There's tons of wearable tech in Star Wars! Luke has a prosthetic hand and Darth Vader is more machine than man. How does that technology integrate into their bodies and minds? Benajmin Smarr shares his insights from researching health technology that helps people understand the patterns our bodies go through. He also speculates about projects he'd pursue if he was a professor in the Star Wars galaxy - including whether Jedi's midichlorian count changes are they age, train, or even just don't sleep well. We also get into women's reproductive health. How could Padme's pregnancy with twins have gone overlooked? Here on Earth, why are there still so many mysteries surrounding the female body? We also tackle circadian rhythms and (just weeks into daylight savings time) ponder how so many species from hundreds of planets manage to adjust to a standard time.

Check out the Smarr Lab's website for tons more info about his research projects and publications.

Book recommendations by Benjamin about circadian rhythm: Satchin Panda's "The Circadian Code" and "The Inner Clock" by Lynne Peeples.

Learn more about UCSD's Center for Microbiome Innovation.

Listen to our feminism episode mentioned in this conversation. And also our episode about prosthetics!

You can order James's crossword puzzle book now! For a free puzzle, download the activity kit from Star Wars Reads!

Subscribe to Star Warsologies on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Did you miss an earlier episode? Catch up here!

Follow us on BlueSky and Instagram or join our Facebook fan group!

Star Warsologies is a podcast about science and other fields in a galaxy far, far away. Hosts James Floyd and Melissa Miller combine their love of storytelling in the franchise with their keen interest in all things academic.

Dr. Wendy Bohon joins us this month to discuss how life might begin and be sustained on planets in a galaxy far, far away. The answer is earthquakes! Or are they called Tatooine-quakes and Hoth-quakes? We dive into Naboo's watery core and discuss whether Mustafar was the right place to build an evil lair. And of course we get in to the Death Star's ability to destroy planets. Alderaan is in pieces but what happened during the tests on Jedha and Scarif?

Follow Wendy on YouTube, Instagram, BlueSky, and other social media sites. And check out her website!

Learn more about the Cave of the Crystals Wendy mentions, that reminds her of Crait and the crystal foxes!

If you can't get enough geology talk, give our debut episode (from 2021!) a listen. We also talked more about Mustafar in our Revenge of the Sith panel at Star Wars Celebration 2025.

You can order James's crossword puzzle book now! For a free puzzle, download the activity kit from Star Wars Reads!

Subscribe to Star Warsologies on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Did you miss an earlier episode? Catch up here!

Follow us on BlueSky and Instagram or join our Facebook fan group!

Star Warsologies is a podcast about science and other fields in a galaxy far, far away. Hosts James Floyd and Melissa Miller combine their love of storytelling in the franchise with their keen interest in all things academic.

Giraffe joins us to talk about her early introduction to languages with Stargate and The Mummy. She explains the difference between scripts and languages. She also answers important questions like: Does Yoda talk that way just to be different? and Why does anyone hang out with C-3PO? We also get into the inevitable discussion of AI's role in translating and understanding ancient languages and scripts, as well as how the Empire removing people from their individual cultures comes straight from the colonizer's playbook.

Check out Giraffe on the Star Trek podcast Strange New pod, which is live every Thursday at 6:30pm Pacific time! And find her on Instagram and BlueSky!

We mentioned some relevant past episodes during this discussion: check out our languages episode with David Peterson, who created languages for Game of Thrones, Marvel movies, and more, and our anti-fascism episode with historian and author Chris Kempshall.

You can order James's crossword puzzle book now! For a free puzzle, download the activity kit from Star Wars Reads!

Subscribe to Star Warsologies on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Did you miss an earlier episode? Catch up here!

Follow us on BlueSky and Instagram or join our Facebook fan group!

Star Warsologies is a podcast about science and other fields in a galaxy far, far away. Hosts James Floyd and Melissa Miller combine their love of storytelling in the franchise with their keen interest in all things academic.

As a holiday bonus, please enjoy this recording of a panel from San Diego Comic-Con 2025 - Celebrating the Puppetry Arts!

Panel Description: Puppets have entertained and educated the masses for centuries but the artistry also changes and advances with new technology. Professional puppet builders and performers share insights from their careers working on franchises like Star Wars and the Muppet movies, as well as their experiences with non-traditional puppetry like animatronics, motion capture, and claymation. Panelists include Cheralyn Lambeth (puppet builder, Dinosaurs!, Avenue Q), Kirk Thatcher (writer and director, The Muppets Haunted Mansion), and Fon Davis (model maker, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Coraline). Moderated by Melissa T. Miller (Star Warsologies podcast).

Links from the panel discussion:

Check out Adam Kreutinger's @PuppetNerd YouTube Channel and the Stan Winston School for puppetry building tips.

Watch the Tested video Fon mentioned where he shows Adam Savage around Fonco Studio's effects lab.

Here's the TikTok video Kirk mentioned where the baby in Dinosaurs talks back to the director.

If you want to hear more about Coraline and The Nightmare Before Christmas, check out the LA Comic Con panel about those movies that Melissa and Fon did together in 2024.

