Have you ever wondered how concert sets and visual effects are designed? This week, Emily and Alexa talk with Deborah Johnson, aka Candy Stations, who designed the visual effects for Sufjan Stevens’ space-inspired “Planetarium” and “Age of Adz” album tours, and has collaborated with several other artists and musicians for performances across the co…

Whether you're a pinball champion, an avid enjoyer of the old virtual Space Cadet pinball games, or a complete newbie to the pinball world - you may be surprised at just how much overlap there is with spaceflight and pinball game design over the ages. Join Emily and Alexa in conversation with Erin Winick Anthony, a science communicator, engineer, a…

What is Space Archaeology? Join Emily and Alexa as they speak with Dr. Justin Walsh of the ISS Archaeological Project about what doing archaeology in space really entails, what cultural and engineering insights we can gain from it, and what the future of this field looks like with the impending decommissioning of the ISS. The Art Astra Podcast is n…

Join Emily and Alexa as they chat with Janelle Wellons, Spaceflight Operations Engineer and Flight Director, about how the visual artist Alma Thomas' paintings resemble actual imagery from spacecraft, such as those captured by the Cassini and Mariner 4 missions. Please see the Art Astra website (artastra.space) for this episode's transcript and sho…

Join Emily and Alexa as they discuss the visual artist Alma Thomas, her paintings inspired by outer space, and how one of those paintings ended up in the collection of the CIA. Please see the Art Astra website (artastra.space) for this episode's transcript and show notes. -- Music credit: “Space” by Music_Unlimited…

Join Emily and Alexa as they chat with Amanda Ohlke, Director of Adult Education at the International Spy Museum, about James Bond's adventures in space through the decades, and how those adventures reflected the public imagination over time. Ohlke also provides a sneak peek at the upcoming exhibition "Bond in Motion," now open and on view at the I…

Do you ever wonder how space and art combine to transform raw, sometimes noisy images captured by spacecraft into beautiful, clean images for us to see here on Earth? In this episode, Emily Olsen and Alexa Erdogan discuss space image processing with Jason Major, space exploration and astronomy outreach enthusiast. Jason explains how he interprets d…

Join Emily Olsen and Alexa Erdogan as they discuss creative applications of space science. Alexa explains how scientists at Washington State University (WSU) used Barbie dolls in an important experiment to help solve problems humans will face on the Moon. Emily shares how an algorithm developed for the Hubble Space Telescope became key in tracking …

Nice to meet you! You can learn more about us here & connect with us on socials. — Music credit: “Space” by Music_UnlimitedAf Emily Olsen and Alexa Erdogan

The Art Astra Podcast explores intersections of space studies and the humanities in popular culture with the aim of highlighting opportunities for people from all walks of life to participate in and get excited about space. Join Emily Olsen and Alexa Erdogan every other week as they chat with people working in a variety of industries to discuss how…