July 13, 2017 9:20 pm

StarTalk Investigates the Science Behind “Game of Thrones” – and Dragons

It’s common to say that we are currently living in a golden age of television. I sure think so. Starting in the early 2000s or late 1990s a breadth of stylistic, auteur-driven television has been steadily making its way mainstream and becoming successful both critically and with the general public. Shows like Breaking Bad, Mad Men, and The Sopranos set the basis for this new era and so did the subject of this week’s episode of StarTalk Radio: Game of Thrones.

Get ready to explore the science behind Game of Thrones with Neil deGrasse Tyson, comic co-host Michael Ian Black, Game of Thrones actor Isaac Hempstead Wright (Bran Stark), Helen Keen, author of The Science of Game of Thrones: From the genetics of royal incest to the chemistry of death by molten gold – sifting fact from fantasy in the Seven Kingdoms and Travis Langley, psychologist and author of Game of Thrones Psychology: The Mind is Dark and Full of Terrors.

I’ll admit a terrible truth: I haven’t watched a single episode of Game of Thrones. However, I’ve always had an interest in it, and after listening to this episode I think my interest will turn into binge-watching.

Dragons, violence, magic, emotionally complex characters… what’s not to love? On this episode, Neil interviews Isaac Hempstead Wright, who plays Bran Stark, about his “growing up” on the show, his interest in physics, his character’s ability to “time travel”, and much more.

Our panel also discusses the historical elements that inspired some events and sequences on Game of Thrones (including “The Wall” and the Red Wedding) as well as the violence and brutality depicted on the show. We then hear from Travis about the possible psychological effects of watching violence on television.

This episode features a great conversation between Neil, Michael and Helen about dragons, including possible inspirations for dragons from dinosaur bones to vervet monkeys alarm calls, and how a fire-breathing dragon could actually work.

All that, plus, direwolves, the Middle Ages, the intertwining of magic and religion, and fan-submitted Cosmic Queries on comets, Westeros, and more!

Winter is coming! Please join us tomorrow night for The Science Behind “Game of Thrones” at 7pm EDT right here on our website, as well as on Apple Podcasts, Google Play Music, SoundCloud, Stitcher, and TuneIn. And if you’re an All-Access subscriber, you can listen to this episode ad-free at 7pm, too.

That’s it for now. Keep Looking Up!
–Ian Mullen