Golden Record 2.0
26:41 minutes
Over the last three weeks, we’ve been celebrating the legacy of the Golden Record, which accompanied the Voyager spacecraft on their mission into interstellar space nearly 40 years ago. At the time, a small team of scientists and artists—including Carl Sagan, Ann Druyan, and Frank Drake—collected the sounds and images they felt encapsulated our world, such as music by Mozart, a photo of a nursing mother, and the sound of a kiss.
But so much had to be left out of that original Golden Record. And a lot has changed about our culture and our history in the decades since. If a second Golden Record were to be sent into space today, what would it contain?
We asked listeners what they would choose to put on a Golden Record 2.0—and the results are in! Our guest judges—Brain Pickings founder Maria Popova, SETI astronomer Seth Shostak, and science fiction author Kim Stanley Robinson—join Ira to discuss their favorites. And you can see a curated top 30 list based on your suggestions at sciencefriday.com/goldenrecord.
Segment Guests
Maria Popova
Maria Popova is the editor and founder of BrainPickings.org and a MIT Futures of Entertainment Fellow. She is based in Brooklyn, New York.
Kim Stanley Robinson
Kim Stanley Robinson is a New York Times bestseller and winner of the Hugo, Nebula, and Locus awards. He is the author of more than 20 books, including New York 2140 and The Ministry for the Future. He lives in Davis, California.
Seth Shostak
Seth Shostak is a senior astronomer and director of the Center for SETI Research at the SETI Institute in Mountain View, California. He also hosts the SETI Institute’s Big Picture Science radio show.
Meet the Producer
About Katie Feather
@sciencewritrKatie Feather is a former SciFri producer and the proud mother of two cats, Charleigh and Sadie.