Mark Twain said, “Get your facts first, then you can distort them as you please.” Pseudoscience adheres to this adage, but are their distortions deliberate, the result of scientific ignorance, or due to a deep desire for extraordinary possibilities? In our quest to understand the universe, how can we be sure our conclusions are correct? Human beings have evolved to find meaningful patterns in nature, but sometimes the patterns we see are just figments of our imagination — or perhaps the result of wishful thinking.

The Star Trek TV and movie series imagine a bright future for humans in space, one in which we explore alien worlds with the aid of advanced technology. Because the writers tried to include as much realistic science as possible within the fictional framework, the stories have been an inspiration for students, scientists, inventors, and anyone interested in pondering our destiny on Earth and beyond. In this show, Brandon Fibbs reviews a Star Trek movie, and Lawrence Krauss talks about how Star Trek uses science to explore what is possible in our universe.

Space is now big business. Technology originally developed for the space program sometimes ends up in products for use on Earth, often in surprising ways. The 40,000 certified “Space Products” range from mattresses to medical devices, and have turned space into a multi-billion-dollar industry. Inspired by our excursions into the Final Frontier, entrepreneurs and inventors are turning stardust into gold.

Special guest Stephen Colbert of Comedy Central’s Colbert Report talks about the joys of being a science geek. Brilliant scientific discoveries and cutting edge technology have transformed our world, yet many people are turned off by science. Where has the excitement for science gone, and how can we get it back? Stephen Colbert developed an interest in science at a young age, and now he shares that fascination by inviting scientists to appear on his show The Colbert Report.

This year marks the 400th anniversary of Galileo’s use of the first telescope. On this week’s show, we reflect on how telescopes have changed our perception of our place in the universe, how small we are in size, space, and time. Our guests include Dava Sobel, author of The Planets, Vatican Astronomer Father Chris Corbally, and astronaut Paul Richards.

Starry, starry nights, stormy and sun-filled days. Long summer days of picnics and ballgames are played out under a vast and gorgeous canvas of astronomical and meteorological curiosities. From the stories of the stars told by the ancients, to a recent mammatus cloud over CitiField in New York, learn about the phenomena in the summer skies that keep us looking up.

Scientists have been searching for aliens in our solar system and beyond, but have not yet found evidence that life exists beyond Earth. SETI, the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence, has been scanning the stars for alien radio beacons for 50 years. Radio and TV broadcasts have been leaking from Earth’s atmosphere for over a century, and these traveling time capsules could eventually reach a broader audience than ever imagined. Neil and Lynne review the methods used to locate aliens and discuss what to do if you’re ever abducted.

Richard Branson has formed Virgin Galactic and is now taking reservations aboard the maiden voyage of SpaceShipOne. Would you spend the estimated $200,000 for a 45-minute trip into space? Neil and Lynne also discuss the mechanics of sex in space.

In this illuminating audiobook, Tyson and coauthor James Trefil, a renowned physicist and science popularizer, take on the big questions that humanity has been posing for millennia - How did life begin? What is our place in the universe? Are we alone? - and provide answers based on the most current data, observations, and theories.

What price do we put on knowledge? How does it profit a man if he learns about the universe, but goes to bed hungry? When the economy takes a downturn, should we still go up into space? NASA missions aren’t cheap - sending astronauts into low Earth orbit or to the Moon, sending robotic spacecraft to explore the planets, and launching telescopes into space can cost millions or even billions of dollars. Lou Friedman, director of the Planetary Society, argues that even when the dollar is dear, the quest to explore our universe is priceless.