How to Kill an Asteroid
AMSEcast
Around 66 million years ago, an asteroid that was perhaps 9 miles wide struck the Earth, an impact that led to the extinction of the dinosaurs. What if an asteroid that large or even larger was headed toward Earth today? We’ve seen this scenario in books and in movies like Armageddon, but I wanted to get some expert input, so I spoke on our podcast, AMSEcast, with Robin Andrews, about his book, How to Kill an Asteroid: The Real Science of Planetary Defense.
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Inside The Franklin Institute with Larry Dubinski
AMSEcast
Alan Lowe interviews Larry Dubinski, President and CEO of The Franklin Institute, as part of a series celebrating 250 years of American innovation. He joins AMSEcast to discuss the institute’s 1824 origins, its mission to inspire curiosity in science and technology, and its deep ties to Benjamin Franklin’s legacy. He highlights major exhibits, including the National Memorial, the Hamilton Collections Gallery, and historic patent models, and online series like Ingenious and The Road to 2050. Dubinski emphasizes fostering lifelong learning, diverse voices, and bold leadership to sustain...
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Franklin’s Curiosity Unpacked with Richard Munson
AMSEcast
Alan Lowe talks with Richard Munson about his book Ingenious: A Biography of Benjamin Franklin, Scientist. Munson’s book aims to highlight Franklin’s often overlooked scientific achievements. He describes Franklin’s rise from a penniless runaway to a successful printer whose curiosity fueled his scientific breakthroughs. Franklin’s experiments helped define core electrical concepts and led to inventions like the lightning rod, reflecting his Enlightenment commitment to reason and inquiry. His scientific fame later boosted his diplomatic mission in France, where his celebrity status...
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AMSE Science Report Sudip Parikh
AMSEcast
A discussion of American innovation and leadership with Sudip Parikh.
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AMSE Science Report with Simon Cordrey
AMSEcast
Author Simon Cordrey discusses the early days of the railroad and how that changed America.
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AMSE Science Report with Jay Feldman
AMSEcast
Author Jay Feldman and Alan Lowe, Director of the AMSE Foundation discuss his book, When the Mississippi Ran Backwards.
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Planetary Defense 101 with Dr. Robin Andrews
AMSEcast
Alan Lowe is joined in this episode of AMSEcast by Dr. Robin Andrews, volcanologist, science journalist, and author of How to Kill an Asteroid. Dr. Andrews explores how modern planetary defense blends cutting-edge detection networks, such as NASA’s NEO Surveyor, with active deflection efforts like the DART mission, which successfully shifted an asteroid’s orbit. He also delves into theoretical approaches, including gravity tractors and even nuclear options as last-resort strategies. While comets remain a tougher, faster-moving threat, advances in technology continue to make catastrophic...
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AMSE Science Report with Author Michele Gelfand
AMSEcast
Michele J. Gelfand is the John H. Scully Professor of Cross-Cultural Management Professor of Organizational Behavior and Psychology at Stanford Graduate School of Business. Her book, RULE MAKERS, RULE BREAKERS: How Tight and Loose Cultures Wire Our World takes readers on a journey through a variety of human cultures, exploring unique a multi-faceted glimpse into the world around us and ourselves.
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Invention and Exploration at the Smithsonian Institution
AMSEcast
Host Alan Lowe continues AMSEcast’s exploration of 250 years of American innovation with Smithsonian experts Harold Wallace Jr., Dr. Eric Hintz, and Tim Pula. Together, they trace invention from Benjamin Franklin’s experiments to modern breakthroughs, highlighting the Smithsonian’s exhibitions, collections, and hands-on learning at Spark!Lab. The discussion spans collaboration with the Library of Congress, the role of failure in creativity, and how patents shape (but don’t define) innovation. The guests also reflect on nuclear technology’s history and social impact, and share how...
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Exploring the Human Microbiome with Dr. Bob Hettich
AMSEcast
Dr. Robert Hettich is a pioneer in bioanalytical mass spectrometry. In this episode of AMSEcast, he describes how microbiomes form, vary across the body, and influence digestion, immunity, and overall health. Dr. Hettich also explains metaproteomics, the study of microbial proteins, to reveal how microbes function beyond their genes as well as their applications from human health to environmental cleanup and bioenergy. Inspired by his daughter’s experience with Crohn’s, Robert Hettich is especially focused on microbiomes’ links to inflammatory and neurological diseases, including...
info_outline- (1:29) Where asteroids and comets come from and how they may pose a threat to Earth
- (3:11) How large asteroids have to be to cause significant city-wide or nation-wide damage
- (4:31) How big an asteroid has to be reach planet-killer status
- (5:48) How we know where asteroids are and their threat levels to the Earth
- (7:34) How the 2024 YR4 asteroid was discovered
- (9:17) What the Near-Earth Object Surveyor is and its current status
- (11:33) Where we can see the impacts of past asteroids that have hit the Earth
- (14:01) What the composition of asteroids and comets teaches us about planetary defense
- (15:56) DART’s success in tests for combating asteroids
- (18:26) The use of nuclear devices in deterring asteroids
- (22:43) Possible future tools for planetary defense
- (25:15) How an internationally coordinated planetary defense strategy would work
- (28:26) Planning for the aftermath of an asteroid strike
- (31:26) The effectiveness of these strategies against a comet
- (33:44) What’s next for Dr. Robin Andrews
- Super Volcanoes: What they Reveal about Earth and the Worlds Beyond: https://www.amazon.com/Super-Volcanoes-Reveal-Worlds-Beyond-ebook/dp/B08X2Z29MN
- How to Kill an Asteroid: The Real Science of Planetary Defense: https://www.amazon.com/How-Kill-Asteroid-Science-Planetary/dp/1324050195