Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and Science

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Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and Science

The Planetary Society

1308 episodes

2 days ago

Planetary Radio brings you the human adventure across our Solar System and beyond. We visit each week with the scientists, engineers, leaders, advocates, and astronauts who are taking us across the final frontier. Regular features raise your space IQ while they put a smile on your face. Join host Sarah Al-Ahmed and Planetary Society colleagues including Bill Nye the Science Guy and Bruce Betts as they dive deep into space science and exploration. The monthly Space Policy Edition takes you inside the DC beltway where the future of the US space program hangs in the balance. Visit planetary.org/radio for an episode guide and much more.

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All content for Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and Science is the property of The Planetary Society and is served directly from their servers with no modification, redirects, or rehosting. The podcast is not affiliated with or endorsed by Podjoint in any way.

Planetary Radio brings you the human adventure across our Solar System and beyond. We visit each week with the scientists, engineers, leaders, advocates, and astronauts who are taking us across the final frontier. Regular features raise your space IQ while they put a smile on your face. Join host Sarah Al-Ahmed and Planetary Society colleagues including Bill Nye the Science Guy and Bruce Betts as they dive deep into space science and exploration. The monthly Space Policy Edition takes you inside the DC beltway where the future of the US space program hangs in the balance. Visit planetary.org/radio for an episode guide and much more.

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Episodes (20/1308)

Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and Science

Voyager and the heliopause: Exploring where the Sun gives way to the stars

Linda Spilker, project scientist for the Voyager mission, explains what Voyager has revealed about the heliopause and the Solar System’s outer edge.

2 days ago

58 minutes

Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and Science

Space Policy Edition: Change for the Sake of Disruption at NASA

After DOGE cuts, mass staff departures, and a blink-and-you-missed-it pivot to Mars, how much did NASA actually change in 2025? Space Policy Online founder Marcia Smith returns to assess a turbulent year.

1 week ago

1 hour 11 minutes

Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and Science

Looking back: Space exploration in 2025

Planetary Radio looks back at the biggest space exploration stories of 2025, from stunning images and major missions to hard lessons about how science moves forward. Host Sarah Al-Ahmed is joined by members of The Planetary Society’s communications team to reflect on what defined the year, and what they’re most excited to see in 2026.

1 week ago

1 hour 8 minutes

Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and Science

Looking back: Space policy and advocacy in 2025

As NASA faces unprecedented proposed cuts to its science programs, Planetary Radio looks back at a pivotal year for U.S. space policy and advocacy. The Planetary Society’s space policy team unpacks what happened, why funding uncertainty matters, and what comes next for space science.

2 weeks ago

57 minutes

Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and Science

Book Club Edition: MOONS: The Mysteries and Marvels of our Solar System by Kate Howells

The Planetary Society’s Kate Howells has written this beautifully illustrated trek among our Solar System’s most intriguing and mysterious moons.

3 weeks ago

59 minutes

Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and Science

Galileo at 30: How a mission transformed our understanding of Jupiter

Thirty years after NASA’s Galileo spacecraft became the first to orbit Jupiter, scientists and engineers gathered to reflect on the mission that transformed how we see the giant planet and its moons.

3 weeks ago

57 minutes

Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and Science

Space Policy Edition: The Moral Case for Space Science

Why do we explore space? In this Space Policy Edition rerun, Casey Dreier speaks with philosopher Dr. J. S. Johnson-Schwartz about why space science is a moral obligation, beyond economics or prestige.

4 weeks ago

1 hour 8 minutes

Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and Science

Inside the 2025 Mars Society Convention

Mat Kaplan brings us to USC for the 2025 Mars Society Convention, where leaders in science, engineering, AI, biology, architecture, and advocacy share bold visions for humanity’s future on Mars.

1 month ago

57 minutes

Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and Science

ESCAPADE begins its journey to Mars

NASA’s ESCAPADE mission is on its way to Mars to study how the solar wind interacts with the planet’s magnetic fields and atmosphere. This week, we talk with Ari Koeppel and PI Rob Lillis about the mission’s launch and science goals, and examine Martian aurora in What’s Up.

