We continue our Avengers arc with the first Iron Man movie. Chuck relates why he connects so much with Tony Stark. We question whether we finally live in a world where a new Iron Man-like story could feature a female protagonist. And we run down the week in geek, including our celebrations of First Contact […]

It’s a science fiction staple: Earth’s first interstellar missions (assuming we’re not contacted by some advanced race) begin with “generation” ships — spacecraft that travel at low, sub-light speeds, traveling to the closest stars over two or three lifetimes. Those who initially crew the departing ship will never reach the destination, but their descendants will. Now […]

This week: Ann Druyan and Nick Sagan give us a unique and heartfelt look into the origins of Cosmos and Contact — and what esteemed scientist, citizen, father, and husband Carl Sagan was really like. SETI @ Home chief scientist Dan Werthimer explains humanity’s actual plan for how to deal with the discovery of an […]