Dr. Kevin Peter Hand (director of NASA's Ocean Worlds Lab)

Today I'm joined by DR. KEVIN PETER HAND, director of the NASA Jet Propulsion Lab’s Ocean World’s Lab and one of the scientists leading the hunt for life elsewhere in our solar system – especially on icy moons such as Europa and Enceladus. He’s a planetary scientist, an astrobiologist, and real-life adventure. His wonderful book, Alien Oceans: The Search for Life in the Depths of Space, was published in 2020. And oh yeah, he’s also an old friend.

Be sure to listen to the bonus episode with Kevin, in which we discuss a seminal piece of art from his life – Steven Spielberg’s CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND – ⁠available to my paid subscriber here or at Substack: https://colehaddon.substack.com/p/bonus-podcast-kevin-peter-hand-director

5AM StoryTalk would like to acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the land on which this podcast is recorded, the Djarra people of the Kulin Nation and pay respects to Elders past and present.

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In this conversation, we discuss:

·       His work with the Ocean Worlds Lab andthe search for life within our solar system.

·       Carrying this work out in such an incredibly turbulent time that challenges even the optimism of someone who operates at galactic timescales.

·       Why humankind is on the verge of one of the most important scientific revolutions in its history (aka, why the search for life elsewhere in our galaxy matters so much).

·       The intersection between science and art/creativity in his life and the life of most scientists.

·       The roles of science and art in understanding anything about our existence (aka, why science is not good at explaining the meaning of anything).

·       The potential value of bad science in art. You might get a kick out of his answer.

Bonus episode:

In this follow-up conversation, exclusive to 5AM StoryTalk’s wonderful paid subscribers, Kevin and I dive into a seminal piece of art from his life – Steven Spielberg’s CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND – ⁠available to my paidsubscriber here or at Substack.

Links:

Additional links:

·      ⁠5AM StoryTalk newsletter⁠ (become a paidsubscriber here to gain access to both the 5AM StoryTalk newsletter and podcast.

·      ⁠Learn more about Kevin’s book AlienOceans: The Search for Life in the Depths of Space.

· ⁠Learn more about NASA's Ocean Worlds Lab.

· Check out The Struggle Climbing Show, hosted by my brother-in-law Ryan Devlin, here.