{"version":"1.0","type":"rich","provider_name":"Acast","provider_url":"https://acast.com","height":250,"width":700,"html":"<iframe src=\"https://embed.acast.com/$/62253b61fe70c60012f69ef4/68ec449ef513ad2b810964ed?\" frameBorder=\"0\" width=\"700\" height=\"250\"></iframe>","title":"Astrobiology part 1: The Ballad of Venus and Mars","thumbnail_width":200,"thumbnail_height":200,"thumbnail_url":"https://open-images.acast.com/shows/62253b61fe70c60012f69ef4/1760315781891-1deeae68-d9d0-4c16-ab05-e5d23316ade9.jpeg?height=200","description":"<p>Venus, Earth and Mars, the solar system's most tragic love triangle. In this story of luck and loss, we explore the physics that drove their destinies apart, and speculate on alien life that may have clung on in the meantime.</p><p><br></p><p>NOTE (spoiler alert): The Alien Interludes in this episode are based on real concepts for extra-terrestrial life in science fiction: the <em>Picknia</em> are based on the Cheela from the novel <em>Dragon's Egg</em> by Robert Forward, <em>Mariplasma</em> resembles the Amoebic Sea from the Discovery Channel special <em>Alien Planet</em>, and the <em>Harmonia</em> are pretty much exactly as described by Kurt Vonnegut in his fantastic sci-fi novel <em>Sirens of Titan</em> (please just put down your phone and go and read this book).</p>","author_name":"Henry Leitch & Sam Pickett"}