At the time of writing the Science & Futurism with Isaac Arthur (SFIA) YouTube channel has 670,000 subscribers. This means there is a high likelihood that you are already familiar with him. If not, then it is worth watching some of his many videos on futurism and space exploration.
Isaac Arthur began producing videos around 7 years ago and has been quite prolific since then. A total of 413 videos published at present. No doubt the number of videos will have increased by the time you read this though.
His videos are aimed at a marginally technical audience and cover a range of future technology and space exploration subjects. One of the most recent videos is about the Project Orion concept of using nuclear weapons for spaceship propulsion.
Before we landed on the Moon, in the early days of the Cold War, Project Orion contemplated using Nuclear Bombs to power spaceships to new worlds and stars. More than half a century later, new technologies may see this concept reintroduced bigger, better, and safer. Could the most terrifying weapon of the 20th Century become the Great Hope of the 21st?
Isaac Arthur
Since there are so many videos covering a range of topics it is challenging to know where to start. Conveniently there are several compiled playlist on specific subject areas. Watching the Outward Bound playlist to which the above video has been added, is probably a good start though. This consists of 42 videos exploring various aspect involved in colonising our solar system, starting with Mars.
These videos are a great source of inspiration for science-fiction worldbuilding in general. However, to fit with the original exoplanet and speculative evolution blog theme, it is worth a quick look the playlists on habitable planets and alien civilisations.
It is well worth subscribing to the SFIA channel to help with futuristic world building, especially for science fiction. While some fairly extreme concepts are discussed they are all somewhat realistic. Physics breaking concepts such as faster-than-light travel are not typically discussed… well, except this short playlist.
Once you’ve watched the Science & Futurism with Isaac Arthur channel then please comment to say which videos you found particularly useful for worldbuilding. Also, feel free to recommend any other similar YouTube channels or videos that are worth watching.