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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Deep Sky: A JWST IMAX experience

Nathaniel Kahn, an Oscar-nominated filmmaker and the director of Deep Sky, joins Planetary Radio this week to discuss the film's decade-long creation process and the magic of JWST images on the big screen.

The oldest organic molecules in the known Universe

Justin Spilker joins Planetary Radio to talk about his team’s detection of the oldest organic molecules in the known Universe.

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

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.

Universal Harmonies: Sonifying images for science and accessibility

Kim Arcand from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory joins Planetary Radio to share her team’s new album Universal Harmonies.

JWST confirms its first exoplanet

We celebrate the James Webb Space Telescope's first confirmed exoplanet discovery this week on Planetary Radio. Jacob Lustig-Yaeger, one of the leads on the team that made the detection, joins us to discuss the details.

Planetary Society All-Stars Review the Year in Space

For his last episode as host, Mat Kaplan welcomes many of his Planetary Society colleagues for a review of a spectacular year of space exploration.

Scientist and Hubble Repairman John Grunsfeld

Astrophysicist, former astronaut and NASA associate administrator John Grunsfeld on human exploration of space and the science we will do there.

Space Policy Edition: The Geopolitics of a Successful SETI Detection

How will nations react if (when?) humanity detects the presence of an alien intelligence or civilization? That’s the topic Planetary Society Chief Advocate Casey Dreier takes up with his guest, astrophysicist Jason Wright.

Grounded: The director of the SOFIA flying observatory looks back

Director of SOFIA Science Mission Operations Margaret Meixner joins us to lament the end of the giant flying observatory and to celebrate its tremendous successes.

DART Impact and Judy Schmidt Interview

Listen as the Double Asteroid Redirection Test spacecraft closes in on asteroid Dimorphos, followed by a triumphant conversation with DART Coordination Lead Nancy Chabot, and a visit with space image processor Judy Schmidt.

The JWST: An Awesome New Window on the Universe Opens Wide

NASA and its partners have revealed the first stunning images from the new space telescope. We’ll talk about them with Bill Nye and members of the JWST team.

Yuri’s Night: Join the party!

Thousands celebrated the 61st anniversary of the first human voyage into space. We’ll take you to the Los Angeles party under the Space Shuttle Endeavour.

X-raying the universe with Martin Weisskopf

X-ray astronomy is vital to solving some of the universe’s biggest mysteries. Martin Weisskopf’s brand new space telescope has joined the effort.

5,000 worlds and counting: the success of TESS

MIT’s Michelle Kunimoto heads the TESS Faint Star Search that has revealed over 1,600 of the more than 5,000 TESS-discovered exoplanet candidates in our galaxy.

The weather on brown dwarfs, and worlds on the eve of destruction

Johanna Vos watches the weather on brown dwarf worlds while her colleague, Sam Grunblatt, finds giant planets spiraling toward their doom.

Space Policy Edition: JWST and the politics of mega-science (with Robert Smith)

Science historian Robert Smith describes how NASA's new flagship space observatory came to be.

Nobel laureate John Mather: The promise of the James Webb Space Telescope

JWST senior project scientist John Mather has been looking forward to the new space telescope’s first light for more than 30 years. He joins us with a fascinating preview.

We have touched the Sun: The Parker Solar Probe’s triumph

A spacecraft has penetrated the Sun’s corona for the first time, revealing unprecedented data and capturing a mind-blowing video.

Space Policy Edition: What We're Watching in 2022

Planetary Society chief of D.C. operations Brendan Curry returns for a look ahead at what to expect in 2022.

Return to the Moon: Spacesuits and preparing for splashdown in the Pacific

Building the next spacesuit for Moon walkers, and a shipboard update on how the Artemis 1 Orion capsule will be recovered from the Pacific Ocean.

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