What are the moral and ethical dilemmas we face as artificial intelligence becomes increasingly more powerful?Oleh Steven Hoffman (Captain Hoff)

This is the second of two special episodes of Spaceflight Mechanics to feature time travel. Having acquired near-immortality, Elaine and Mason discuss their experiences from their perspective in the year 2174 and reflect upon how space technology has changed since they launched the podcast 150 years ago.…

Set in the year 1156, our upcoming feature film, The Wizard and The Scholar (or, a Rapscallion Runs Amok in Rye) now has a planned release date! AND it will be in theaters! This story is led by two amazing women - Elara, a wizard without power, and Adelaide, a nomadic scholar on the search for truth in all things. Faced with a brutal murder in the …

How will artificial intelligence transform games, movies, videos, and social media? What will AI movies look like in five years? Is generative text-to-game the future of game making? What AI tools will redefine content creation? Captain Hoff will dive deep on Sora, Pika, Genie, Roblox, NVIDIA, BCI, AGI, and more!…

Today on The Cosmic Companion, we're diving deep into the wild world of intelligence - from curious creatures beneath the waves to the endless expanse of space. Later in the show, we will be talking with octopus whisperer Sy Montgomery. [OCTOPUS: What? What? Speak up! Stop whispering!] Now, you probably think I'm about to start talking about animal…

This special episode of Spaceflight Mechanics features time travel. In recognition of the sesquicentennial of mechanical engineering at Cornell, we go back 150 years to the origins of the University and speak to one of its Founders, Andrew Dickson White. We get his take on the origins of mechanical and aerospace engineering and ask him to speculate…

Welcome back to The Cosmic Companion. I’m James G. Maynard — science show host, terrible actor, worse puppeteer, and proud resident of this planet Earth. For our Earth Day 2024 episode, we’ll be exploring how fiction and storytelling have inspired environmental movements throughout history. Later in the show, we will be joined by Ann E. Burg, talki…

Mason and Elaine talk with Manan Arya, Assistant Professor at Stanford University. They discuss very smart structural strategies, why we want to fold and unfold things in space, and "other things we know how to do as a species."Oleh Mason Peck and Elaine Petro

How can you be successful in the era of AI? What do large language models mean for our future? How can you leverage the LLM platforms, like ChatGPT, Sora, Claude, and Gemini?Oleh Steven Hoffman (Captain Hoff)

This week, we are providing you with a viewing guide to the solar eclipse happening over much of North America on Monday 8th April. Sit back and enjoy. Take notes. There will be a test later. Maybe. naw, it’s only a quiz. Get ready for an incredible celestial event on 8th April — a solar eclipse! As the moon lines up perfectly between the Earth and…

Elaine and Mason discuss plasmas, propulsion, and small spacecraft with Kristina Lemmer from Western Michigan University.Oleh Mason Peck and Elaine Petro

Welcome back to The Cosmic Companion. I’m James G. Maynard. This week, we take the first of two looks at the upcoming solar eclipse coming on 8 April. Later in the show, we will be talking with noted physicist, mathematician, and developer Stephen Wolfram about his new book, Predicting the Eclipse. From ancient fears and superstitions to modern-day…

Mason and Elaine talk with Professor Fabien Royer about new ways to build spacecraft, new concepts for space structures, grandparents, and mountainboarding.Oleh Mason Peck and Elaine Petro

In this second episode about Varda Space Industries' in-space manufacturing technology, Mason and Elaine speak with Wendy Shimata, Varda's Vice President for Autonomy. It was only a few days ago, on February 21 2024, that Varda's W-1 capsule successfully landed in the Utah desert. Wendy served as the Mission Director for the deorbit and reentry shi…

This is the first of two episodes in which Mason and Elaine speak with the leadership of Varda Space Industries about technologies for manufacturing in space. In this episode, Will Bruey, Varda’s CEO, explains why and how their first technology-demonstration mission, Winnebago, will produce ritonavir with unprecedented purity.…

Hello Everyone! Welcome back to The Cosmic Companion. This week, we’re talking about Jaws, Claws, Life and Death, and what they can teach us about staying alive in space! In a little bit, we’re going to be talking with Jennifer Szymanski from Nat Geo Kids about their new book, Deadliest Animals on the Planet. But first, the boring bit of the show w…

