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 High Frontier: A New Documentary About Gerard K. O’Neill
Gerard K. O’Neill envisioned vast, magnificent human settlements in space. His followers, including Jeff Bezos, are working to turn his vision into reality.
00:55:23 |
Wed 14 Apr 2021
The First Space Shuttle Pilot: Bob Crippen on the 40th Anniversary of STS-1
Robert Crippen and John Young became the first humans to fly a space shuttle into orbit when Columbia launched on April 12, 1981.
01:11:07 |
Wed 07 Apr 2021
Space Policy Edition: Biden Names His NASA Administrator
It looks like former senator Bill Nelson will be NASA’s next administrator. Casey Dreier and Mat Kaplan talk about his nomination and other developments in Washington D.C., including The Planetary So…
00:58:41 |
Fri 02 Apr 2021
NASA’s TESS Exoplanet Mission Finds Over 2,000 Possible New Worlds
Exoplanet hunter and artist Natalia Guerrero of MIT reveals the discovery of many more possible new worlds by NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite.
00:55:02 |
Wed 31 Mar 2021
The Perseverance Rover and a Great First Month on Mars
Perseverance rover deputy project scientists Katie Stack Morgan and Ken Williford share the latest developments from Mars’ newest robot resident.
01:00:02 |
Wed 24 Mar 2021
Return From Ryugu: The Hayabusa2 Leader on His Mission’s Success
Hayabusa2 project manager Yuichi Tsuda shares the exciting success of Japan’s sample return mission ti asteroid Ryugu.
00:51:05 |
Wed 17 Mar 2021
InSight’s Mole: A Martian Science Odyssey
NASA engineer and scientist Troy Hudson shares the sad but ultimately inspiring story of a two-year attempt to dig deep beneath the surface of Mars.
00:55:38 |
Wed 10 Mar 2021
Space Policy Edition: SpaceX's Early, Desperate Days (with Eric Berger)
Elon Musk’s SpaceX nearly failed 15 years ago as it struggled to launch its first rocket. Eric Berger has written about this challenging early era and how it helped create today’s successful, innovat…
01:01:17 |
Fri 05 Mar 2021
Spinoffs: How NASA Technologies Benefit Life on Earth
We examine a few of the thousands of technologies and innovations developed by NASA that are making lives better around our planet.
00:51:36 |
Wed 03 Mar 2021
Touchdown! The Sights and Sounds of Perseverance on Mars
The Mars 2020 rover is on Mars. We have collected the most thrilling moments from the landing and the revelations that followed, including the first sounds recorded on the Red Planet. Bill Nye congra…
00:52:47 |
Wed 24 Feb 2021
Planetfest ’21: To Mars and Back Again
The Planetary Society’s Planetfest ’21 celebrated Mars and the newest visitors to the Red Planet. Mat Kaplan shares some of his Planetfest conversation with Andy Weir, author of The Martian. We also…
00:43:40 |
Wed 17 Feb 2021
The Big Book of Mars: Our Obsession with the Red Planet
Mars has commanded our attention and stimulated our imaginations for millenia. Now, as 3 more spacecraft arrive, we talk with author Marc Hartzman about his new book that documents the fascination an…
01:01:14 |
Wed 10 Feb 2021
Space Policy Edition: The Big Picture on U.S. Science Funding
Matt Hourihan is perhaps the world's most knowledgeable expert in how the U.S. government funds basic science and development activities. He joins the show to talk about the big picture of where the …
01:18:30 |
Fri 05 Feb 2021
A Cosmic Odyssey: Decades of Discovery at the Palomar Observatory
How astronomers at California’s Palomar Observatory revolutionized our understanding of the cosmos.
00:51:25 |
Wed 03 Feb 2021
‘Oumuamua: Avi Loeb says it may have been artificial
Is interstellar object ‘Oumuamua an alien artifact? Harvard professor Avi Loeb explores his theory in a new book and in a fascinating conversation with Mat Kaplan.
00:55:11 |
Wed 27 Jan 2021
7 More Minutes of Terror: Perseverance Arrives at Mars
JPL engineer Gregory Villar prepares us for the perilous descent and landing of the 2020 Mars rover on February 18th.
00:45:17 |
Wed 20 Jan 2021
Space Policy Edition: A Mob at the U.S. Capitol
Casey Drier and our special guest, former National Space Council chief of staff Jared Zambrano-Stout, consider the troubling events at the U.S. Capitol in this special episode.
01:00:49 |
Fri 15 Jan 2021
A Symphony for 7 Moons
Composer Amanda Lee Falkenberg is joined by Cassini project scientist Linda Spilker and retired astronaut Nicole Stott as she shares excerpts from The Moons Symphony.
01:12:10 |
Wed 13 Jan 2021
Solar Cruiser: A Giant Sail Prepares for Space
NASA has given the green light to Principal Investigator Les Johnson and his team for construction of a solar sail that dwarfs all that have come before.
00:50:43 |
Wed 06 Jan 2021
Planetary Society All-Stars Review 2020 Space Milestones
In spite of everything, 2020 was a good year for space exploration according to five of The Planetary Society’s experts.
01:11:43 |
Wed 30 Dec 2020
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