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Planetary Radio Episodes
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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Host Sarah Al-Ahmed speaks with David McComas, principal investigator of IMAP and IBEX, and Matina Gkioulidou, IMAP project scientist, about how energetic neutral atoms let us map the heliosphere.
Linda Spilker, project scientist for the Voyager mission, explains what Voyager has revealed about the heliopause and the Solar System’s outer edge.
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.
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.
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.
The Planetary Society’s Kate Howells has written this beautifully illustrated trek among our Solar System’s most intriguing and mysterious moons.
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.
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.