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
The Pale Red Dot: A Planet Called Proxima b
The announcement was made just days ago. Co-discoverer Michael Endl tells us about the discovery of a roughly Earth-mass planet orbiting in the habitable zone of the closest star to our own. Juno ha…
00:35:33 |
Tue 30 Aug 2016
Could the Soviet Union Have Won the Space Race?
Space historian and policy expert John Logsdon joins Mat Kaplan for a fascinating conversation about how the US could have lost the race to the moon. Emily Lakdawalla prepares us for the launch of O…
00:46:50 |
Tue 23 Aug 2016
Sailing the Canyons of Titan
Steep canyons on Saturn's moon Titan are filled with liquid methane. That's the discovery just announced by an international team of Cassini scientists, including Alex Hayes. Emily Lakdawalla takes u…
00:38:40 |
Tue 16 Aug 2016
Subcontractors: Making Space Happen
You may never hear their names, but there are thousands of small to medium-sized companies without which space exploration and development wouldn’t happen. Bill Nye talkis about STEAMed education th…
00:28:51 |
Tue 09 Aug 2016
Space Policy Edition #3: Yoking Europa Missions to the SLS, Cost of the Next Mars Rover Rises, and the Long-Awaited Return of Plutonium-238
In our third episode, we debate the risks and rewards of tying the future of a Europa mission to the fate of NASA's massive Space Launch System rocket. Also, NASA just announced that the next Mars ro…
01:03:06 |
Fri 05 Aug 2016
Interstellar Dreams Turn Real
Philip Lubin and his former student Travis Brashears have had quite a year. Their bold plan to send tiny probes to nearby stars is now supported by NASA and the Breakthrough Starshot $100 million do…
01:26:02 |
Tue 02 Aug 2016
Anatomy of a Rover—Getting Down to Mars
It takes a lot of terrific components to create a successful spacecraft like Curiosity, the Mars Science Laboratory. We’ll visit JPL to learn about the Terminal Descent Sensor radar that will once ag…
00:36:41 |
Tue 26 Jul 2016
The Eagle Has Landed: Remembering Neil Armstrong
We celebrate the 47th anniversary of the first moon landing with the reprise of a conversation with author and NBC space reporter Jay Barbree about his trusted friend Neil Armstrong.
00:28:51 |
Tue 19 Jul 2016
Juno Reaches Jupiter!
Return with us to the evening of July 4, 2016 and the exciting arrival at Jupiter of the Juno orbiter. You’ll hear the moment of successful orbital insertion. Several of the mission’s key contributor…
00:48:26 |
Tue 12 Jul 2016
Fighting for Space: Former NASA Deputy Administrator Lori Garver
She has spent most of her life working toward a bright future for humanity in space, and Lori Garver has lost none of her passion. She visited the Planetary Society for a wide-ranging conversation wi…
00:38:09 |
Tue 05 Jul 2016
Planetary Radio: Space Policy Edition #2--Why Juno? Why Jupiter? Why Now?
This month Jason Callahan, Casey Dreier and Mat Kaplan ask whether the Moon vs. Mars human destination debate makes sense, examine a new report on CubeSats by the National Academies, and explain how …
01:09:16 |
Fri 01 Jul 2016
Countdown to Jupiter
Juno will enter Jupiter orbit on July 4th. Mat Kaplan talks with the mission’s Principal Investigator, Scott Bolton at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Bill Nye helps prepare us for this exciting enc…
00:40:14 |
Tue 28 Jun 2016
Planetary Radio Extra: Shining a Million Watt Flashlight on an Asteroid
PlanRad’s celebration of Asteroid Day (June 30th) continues as we call UCLA grad student Adam Greenberg at the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico. Under the direction of Professor Jean-Luc Margot, A…
00:19:36 |
Tue 28 Jun 2016
OSIRIS REx: Ready for a Voyage to Bennu
OSIRIS-REx will launch toward Near Earth Asteroid Bennu soon. In an early celebration of Asteroid Day, mission leader Dante Lauretta tells us how learning about asteroids may teach us about our own o…
00:34:18 |
Tue 21 Jun 2016
JunoCam, The People’s Jupiter Camera
The Juno spacecraft will enter orbit at Jupiter on July 4. It carries a camera that will send back spectacular images from just above the swirling clouds of that mighty planet. Planetary scientist Ca…
00:31:47 |
Tue 14 Jun 2016
Chris McKay, Larry Niven and Andy Weir at the Contact Conference
Space art and science fiction joined science fact at the 2016 Contact Conference in Sunnyvale, California. We talk with three well-known visionaries.
00:32:32 |
Tue 07 Jun 2016
Space Policy Edition #1-How We Got Here: Human Spaceflight at the End of the Obama Era
In the premiere of this new monthly series we briefly examine the latest move by the House of Representatives in the game of NASA's budget and then discuss what Lockheed Martin's new "Mars Base Camp"…
01:08:34 |
Fri 03 Jun 2016
Getting Humans to Mars
Three NASA leaders talk with host Mat Kaplan about the progress we're making toward leaving footprints on the Red Planet.
00:56:32 |
Tue 31 May 2016
Big Test for LightSail2
The Planetary Society’s solar sail spacecraft was in the middle of a critical test as we spoke with the Society’s Bruce Betts and Jason Davis. Mat Kaplan tells Senior Editor Emily Lakdawalla why he’…
00:29:57 |
Tue 24 May 2016
NASA Science Leader John Grunsfeld
Astronaut and NASA Associate Administrator John Grunsfeld closes our coverage of the Space Foundation’s 32nd annual Space Symposium in Colorado Springs. We also meet the leaders of the New Generatio…
00:28:51 |
Tue 17 May 2016
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