Person
Every book Ariel Ekblaw recommended on podcasts
Key facts
- Ariel Ekblaw has recommended or discussed 9 books on podcasts, as of April 22, 2023.
- Ariel Ekblaw has talked about books on 2 podcasts, as of April 22, 2023.
- Those books came up in 2 episodes, as of April 22, 2023.
- The 3 books Ariel Ekblaw has mentioned in the most episodes, as of April 22, 2023: Seveneves, Endurance and The High Frontier.
- The latest episode with a book mention from Ariel Ekblaw aired on April 22, 2023.
Updated
Across 2 podcasts. Every show Ariel Ekblaw appears on, in one place — not just one.
Ariel Ekblaw’s most recommended books
- Seveneves by Neal Stephenson
- Endurance by Scott Kelly
- The High Frontier by Gerard K. O'Neill
- Foundation by Isaac Asimov
- Ringworld by Larry Niven
- 2001 by Arthur C. Clarke
- 2001, a Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke
- Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
- The Foundation Trilogy by Isaac Asimov
Ariel Ekblaw is an American aerospace architect and astronautical engineer who designs space architecture. She founded the Space Exploration Initiative at MIT Media Lab in 2016 and has served as its director since 2020. Ekblaw is CEO and co-founder of the space habitat-oriented firm Aurelia Institute, which started in 2021. She earned her PhD from MIT, with her doctoral thesis describing a modular, self-assembling space architecture design called TESSERAE. During her podcast appearances on StarTalk Radio and the Lex Fridman Podcast, Ekblaw recommended Gerard K. O'Neill's The High Frontier, citing his compelling vision for life in space and rotating habitats. She also recommended Scott Kelly's Endurance to highlight physiological changes and the NASA twin study following a year spent in space. Furthermore, Ekblaw discussed Andy Weir's Project Hail Mary in relation to artificial gravity tether technologies, recalled Isaac Asimov's The Foundation Trilogy as a favorite from her youth, referenced Neal Stephenson's Seveneves to illustrate swarm robotics on spacecraft, and mentioned Arthur C. Clarke's 2001: A Space Odyssey when discussing sensing technologies and intelligent space habitats.
Books recommended by Ariel Ekblaw
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Seveneves
Seveneves by Neal Stephenson is an epic science fiction novel that begins with the cataclysmic destruction of the moon and follows humanity's desperate efforts to preserve civilization in space.
Discussed“now though my favorite uh is neil stephenson and seven eves it's a book that inspired my own phd research”
Where to get it
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Endurance
Endurance by Scott Kelly is a compelling memoir by the astronaut chronicling his year-long mission aboard the International Space Station and his broader lifetime of discovery.
Recommended“so scott kelly wrote this amazing book after he spent a year in space”
Where to get it
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The High Frontier
The High Frontier by Gerard K.
Recommended“High Frontier, like his vision for life in space I think was really compelling.”
Where to get it
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Foundation
Foundation by Isaac Asimov is a groundbreaking science fiction series chronicling the collapse and rebirth of a galactic empire through the predictive science of psychohistory.
Discussed“probably a sick asimov foundation trilogy this is a amazing story of harry selden”
Where to get it
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Ringworld
Discussed“my third one is the ring world just because every science fiction book ever that's worth anything has a ring world in it and uh it's just a donut”
Where to get it
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2001
Arthur C.
Discussed“The future of space habitats is one of intelligent structures—maybe not all the way to HAL from the 2001: A Space Odyssey reference that scares people about a habitat having a mind of its own—but certainly, we're building systems now where the habitat has sensing technology that allows it to communicate its basic functions.”
Where to get it
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2001, a Space Odyssey
2001, a Space Odyssey by Arthur C.
Discussed“maybe not all the way to hal and the you know 2001 space odyssey reference that scares people about the habitat having a mind of its own”
Where to get it
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Project Hail Mary
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir is a science fiction novel about an astronaut tasked with saving humanity from an extinction-level threat.
Discussed“making real a technology that is described in Hail Mary, Andy Weir's latest book. We love Andy Weir. He's a friend of StarTalk.”
Where to get it
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The Foundation Trilogy
Isaac Asimov's science fiction masterpiece, The Foundation Trilogy, chronicles the epic fall and rise of a galactic empire through the lens of psychohistory.
Discussed“What were your favorite sci-fi authors when you were growing up? Probably Isaac Asimov's Foundation Trilogy.”
Where to get it
Books Ariel Ekblaw wrote
Appearances
| Episode | Podcast | Date | Books |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Research Powering Humanity’s First Space Civilization with Ariel Ekblaw | StarTalk Radio | 2023-04-22 | 3 |
| #271 – Ariel Ekblaw: Space Colonization and Self-Assembling Space Megastructures | Lex Fridman Podcast | 2022-03-23 | 13 |
Other mentions (3: passing, ad reads, own books)
“We put out a book a few years ago called Into the Anthropo-Cosmos, and the idea was how do you be good stewards of the space commons?”
“one of the projects in the book that i gave you which is a catalog of the projects that we've worked on over the last five years is the social robot that was developed at the media lab”
“one of the projects in the book that i gave you which is a catalog of the projects that we've worked on over the last five years is the social robot”