carrying Carl Sagan's torch. Great general audience science book. Really fun.

The Weather Makers by Tim Flannery
It's about climate change. Was a climate change skeptic before I read this a few years ago, very well written.

That's all I can think of at the moment, but they're all pretty good books to expand the mind.
 
I'm currently reading through Sagan's Demon Haunted World and love it; also can't recommend Cosmos (also Sagan) enough. Wonders of the Solar System and Universe are also top notch for space/physics buffs.

For podcasts: I'm going through Skeptoid and Skeptic's Guide to the Universe, both of which I recommend highly.

And for anyone who has just started to garner an enthusiasm for science, check out Khan Academy's science sections. He's a great teacher and does a great job of introducing topics and then delving into their complexity. Another great source of inspiration is anything with Richard Feynman talking about science. He has an enthusiasm towards learning and discovery that is intoxicating. Here is a great series of lectures he gave, and there are several videos on YouTube from an interview in which he discusses a range of topics.
 
Simon Belmont said:
I can't believe it took as long as it did for this to come up. Great podcast.
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It came up ages ago, just in the other thread lol.
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=27569378&postcount=83 :)

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=429099
Is there really a need to have this thread and the one above? I ask because I repeat myself with my recommendations in each one lol.

Also see below:

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=28614269&postcount=8
 
I want to preface this by saying Sagan is my choice by a long shot, but since he's been mentioned already, I want to give the next generation a chance.

So I've picked Prof. Brian Cox. He is of course also a fan of Sagan's work.


His two series Are great and done in the style as Sagan's Cosmos, but obviously far more modest in scope but with an epic cinematic score, by design.

Wonders of the Solar System [BBC 2010]

Wonders of the Universe [BBC 2011]

I've only linked episode 1 of both series as a preview. You can 'search' for the rest for buy the DVDs.
 
Alot more light hearted than most of the stuff in this thread, but I always love going back and watching old episodes of....
billnye2.jpg

Even though I'm in engineering, I still get a kick out of the show. I blame him for me picking my major.
 
I can't find any interesting podcasts on iTunes. I usually listen to BBC's offering. Cosmos is also pretty cool, but I have to check out some of the things ITT.
 
Gotta have my weekly doses of Skeptoid and The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe, and I listen to Point of Inquiry several episodes at a time when I get the chance.

Also, I have to pimp Here Be Dragons. Great way to introduce someone to this kind of thing.
 
Orayn said:
Gotta have my weekly doses of Skeptoid and The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe, and I listen to Point of Inquiry several episodes at a time when I get the chance.

Also, I have to pimp Here Be Dragons. Great way to introduce someone to this kind of thing.
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Argh...

I want credit for these recommendations :P
 
I quite enjoy The Infinite Monkey Cage when it's on. It consists of Brian Cox and Robin Ince along with two experts and a comedian or entertainer and they discuss a particular scientific subject. The podcasts for the last two series are still available at the link.
 
jambo said:
Just bought these two, I was reading them on a friends e-reader, but wanted hard copies

http://i.imgur.com/p79Uk.jpg[img]

[img]http://i.imgur.com/lY7Ft.jpg[img]



5 hours later you find yourself on a page about the [URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China_men%27s_national_junior_ice_hockey_team"]China men's national junior ice hockey team[/URL] and you have no idea how you got there.[/QUOTE]
Excellent choices. I also recommend Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors if you like his writing style. Billions and Billions is great too, a collection of essays he wrote.
[IMG]http://covers.openlibrary.org/b/id/6663199-L.jpg
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For cosmological type stuff I like Brian Greene, but ideas move so fast in that field I don't know if this one is still up to date. Great read though.
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Easily my favourite doco's are the ones Attenborough has done with the BBC. Great stuff, and even his early ones are well worth watching to this day. The box set is great value. It doesn't include the new blu rays, Life and Planet Earth but is better than them anyway, goes into more explanation of behaviour and ecosystems rather than just pretty pictures.
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I like StarTalk with Neil DeGrasse Tyson but he does not do the show frequent enough for my liking (would prefer once a week or at least bi-weekly).
 
Dead Man said:
Easily my favourite doco's are the ones Attenborough has done with the BBC. Great stuff, and even his early ones are well worth watching to this day. The box set is great value. It doesn't include the new blu rays, Life and Planet Earth but is better than them anyway, goes into more explanation of behaviour and ecosystems rather than just pretty pictures.
hvj5h.jpg
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so much win. You did mention Life and Planet Earth (get this in blu-ray, big screen, volume up and weep in joy) as blu ray releases, but there is also the rather new Madagascar which is awesome. He also did a 2 part series called First Life.

The only attenborough I dont have on disc is I think Life in the freezer and Life in the Underground (although I have seen it)
 
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