May 1, 2017 8:51 pm

Tuesday, StarTalk Live! Is Back with Part Two from SF Sketchfest 2017

This week on StarTalk All-Stars, rejoin host Bill Nye, comic co-host Eugene Mirman, space activist and citizen scientist Ariel Waldman, and comedian Claudia O’Doherty as they wrap up their panel on hacking space exploration and hacking our way into the future.

You’ll hear Ariel discuss some of her favorite innovations from Science Hack Days and how you can start your own Science Hack Day in your hometown. You’ll also hear Ariel discuss some of her favorite innovations from Science Hack Days, like the “DNAquiri,” a completely edible way to extract DNA from strawberries. You can find the steps to do it yourself right here.

However, as Ariel points out, it may not be the tastiest drink, but anything for science, right?!

I really enjoyed learning about Ariel’s book, What’s It Like in Space?, where she interviewed astronauts about their time in space. As she mentions, these interviews revolved around the silly, weird stories you don’t usually hear about and really show that space exploration is not for just one type of person, but for everybody.

People handle space exploration differently and even Ariel thinks that going into space would be like “a camping trip from hell.” I think she raises an interesting point. A lot of the time space travel is romanticized and viewed as a grand adventure, rightly so, but it’s an interesting thought experiment to think of the practicalities of space travel and if you could put up with them. For example, cramped living quarters, limited privacy, health issues, etc.

Personally, I’ve always had a strong urge to go to space. That was until I saw Gravity in IMAX 3D. Even before the bad stuff happens (no spoilers), the sheer scope and vulnerability of the first ten minutes had me instantly change my mind. Now I’m more in line with Ariel where I’d probably do a suborbital flight and call it a day.

After the discussion on space travel, you’ll hear a great Q & A to finish out this year’s show at SF Sketchfest 2017. StarTalk Live! at SF Sketchfest always produces a great show, and this year was no different. We can’t wait to return next year!

Please join us tomorrow night for StarTalk Live! from SF Sketchfest 2017 (Part 2) at 7pm EDT right here on our website, as well as on our All-Stars channels on iTunes Podcasts, Google Play Music, SoundCloud, Stitcher, and TuneIn. And if you’re an All-Access subscriber, you can watch or listen to this episode ad-free at 7pm, too.

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