Guest: Dr. James Hughes. Topics: We discussed his book, "Citizen Cyborg: Why Democratic Societies Must Respond To The Redesigned Human Of The Future," human enhancement, public & space policy, long duration spaceflight. The Space Show wishes all of you a very Merry Christmas and holiday season. You are invited to comment, ask questions, and discuss the Space Show program/guest(s) on the Space Show blog, http://thespaceshow.wordpress.com. Comments, questions, and any discussion must be relevant and applicable to Space Show programming. Transcripts of Space Show programs are not permitted without prior written consent from The Space Show (even if for personal use) & are a violation of the Space Show copyright. The Space Show/OGLF is now engaged in its annual fundraising drive. Please see & act upon our appeal at http://thespaceshow.wordpress.com/2011/11/21/space-show-2011-fundraisin…. We welcomed Dr. James Hughes to the program to discuss his new book, "Citizen Cyborg: Why Democratic Societies Must Respond To The Redesigned Human Of The Future." Please note that we experienced telephone noise which you will hear as audio noise on this show. Unfortunately, we could not edit out the phone line background noise. Our discussion started with a focus on bio and medical ethics and an assessment of an anti-technology, anti-science movement in various segments of society and that impact policy making. In Citizen Cyborg, Dr. Hughes talks about using human enhancement and other technologies to push the boundaries of humans to improve the quality of our lives. Fundamental to being able to do this is overcoming the opposition and this was a significant part of our discussion. We had several listener emails asking about playing God by pushing these technologies and engaging in the human enhancement technologies. This took us into a discussion about God, religious and spiritual issues. I believe you will find this discussion to be most interesting. At times during our discussion we extrapolated to the space field, particularly human spaceflight. In our second segment, listener Lonnie asked Dr. Hughes to describe some of the main bioethical issues. Here, we got into animal research, morality, Apes, Great Apes, and even pets, specifically dogs. We talked about our eventual settlement on Mars or elsewhere, making modifications for us to live on Mars or another world, and the ethics of making it possible for animals to live on the new world with us. We talked about medical research, cloning, and human genetic modification, especially for space travel. One listener asked if humans were cloned and we sent the clone on a deep space mission, was that the same as sending humans. The answer was yes but you will want to hear the full discussion on this topic. Later in the segment, Dr. Hughes was asked if human spaceflight could be a leader in developing human enhancement technologies or would it be a beneficiary. Our guest said beneficiary and pointed to the main issue of needing cheap propulsion for human spaceflight. Our guest was asked about his term bioLuddites which he uses in his book. Dr. Hughes provided us with a brief history of Luddism and then we discussed the mix in society that makes up the bioLuddites. Another listener asked if cosmetic surgery was also human enhancement and we asked Dr. Hughes about his theory as expressed in his book that happiness is an illusion. Near the end of the program, he mentioned the organization of which he is the Executive Director, The Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies (www.ieet.org). This Space Show discussion not only addressed human enhancement technologies for human spaceflight, but also for our society in general. For those of you interested in the subject, I strongly recommend you read his book, Citizen Cyborg. Please post your comments and questions on The Space Show blog URL above.
Broadcast 1677 (Special Edition)
<none>
WARNING: Using Disqus Comments on the Space Show:
To ensure your comments do NOT get caught in the Disqus automatic spam filter system, please login to your Disqus account or create a verified/approved Disqus account.
Posting multiple URL links WILL TRIGGER the Disqus automatic spam filter system.
<none>

Support the Space Show ®
If you prefer donating with a check, please make the check payable to One Giant Leap Foundation. Mail it to One Giant Leap Foundation, 11035 Lavender Hill Drive Ste. 160-306 Las Vegas ,NV 89135
Follow us on Facebook
Broadcast Schedule
Sunday: 12:00 - 1:30 PM (PT)
Monday: 2:00 - 3:30 PM (PT)
Tuesday: 7:00 - 8:30 PM (PT)
Friday: 9:30 - 11:00 AM (PT)
Other weekday times can be morning , afternoon, or evening as you will see from the program schedule below. When you see Wednesday or Thursday program options, it is because of my travel schedule and I am adding in special shows at the time chosen by the guest. The John Batchelor Hotel Mars segment is always Wednesday, 6:30-6:45 PM Pacific Time. All Hotel Mars shows are archived as Space Show programs.
Dr. Livingston Business Consulting & Speaking Opportunities
Dr. David Livingston is available for business consulting and speaking engagements. Please contact him for specifics. You can reach Dr. Livingston by email at drspace@thespaceshow.com or (415) 455-9076.
<none>
© Copyright 2017 Dr. David M Livingston & One Giant Leap Foundation All rights reserved. No part of Space Show audio and video programs may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including but not limited to photocopying, recording, edits, transcripts, website uploads, including YouTube or other electronic or mechanical methods, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by Fair Use under 17 U.S.C. § 107, without the prior written permission of One Giant Leap Foundation. For permission requests, write to Dr. David M. Livingston, The Space Show, 11035 Lavender Hill Drive, Ste. 160-306, Las Vegas, NV 89135 USA.
About TSS
The Space Show® wants to provide you with timely and relevant information on space issues and policy influencing the development of outer-space commerce, space tourism, exploration, planetary science, as well as other related space subjects of interest to us all.
Contact Us
The Space Show
C/O Dr. David Livingston
11035 Lavender Hill Drive
Ste. 160-306
Las Vegas, NV 89135
OFFICE TEL: 1-702-268-8743
LIVE SHOW TOLL FREE: 1-866-687-7223
EMAIL: drspace@thespaceshow.com