Orbital Arcologies: Mega-Cities in Space

Science & Futurism with Isaac Arthur

Isaac Arthur

Spacecraft, Scifi, Engineering, Interstellar Travel, Civilizaiton, Space Station, Future, Future Philosophy, Artificial Intelligence, Technological Future, Cybernetics, Human Civilizaiton, Sci Fi, Space Megastructures, Astronomy, Megastructures, Energy Abundance, Physics, Space, Space Infrastructure, Technology, Futurism, Genetics, Starship, Post Scarcity, Transhumanism, Long Term Future, Space Colonization, Spaceship, Future Of Humanity, Space Industry, Science

4.9 • 781 Ratings

🗓️ 4 September 2025

⏱️ 31 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

From O’Neill cylinders to spiral habitats, discover how humanity might build colossal, interconnected cities high above Earth.

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Credits:

Orbital Arcologies - Mega Cities in Space

Written, Produced & Narrated by: Isaac Arthur

Graphics: Bryan Versteeg, Jeremy Jozwik, Katie Byrne, Udo Schroeter

Select imagery/video supplied by Getty Images

Music Courtesy of Epidemic Sound http://epidemicsound.com/creator

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello, SFIA audio listeners.
0:02.5	In this month's Nebula exclusive, big alien theory,
0:05.2	we're asked at the reason alien civilizations might be rare
0:08.0	is because most aliens are huge.
0:10.5	To hear it and every episode early and ad-free,
0:13.3	plus hours of bonus content,
0:15.1	check out go.nebola.tv slash Isaac Arthur,
0:17.6	and use my code, Isaac Arthur.
0:20.5	The Conductor's Tale.
0:23.1	Tobias Raine drove the line.
0:25.8	Not the Atlantis Spire, that grand space elevator,
0:29.2	ribbing down to the Strasphere to the equator,
0:31.9	but the network above it,
0:35.2	a spider web of transit tether stretching across geostationary
0:38.7	orbit linking dozens of orbital stations and habitats into the vast archaeology known as
0:45.0	Hylantis.
0:46.6	He wasn't a captain or a pilot or a spaceliner commander, just a conductor, as his badge
0:52.5	read in old-fashioned brass script, a quiet title for a quiet
0:57.2	job, guiding morning trams between O'Neill cylinders and Stanford Tauruses, agros spheres
1:03.2	and manufactories, the smaller habs in the hinterlands that supported vast solar farms, and
1:09.6	even the dry docks of Tabord Station, where
1:12.3	the skeletal frames of inter-solar arcs could be seen under construction.
	...

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