In this mini recap of Episode 53, Joe, Georgia, and Nick revisit their conversation with Roland Pitts, author of Salvation Protocol and former army officer turned cybersecurity expert, about the massive challenge of building a space ark and restarting civilization on a new world.
The crew reflects on selecting 1,000 people and 1,000 resources for humanity’s survival, and discuss the practical realities of colonization, like surgeons needing to double as blacksmiths or teachers during year one, and debate whether the vacuum of space is really colder than the polar vortex currently hitting Earth.
The crew also confesses they all failed to complete their “homework”: creating a list of five books, movies, or media that define who they are. They challenge listeners to think about what five things would help another person, an alien (or future generation) truly understand you.
Along the way, the conversation takes an unexpected turn through explorers, Christopher Columbus, and why Dora the Explorer might actually be the best explorer of all time.
The crew also shares the media they've been digging: Nick: finally watched Sinners and finished the game Journey to the Savage Planet, Joe: on Dan Brown's The Secret of Secrets and beautiful Japanese animated films by Makoto Shinkai; Your Name and Weathering With You, and Georgia: finished Chuck Tingle's horror novel Bury Your Gays.
Check out Roland’s Book: Salvation Protocol
Follow Roland on Instagram
Listen to Episode 53:
Check out what the RHR crew is creating:
Joe:
Red Line: Chicago Horror Stories Anthology featuring a new story by Joe!
Joe’s Sci-fi physiological thriller Novel: Will You Still Love Me If I Become Someone Else?
Essay by Joe: From Beyond Press: Specific Knowledge: Jotham Austin, II, PhD on Transformations in Fiction
It’s science for Weirdos
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Stay curious, stay speculative, stay safe, and we’ll catch you in the next rabbit hole. Love Y'all!
Future Events to Hang with the Crew:
Podcast Cross-Appearances
RHR Crew on This Podcast Will Change Your Life with Ben Tanzer
Joe on GoIndieNow: 21grams with Joe Compton
Events & Conventions:
Dragon Con - Atlanta, GA (September 3-7, 2026) - Joe attending as professional
Upcoming Episodes
Episode 54 – What's Love Got to Do with It?
Guest: Joe Compton
Exploring the science of love, connection, and relationships just in time for Valentine's Day.
Episode 55 – Medicine of the Future: From Fantasy to Patient Care
Guest: Davis Ashura
Exploring how science fiction inspires real medical innovation and what the future of patient care might look like.
Episode 56 – The Science of Chatbots & Human Connection
Guests: Lily & Generoso
Diving into AI communication, computational science, and how chatbots are reshaping human interaction with MIT scientist-turned-writer Lily and illustrator/filmmaker Generoso.
Episode 57 – Planetary Defense: Saving Earth from Other Worldly Impact
Guest: Charles Blue
Examining the science and strategies behind protecting Earth from asteroids, comets, and cosmic threats.
What the Crew is Digging, Links, Resources, and Topics Mentioned in mini and/or full episode:
Makoto Shinkai's name (proper spelling/pronunciation):
Writer and director's of Your Name and Weathering With You
Space Travel & Temperature:
The crew jokes about escaping Earth’s polar vortex via space ark, then realizes the vacuum of space is actually colder, and highlighting why Earth’s distance from the sun creates the perfect temperature zone for life (the “Goldilocks zone”).
Multi-Generational Missions & Skill Redundancy:
Discussion of colonists needing multiple skills (surgeon-blacksmiths, chef-farmers) connects to real concerns about critical skill loss on long-duration missions. If a specialist dies or is injured, redundancy becomes essential for survival.
Leaving Earth With No Return:
The philosophical weight of one-way missions reflects real proposals for Mars colonization and generation ships, where the first wave of colonists would likely never return to Earth due to physiological changes, resource constraints, and mission timelines.
Exploration Parallels - Historical vs. Space:
The comparison between historical ocean voyages (pre-mapped world exploration) and space arks draws parallels to how early explorers embarked into the unknown with limited resources, though the crew notes the problematic framing of “discovery” when indigenous peoples already inhabited those lands.
Non-Localized Consciousness:
Joe mentions this concept from Dan Brown’s The Secret of Secrets, and future episode, touching on theoretical physics and consciousness studies that explore whether human awareness could exist independently of the physical brain, relevant to future questions about consciousness transfer for space travel.
The “Top 5 Media That Define You” Challenge:
This exercise connects to cultural preservation discussions from the main episode: if you could only save five pieces of media to represent yourself (or humanity) to an alien species or future generation, what would they be? It’s a microcosm of the larger ark manifesto challenge.
Books:
Salvation Protocol by Roland Pitts
The Secret of Secrets by Dan Brown
Bury Your Gays by Chuck Tingle
When the Wolf Comes Home by Nat Cassidy
Nestling by Nat Cassidy
Films & TV:
Sinners (2025)
Your Name (2016) - Japanese animated romantic fantasy written and directed by Makoto Shinkai, produced by CoMix Wave Films
Weathering With You (2019) - Japanese animated romantic fantasy written and directed by Makoto Shinkai, produced by CoMix Wave Films
Dora the Explorer
Video Games:
Journey to the Savage Planet - Space exploration game
Podcasts
This Podcast Will Change Your Life with Ben Tanzer (RHR crew episode coming February/March)
Love Y'all! Don’t forget to Rate the show!
