Works
Star Settlers: The Billionaires, Geniuses, and Crazed Visionaries Out to Conquer the Universe
While millions of people take an interest in space exploration and astronomical discovery, a smaller group—including elite scientists, technologists, science fiction enthusiasts, and billionaires—believe that humanity's destiny is to populate the stars. This book, to be published in 2020, will explore the history of this sentiment and question whether we are ready for space colonization and, conversely, whether space is ready for us.
The Man from Mars: Ray Palmer's Amazing Pulp Journey
"A joy to read.” --Rob Latham, Editor, Science Fiction Studies
As editor of the science fiction magazine Amazing Stories and creator of publications such as Other Worlds, Imagination, Fate, Mystic, Search, Flying Saucers, and Space Age, Palmer pushed the limits and broke new ground in SF publishing in the 1940s and 1950s--and was reviled for it by SF purists.
Wonder Shows: Performing Science, Magic, and Religion in America
“Promises and Paradoxes, 1945 to the Present,” World History Encyclopedia
When the Atomic Age Met the Space Age: Is Space for Exploration or Militarization?
Astronomy Magazine, March 2022.
Camille Flammarion's Amazing Universe
"What Happens When Society Decides That Nerds Are Dangerous?"
"Tony Oursler's Family Gothic"
"Citizen Funt—Surveillance as Cold War Entertainment.”
In, Julie Anne Taddeo and Ken Dvorak, editors, The Tube Has Spoken: Reality TV and History. Lexington: University of Kentucky Press, 2009.