Bionic Bug Podcast

Hey everyone, welcome back to Bionic Bug podcast! You’re listening to episode 23. This is your host Natasha Bajema, fiction author, futurist, and national security expert. I’m recording this episode on September 30, 2018. Just a quick intro today before we get to Bionic Bug. I spent the last few days visiting Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. I met with a number of scientists and experts to talk about nanotechnology, synthetic biology, additive manufacturing, and artificial intelligence. I also had the opportunity to visit the National Ignition Facility. The facility contains the world’s largest laser. The laser focuses its energy on a spherical target consisting of hydrogen smaller than a pea to compress the fuel and induce fusion. The target is heated to more than 100 million degrees Celsius—hotter than the center of the sun. Scientists then measure different outputs of the experiment and use this to support research on fusion and ensure the effectiveness of our nuclear stockpile. Each use of the las

Hey everyone, welcome back to Bionic Bug podcast! You’re listening to episode 22. This is your host Natasha Bajema, fiction author, futurist, and national security expert. I’m recording this episode on September 23, 2018. Next week, I’m heading to Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California to present my research on emerging technologies and weapons of mass destruction. This is the famous nuclear weapons laboratory where the hydrogen bomb was first developed. The bomb has also been referred as the “superbomb”. Today, we call them thermonuclear weapons. How are they different from the first nuclear weapons? The first atomic bombs were fission weapons in that they leveraged the energy released when atoms of U-235 split into two smaller parts. Thermonuclear weapons exploit the energy released when two atoms fuse into one, called nuclear fusion. Nuclear fusion uses lighter elements (tritium, deuterium or lithium deuteride) than uranium. This way, we can get much greater yield from much less material. Th

Hey everyone, welcome back to Bionic Bug podcast! You’re listening to episode 20. This is your host Natasha Bajema, fiction author, futurist, and national security expert. I’m recording this episode on September 16, 2018. I’m excited to note that we’re at the half way point for this podcast. Bionic Bug has only 43 chapters, and so we’ll have 22 more episodes. But never fear, I’m already working on the concept for my next podcast. You’ll hear about it first. In other personal news, I’ve started writing Book 3 in the Lara Kingsley Series. It’s called Genomic Clone. In this story, Lara tackles a missing persons case. If you’re enjoying the show, please leave a review on iTunes. You can also support my time and costs of producing in show for only a few dollars a month, please go to www.patreon.com/natashabajema- p a t r e o n / natashabajema Let’s talk tech: My first headline for this week is “Plant Wearables and Airdropped Sensors Could Sow Big Data Seeds” published on September 10 at spectrum.ieee.org.

Hey everyone, welcome back to Bionic Bug podcast! You’re listening to episode 20. This is your host Natasha Bajema, fiction author, futurist, and national security expert. I’m recording this episode on September 9, 2018. No personal updates today since I just recorded an episode yesterday. Let’s jump right in to the tech news. My first headline is “Researchers to Release Genetically Engineered Mosquitoes in Africa for First Time” published in Scientific American on September 5. Up to 10,000 bugs could be deployed. Okay, you all know how I feel about bugs, right? Let’s delve into the article. What’s happening here? "The government of Burkina Faso granted scientists permission to release genetically engineered mosquitoes. This is part of broad efforts to use bioengineering to eliminate malaria in the region." "This will be the first time that any genetically engineered animal is released into the wild in Africa." "Genetically engineered mosquitoes have already been released in places like Brazil an

Hey everyone, welcome back to Bionic Bug podcast! You’re listening to episode 19. This is your host Natasha Bajema, fiction author, futurist, and national security expert. I’m recording this episode on September 8, 2018. First off, thank you so much for your patience while I was on vacation for the past week and a half. As a gesture of my gratitude, I’m releasing two episodes this weekend. Yes, TWO episodes. I took my dogs on a road trip. We spent two nights in a cabin at a state park in Western Maryland where there is no Internet and zero cell coverage. In case of an emergency, there’s an actual phone booth on the park grounds for coin-operated calls. #blastfromthepast. We enjoyed the quiet, did some hiking, played in streams, and looked for bears. I also finished the edits on my second novel, Project Gecko. From there, I went on to Michigan where I’m originally from to visit friends and family. I had a great time moving my friend’s kid into the dorms of my alma mater, Calvin College. On the fiction fron

