Terra Nullius: Who Owns Outer Space? w/ Heather Allansdottir

Terra Nullius: Who Owns Outer Space? w/ Heather Allansdottir

This is our first in a series called Terra Nullius. Huh? It’s Latin for ‘Nobody’s Land’. We will be exploring how rules are made for contested territory. If a land belongs to no one, does that mean it’s just up for grabs?

This week we’re starting with outer space, speaking with an expert in space law, Heather Allansdottir. But why should we care about space when the planet we are standing on is falling to shreds?

Currently, outer space belongs to no one. We have an Outer Space Treaty which was developed during the Cold War. But the treaty isn’t durable enough for a second generation of space exploration which includes private actors, not just nation states. Powerful companies, countries and individuals are in a desperate scramble to make it theirs. According Heather, we have about a two-year window to enshrine outer space as a commons, otherwise it will fall to chaos actors and tech billionaires.

In our next Terra Nullius episode, we’ll be talking about governing the skies and the companies that think you want drone-delivered coffee to your backyard.

Further reading & resources:

**Subscribe to our newsletter to get more stuff than just a podcast — we run events and do other work that you will definitely be interested in!**

Dr Heather Allansdottir is an academic of international law, focused on space law. She is the founder and director of the space sustainability consultancy Astrodottir, and the co-author of the forthcoming book New Perspectives in Outer Space Law (Springer 2025). She is deputy director of LLB at Birkbeck University's Faculty of Law and a former Visiting Fellow at the Lauterpacht Centre for International Law at the University of Cambridge.

Jaksot(102)

Gotcha! Enshittification w/ Cory Doctorow

Gotcha! Enshittification w/ Cory Doctorow

Welcome to the final boss of scams in the age of technology: Enshittification More like this: Nodestar: The Eternal September w/ Mike MasnickThis is our final episode of Gotcha! — our series on scams,...

10 Loka 202555min

Gotcha! ScamGPT w/ Lana Swartz & Alice Marwick

Gotcha! ScamGPT w/ Lana Swartz & Alice Marwick

Thought we were at peak scam? Well, ScamGPT just entered the chat.More like this: Gotcha! The Crypto Grift w/ Mark HaysThis is part three of Gotcha! — our series on scams, how they work, and how techn...

3 Loka 202554min

NYC Live: Let Them Eat Compute

NYC Live: Let Them Eat Compute

This just in with data centers: Energy grids are strained, water is scarce, utility costs are through the roof — ah well, let them eat compute, I guess!More like this: AI Thirst in a Water-Scarce Worl...

2 Loka 202552min

Are AI Companies Cooking the Books? w/ Sarah Myers West

Are AI Companies Cooking the Books? w/ Sarah Myers West

OpenAI just secured a bizarre financial deal with Nvidia — but the math is not mathing. Is the AI sector an actual market, or a series of high-profile announcements of circular relationships between a...

30 Syys 202539min

Gotcha! How MLMs Ate the Economy w/ Bridget Read

Gotcha! How MLMs Ate the Economy w/ Bridget Read

Multi-level marketing schemes have built an empire by enticing people with promises of self-realisation and economic freedom. The cost is simple: exploit and be exploited.More like this: Worker Power ...

26 Syys 202550min

Gotcha! The Crypto Grift w/ Mark Hays

Gotcha! The Crypto Grift w/ Mark Hays

Hey you! Do you want some free internet money? If this sounds too good to be true, that’s because it is!More like this: Making Myths to Make Money w/ AI NowThis is Gotcha! A four-part series on scams,...

19 Syys 202555min

Gotcha!

Gotcha!

Gotcha! is a four-part series on scams, how they work, and how technology is supercharging them — running through to October 10.In the series we look at:Crypto: Mark Hays on how a thing touting financ...

18 Syys 20251min

Nodestar: Turning Networks into Knowledge w/ Andrew Trask

Nodestar: Turning Networks into Knowledge w/ Andrew Trask

What if you could listen to multiple people at once, and actually understand them?More like this: **The Age of Noise w/ Eryk Salvaggio**In our final instalment (for now!) of Nodestar, Andrew Trask sha...

12 Syys 202543min

Suosittua kategoriassa Yhteiskunta

olipa-kerran-otsikko
siita-on-vaikea-puhua
i-dont-like-mondays
gogin-ja-janin-maailmanhistoria
kolme-kaannekohtaa
poks
antin-palautepalvelu
sita
aikalisa
mamma-mia
yopuolen-tarinoita-2
kaksi-aitia
rss-murhan-anatomia
rss-ootsa-kuullut-tasta
rss-palmujen-varjoissa
meidan-pitais-puhua
rss-nikotellen
ootsa-kuullut-tasta-2
rss-haudattu
terapeuttiville-qa