Carol Schultz, the author of "Powered by People" and CEO of Vertical Elevation, talks about how to build a talent-centric organization.Oleh Steven Hoffman (Captain Hoff)

Sadaf Sobhani, assistant professor in mechanical and aerospace engineering, helps Mason and Elaine warm to the possibility that 3D printing may change how spacecraft keep cool.Oleh Mason Peck and Elaine Petro

It's not wind, but photons that blow solar-sail spacecraft across vast distances. Mason and Elaine talk with Ryan Caverly, Assistant Professor at the University of Minnesota, about his ideas regarding solar sails, tensegrity, and attitude control.Oleh Mason Peck and Elaine Petro

Captain Hoff explores what will happen when we connect our brains directly to the internet? Connecting our brains directly to the internet, through brain-computer interfaces (BCIs), is a futuristic concept with the potential to reshape our world in countless ways. It's still in its early stages, but the possibilities are both exciting and complex, …

Join me as I interview Conscious Millionaire cofounder and author JV Crum III.Oleh Steven Hoffman (Captain Hoff)

Elaine and Mason talk to John Foster, Professor at The University of Michigan, about space nuclear propulsion and upcoming flight demonstrations.Oleh Mason Peck and Elaine Petro

How AI will change everything: robotic farms, generative worlds, autonomous AI agents, humanoid AGI robots, superintelligence, and more!Oleh Steven Hoffman (Captain Hoff)

Captain Hoff interviews Adam Springer on how to get those first 30 sales that every startup needs. How do you sell into large organizations? What's the key to closing? How can you avoid common mistakes that founders make when selling their products?Oleh Steven Hoffman (Captain Hoff)

Captain Hoff discusses the secrets to selling. How can you supercharge your sales pipeline, close deals, and win over customers?Oleh Steven Hoffman (Captain Hoff)

Greg Falco, Assistant Professor at Cornell University, talks with Mason about security in space: hacking, cyber crime, and stealing spacecraft.Oleh Mason Peck and Elaine Petro

We get the inside scoop on planets from famed 1940s space reporter James G. Maynard, talking with the planets themselves, together with Sabine Stanley of Johns Hopkins University. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thecosmiccompanion.substack.com/subscribe…

Elaine and Mason talk to Dmitry Savransky, Associate Professor at Cornell University, about space telescopes.Oleh Mason Peck and Elaine Petro

AI is an incredibly powerful too, which can bring many benefits, but it may destroy our civilization in the process. What is the potential? And what are the perils? #ai #business #technology #artificialintelligence #digitaltransformation #agi #openai #chatgpt #google #facebook #llam #geko #llm #nlp #startups #investing #future #society…

Hello everyone! This week on The Cosmic Companion, we explore exploration, exploring the human need to… explore. Later in the show, we’ll be talking with Jon Waterman, creator of Atlas of Wild America from National Geographic. From the dawn of time, humans have been driven by a primal urge: the need to explore. This innate curiosity has shaped our …

HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYONE! (I mean, BOO!) This week on The Cosmic Companion, for our Halloween Special, we’ll be looking at The Top 10 Ways Space is Trying to Kill You! Later in the show, we’ll be talking with astrophysicist and science educator Ethan Siegel, host of Starts with a Bang! This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with ot…

Hello Everyone! This week on The Cosmic Companion, we are Seeing the Invisible. We’ll be discussing how astronomers study objects in space which are invisible to the human eye. Later on, we will be talking with Anand Varma, creator of a new book, Invisible Wonders: Photographs of the Hidden World, from National Geographic. This is a public episode.…

Roland Seablink, the CEO of Midstage Institute, explains how to take a floundering mid-stage startup and turn it into a market leader.Oleh Steven Hoffman (Captain Hoff)

Global warming and climate change is happening all around us. We look at the science of climate change, talking with Elizabeth Rusch, author of The 21. --- This week on The Cosmic Companion, we look at Global Warming - It's Not Just Hot Air! We will be talking with Elizabeth Rusch, author of The 21. Climate change, the ultimate uninvited guest, has…

Hello everyone! This week on The Cosmic Companion, we are pondering why Greece is the Word, discussing the birth of science in the ancient world, and what it means for us today. Later on, we'll be talking with Kenny Curtis and Jillian Hughes, hosts of the Greeking Out podcast, and authors of a new book of the same name, from Nat Geo Kids. Once upon…