Hey everyone, welcome back to Bionic Bug podcast! You’re listening to episode 18. This is your host Natasha Bajema, fiction author, futurist, and national security expert. I’m recording this episode on August 19, 2018. First off, I have a brief personal update. I got my manuscript back from my editor for Project Gecko and am working through edits. I expect it will be available as an ebook on Kobo in September. Stay tuned. Let’s talk tech: One emerging technology topic that fascinates me is the use of nanotechnology and synthetic biology to create new materials that do amazing things. In many ways, the science fiction of D.C. Comics superheros and Marvel’s Avengers is becoming science reality. This is a theme that I address in Project Gecko where the Pentagon is seeking to leverage the capabilities offered by these new materials for its Next Generation Battle Suit. The first two headlines for this week are about spider silk. Yes, the same stuff Spiderman uses to swing from building to building. “Move

Hey everyone, welcome back to Bionic Bug podcast! You’re listening to episode 17. This is your host Natasha Bajema, fiction author, futurist, and national security expert. I’m recording this episode on August 18, 2018. Last weekend, I attended the Writer’s Policy Academy in Green Bay Wisconsin. I experienced two days of interactive and educational hands-on experience led by police detectives and officers. It was amazing. There were so many cool courses, I didn’t know what to choose from. We got to see several demonstrations including the Green Bay firefighters putting out a real fire in the burn house and a dive team searching for a baby dummy in the river. I’ll include pictures in the show notes. I kicked things off on Day 1 with a three-hour course called Murder, Death and Mayhem. In this class, I learned about homicide in the U.S. Did you know that the U.S. has a very low homicide rate per capita compared to other countries? Death by firearms accounts for about 72% of all homicides in the U.S. I

Hey everyone, welcome back to Bionic Bug podcast! You’re listening to episode 16. This is your host Natasha Bajema, fiction author, futurist, and national security expert. I’m recording this episode on August 5, 2018. First off, I have a personal update. Next weekend, I’m headed to the Writer’s Policy Academy in Green Bay Wisconsin. I’ll be participating in two days of an interactive and educational hands-on experience led by police detectives and officers and designed for writers to enhance their understanding of all aspects of law enforcement, firefighting, EMS, and forensics. I’m currently signed up for hands-on sessions on high-speed pursuits, a car set ablaze and door entry/breaching among other things. Stay tuned for my read out in a few weeks. Let’s talk tech news. It’s been an “exciting” week for emerging technologies and their potential risks. 3D printing made the headlines across the country this week, even making it onto the daily show with Trevor Noah. In truth, this is a threat that h

Hey everyone, welcome back to Bionic Bug podcast! You’re listening to episode 15. This is your host Natasha Bajema, fiction author, futurist, and national security expert. I’m recording this episode on July 29, 2018. This week, I’m going to skip straight to reading from Bionic Bug since chapter 15 is a long one. Last week, Lara and Vik found Sully’s journal on the burner cell phone. They were going through the different entries when a fire broke out. Let’s find out what happens next. The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not reflect the official policy or position of the National Defense University, the Department of Defense or the U.S. Government.

Hey everyone, welcome back to Bionic Bug podcast! You’re listening to episode 14. This is your host Natasha Bajema, fiction author, futurist, and national security expert. I’m recording this episode on July 22, 2018. First off, an update on my fiction. On this podcast, you’re listening to Bionic Book, which is Book One of the Lara Kingsley Series. As you know, Book Two Project Gecko is currently with my editor. But you don’t know that I’ve started the outline for Book Three Genomic Data, which will carry on a theme in the series about DNA and genomic data. Even more exciting, I came up with the title and draft cover for Book Four this week. It will be called Black Box and will involve artificial intelligence and machine learning. I’ll provide a sneak preview of the cover in the show notes, so make sure you check it out! “Potential DNA damage from CRISPR has been ‘seriously underestimated,’ study finds” on July 16, 2018 at statnews.com A sobering article about a new gene editing technique that prom

