When Regina G. Barber was a child, she had always been fascinated by science fiction. She would spend hours reading books and watching movies that transported her to far-off galaxies and alien worlds. Her love for science fiction only grew stronger as she got older, until eventually she became a scientist herself.
One day, while scrolling through Netflix, Regina stumbled upon the series ‘3 Body Problem.’ The show follows a group of scientists who are trying to solve an interstellar mystery that has been going on for decades. The plot is based on real scientific concepts and draws inspiration from Liu Cixin’s bestselling trilogy.
Regina was immediately hooked by the show and decided to dive deeper into the science behind it. In the latest episode of Short Wave, she teamed up with astrobiologist Mike Wong to explore some of the key scientific concepts featured in the series. They discussed topics like integrating orbits and discovering potentially habitable worlds, which were both portrayed in the show in a unique way.
The episode was part of Short Wave’s Space Camp series, which focuses on the strange and fascinating things happening in space. If you’re curious about the science behind your favorite sci-fi shows or movies, you can email Short Wave at shortwave@npr.org for more information. You can also listen to Short Wave on Spotify and Apple Podcasts for more fascinating episodes like this one.
Today’s episode was produced by Hannah Chinn and edited by Rebecca Ramirez. Kwesi Lee was the audio engineer who ensured that all facts were accurate during production process while Regina and Mike collaborated on checking facts before finalizing them