Planetary Radio
Planetary Radio
Each week, Planetary Radio visits with a scientist, engineer, project manager, astronaut, advocate or writer who provides a unique and exciting perspective on the exploration of our solar system and beyond. We also showcase regular features that raise your space IQ while they put a smile on your face. Host Mat Kaplan is joined by Planetary Society colleagues Bill Nye the Science Guy, Bruce Betts, and Emily Lakdawalla. We hit the road now and then to produce a Planetary Radio Live show in front of an audience. Drop us a line or enter the weekly space trivia contest at planetaryradio@planetary.org.
Please support your local public radio station that airs the show! Check the station's online schedule or review our online list of affiliates. Satellite radio listeners can hear us Sunday evenings on the Sirius XM Public Radio channel. Want to hear Planetary Radio on your local station? Ask them to contact us or review our radio affiliate information page.
iTunes and other podcast aggregators like Stitcher make it easy to listen and subscribe. Just search for "Planetary Radio." or click the links below.
Parsec Awards
2011 Parsec Award Logo Icon
Planetary Radio won as the "Best Fact Behind the Fiction" podcast at the 2011 Dragon*Con in Atlanta, Georgia.| Subscribe: |  |
Standard RSS Feed |
Recent Shows
Tim Spahr of the Minor Planet Center
07/08/2013 | 28:50
Guests
- Timothy Spahr, Director, Minor Planet Center, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
There’s a place to go when you find a space rock headed our way, or headed any which way. Tim Spahr directs the Minor Planet Center, the global clearinghouse for all information about asteroids, comets and other relatively small bodies like moons.
Saving Earth: Asteroid Emergency Tabletop Exercise at the 2013 PDC
05/06/2013 | 41:37
Guests
- Bill Ailor, Director of the Aerospace Corporation's Center for Orbital and Reentry Debris Studies
- Lindley Johnson, NASA
- Debbie Lewis, Director, Axiom
- Edward Lu, Chairman and CEO, B612 Foundation
- Cathy Plesko, Applied Physics Research Scientist, Los Alamos National Laboratory
- Rusty Schweickart, B612 Foundation Chairman and Apollo 9 Astronaut
- Don Yeomans, Manager of NASA's Near Earth Object Program Office
The last installment of our Planetary Defense Conference coverage makes a deep impact as hundreds of attendees participate in an asteroid mitigation exercise. You’ll hear from astronauts Ed Lu and Rusty Schweikart, Near Earth Object expert Don Yeomans, Cathy Plesko of the Los Alamos National Laboratory and many more.
Kindred Spirits: Alison Gibbings and Carolyn Shoemaker at the Planetary Defense Conference
04/29/2013 | 28:50
Guests
- Alison Gibbings, Laser Bees Researcher, University of Glasgow
- Carolyn Shoemaker, Astronomer
Our special coverage of the PDC continues with two planetary scientists separated by almost 60 years in age, but with similar dedication and enthusiasm for saving the planet.
Chris Lewicki of Planetary Resources: Mining Asteroids For Fun and Profit
02/18/2013 | 31:25
Guests
- Chris Lewicki, President and Chief Asteroid Miner, Planetary Resources
Chris Lewicki is the passionate President of Planetary Resources. He leads the company's mission to find, capture and deliver asteroids to its space-resource hungry clients.
2012 DA14--Coming Soon to a Planet Near You!
02/11/2013 | 28:50
Guests
- Amy Mainzer, NEOWISE Principal Investigator, Jet Propulsion Lab
- Timothy Spahr, Director, Minor Planet Center, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
- Lindley Johnson, NASA
- Edward Beshore, OSIRIS REx Deputy Principal Investigator, University of Arizona, Tucson
The 45-meter Near Earth Asteroid flies by on February 15. NASA brought together asteroid experts to discuss it and others of its threatening kind.
An Imminent Asteroid Encounter
02/04/2013 | 28:50
Spain’s La Sagra Observatory discovered Asteroid 2012 DA14 just a year ago. Now it’s nearing Earth once again. Jaime Nomen of La Sagra is back to prepare us for this very close flyby.
Looking Back, Looking Forward: Beginning a New Year In Space
12/31/2012 | 28:50
Guests
- Bruce Betts, Director of Projects, The Planetary Society
- Casey Dreier, Advocacy and Outreach Coordinator, The Planetary Society
- Emily Lakdawalla, Senior Editor and Planetary Evangelist, The Planetary Society
- Bill Nye, Chief Executive Officer
Planetary Society experts review the challenges and triumphs of 2012 and look forward to a new and exciting year. You’ll hear Bill Nye the Science Guy, Emily Lakdawalla on new missions, Casey Dreier on “Saving our Science,” and Bruce Betts’ review of great projects, as well as a musical rendition of “Random Space Fact.”
Amateur Astronomers Work to Save Earth!
10/15/2012 | 28:50
Guests
- Bruce Betts, Director of Projects, The Planetary Society
- Robert Holmes, Shoemaker NEO Grant recipient
- Gary Hug, Astronomer, Sandlot Observatory
The Planetary Society's Bruce Betts provides an overview of the Shoemaker NEO grant program, and we meet two dedicated grant recipients.
Discovery of a New and Neighborly Asteroid
03/12/2012 | 28:50
Guests
- Jaime Nomen, astronomer, Observatorio Astronómico de La Sagra (La Sagra Observatory)
With Planetary Society help, La Sagra Observatory discovered big near-Earth object 2012 DA14. Guest: Jaime Nomen.
Section Highlights
Support Planetary Radio!
Help Planetary Radio grow and become even better. Plus get your own Planetary Radio t-shirt for helping.
Connect With Us
Facebook! Twitter! Google+ and more…
Continue the conversation with our online community!