Hey everyone, welcome back to Bionic Bug podcast! You’re listening to episode 13. This is your host Natasha Bajema, fiction author, futurist, and national security expert. I’m recording this episode on July 21, 2018. You might have noticed that I didn’t record a podcast episode last weekend. That’s because I was in New York City for ThrillerFest, which is the premiere conference for thriller enthusiasts, bringing together famous authors and new ones along with industry professionals, agents, and fans. This year, George R.R. Martin, author of Song of Ice and Fire, more popularly known as the HBO drama Game of Thrones, was the ThrillerMaster. I was lucky enough to meet him, get him to sign one of his books, but most importantly, I made him laugh. Something about D.C. being a lot like Kings Landing.   I also attended PitchFest, which is an event for authors to pitch their books to agents and editors. I’m excited to report that I met with nine agents about my first novel Bionic Bug. Six of them liked my

Hey everyone, welcome back to Bionic Bug podcast! You’re listening to episode 12. This is your host Natasha Bajema, fiction author, futurist, and national security expert. I’m recording this episode on July 8, 2018. First off, I have a personal update. Next week, I’m headed to New York City for ThrillerFest, which is the premiere conference for thriller enthusiasts, bringing together famous authors and new ones along with industry professionals, agents, and fans. This year, George R.R. Martin, author of Song of Ice and Fire, more popularly known as the HBO drama Game of Thrones will serve as the ThrillerMaster. I’m a huge fan of the books and the series and look forward to meeting him. I’ll also be meeting with agents to pitch the Lara Kingsley series in the hopes that I’m offered a publishing deal. More likely, my soul will be crushed and I’ll have to drink away my sorrows. Stay tuned for more information. If you’re enjoying the show, please leave a review on iTunes. You can also support my time and costs

Hey everyone, welcome back to Bionic Bug podcast! You’re listening to episode 11. This is your host Natasha Bajema, fiction author, futurist, and national security expert. I’m recording this episode on July 1, 2018. I have a quick personal update. Today, I will be finishing the third draft of Project Gecko, Book Two in the Lara Kingsley Series. Next week, I’ll read through it a few times and then send it off to my line editor. That means we’re getting closer to its release in September. If you’re enjoying the show, please leave a review on iTunes. You can also support my time and costs of producing in show for only a few dollars a month, please go to www.patreon.com- p a t r e o n / natashabajema Let’s talk tech. “FLIR set to develop small surveillance drones for the US Army” Published on June 27 at dronedj.com A company called FLIR is developing the Black Hornet 3 nano-drone for use by the U.S. Army. These tiny drones will provide real-time intelligence of their surroundings on the ground. This is

Hey everyone, welcome back to Bionic Bug podcast! You’re listening to episode 10. This is your host Natasha Bajema, fiction author, futurist, and national security expert. I’m recording this episode on June 24, 2018. I’m going to keep this episode short today since I’ve run out of hosting space for the month due to my special interview earlier in June. However, I do have a few interesting headlines for you this week. If you’re enjoying the show, please leave a review on iTunes. You can also support my time and costs of producing in show for only a few dollars a month, please go to www.patreon.com- p a t r e o n / natashabajema Let’s talk tech. “3D Printing and 3D Scanning Experts Crack the Ocean’s 8 Diamond Necklace Heist” Published on June 20, 2018 at 3Dprintingindustry.com I haven't seen the movie Ocean’s 8 yet, but after finding out that the thieves use 3D printers and scanners to support their con, I’m even more interested. In this article, experts talk about what aspects of the ploy were rea

Hey everyone, welcome back to Bionic Bug podcast! You’re listening to episode 9. This is your host Natasha Bajema, fiction author, futurist, and national security expert. I’m recording this episode on June 17, 2018. I hope you didn’t miss my special episode on June 7 where I interviewed biohacker Josiah Zayner about genetic engineering, CRISPR, frogs and much more. You can see the episode as recorded LIVE on YouTube as well. Today, I’m going to discuss a few headlines and then get right into chapter 9 of Bionic Bug. If you’re enjoying the show, please leave a review on iTunes. You can also support my time and costs of producing in show for only a few dollars a month, please go to patreon.com- p a t r e o n / natashabajema Let’s talk tech. I have a few interesting headlines for you this week. “Artificial Intelligence to Weaponize Fake Video” The headline is from May 23 and comes from freebeacon.com. We live in an era of fake news. The line between fact and fiction has blurred, and political spi

