Of the grand order of folio leviathans, the Sperm Whale and the Right Whale are by far the most noteworthy. They are the only whales regularly hunted by man. To the Nantucketer, they present the two extremes of all the known varieties of the whale. As the external difference between them is mainly observable in their heads; and as a head of each is this moment hanging from the Pequod's side.
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Videos of Talks and Interviews
Andrew Fraknoi interviewing Frank Drake in 2012
Over the years, I have given hundreds of public lectures of all types and lengths, have interviewed noted astronomers, and have been interviewed by journalists and educators. Most of these happened before digital recording became common. But here are a few occasions that have been preserved in the last decade, ranging from what is perhaps the world’s shortest and most lighthearted introduction to black holes to a long interview with SETI pioneer Frank Drake, exploring his career and current views.
The Best Science-y Science Fiction: A Discussion for the Planetary Society (Mar. 21, 2024: Talking with Mat Kaplan about science fiction stories based on good science): https://www.planetary.org/video/the-best-science-y-science-fiction-with-andrew-fraknoi
An Eclipse Double Header: Two Eclipses of the Sun in 2023-24 (a talk for the Silicon Valley Astronomy Lectures, May 10, 2023): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AL0OQ9gJHT4
The James Webb Space Telescope: Our Giant Eye on the Invisible Sky [a talk Nov. 30, 2022 at the Commonwealth Club of California]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j57HR0QZw_Y
The OpenStax Astronomy Book: Reaching Half a Million Readers, Creating a Community of Adopters [A Talk Given at the Open Education Conference, Oct. 2021]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hiwoRlT-XsE
Teaching Astronomy On-line: Interdisciplinary Approaches to Introductory Astronomy (music, plays, science fiction, cartoons, and astronomically named products) [American Astronomical Society video, August 2020; starts 1 min, 45 sec in]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IO1eQwqwnis
Teaching Astronomy On-line: The Free, On-line Open-Stax Astronomy Textbook and Associated Materials [American Astronomical Society video, August 2020]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BsmzEtv_cKE&t=4s
Cosmic Evolution: What Were the Atoms in Your Body Doing 8 Billion Years Ago? [2020 Darwin Day Talk]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oCa5p0V6bYw
Astronomy in Popular Culture: Advertising, Music, and More [2020 talk to educators who work in planetarium settings]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQMR24cCUbo
Fifty Years After Our First Step: What Do We Know about the Moon [Talk to the Commonwealth Club of California]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SiDczUC2cV4
The All-American Eclipse of the Sun August 2017 (non-technical talk in the Silicon Valley Astronomy Lecture Series, May 2017):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C2Folgs58oI&t=139s
Talk on the 2017 eclipse to the Commonwealth Club of California:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9fLoKMstrP4&t=1154s [Another, similar, eclipse talk for the Bay Area Skeptics:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=52k9TdQdPNc ]
NSTA Webinar for the National Science Teachers’ Association (with Dennis Schatz) on the 2017 eclipse:
http://learningcenter.nsta.org/products/symposia_seminars/NSTA/webseminar70.aspx
Astronomical Music Concert with the Peninsula Symphony (Andrew Fraknoi introduces and shows slides for Holst’s The Planets and Nancy Deussen’s Transit of Venus, May 2017; you need to turn up the volume on the spoken parts):
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLac318Pr7U62ZWUcgeA5zZCkn-IzUjmdS
The Search for Other Earths: A Panel on the Kepler Mission (at the Lawrence Hall of Science July 18, 2013, with four speakers):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YRU56w_Vbc4
Why the World Will Still be Here after Dec. 21, 2012 (a colloquium for the public at the SETI Institute, with three speakers, Dec. 11, 2012):
http://www.seti.org/weeky-lecture/why-world-will-still-be-here-after-december-21st
NASA Google Hangout on “Doomsday 2012” (Nov. 28, 2012 with six panelists):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHXW9bZtgpc
Interview with Frank Drake (Andrew Fraknoi interviews the SETI pioneer, June 24, 2012, at SETICon):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPQz-kdaxNo
Are We Alone? An Evening Dialogue with the NASA Kepler Mission Leaders (Andrew Fraknoi, moderator), July 26, 2011:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7ItAXfl0Lw
Where Bill Gates’ Great Grand-daughter Will Go for Her Honeymoon: The Top Tourist Sights of the Solar System (a 59-min illustrated lecture at the Lawrence Hall of Science on July 19, 2011):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1x2WPH9UxY
New Light on Dark Energy (a panel of scientists moderated by Andrew Fraknoi, May 3, 2011):
http://www.youtube.com/user/BerkeleyLab?feature=mhum#p/a/u/0/K171B6EvA6c
What Were the Atoms in Your Body Doing 8 Billion Years Ago (Interview in the “Radical Physics” series 2011):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_Iy31ghLN0
Why Pluto Got Kicked out of the Planet Club (Interview in the “Radical Physics” Series 2011):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L320KsBhUPw
The Fermi Paradox: Why Are There No Tourist from Other Worlds? (Panel moderated by Andrew Fraknoi at SETICon 2010):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFUrnwJ7Bnc
Is Doomsday 2012 For Real or Will You Still Have to Pay Taxes in 2013? (Panel moderated by Andrew Fraknoi at SETICon 2010):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0dBSndk_Bvk
An Introduction to Black Holes (a 6-minute humorous lecture at the SETI Institute, May 2009):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7DX_cc-IjpY
PLUS: The Silicon Valley Astronomy Lectures, organized and moderated by Andrew Fraknoi for many years:
http://www.youtubecom/SVAstronomyLectures/
OR as podcasts at: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1805595
Videos of Talks and Interviews - Andrew Fraknoi - Astronomy Lectures - Astronomy Education Resources