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
Amateur Astronomers Work To Save Earth From Asteroids!
Seven astronomers have been selected to receive Shoemaker NEO (Near Earth Object) grants from the Planetary Society. They and their observatories span the planet. We’ll meet an American and an Aust…
00:36:35 |
Wed 14 Mar 2018
Visiting the Birthplace of PlanetVac
Space is hard. Sample collection and return is harder still. That’s why the radically-simplified PlanetVac system from Honeybee Robotics is so intriguing. Join Planetary Society Chief Scientist Br…
00:44:54 |
Wed 07 Mar 2018
Space Policy Edition #23 - Blitzing Congress: Planetary Society volunteers visit Capitol Hill
Society members from 21 states descended on the U.S. capitol for a "blitz" of 178 meetings in two days. Casey and special guest Matt Renninger explain why that is such an important activity, and blit…
00:35:34 |
Fri 02 Mar 2018
Experience A Message From Earth - Inspired by the Voyager Golden Record
It has been 40 years since Carl Sagan and others shared the best of humanity with the stars. A new online multimedia project has been created as a 21st century homage to the Golden Record. We visit …
00:49:04 |
Wed 28 Feb 2018
The Eyes of a New Mars Rover: Mastcam-Z
Mat Kaplan attended a meeting of the science team for the zoom lens camera that will be atop the Mars 2020 rover mast. Planetary Scientist Jim Bell tells us how this new system will show us the Red …
00:49:32 |
Wed 21 Feb 2018
Space Policy Edition Special: The 2019 President’s Budget Request Unveiled
As promised, Casey Dreier and Jason Callahan are back with a special review of the just-released FY 2019 President’s Budget Request (PBR) for NASA. It contains good news, bad news and odd news. What…
00:53:12 |
Fri 16 Feb 2018
A New Congressional Caucus Backs Planetary Science
Republican Randy Hultgren and Democrat Derek Kilmer celebrate formation of the new bipartisan, bicameral caucus of US representatives and senators. They have united behind exploration of our and oth…
00:41:59 |
Wed 14 Feb 2018
Space, SETI, the Singularity and Shostak
Where is everybody? That was the question physicist Enrico Fermi asked when he wondered why we hadn’t yet met ET. What will happen if we do? Will humans lose the will to explore? These and other que…
00:59:05 |
Wed 07 Feb 2018
Space Policy Edition #21: Bill Nye and the State of the Union
Planetary Society CEO Bill Nye attended the State of the Union address on January 30th, he also spent the day meeting with sixteen different members of Congress to promote science on Capitol Hill. In…
00:30:28 |
Fri 02 Feb 2018
Going to Sea to Sail Through Space: Orion Ocean Recovery Testing
Join Mat Kaplan on a visit to Naval Base San Diego and the USS Anchorage, the amphibious ship that has just completed a round of Orion spacecraft recovery testing and practice. You’ll hear from the …
00:38:31 |
Wed 31 Jan 2018
Living in Space!
Mat Kaplan talks with participants in the National Space Society’s recent Space Settlement Summit about human destiny in space. There’s a consensus that we are making real progress, both technologica…
00:37:56 |
Wed 24 Jan 2018
It’s a Hard Rain on Titan
A computer model based on our best data about Saturn’s cloud-shrouded moon says that torrential liquid methane pounds the surface far more frequently than previously expected. Sean Faulk and Jonathan…
00:43:41 |
Wed 17 Jan 2018
Mysterious Tabby’s Star, With Tabby Herself
It may not host an alien “megastructure” but Tabby’s Star still guards many mysteries of science. Astronomer and astrophysicist Tabetha “Tabby” Boyajian leads the worldwide team that is revealing thi…
00:44:46 |
Wed 10 Jan 2018
Space Policy Edition #20: Looking back on the year in space policy. Also, your questions!
It’s the space policy guys’ turn to look back at a year that saw great achievements in space. Were they matched by events in Washington DC? Casey and Jason also explore their hopes and fears for 20…
01:03:48 |
Fri 05 Jan 2018
Looking Back, Looking Forward with the Planetary Society All-Stars
Mat’s first-ever four-way conversation with Jason Davis, Casey Dreier and Emily Lakdawalla reviews the biggest 2017 events in space exploration and provides their predictions of what to look for in t…
01:18:52 |
Wed 03 Jan 2018
Flowing Water on Mars? Not So Much
Mars scientists dubbed them recurring slope lineae or RSLs. They sure looked like evidence of liquid water flowing down hillsides and ridges on the Red Planet. New research led by US Geological Sur…
00:30:58 |
Wed 27 Dec 2017
Exploring the Latest Planetary Science Discoveries With Emily Lakdawalla
A holiday edition of Planetary Radio welcomes the Planetary Society’s Senior Editor back from the annual meeting of the American Geophysical Union. Emily reports on amazing developments in planetary …
00:37:56 |
Wed 20 Dec 2017
President Trump Sets Course for the Moon
On December 11th President Donald Trump signed a memorandum that firmly points the US space effort toward the Moon, but without providing many details. Planetary Society Director of Space Policy Case…
00:31:53 |
Wed 13 Dec 2017
A Visitor From the Stars: ‘Oumuamua
The first confirmed interstellar visitor to our solar system is a needle-shaped asteroid given the Hawaiian name ‘Oumuamua. Karen Meech leads the team that is learning as much about it as possible b…
00:47:24 |
Wed 06 Dec 2017
Space Policy Edition #19: When did the private space age begin? Much earlier than you think.
Elon Musk. Jeff Bezos. Richard Branson. These are the names we tend to associate with the current era of private space exploration. But what about John Qunicy Adams, James Lick, or Charles Yerkes?
01:32:59 |
Fri 01 Dec 2017
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