Novel Solutions
Marketplace All-in-One
Marketplace
4.5 • 1.4K Ratings
🗓️ 3 June 2026
⏱️ 27 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Talk to enough experts about geoengineering and the conversation eventually turns to termination shock. That’s the idea that if we were to start cooling the planet and then suddenly stop, the resulting “shock” of heat could be catastrophic. It’s also the title of a novel by bestselling sci-fi writer Neal Stephenson, who explores the science, politics, and unintended consequences of trying to engineer the earth’s climate.
In this episode, we sit down with Stephenson to talk about what sci-fi can teach us about real-world climate solutions. But first: a climate idea so ambitious it sounds like it came straight from the pages of science fiction.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hey, Ira Flato here from Science Friday. |
| 0:03.2 | Each episode, we give you surprising facts. |
| 0:06.7 | There's a whole phenomenon of moths visiting eyes of mammals. |
| 0:10.5 | Expert insights. |
| 0:12.0 | It doesn't take a lot of brain to run a lion, actually. |
| 0:15.4 | And we tackle the big questions. |
| 0:18.1 | How is this going to affect the future? |
| 0:20.7 | From space to climate to tech to medicine, get a new view on the world around you. |
| 0:25.7 | That's Science Friday, wherever you get your podcasts. |
| 0:33.1 | It's scorching. |
| 0:34.4 | That's the best way I can say it. |
| 0:36.6 | It's usually like this, like August. |
| 0:38.4 | I mean, it's really hot, and my feet hurt. |
| 0:42.0 | It's pretty in your face. |
| 0:44.1 | Demaciazza. |
| 0:45.2 | I'm a spring girl, and I'm like, oh my God, are we in summer already? |
| 0:51.7 | It's March in Los Angeles. |
| 0:54.3 | It should be sweater weather, but instead the sun is baking the Venice Beach boardwalk. |
| 1:00.7 | And almost everywhere you look. |
| 1:03.2 | Umbrella, chairs stay in the shade in the water. |
| 1:06.0 | Umbrellas, bright ones, striped ones. |
| 1:09.0 | It's a red, white, and blue umbrella. |
... |
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