The Cosmic Controversy Podcast
Cosmic Controversy covers past and present issues in aerospace and astronomy with your host --- science journalist, Forbes contributor and ”Distant Wanderers: The Search for Planets Beyond the Solar System” author Bruce Dorminey.
- Update frequency
- every 6 days
- Average duration
- 58 minutes
- Episodes
- 67
- Years Active
- 2020 - 2021
Episode 47 --- How Palomar Observatory Changed Almost Everything We Knew About Astronomy
Astronomer and author Linda Schweizer talks about her comprehensive new history of Palomar Observatory --- “Cosmic Odyssey: How Intrepid Astronomers At Palomar Observatory Changed Our View of the Un…
Episode 46 – Harvard Geologist Andy Knoll Sums Up The Grand Sweep Of Earth’s History
Harvard University geologist Andrew H. Knoll takes on the grand sweep of Earth’s formation and evolution in his new book “A Brief History of Earth: Four Billion Years in Eight Chapters. He succinctl…
Episode 45 --- The Incredible Story of Flying Tiger Flight 923’s North Atlantic Ditching
Author Eric Lindner talks about his forthcoming book, “Tiger in the Sea: The Ditching of Flying Tiger 923 and the Desperate Struggle for Survival.” The September 23, 1962 Flying Tiger Line passenge…
Episode 44 --- ESA’s Upcoming Euclid Dark Energy Survey
Fascinating new chat with Michael Seiffert, the NASA project scientist for the U.S. contribution to the European Space Agency’s Euclid spacecraft. Due for launch in the second half of 2022, we discu…
Episode 43 --- What Future And Final Galaxy Surveys Will Teach Us About The Cosmos
Jason Rhodes, a cosmologist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, and the JPL Roman Space Telescope Project Scientist, discusses a proposed galaxy survey to end all galaxy surveys. One th…
Episode 42 --- Neil DeGrasse Tyson Talks About His New Book “Cosmic Queries”
Astrophysicist Neil DeGrasse Tyson, director of the Hayden Planetarium at the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) in New York City, discusses everything from pond scum to space aliens in this o…
Episode 41 --- The History Of Space Exploration In 100 Objects
Award-winning NASA astrophysicist and author Sten Odenwald discusses several of the 100 objects featured in his 2019 book: “Space Exploration: A History in 100 Objects.” I pick a few of the lesser…
Episode 40 --- Cosmic Cataclysms And The Evolution Of Intelligent Life On Earth
I welcome renowned evolutionary paleobiologist Bruce S. Lieberman, a professor at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, who is an expert on how cosmic cataclysms have impacted the evolution of life h…
Episode 39 --- What NASA’s Perseverance Rover Is Teaching The Rest Of Us.
NASA’s Rob Manning, JPL’s Chief Engineer, discusses management, logistics, innovation and the future of robotic Mars exploration in this unique episode. With this week’s successful landing of the Pe…
Episode 38 --- The Trouble With Dark Energy
Nearly 25 years after its discovery, the mystery at the core of dark energy persists. Astronomers are no closer to understanding what’s behind this cosmic repulsive force that counteracts gravity an…
Episode 37 --- Is Oumuamua, Our Solar System’s 1st Identified Interstellar Asteroid, Actually An Alien Probe?
Did an alien lightsail traverse our solar system in 2017? Harvard University astronomer Avi Loeb thinks so. In today’s episode, I welcome Loeb to discuss his bestselling book --- “Extraterrestrial:…
Episode 36 --- NASA Aims For The Geophysical Heart Of Mars
I welcome Bruce Banerdt, the principal investigator for NASA’s Mars InSight lander, which has been operating on the Martian surface for two years now. Although it’s had some technical issues, it’s o…
Episode 35 ---America’s Heroic World War II Air Raid On Ploesti --- The ‘Taproot’ Of Nazi Oil
Few if any of you will have ever heard of Ploesti. But it’s a Romanian city that was what Winston Churchill called the taproot of Nazi might due to its many oil high-quality oil refineries overtaken…
Episode 34 --- Why Geology Is Crucial To Unlocking The Mysteries Of Our Solar System
Planetary geophysicist Erik Asphaug of the University of Arizona discusses what we really know about our solar system; its age; its formation; and its evolution. Asphaug also addresses some major puz…
Episode 33 --- How Pan Am Changed The World
The spectacular rise and fall of Pan Am from flying boats to 747s. International best-selling author and former Pan Am captain Robert Gandt gives me the inside scoop on Pan American World Airways, f…
Episode 32 --- How Deep Space Navigation Is Revolutionizing Planetary Science
Deep space navigator Coralie Adam explains the tricky navigation needed to guide NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft on its flyby of the Pluto system in 2015. The spacecraft continues operation today. M…
Episode 31 --- Interstellar Propulsion --- What We Need to Make Star Trek Real
Propulsion physicist Marc Millis talks about the prospects for fast, efficient interstellar travel. Millis was head of NASA’s Breakthrough Propulsion Program at Glenn Research Center outside Clevela…
Episode 30 --- Uranus and Neptune --- Our Solar System’s Mysterious Ice Giants
Renowned planetary astronomer Heidi Hammel and I chat about our solar system’s mysterious ice giant planets, Uranus and Neptune. There’s only been one flyby of these giant planets by NASA’s Voyager …
Episode 29 --- How the Cold War Spurred the Race for Supersonic Flight
The age of supersonic flight officially began after World War II, when the late Chuck Yeager pushed the Bell X-1 test aircraft beyond the speed of sound (Mach 1) in October 1947. But bestselling aut…
Episode 28 --- The Glenn Miller Disappearance: One of World War II’s Greatest Aviation Mysteries
Big band historian and author Dennis Spragg talks about the music, the legacy, and the tragic disappearance of the American big band icon, Glenn Miller. We cover what shaped his unique sound; his dr…