How do you map a galaxy? Storytellers get to add their own details in movies, books, comics, TV shows, and even board games, so it's a huge job and nearly impossible to keep it all straight. Jason shares what went into creating the lore for Star Wars: The Essential Atlas and how the book is literally a childhood dream come true. It turns out a lot of the mapping framework came from a video game mechanic!

Follow Jason on BlueSky @jasoncfry and send any cartographic errors you find to essential.atlas@gmail.com

Check out the official Galaxy Map on starwars.com!

Buy your copy of Jason's Star Wars: The Essential Atlas, or peruse some of the maps on Wookieepedia.

Check out all of Jason Fry's other Star Wars books, including The Last Jedi (adult novelization) and Rebels: Servants of the Empire series.

Other books mentioned in this episode include Atlas of Middle Earth, Atlas of Medieval History, The Mask of Fear from the Reign of the Empire series.

You can order James's crossword puzzle book now! For a free puzzle, download the activity kit from Star Wars Reads!

Subscribe to Star Warsologies on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Did you miss an earlier episode? Catch up here!

Follow us on BlueSky and Instagram or join our Facebook fan group!

Star Warsologies is a podcast about science and other fields in a galaxy far, far away. Hosts James Floyd and Melissa Miller combine their love of storytelling in the franchise with their keen interest in all things academic.

Becca Harrison tallied up all the screen time for female characters in Star Wars movies over the decades and even made cuts of the film with only dialogue from female characters. They get a lot more screen time these days and we talk about why that's important. We discuss feminism, gender identity, and the importance of representation when it comes to Star Wars, including within the fandom itself. Becca is a freelance academic who has studied Star Wars from multiple academic angles including historical, data technology, gender identity, and even environmental.

Check out Becca's website for more of her work on Star Wars as well as resources for for film analysis and research.

Get your copy of Becca's book "The Empire Strikes Back (BFI Film Classics)"

Listen to our episode recreating the panel from 2023's Celebration in London about Andor that included Becca and other experts.

Find out more about the Galaxy Tour science field trip. And if you do sign up to go, make sure to put "Star Warsologies" in the Order Notes when you check out!

You can order James's crossword puzzle book now! For a free puzzle, download the activity kit from Star Wars Reads!

Subscribe to Star Warsologies on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Did you miss an earlier episode? Catch up here!

Follow us on BlueSky and Instagram or join our Facebook fan group!

Star Warsologies is a podcast about science and other fields in a galaxy far, far away. Hosts James Floyd and Melissa Miller combine their love of storytelling in the franchise with their keen interest in all things academic.

Hear our panel of experts talk about their favorite animals in Star Wars! Melissa and James are joined by herpetologist Earyn McGee, conservation biologist Sam Wynns, and geochemist Randy Flores. Also check this episide out on YouTube as it includes our slides and other visuals!

From womp rats to wampas, Star Wars creatures great and small are a beloved part of the galaxy far, far away. Moderator S.T. Bende (author of Star Wars Bestiary, Vol. 1: Creatures of the Galaxy) will quiz this panel of animal experts and fans on how everything from porgs to purrgil are adapted to their environments and show similarities to life here on Earth. New members to the Galactic Society of Creature Enthusiasts are welcome, bring questions about your favorite sci-fi and fantasy animals!

Buy the Star Wars Bestiary!

Check out our episode with panelists Earyn McGee, all about lizards, and with Sam Wynns about wildlife conservation!

We love to talk about critters, as you may have noticed. Here's our panels from Star Wars Celebration 2022 and Legacy Expo 2025!

Find out more about the Galaxy Tour science field trip. And if you do sign up to go, make sure to put "Star Warsologies" in the Order Notes when you check out!

You can order James's crossword puzzle book now! For a free puzzle, download the activity kit from Star Wars Reads!

Subscribe to Star Warsologies on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Did you miss an earlier episode? Catch up here!

Follow us on BlueSky and Instagram or join our Facebook fan group!

Star Warsologies is a podcast about science and other fields in a galaxy far, far away. Hosts James Floyd and Melissa Miller combine their love of storytelling in the franchise with their keen interest in all things academic.

Author Samuel Spitale joins us to talk about the difference between journalism, news, propaganda, advertising, and other media terms. He posits that the lack of media in the original series was a deliberate (and wise) choice for storytelling. While it plays a role in the recent series Andor, there are also some hints in the holiday special, so of course we talk about that! Join us to help fight misinformation with the truth!

Check out Samuel's website and YouTube channel. He's also on Instagram.

Get a copy of Samuel's book "How to Win the War on Truth: An Illustrated Guide to How Mistruths Are Sold, Why They Stick, and How to Reclaim Reality"

Get a copy of Samuel's coffee table book "Collecting a Galaxy - The Art of Sideshow"

Find out more about the Galaxy Tour science field trip. And if you do sign up to go, make sure to put "Star Warsologies" in the Order Notes when you check out!

You can order James's crossword puzzle book now! For a free puzzle, download the activity kit from Star Wars Reads!

Subscribe to Star Warsologies on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Did you miss an earlier episode? Catch up here!

Follow us on BlueSky and Instagram or join our Facebook fan group!

Star Warsologies is a podcast about science and other fields in a galaxy far, far away. Hosts James Floyd and Melissa Miller combine their love of storytelling in the franchise with their keen interest in all things academic.