This week on The Cosmic Companion, we look at Designing Dinosaurs. How do we know details about dinosaurs that are not readily apparent from the fossil record? How can we tell what we can tell about the colors, sounds, and behaviors of these magnificent little beasties? Later in the show, we are going to talk with Stephanie Warren Drimmer from Nati…

This week on The Cosmic Companion, we’re discussing Artificial Intelligence and the Future of the Human Race. Later on, we are talking with one of your species more impressive information processing and dissemination units, Neil deGrasse Tyson. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus epi…

Moti Elkaim, the master of startup pitching, reveals his proven formula for selling your vision to investors.Oleh Steven Hoffman (Captain Hoff)

This week on The Cosmic Companion, we’re talking about how It’s a Weird World, After All! Later in the show, we’re going to talk with Kathryn Williams about Weird but True! World 2024, new from National Geographic Kids! This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thecosmiccom…

If you don't innovate, your company will cease to exist. In this podcast episode, Captain Hoff talks about what a startup must do in order to survive in tough times!Oleh Steven Hoffman (Captain Hoff)

This week on The Cosmic Companion, we take on a weighty subject — gravity. Later in the show, we are going to talk with Joe Swiggum from the NanoGrav Collaboration. Gravity is one of those things that we all know about, but when you really stop to think about it, it’s pretty mind-boggling. I mean, there’s this invisible force that keeps us all stuc…

This week on The Cosmic Companion, we talk about the mysteries of Dark Matter and Dark Energy. Later in the show, we will be joined by René Laureijs, Euclid Project Scientist, from The European Space Agency. If one were to look at all the matter and energy in the Universe, about 68% is dark energy, 27% is dark matter, and just five percent is every…

Captain Hoff talks with Ruby Chen about how to get employees back into the office without using mandates. - What works and what doesn't? - How can you avoid destroying morale? - Find out the big mistakes Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg are making. - Should you offer a hybrid work model? - How do you build trust? - How to make the office a more inviti…

We are back from summer break with an amazing guest, Richard Dinan, founder of Pulsar Fusion (Yeah. The guy from Made in Chelsea!).Kicking off the second half of our seventh season, we offer you a look at how the human race might take our first steps to becoming an interplanetary species. Later in the show, we will be talking with Richard Dinan, fo…

Join Saket Jain, host of Migrate to Wealth, as he interviews Captain Hoff about giving up your day job and taking the leap into entrepreneurship. How do founders make this decision, and what should you consider? Migrate to Wealth https://www.migrate2wealth.com/ #startups #founders #vcs #vc #funding #entrepreneurship #business #businessideas #silico…

The Screen Actors Guild (SAG-AFTRA) is up in arms. They are upset with the big studios because of artificial intelligence (AI). AI is enabling studios to scan extras and replicate their entire persona on the screen. Will this be the end of acting? Why are A-list actors so upset when it only affects extras? #SAG #actors #strike #AI #hollywood #techn…

We explore the greatest mysteries of the Universe, from the Big Bang, to black holes, dark matter, dark energy, and more, talking with famed cosmologist and author Lawrence Krauss... This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thecosmiccompanion.substack.com/subscribe…

Planting the Seeds of STEAM w/ Ariane Szu-Tu, Nat Geo Kids Exploring STEAM education and learning, with Ariane Szu-Tu, senior editor, National Geographic Kids Books. This week on The Cosmic Companion, we're going to take a wild ride through the exciting and innovative universe of STEAM education. Later in the show, we talk with Ariane Szu-Tu, senio…

Hello everyone! Welcome back to The Cosmic Companion. I’m James Maynard! This week, we look at the one thing every space traveler will have in common — they will all be Living with a Body in Space. Later in the show, we will be joined by Christina Sauer, Associate Editor for National Geographic Kids, talking about their new release, Why? The Human …

How do we create computer models of the Universe, and how will artificial intelligence revolutionize astronomy? Talking with Andrew Pontzen, author of The Universe in a Box --- This week on The Cosmic Companion, we explore the fascinating world of computer models of the universe! From humble beginnings to mind-boggling simulations, this is the hist…