Tracing the history of our obsession with Mars, from modern efforts to colonize to belief in a Martian civilization.
Today, we usually associate Martians with sci-fi -- from vintage depictions of "little green men," to images of Matt Damon growing potatoes on the surface of Mars. But a little over a century ago, Martians existed in a very different way in the public imagination -- as not only real, but as intelligent beings who'd created a sophisticated civilization.
"Mars Mania" was sweeping the country, with prominent scientists claiming to have seen evidence of Martian architecture, and newspapers like The New York Times proclaiming "There is Life on Planet Mars!"
On this episode, we talk with science writer David Baron about his new book, "The Martians: The True Story of an Alien Craze that Captured Turn-of-the-Century America." We hear about why life on Mars became a nationwide obsession, the astronomer who pushed the idea, and what happened when other scientists realized he was wrong. Also, we listen back to the story of Mars One -- how a Dutch entrepreneur convinced thousands of people to volunteer for a one-way mission to colonize Mars.