Welcome to a special episode of the Bionic Bug Podcast. You’re listening to a special episode LIVE on YouTube. I’m Natasha Bajema, your host, fiction author, futurist, and national security expert. For those of you who haven’t listened to my show before, today’s episode is a bit of a departure from the usual program. Every week, I discuss technology news headlines that caught my attention. Then I’ll read a chapter from my book, a mystery novel set ten years into the future titled Bionic Bug. I conclude each episode with behind-the-scenes technical information. Today, I’m here with a special guest and biohacker, Dr. Josiah Zayner CEO and Founder of The Odin, a startup company aiming to make science and genetic engineering accessible and affordable. You can read more about The Odin on its website and Dr. Zayner on his blog. You can meet him in person at Biohack the Planet, which takes place from August 31 to September 1 in Oakland, California. Get your tickets here. The views expressed in this blog are thos

Hey everyone, welcome back to Bionic Bug podcast! You’re listening to episode 8. This is your host Natasha Bajema, fiction author, futurist, and national security expert. I’m recording this episode on May 26, 2018. This Memorial Day weekend, we remember everyone who died serving in the armed forces. Today, I’m going to cut to the chase and just read you chapter 8 from my book. That means no tech news or behind-the-scenes information. I have two reasons for this. First, it’s a holiday weekend and I want to get back to my holiday. Second, my rant last week went on for so long, I don’t have any space left. I promise I’ll be back next week with the usual program. But for now, let’s turn to Bionic Bug. Last week, we left off with Lara’s visit to the police station in a heated argument with DC police detective Mario Sanchez. In the end, he asks her to work with him and they decide to divide and conquer. Sanchez will handle the basic crime elements, and Lara will investigate the technology aspects of the case. For

Hey everyone, welcome back to Bionic Bug podcast! You’re listening to episode 7. This is your host Natasha Bajema, fiction author, futurist, and national security expert. First off, I have a quick personal update. Project Gecko, Book Two in the Lara Kingsley Series, came back from my editor last Monday. Good news: He likes it. Expected news: We can make it even better. As many of you know, I’m working with a developmental editor, Clark Chamberlain. He is the kind of editor who helps authors with plot, character arcs and development and any other story elements. It’s expensive, but I find it to be a smart investment in my future as an author. He helps me see my strengths and weaknesses as an author. I’m also revamping my website to prepare for my podcast launch. I bought a new Wordpress theme from Artisan Themes to make my site look more professional. I was so nervous about activating the theme that I waited for a whole week. It was really kind of silly, the amount of anxiety I expended over making the chan

Hey everyone, welcome back to Bionic Bug podcast! You’re listening to episode 6. This is your host Natasha Bajema, fiction author, futurist, and national security expert. Before we get started, a quick reminder. The views expressed on this podcast are my own and do not reflect the official policy or position of the National Defense University, the Department of Defense or the U.S. Government. Professional and personal updates: I just got back from traveling to Destin, Florida for work where I had the opportunity to teach special operators about the national security implications at the U.S. Air Force Special Operations School. I was hoping for once that my presentation about what’s coming in the next ten years might not render the students into a state of shock. Turns out they were as concerned about our ability as a government to manage emerging threats as my other audiences. Unlike our agile adversaries, government institutions are burdened by hierarchy and bureaucracy. This brings me to my next professio

Hey everyone, welcome back to Bionic Bug podcast! You’re listening to episode 5. This is your host Natasha Bajema, fiction author, futurist, and national security expert. First, I have a personal update. Project Gecko, Book Two of the Lara Kingsley Series is now with my editor. I’m on pins and needles waiting for his initial feedback, which I will get in mid-May. While I have a bit of free time, I’m currently busy outlining Book 3 which is called Genomic Data. I’m also working with a graphic designer on the cover. You should have a sneak preview next week. On May 4, I published my first-ever guest blog post on the Creative Penn. For any of you who are writers, this is Joanna Penn’s blog. She’s a widely acclaimed self-published author and industry guru. My post is titled “How To Build 1,000 Superfans When You’re Starting From Zero” and offers some lessons learned about building a reader audience from my experience as a new author. I learned almost everything I know about self-publishing and running an author