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
Aerospace Corporation President and CEO Steve Isakowitz
The Aerospace Corporation has been innovating since 1960. Now it’s headed by a former leader of “New Space” company Virgin Galactic. President and CEO Steve Isakowitz talks about the evolving cultur…
00:58:10 |
Wed 12 Apr 2017
Space Policy Edition #11 – Big Science and a Skinny Budget
Whether it’s discovering gravity waves, curing cancer or building a space station, the biggest science challenges increasingly require investments that are beyond what private industry can afford and…
01:19:07 |
Fri 07 Apr 2017
Mars’ Atmosphere…Lost in Space!
Mars was once a warm and wet world. Then its dense, protective atmosphere mostly vanished. Learning why was one of the greatest mysteries in planetary science. The answer has just been delivered by t…
00:33:17 |
Wed 05 Apr 2017
Nancy Atkinson’s Incredible Stories from Space
The longtime editor of outstanding online space news source Universe Today has just written about nine robotic missions of exploration in Incredible Stories From Space—A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the…
00:47:09 |
Wed 29 Mar 2017
Ready for Space: LightSail 2 Update
The Planetary Society’s LightSail 2 solar sail spacecraft is ready to be packed away for its ride to orbit on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket. Mat Kaplan checks the mission’s status with team members in…
00:34:50 |
Wed 22 Mar 2017
The Great American Eclipse—Be Part of It!
It’s coming! Will you be in the path of totality? Astronomers Without Borders President Mike Simmons says be there if you can. He also tells us about AWB’s Google-funded outreach program that will…
00:36:27 |
Wed 15 Mar 2017
Hope for Pluto—Should We Re-Redefine Planets?
Planetary geologist Kirby Runyon is lead author of an abstract that proposes a new, geophysical definition of what a planet is.
00:33:51 |
Wed 08 Mar 2017
Space Policy Edition #10 - Special Guest Laura Delgado Lopez, SpaceX to the Moon, looming budget cuts
Laura Delgado Lopez from the Harris Corporation joins us to talk about the growing number of countries getting into the space business, particularly in Latin America. Laura previously spent a combine…
01:19:25 |
Fri 03 Mar 2017
The Worlds of TRAPPIST-1
The discovery of seven, Earth-sized planets in a nearby solar system was announced last week. Astrophysicist and planetary scientist Sara Seager was part of the NASA press conference. Now she joins …
00:33:57 |
Wed 01 Mar 2017
Planetary Radio Live: Near Earth Objects—The Killer Asteroid Threat
Leaders of the quest to find, understand and protect ourselves from the asteroids and comets called Near Earth Objects gathered with host Mat Kaplan for a live conversation about this existential thr…
01:38:53 |
Wed 22 Feb 2017
Nazis in Space? Rod Pyle’s Amazing Stories of the Space Age
Rod Pyle reveals bizarre yet fascinating space projects of the past in his new book. Pyle also exposes previously classified information about missions and spacecraft you thought you knew. Bill Nye…
00:52:55 |
Wed 15 Feb 2017
Earth Microbes! Welcome to Mars
University of Arkansas grad student Rebecca Mickol and her team have demonstrated that some Earth bacteria can survive in the extremely thin atmosphere of Mars. Could Martian bacteria thrive under th…
00:33:42 |
Tue 07 Feb 2017
Space Policy Edition #9 – Congress Plots New Space Legislation Amid Trump’s Tumultuous First Two Weeks
It’s still too early to say where the Trump Administration will take NASA, but there are a few hints. Congress is not waiting. Casey, Jason and Mat review a draft of the space agency’s authorization…
00:48:34 |
Mon 06 Feb 2017
The Final Countdown at Saturn
Planetary Radio’s most frequent guest, Project Scientist Linda Spilker, returns with another update on the Cassini mission that is approaching its grand finale. Senior editor Emily Lakdawalla has a …
00:46:17 |
Tue 31 Jan 2017
Ice, Snow and Lava: Exploring Antarctica’s Mount Erebus
Earth’s southernmost active volcano may also be its most remote. Rosaly Lopes and Michael Carroll recently spent a few frigid days on the slopes of Antarctica’s Mount Erebus. What they learned may h…
00:42:28 |
Tue 24 Jan 2017
Chief Scientist Ellen Stofan Leaves NASA
For well over three years, planetary scientist Ellen Stofan has worked directly with NASA Administrator Charles Bolden to help coordinate and expand the myriad science efforts by the agency. We talk …
00:50:23 |
Tue 17 Jan 2017
Ben Miller Says The Aliens are Coming!
British physicist turned comedian and actor Ben Miller has written The Aliens are Coming-- The Extraordinary Science Behind our Search for Life in the Universe. It starts with the Big Bang and takes…
01:13:12 |
Tue 10 Jan 2017
Space Policy Edition #8 - A Transition "Trumpdate", 2016 in Review, and Answering Your Questions
After an opening update on the presidential transition, Casey, Jason and Mat share their nominees for the biggest space exploration events of 2016. Then they take on fascinating questions submitted b…
01:19:20 |
Thu 05 Jan 2017
A Little Rocket Company Shoots for the Moon
CEO Randa Milliron introduces us to Interorbital Systems, which wants to put your payload in orbit for as little as $8,000. Can they do it? Emily Lakdawalla returns with a preview of 2017’s biggest s…
00:57:33 |
Tue 03 Jan 2017
Marvelous Martian MAVEN
MAVEN, the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution orbiter, has gone a long way toward solving the mystery of the Red Planet’s missing water and air. The University of Colorado’s Nick Schneider says …
00:38:32 |
Tue 27 Dec 2016
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