1 month ago

1 hour 6 minutes

Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and Science

Smart Girl Dumb Questions: Casey Dreier answers why space is worth it

Planetary Radio shares Casey Dreier’s appearance on Smart Girl Dumb Questions, where he and host Nayeema Raza explore why space exploration matters and whether NASA’s budget is worth the cost.

1 month ago

1 hour

Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and Science

Book Club Edition: The Martians: The True Story of an Alien Craze that Captured Turn-of-the-Century America by David Baron

Author David Baron has written the definitive, true story of a time when nearly everyone in America was utterly convinced there was a supremely intelligent civilization on the Red Planet, and they wanted to talk with us!

1 month ago

1 hour 3 minutes

Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and Science

Epic Spaceman: Making cosmic scale human

This week, Planetary Radio explores how Epic Spaceman uses visual effects and everyday metaphors to make the vast scale of the Universe feel human and understandable.

1 month ago

59 minutes

Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and Science

The Planetary Society goes to TwitchCon 2025

The Planetary Society visits TwitchCon 2025 to explore how livestreamers like Moohoodles are bringing space science to new audiences. The episode also features a Space Policy Update on Jared Isaacman’s renomination as NASA Administrator and celebrates the third anniversary of the LightSail 2 mission with Bruce Betts.

1 month ago

1 hour 1 minute

Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and Science

Space Policy Edition: Should a (potential) biosignature revive Mars Sample Return?

In 1996, a controversial claim of fossilized life in a Martian meteorite ignited a golden age of Mars exploration. Nearly 30 years later, a potential biosignature detected by the Perseverance rover at Jezero Crater has sparked…no major policy changes. Why? Lou Friedman joins the show to present his view.

2 months ago

1 hour 21 minutes

Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and Science

Do Aliens Speak Physics?

Physicist Daniel Whiteson and cartoonist Andy Warner join Sarah Al-Ahmed to explore their new book, “Do Aliens Speak Physics?”

2 months ago

59 minutes

Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and Science

Ripples on the Cosmic Ocean

Historian Dagomar Degroot joins Planetary Radio to discuss his new book, “Ripples on the Cosmic Ocean: An Environmental History of Our Place in the Solar System,” which reveals how events across the Solar System have shaped life on Earth.

2 months ago

1 hour 9 minutes

Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and Science

2025 NASA’s Innovative Advanced Concepts Symposium: Part 2 — Hopping robots and the search for exoplanet magnetospheres

Planetary Radio continues its coverage from the 2025 NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts Symposium in Philadelphia, highlighting technologies that could shape future missions, from detecting exoplanet magnetospheres to exploring Venus and Saturn’s moon Enceladus with innovative robots.

2 months ago

1 hour 1 minute

Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and Science

Book Club Edition: Space Craze by Margaret Weitekamp

Space Craze author Margaret Weitekamp of the National Air and Space Museum documents our fascination with all things space, as evidenced by the pop culture artifacts she lovingly oversees in the collection.

2 months ago

55 minutes

Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and Science

2025 NASA’s Innovative Advanced Concepts Symposium: Part 1 — Lunar glass and starshades

Planetary Radio explores visionary ideas from NASA’s Innovative Advanced Concepts Symposium. In this first of two episodes, discover how researchers are turning science fiction into reality, from glass habitats on the Moon to starshades that could reveal new Earths.

2 months ago

53 minutes

Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and Science

A Day of Action to save NASA science

Hundreds of advocates joined The Planetary Society and partner organizations in Washington, D.C., to urge Congress to protect NASA’s science budget. Hear from Ari Koeppel, Britney Schmidt, Bill Nye, Rep. Glenn Ivey, Marcel Agüeros, Brandon Jones, and Casey Dreier about this historic Day of Action.

3 months ago

1 hour