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 Bonus: Q&A with Casey Dreier and Bill Nye
A special Space Policy Edition featuring a recent policy and advocacy webcast that gave Planetary Society members the opportunity to query Chief Advocate Casey Dreier and Society CEO Bill Nye.
01:38:57 |
Fri 04 Nov 2022
DART smacked an asteroid! So what’s next in planetary defense?
The Double Asteroid Redirection Test was a brilliant success. The leaders of NASA’s Planetary Defense Coordination Office tell us what’s next in the quest to protect Earth.
00:56:27 |
Wed 02 Nov 2022
Meet the new Planetary Radio host! (and enjoy a beer with a cosmologist)
20 years after its creation, Mat Kaplan is ready to introduce the great new host of Planetary Radio. We also join an assembly of astrophysicists as they toast each other and the cosmos.
00:48:08 |
Wed 26 Oct 2022
Eyes on the Sky: Spacewatch and the Catalina Sky Survey
Meet leaders of two of the most successful Earth-based searches for asteroids, including many that could threaten Earth.
01:02:36 |
Wed 19 Oct 2022
Innovate! NASA’s leading-edge fellows share their amazing projects
Join us at the 2022 NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) Symposium for a taste of projects that just might change the world.
01:01:04 |
Wed 12 Oct 2022
Space Policy Edition: The Geopolitics of a Successful SETI Detection
How will nations react if (when?) humanity detects the presence of an alien intelligence or civilization? That’s the topic Planetary Society Chief Advocate Casey Dreier takes up with his guest, astro…
01:02:44 |
Fri 07 Oct 2022
Grounded: The director of the SOFIA flying observatory looks back
Director of SOFIA Science Mission Operations Margaret Meixner joins us to lament the end of the giant flying observatory and to celebrate its tremendous successes.
00:44:08 |
Wed 05 Oct 2022
Bull’s-eye! DART impacts Dimorphos, and we meet space image artist and processor Judy Schmidt
Listen as the Double Asteroid Redirection Test spacecraft closes in on asteroid Dimorphos, followed by a triumphant conversation with DART Coordination Lead Nancy Chabot, and a visit with space image…
01:08:44 |
Wed 28 Sep 2022
Countdown to DART: Will We Move an Asteroid?
The DART spacecraft’s impact on asteroid moonlet Dimorphos is days away, so we’ll check in with Mission Coordination Lead Nancy Chabot as well as Simone Pirrotta, program manager for the LICIACube pr…
00:52:44 |
Wed 21 Sep 2022
It’s Not Just NASA: Space Agency Leaders at the Artemis 1 Launch Attempt
Leaders of several major, international space agencies talked with host Mat Kaplan during the first attempt to launch the Artemis 1 Moon mission.
01:18:00 |
Wed 14 Sep 2022
Countdown to Artemis, The Return to the Moon
Join Mat Kaplan and Planetary Society colleagues in Florida for the first attempt to launch the Space Launch System rocket on a mission to the Moon.
01:10:54 |
Wed 07 Sep 2022
Space Policy Edition: Mike Gold on Crafting the Artemis Accords
Former NASA Associate Administrator Mike Gold shepherded the Artemis Accords, a set of bilateral agreements for collaboration in human space exploration. Casey Dreier spoke with him in Florida as we …
01:03:41 |
Fri 02 Sep 2022
The Voyager Mission: A 45th Anniversary Celebration
It’s a party for Voyager and the team of scientists, engineers and others who have followed it across our solar system. Then we’ll visit with Ann Druyan, creative director for the Voyager Golden Reco…
01:18:42 |
Wed 31 Aug 2022
Pieces of Mars: How We’ll Get Them to Earth
Getting precious Mars rocks into Earthbound labs is an unprecedented challenge. We’ll hear how a lander, a rocket, a big solar-powered transfer vehicle and two helicopters will take on this challenge…
00:38:35 |
Wed 24 Aug 2022
A Venus Phosphine Scoop! The Return of Jane Greaves
Delightful astronomer Jane Greaves is back with the latest evidence for phosphine gas in the atmosphere of Venus.
00:48:07 |
Wed 17 Aug 2022
Comets Stink! The Chemical Zoo Found at Comet Chury
Scientists have found a menagerie of complex organic compounds on the comet visited by the Rosetta spacecraft that connect it with the birth of our solar system.
00:43:04 |
Wed 10 Aug 2022
Space Policy Edition: Lori Garver on Bringing Change to NASA
Former NASA deputy administrator Lori Garver returns for a deep conversation with Casey Dreier about her fight to turn the agency toward commercial partnerships and away from the expensive Constellat…
01:13:13 |
Fri 05 Aug 2022
Citizen Science: Join the search for Martian clouds
Scientists need your help identifying clouds high above the surface of the red planet. The goal is figuring out where Mars’ water went.
00:35:07 |
Wed 03 Aug 2022
New Jet Propulsion Lab Director Laurie Leshin
Laurie Leshin has just become the tenth director of JPL and the first woman to run the fabled center for space science and robotic exploration.
01:01:08 |
Wed 27 Jul 2022
Science from the Moon, and former NASA chief scientist Jim Green looks back
The former director of NASA’s Planetary Science division, Jim Green, retired as the agency’s chief scientist in January. This episode opens with a special announcement from host Mat Kaplan.
01:19:59 |
Wed 20 Jul 2022
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