Before Spacecraft: When Earth Thought Mars Was Alive

Before Spacecraft: When Earth Thought Mars Was Alive

The Not Old Better Show, Smithsonian Associates Interview Series

Martians, Tesla, and madness? David Baron’s wild true story is unforgettable.

📘 What if I told you the most brilliant minds of the late 1800s believed in Martians?

In our newest episode of The Not Old Better Show, Smithsonian Associates series, we feature science writer and author David Baron, whose new book The Martians tells a story that is equal parts history, science, and human imagination.

Before rockets, before rovers, and before we understood what Mars truly was, people looked through telescopes and saw cities. Men like Percival Lowell and Nikola Tesla weren’t imagining stories for books — they were making scientific claims. Lowell built observatories to map Martian canals. Tesla believed his radio experiments might have picked up messages from intelligent life on another planet.

Why did so many believe so strongly in something we now see as impossible? David Baron explores that question with humor, historical depth, and a storyteller’s eye.

Whether you're in science, history, education, or just someone who remembers looking up at the night sky and wondering, this episode will give you something to think about.

🎧 Listen now: https://notold-better.com

In our latest episode of The Not Old Better Show, Smithsonian Associates series, we speak with award-winning author and science journalist David Baron, whose new book The Martians. More information available at Smithsonian Associates:

https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/programs/martians