Curiosity Weekly: "The Non-Fiction of Science Fiction"

Date: October 29, 2025
Host: Dr. Samantha Yammine
Guests: Kim Stanley Robinson (sci-fi author), Teresa Carey (producer/interviewer)

Episode Overview

This episode explores the dynamic interplay between hard scientific research and the imaginative worlds of science fiction. Host Dr. Samantha Yammine starts with eerie new research on the borderline between life and death, before producer Teresa Carey interviews acclaimed sci-fi author Kim Stanley Robinson. Together, they discuss how science fiction enriches public understanding of science, sparks innovation, and is more crucial than ever in an age shaped by rapid technological and environmental change. The episode is bookended by engaging science news segments, closing with a heartening story about green sea turtles adapting to urban California waters.

Key Segments and Insights

1. Blurring the Line Between Life and Death (01:34–04:56)

• Topic: Emerging neuroscience around what happens during and after death.

• Scientists at the University of Michigan observed surges of gamma brain waves in patients after heart stoppage, a phenomenon tied to memories and consciousness.

• These findings suggest death is not a sudden event but perhaps a transition with a mysterious "twilight" period.

  “We can consider the possibility that it’s more like a twilight between life and death that science is only beginning to map. Spooky.”
  – Dr. Samantha Yammine, (04:53)

Notable Example:

• Anthony T.J. Hoover, declared brain dead after an overdose, opened his eyes as organ donation was being prepared—raising questions about the definition of death.

2. Science Fiction as a Lens for Science and Society (07:00–29:13)

Kim Stanley Robinson Interview with Teresa Carey

A. How Robinson Came to Sci-Fi (07:39–09:25)

• Robinson was inspired by the rapid transformation of his childhood landscape in Orange County, turning from groves to suburbs.

• He describes science fiction as “a way of presenting the present in the way that it feels,” both “poetical” and “somewhat like prophecy.”

  "It was like the light bulb going off over my head...These stories set in the future with all their strange transformations...it all felt right."
  – Kim Stanley Robinson, (08:27)

B. Science Fiction and Cognitive Growth (09:35–10:28)

• Robinson and Carey agree: all fiction, including sci-fi, exercises imagination, memory, and empathy.

• Science fiction in particular helps readers mentally rehearse possible future scenarios, offering “shock absorbers” for real-world change.

  “Science fiction is about the consequences of social actions...the science fiction reader is like, well, this has been discussed for about 50 years, and I’m ready for it because I’ve run all the scenarios.”
  – Kim Stanley Robinson, (11:31)

C. Sci-Fi and Predicting the Future (11:49–13:57)

• Robinson distinguishes between prediction and possibility. Sci-fi explores what could happen, not what will happen.
• Referencing Ursula K. Le Guin’s Nine Lives, he shares how fictional advances (like cloning) allow us to play with ethical and emotional challenges before they arrive.

D. Sci-Fi Inspiring Real Science (13:57–17:01)

• 2001: A Space Odyssey (film and Clarke’s writing) is cited as a leading example where sci-fi literally guided NASA design.
• Robinson notes the “feedback loop” between fiction and research: “Entertainment can be educational. Education can be entertaining. Aristotle said this. Berthold Brecht said this. It’s a vision of what art is.” (16:30)

E. The Mars Trilogy and Scientific Imagination (17:01–19:49)

• The concept of terraforming, popularized and deepened in Robinson’s trilogy, originated with Jack Williamson in the 1930s.
• The real Mars data from Mariner and Viking enabled a new level of realism in both scientific literature and sci-fi narratives.
• Robinson notes his work is now “missing some new facts...that complicate the project intensively. But you know, that’s the way it goes with old science fiction—it begins to look old.” (19:28)

F. Earth's Present as Sci-Fi (19:49–22:40)

• “We find ourselves in a biosphere crisis of our own making...Now we are cast into a situation where we kind of have to terraform Earth as a maintenance thing to keep it in a livable zone for humans.” (20:36)
• Sci-fi, once a playground, is now a necessary “policy tool.”

  “We’re all in a science fiction novel now that we are all co-authors together.”
  – Kim Stanley Robinson, (22:24)

G. Ethics, Literature, and Modern Technology (23:03–28:03)

• Sci-fi like Gattaca, Minority Report, and Never Let Me Go dramatize ethical dilemmas that become real debates.
• Robinson: “All literature has a kind of a moral aspect to it...the writer of novels is making a game out of considering moral questions.” (27:20)

H. Where Robinson Finds Inspiration (28:03–29:13)

• He’s a “filter feeder” consuming scientific journals, news, and climate/tech resources like Nature Briefing and Bloomberg Green.
• The combination of “important and interesting” science shapes the best new stories.

Notable Quotes

• On science and storytelling:

  “Science gives you almost an infinity of new stories to tell.”
  – Kim Stanley Robinson, (25:23)

• On reader responsibility:

  “I’m always comforted by the idea that it’s just one story amongst others...all literature has a kind of a moral aspect to it.”
  – Kim Stanley Robinson, (27:20)

3. Sea Turtles Adapt to Urban Life (31:24–34:57)

• Eastern Pacific green turtles, previously native to tropical regions, are thriving in the urbanized shores of San Diego and Los Angeles.

• The likely reasons: warming seas reducing food in Baja, and abundant seagrass near California; an example of animal adaptation in a changed world.

• Researchers are concerned about pollutants but, so far, no detrimental effects have been observed in the turtles.

  “This species of turtles has been around longer than the dinosaurs...we shouldn’t be shocked that they’re able to swiftly adapt to more favorable conditions after 100 million years of survival. Resiliency is the name of the game.”
  – Dr. Samantha Yammine, (34:48)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Debunking the finality of death: 01:34–04:56
• Introduction to science fiction’s impact: 07:00–07:39
• Kim Stanley Robinson interview: 07:39–29:13
  • Origins and impact of sci-fi: 07:39–11:49
  • Sci-fi and societal preparedness: 11:49–13:57
  • Sci-fi inspiring real-world science: 13:57–17:01
  • Mars trilogy, terraforming, and climate change: 17:01–22:40
  • Ethics and storytelling: 23:03–28:03
  • Sources of inspiration: 28:03–29:13
• Sea turtles in Southern California: 31:24–34:57

Memorable Moments & Quotes

• “We’re all in a science fiction novel now that we are all co-authors together.”
  Kim Stanley Robinson, (22:24)
• “Science fiction gives us mental tools to think through these issues that are now staring us in the face and might in fact wreck the basis of civilization if we don’t come to grips with them.”
  Kim Stanley Robinson, (21:27)
• “The moment of death was considered absolute…But modern neuroscience is challenging that certainty.”
  Dr. Samantha Yammine, (01:47)

Tone and Language

The tone is intelligent but warm, with genuine curiosity and enthusiasm for bridging rigorous research and imaginative storytelling. The host and guests respect both rational inquiry and creative speculation, presenting science as an adventure—sometimes uncanny, often inspiring, occasionally urgent.

Final Thoughts

This Curiosity Weekly episode underscores how science fiction and science fuel one another, each making the other richer and more socially relevant. Whether examining new research on consciousness at the edge of death, or following sea turtles adapting to a climate-altered world, the stories told here remind listeners: today’s scientific reality was once the stuff of speculation, and the next great leap—and the debates it will bring—could be imagined first in fiction.