About This Episode

The Nerdist Chris Hardwick and his trusty sidekick Matt Mira provide Dr. Who references and some timely humor for our show about clocks, calendars, and leaps in time. Anthony Aveni, professor of astronomy and anthropology at Colgate University, reveals whether the Mayan calendar predicts the end of the world in 2012, and provides insight into how early clocks and calendars were based not only on the Moon and Sun, but on Earth’s biology. Frank Reed, instructor of celestial navigation at Mystic Seaport in Connecticut, and Robert Seaman, computer programmer for the National Optical Astronomy Observatories, talk about why leap seconds are added to our fast-paced modern lives, and contemplate the future of time synchronization. From keeping Universal Time, to neutrinos that may travel faster than light, to geo-engineering the Earth into a global clock, take some time to consider how science sets the tempo of our past, present and future.

NOTE: All-Access subscribers can listen to the entire episode ad-free here: Time Lords: The Science of Keeping Time.