Star Warsologies: A Podcast About Science and Star Wars
From archeology to zoology, real-world science is everywhere in Star Wars! Every episode includes an interview with an expert discussing how Star Wars relates to their field of study. Explore the many ways science is represented in a galaxy far, far away with hosts Melissa Miller and James Floyd, both freelance writers for Star Wars Insider magazine. Part of the Skywalking Network
Episodes
In this episode of Star Warsologies, we talk to historian and author Chris Kempshall about how Star Wars is rooted in politics and anti-facism, 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, esp...
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 Car...
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 the YouTube version of this episode for all the amazing behind the scenes visuals shared during the panel!
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 t...
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 ...
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 publishi...
In this episode of Star Warsologies, we talk to Karen Yu about lasers! PEW PEW!
This episode, we dive into lasers in Star Wars but it turns out that many of the examples are likely actually something else entirely - plasma! Though lightsabers are sometimes called laser swords, Karen breaks down the reasons that light / lasers simply wou...
In this episode of Star Warsologies, we talk to Dr. Ryder Waldron, a dentist and huge Star Wars fan!
On this episode, we talk about mouths - teeth, tongues, and lips all contribute to how an animal eats, sounds, and plays musical instruments. Do clone troopers have baby teeth or did they skip right to adult teeth? How might Max Rebo and...
In this episode of Star Warsologies, we talk to Dr. Krista Noble about Eastern philosophical traditions and their similarities to the Force!
Dr. Krista Noble joins us this episode on Star Warsologies to talk about her new book, One with the Force: 18 Universal Truths in Star Wars. Krista is a professor of Vedic studies and shares what s...
In this episode of Star Warsologies, we talk to a geologist and paleontologist about their recent field trip to Disneyland!
Garrett Vice recently led field trips into Disneyland during a scientific conference in Anaheim. So nerdy, right?! He and other geologist and paleontologists scoped out the features of Galaxy's Edge, along with oth...
Dr. Samantha Porter joins us to chat about her work using lasers and other technology to map archaeological sites without disturbing them. We delves into the historical significance of the ruins of Yavin and whether it's ethical for the Rebellion to hide out there. And of course we cover Star Wars's favorite archaeologist - Dr. Aphra! We even get a little bit into ancient alien conspiracies.
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Enjoy this recording of our LA Comic Con panel about the 25th anniversary of Galaxy Quest! This bonus episide is also available on YouTube with images from the slideshow!
Panel description: Let's celebrate 25 years of Galaxy Quest with behind the scenes stories from creatives who worked on the movie, including ILM model maker Fon Davis. He'll be joined by fans who were inspired by Galaxy Quest in their own creative work, including ...
Enjoy this recording of our LA Comic Con panel about Coraline and The Nightmare Before Christmas! This bonus episide is also available on YouTube with images from the slideshow including storyboard art and behind the scenes photos!
Panel description: As we kick off spooky season, let’s celebrate the 15th anniversary of Coraline and the 30th anniversary of The Nightmare Before Christmas with some of the creatives who brought these m...
In this episode of Star Warsologies, we talk about all things Acolyte at Los Angeles Comic Con!
We headed to LA Comic Con and talked about The Acolyte! Ecologist Sawyer Markham weighed in on all the critters! Planetary scientist Michaela Leung tells us about Brendok, Khofar, and that unknown planet! Dr. Drea Letamendi delves into the ps...
In this episode of Star Warsologies, we talk space travel with a NASA project support specialist!
At San Diego Comic-Con, James struck up a conversation with Johnathan Brendle at the NASA exhibit booth and he agreed to come on the podcast! We cover tons of space travel questions, including: What are hyperspace tunnels (purgill holes may...
In this episode of Star Warsologies, we take the show on the road to the local science center's dome theater to talk about the science of Episode I.
The panel includes neuroscientist Ashley Juavinett, cell biologist Claire Meaders, paleontologist Gabriel-Philip Santos, and engineer Mike Tolley. We chat midi-chlorians (of course) and whe...
In this episode of Star Warsologies, we're joined by Sawyer Markham to talk about urban ecology!
Known as @Sawyeurism online, our expert this month breaks down her love of delving into the science of Star Wars, just like hosts James and Melissa. Sawyer talks the effects of urbanization and climate change on reptiles and amphibians and a...
In this episode of Star Warsologies, we're joined by Gabriel-Philip Santos to talk about marine biology!
Star Warsologies dives deep into the marine biology of Star Wars. Think water planets like Mon Cala and Kamino. As Qui-Gon says, there's always a bigger fish! We answer such pressing questions as: Are those thicc thala-sirens evoluti...
In 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 Re...
In this episode of Star Warsologies, we hear from an ornithologist about birds in Star Wars, along with invasive species and extinction events!
Justin Hite joins us for this episode to chat about his career studying birds and the environmental chaos they put up with. We get into whether Rey was exposed to harmful chemicals during her ye...
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