In this episode of Science Quickly, science journalist and science-fiction author Annalee Newitz discusses their novel A Wall Is Also a Road, a story about a graduate student who also happens to be a conscious slime mold alien. The slime mold, named Gardenpath, has decided to study an alien civilization, and her fieldwork has taken her to Pompeii, where she befriends a local sex worker named Murtis. Newitz and Science Quickly host Rachel Feltman talk about the compelling nature of slime molds, the value of looking at human civilization from the outside and the ordinary people of Pompeii.&nbsp;
Recommended Reading:
<a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/ancient-roman-scrolls-destroyed-by-mount-vesuvius-digitally-unrolled-in-full-for-first-time/">Ancient Roman scrolls destroyed by Mount Vesuvius digitally unrolled in full for first time&nbsp;</a>
<a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/video/why-tom-hiddleston-finds-pompeii-so-haunting-and-so-human/">Tom Hiddleston on Pompeii, Mount Vesuvius and the human stories frozen in time</a>
<a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/slime-mold-helps-to-map-the-universes-tendrils-of-dark-matter/">Slime Mold Helps to Map the Universe’s Tendrils of Dark Matter</a>
<a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-slime-molds-remember-where-they-ate/">How Slime Molds Remember Where They Ate</a>
E-mail us at <a href="mailto:sciencequickly@sciam.com">sciencequickly@sciam.com</a> if you have any questions, comments or ideas for stories we should cover!
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Science Quickly is produced by Rachel Feltman, Fonda Mwangi, Sushmita Pathak, Allison Rodgers and Jeff DelViscio. This episode was edited by Alex Sugiura, with fact-checking by Marielle Issa and Aaron Shattuck. Our theme music was composed by Dominic Smith.
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