Planetary Radio

Jun 14 2023 589 ep. 51 mins 272

Planetary Radio Podcast artwork

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!

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The oldest organic molecules in the known Universe

Jun 14 2023 51 mins

Justin Spilker and his colleagues at Texas A&M University have detected the oldest and most distant organic molecules in the known Universe using the James Webb Space Telescope. Justin joins Planetary Radio to talk about the discovery and what it means for our understanding of star formation in the early Universe. We also share what to spot in the night sky this week and pay ho

Starstruck with Sarafina El-Badry Nance

Jun 07 2023 54 mins

Sarafina El-Badry Nance joins Planetary Radio to discuss her new book, Starstruck: A Memoir of Astrophysics and Finding Light in the Dark. We share a beautiful poem about exploration that will soon be on its way to Europa and let you know how you can put your name on the upcoming Europa Clipper mission. Then we check in with Bruce Betts for What's Up and an update on this week's ni

Space Policy Edition: The policy implications of active SETI

Jun 02 2023 77 mins

Would meeting an extraterrestrial civilization be good or bad for humanity? Astronomer Dr. Jacob Haqq Misra argues that knowing the outcome in advance is fundamentally impossible, which results in a range of policy implications. Should we camouflage Earth's technosignatures or pour money into perhaps the most transformative event in human history? Should we fear the dark or embrace

The Science You’ve Enabled

May 31 2023 50 mins

The Planetary Society has just announced the latest awards in its Science and Technology Enabled by the Public (STEP) Grant program. With regular host Sarah Al-Ahmed on vacation, Mat Kaplan returns to introduce the principal investigator for a project that will prepare us to grow food on the Moon and Mars. Another PI and his team plan to analyze extreme life in super salty lakes. P

Exoplanet enigma: Unpacking the discovery of a "forbidden" planet

May 24 2023 50 mins

This week on Planetary Radio, Shubham Kanodia, the lead on a paper about a so-called“forbidden planet,” TOI 5202 b, joins us to talk about this strange world and why it's upending our understanding of planetary formation. Then Bruce Betts and Sarah Al-Ahmed will team up for What's Up, a look back at this week in space history, and a preview of the upcoming night sky. Discover m

Inspiring the next generation through space education

May 17 2023 75 mins

In this week's episode of Planetary Radio, we're honoring the educators who inspire young, curious minds to explore the marvels of the Cosmos. We’ll speak with guests from The Planetary Academy, the Griffith Observatory School Program, and Mt. Wilson's STEM Education program, all of whom are paving the way for the next generation of space enthusiasts and explorers. Then we'll che

The case for saving VERITAS

May 10 2023 60 mins

NASA's VERITAS mission to Venus is currently on an indefinite hold. Darby Dyar, Deputy Principal Investigator for the mission, joins Planetary Radio to share the human story behind the spacecraft. She provides an insightful overview of the mission's background, its intended scientific contributions, and how listeners can help advocate for the mission. Then Bruce Betts guides us thr

Space Policy Edition: SpaceX's Starship vs. the environment, with Eric Roesch

May 05 2023 80 mins

Prior to Starship's inaugural launch, environmental policy expert Eric Roesch was outspoken about the possibility of catastrophe. As the rocket launched, it kicked up massive clouds of dust and decimated its launchpad, scattering large chunks of concrete into delicate marine and coastal sanctuaries nearby. Eric blames both SpaceX and its regulatory body, the Federal Aviation Admini

Adventures at the 2023 Planetary Defense Conference

May 03 2023 54 mins

Planetary Radio creator Mat Kaplan shares a look behind the scenes at the 2023 Planetary Defense Conference in Vienna, Austria. You’ll hear exclusive interviews with planetary defense specialists from around the planet as they gather to push the boundaries of asteroid and comet deflection technologies. Stick around for What’s Up with Bruce Betts, an update on the night sky, and

Juice mission liftoff: A new era of icy moon exploration begins

Apr 26 2023 58 mins

Join us as we celebrate the successful launch of the European Space Agency's Juice mission! Our special guest, project scientist Olivier Witasse, shares the thrilling details about the launch and the next steps for this groundbreaking mission to explore Jupiter’s icy moons. We'll also recap the inspiring events of last week's Planetary Society Digital Day of Action, where space e