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Since 2002, Planetary Radio has visited with a scientist, engineer, project manager, advocate, or writer who provides a unique perspective on the quest for knowledge about our Solar System and beyond. The full show archive is available for free.
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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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
Physicist Daniel Whiteson and cartoonist Andy Warner join Sarah Al-Ahmed to explore their new book, “Do Aliens Speak Physics?”
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
If the United States is indeed in a space race with China, why are we abandoning space science programs across the Solar System? This question, posed by guest Maxwell Zhu in a recent op-ed co-authored by The Planetary Society’s chief of space policy, reveals the current myopia around human spaceflight and the missing focus on a growing and ambitious new entrant into space science in the 21st century.
NASA’s Perseverance rover has found potential biosignatures in Jezero Crater’s Bright Angel formation. Host Sarah Al-Ahmed speaks with Joel Hurowitz, associate professor of geosciences at Stony Brook University and lead author of the new Nature paper, about this remarkable discovery.
Bill Nye, CEO of The Planetary Society, celebrates his new star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and joins us to reflect on its meaning. We also receive the latest space policy updates as NASA faces significant budget challenges.
Author and historian of science Dava Sobel talks about her many wonderful books with The Planetary Society’s Mat Kaplan. Dava recently received the Society’s Cosmos Award.
Join host Sarah Al-Ahmed and Mark McCaughrean, adjunct scientist at the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, for a tour of “111 Places in Space That You Must Not Miss”, a cosmic travel guide to the Universe.
Host Sarah Al-Ahmed speaks with Staci Horvath, outreach coordinator at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center and director of International Observe the Moon Night, and Theresa Summer, astronomy educator at the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, about the history and global impact of International Observe the Moon Night.