Planetary Radio
Planetary Radio is the weekly adventure on the final frontier produced by the Planetary Society and it's CEO, Bill Nye the Science Guy. Listen to host Mat Kaplan's conversations with the scientists, engineers, dreamers and leaders at the forefront of space exploration. You'll also hear our regular segments with Bill, "Planetary Evangelist" Emily Lakdawalla, and Director of Science and Technology Bruce Betts. Enter the weekly space trivia contest for your chance to win out-of-this-world prizes!
- Update frequency
- every 6 days
- Average duration
- 51 minutes
- Episodes
- 589
- Years Active
- 2014 - 2023
Space Policy Edition: Space Force! With Special Guest Brian Weeden
The President recently ordered the creation of Space Force—but what does that mean? What are the implications for militarization of space? National security expert Dr. Brian Weeden joins the show to …
01:47:44 |
Fri 06 Jul 2018
Dwarf Planet Ceres Thrills as a Dying Visitor Closes In
Ceres is the queen of the asteroid belt. Her first Earthly visitor is nearing its last days in spectacular style. Dawn Mission Director and Chief Engineer Marc Rayman returns with stunning images t…
00:33:20 |
Wed 04 Jul 2018
It’s Asteroid Week with NASA’s Planetary Defense Officer
The dinosaurs regret their lack of a space program. 200 million years later, humans are gearing up to defend themselves from a species-ending rock. The many challenges involved are addressed in a n…
00:41:53 |
Wed 27 Jun 2018
Kathryn Sullivan, Space Dentistry and More at the International Space Development Conference
Freeman Dyson wasn’t the only space star at the ISDC. Mat talks with former astronaut and NOAA Administrator Kathryn Sullivan, leaders of the Cassini mission, innovative students and an expert on de…
00:45:51 |
Wed 20 Jun 2018
A Conversation with Freeman Dyson
There’s so much more to Freeman Dyson than the Dyson Sphere. The mathematician, physicist, futurist and author is one of the greatest and most original minds of our era. He has much to say to Mat K…
00:39:38 |
Wed 13 Jun 2018
It’s Rocket Science: Testing PlanetVac in the Mojave Desert
Join Mat Kaplan in California’s Mojave Desert for special coverage of not one but two rocket flights and a real world test of PlanetVac, the innovative, radically simple way to collect surface sample…
00:48:59 |
Wed 06 Jun 2018
Space Policy Edition: Space Policy Directive 2—This Time it's Commercial
President Trump just signed a new space policy directive targeting the regulations surrounding commercial spaceflight. Casey Dreier, Jason Davis and Mat Kaplan dive into the implications of the new d…
01:11:49 |
Fri 01 Jun 2018
A Sacred Place: The National Air and Space Museum with Ellen Stofan
Planetary geologist Ellen Stofan has just become Director of the most popular museum in the United States. The NASM protects and shares the greatest collection of space and aviation treasures on Ear…
00:35:01 |
Wed 30 May 2018
Chasing New Horizons to Pluto with Alan Stern and David Grinspoon
The New Horizons mission was a triumph, revealing Pluto as an utterly unique and beautiful world. But the mission first had to survive challenge after challenge, fighting to be developed, meeting a n…
00:56:35 |
Wed 23 May 2018
Why Mars? We’ve Got the Answers
The great adventure awaits! Mat Kaplan hosts an entertaining panel discussion at the 2018 Humans to Mars Summit in Washington DC. Eight guests provide their diverse and inspiring reasons for humans …
00:38:55 |
Wed 16 May 2018
Amy Mainzer: Asteroid Hunter
After taking over 10 million images of more than 30,000 solar system objects, the NEOWISE mission is finally in its last months. Principal Investigator Amy Mainzer returns with an update on this phe…
00:38:05 |
Wed 09 May 2018
Space Policy Edition: A Commercial Future for the Space Station?
After announcing it intends to divest from the International Space Station in 2025, NASA quietly released a new report on its transition plans, laying out a series of principles that will set the fut…
01:04:54 |
Fri 04 May 2018
All Shook Up: The InSight Mission to Mars
No mission to Mars has done what InSight will do. The lander’s spectacularly sensitive instruments will use the Red Planet’s heat and marsquakes to reveal its deep interior while also revealing secr…
01:23:34 |
Wed 02 May 2018
Planetary Radio Live! – Celebrating Curiosity on Mars
Join us for an utterly fascinating live conversation with Emily Lakdawalla about her brand new book, The Design and Engineering of Curiosity: How the Mars Rover Performs Its Job. Also joining us at C…
01:37:00 |
Wed 25 Apr 2018
Yuri’s Night 2018!
Host Mat Kaplan once again attends the worldwide party for space. Join him at the Los Angeles celebration under Space Shuttle Endeavour. You’ll hear conversations with astronauts Nicole Stott and A…
00:56:18 |
Wed 18 Apr 2018
Visiting the Earth-Like Worlds of TRAPPIST-1
We have begun to understand the composition of worlds that are hundreds of trillions of kilometers from Earth. Astronomer Nikole Lewis is co-leader of a team that has used the Hubble Space Telescope …
00:31:24 |
Wed 11 Apr 2018
Space Policy Edition: Lori Garver on what a NASA Administrator (and Deputy) actually does
Lori Garver, former Deputy Administrator of NASA, talks with Casey about what the Deputy and Administrator jobs are like day-to-day, how decisions actually get made at the top, and why the current la…
01:17:07 |
Fri 06 Apr 2018
AI, Space, and Humanity’s Future—A Conversation with David Brin
The multi-award winning science fiction author, futurist and speaker returns to Planetary Radio for a wide-ranging conversation about robots and humans in space, empathetic artificial intelligences, …
01:09:23 |
Wed 04 Apr 2018
A Space Station Crashes to Earth
By the time you hear this week’s episode, China’s Tiangong-1 may have spectacularly re-entered our planet’s atmosphere, raining metal on an unpredictable location. The Aerospace Corporation’s Bill A…
00:51:19 |
Wed 28 Mar 2018
Stephen Hawking: Spaceflight Pioneer!
He is known for his breakthrough physics and popularizing of science, but Dr. Hawking also wanted to fly in space. Erik Viirre led the medical team that helped Stephen experience weightlessness. He …
00:40:20 |
Wed 21 Mar 2018
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