51: Car Culture in Star Wars
Star Warsologies: A Podcast About Science and Star Wars
Release Date: 05/28/2024
70: Mass Media in Star Wars
Star Warsologies: A Podcast About Science and Star Wars
This episode of Star Warsologies covers mass media, propaganda, and media literacy in a galaxy far, far away! Author Samuel Spitale joins us to talk about the difference between journalism, news, propaganda, advertising, and other media terms. He posits that the lack of media in the original series was a deliberate (and wise) choice for storytelling. While it plays a role in the recent series Andor, there are also some hints in the holiday special, so of course we talk about that! Join us to help fight misinformation with the truth! An illustration from "How to Win the War on Truth: An...
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69: Space Exploration in Star Wars
Star Warsologies: A Podcast About Science and Star Wars
This episode of Star Warsologies covers space exploration topics with an operator of the Mars rover! Katherine Winchell is an astrogeologist whose love of Star Wars has a lot to do with her career in the space program. She is also the head organizer of the upcoming convention, which takes place in Burbank on September 13-14, 2025. We talk about the con (and Star Warsologies will be there!), but we also dive deep into the similarities between Mars and Tatooine and how early travelers explored the galaxy far, far away. Since Katherine is so well-versed in the Extended Universe books, we also...
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68: Andor: From Resistance to Rebellion (San Diego Comic-Con 2025 panel)
Star Warsologies: A Podcast About Science and Star Wars
This episode of Star Warsologies is our San Diego Comic-Con 2025 panel entitled "Star Wars Andor - From Resistance to Rebellion" and features Dr. Drea Letamendi, Desmond Hassing, Jendia Gammon, Robert Dagnall, and Dr. Catherine Hicks as panelists, moderated by podcast co-host James Floyd. Panel description: Fighting the tyranny of the Galactic Empire is dangerous work, whether in the halls of power on Coruscant or in the dark recesses of the Outer Rim. Panelists will dive deep into the popular show Star Wars: Andor, especially season 2, and examine themes of resisting authoritarianism...
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67: Star Wars in Bulgaria
Star Warsologies: A Podcast About Science and Star Wars
In this episode of Star Warsologies, we talk to Nenko Genov, a huge Star Wars fan who grew up in Bulgaria. We met Nenko through Star Wars Celebration and it was so interesting to learn about his experience growing up in Bulgaria in the 70s and 80s. He shared how hard it was to find Star Wars content and connect with other fans. Nenko is now the Bulgarian translator for Star Wars and other comics, so we also chat about how that came about. Show Links: Follow Nenko on and . Nenko is also an author. All his books are in Bulgarian (no English translations yet!), but check him out on or...
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66: Anti-Fascism in Star Wars
Star Warsologies: A Podcast About Science and Star Wars
In this episode of Star Warsologies, we talk to historian and author Chris Kempshall about how Star Wars is rooted in politics and anti-fascism, and has been since the beginning. Chris Kempshall joins us to talk about the definition of fascism and how to rebel against it. Star Wars may be fiction but there's plenty of timely lessons, especially in the recently completed show Andor. How can that help us understand what's happening in American politics? Can we practice resistance in an immersive environment like Galaxy's Edge and use it to talk about the ongoing ICE raids? Is there reason to...
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Bonus: Science of Disneyland, recorded at WonderCon 2025
Star Warsologies: A Podcast About Science and Star Wars
In this episode of Star Warsologies, we share the recording of Melissa's WonderCon 2025 panel "Science of Disneyland!" Panel description: Disneyland is just down the road, so let’s take a virtual field trip to explore the parks from a different point of view. There’s something to discover in every land - life on other planets in Galaxy’s Edge, dinosaurs roaming the railroad, and majestic rock formations in Cars Land - just to name a few. There’s also robotics everywhere, from the original audio-animatronics to the advanced Spider-Man that swings across Avengers Campus. Our panel of...
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65: Fon Davis and the Secret Miniatures of the Star Wars Prequels, recorded at Star Wars Celebration Japan
Star Warsologies: A Podcast About Science and Star Wars
In this episode of Star Warsologies, we share the recording of our our Star Wars Celebration Japan panel "The Secret Miniatures of the Star Wars Prequels" with Fon Davis! Watch for all the amazing behind the scenes visuals shared during the panel! You should also watch we refer to in (and showed during) the panel, which includes many of the miniatures in the Star Wars prequels. Panel description: Episodes I, II, and III revolutionized the use of computer graphics in film but did you know that the ILM model shop was still in full swing during production? There are more miniatures in...
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64: Droids, AI, and Sentience, recorded at Star Wars Celebration Japan
Star Warsologies: A Podcast About Science and Star Wars
In this episode of Star Warsologies, we share the recording of our our Star Wars Celebration Japan panel "Droids, Artificial Intelligence, and Sentience" Panel description: R2-D2 and C-3PO. BB-8. Battle droids. Star Wars isn't Star Wars without its lovable droids. We'll examine the science of robots, the programming of personality and the ethics of sentient mechanicals in society, plus go behind the scenes on designing droids for the movies. Why do droids in Star Wars look the way they do? Why do we all love R2-D2? How close are we to having droid intelligence and personality in our own...
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63: Science of Revenge of the Sith, recorded at Star Wars Celebration Japan
Star Warsologies: A Podcast About Science and Star Wars
In this episode of Star Warsologies, we share the recording of our our Star Wars Celebration Japan panel "Science of Revenge of the Sith" Panel description: Revenge of the Sith is full of connections to real world science and technology - from droids and starfighters to the ecosystems of Mustafar and Utapau. How could we make a working lightsaber? Can you really battle over a river of lava? How would wildlife thrive on Coruscant? Are we close to making robots similar to C-3PO and R2-D2? We'll try to tackle these questions and more with our lineup of experts in all sorts of fields, including...
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62: Star Wars Books with Tom Hoeler
Star Warsologies: A Podcast About Science and Star Wars
In this episode of Star Warsologies, we talk to Tom Hoeler, an editor of Star Wars novels and editorial director for Random House Worlds! Tom tells us how Star Wars books come into being and gives us advice for how to get started with the amazing (but daunting) content of The High Republic. We also dive into in-galaxy books and publishing, like the holo-books seen in Skeleton Crew. Who edits and publishes books? Did the Empire erase or burn all books about the Jedi? Did that lead to a renaissance after Return of the Jedi, with stories of Luke Skywalker turning into everything from fairy...
info_outlineIn this episode of Star Warsologies, we're joined by the curator of the San Diego Automotive Museum and chat about ships, speeders, and other vehicles in Star Wars!
What does the state of the Millennium Falcon say about Han Solo, especially since we know it was much nicer when Lando owned it? Why is it important that the Imperial and Rebel are so distinct from each other? Maria Romano de León answers these questions and shares insights about vehicles and culture throughout Star Wars, including a way to think about those shiny speeder bikes in Book of Boba Fett that annoyed so many fans. What's your favorite ship or speeder - and what does that say about you?
Show Links:
Listen to Maria's episode of The Facts & The Furious podcast!
Check out the San Diego Automotive Museum's website and follow them on Facebook and Instagram.
Here's videos of the Naboo starfighter repair scene and speeder bike chase scene we mention in the episode, for those who haven't seen Book of Boba Fett!
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Star Warsologies is a podcast about science in a galaxy far, far away. Hosts James Floyd and Melissa Miller combine their love of storytelling in the franchise with their keen interest in all things academic.