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.

Under Alien Skies with Phil Plait

Phil Plait, the Bad Astronomer, joins Planetary Radio to discuss his new book, Under Alien Skies: A Sightseer’s Guide to the Galaxy.

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.

Meet the new Planetary Radio host! (and enjoy a beer with a cosmologist)

20 years after its creation, Mat Kaplan is ready to introduce the great new host of Planetary Radio. We also join an assembly of astrophysicists as they toast each other and the cosmos.

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.

A Conversation with Kyoto Prize Recipient James Gunn

Jim Gunn co-created and led the Sloan Digital Sky Survey that has revealed the universe as never before.

A Cosmic Odyssey: Decades of Discovery at the Palomar Observatory

How astronomers at California’s Palomar Observatory revolutionized our understanding of the cosmos.

The Mysterious Case of Interstellar Visitor ‘Oumuamua

‘Oumuamua made headlines when astronomers discovered it in 2017. Harvard professor Avi Loeb's new book lays out the case for why the object might be artificial and argues that scientists should embrace bold theories.

A Rogue World Wanders as PlanetVac Heads for the Moon and Mars

A distant, lonely planet has been discovered as it wanders the galaxy, while Bill Nye helps us celebrate selection of a radically-simple sample collection system for trips to the Moon and Mars’ moon Phobos.

Why Aren't There More Earth-Like Planets in our Solar System?

New research reveals why Earth is on its own in this solar system’s habitable zone where liquid surface water flows, but the same isn’t true across the galaxy.

The Slime Mold and the Universe

One of Earth’s lowliest creatures has inspired and guided a team of scientists toward an improved model for the distribution of galaxies and dark matter across the cosmos.

The Search for 100 Earths

The search for worlds like our own is underway, but the challenges are enormous according to astronomers Debra Fischer and Joe Llama.

Another Goldilocks World and the Space Telescope That Discovered It

Another near Earth-sized planet has been found in the habitable zone around a distant star, discovered by a powerful space telescope named TESS.

New Horizons Flyby: Join the Celebration!

Join us at the Applied Physics Lab in Maryland for the New Horizons encounter with the most distant object ever visited. You’ll meet mission leaders, friends and even a rock and roll star as we dive deep into this triumph of exploration.

Countdown to Ultima: Alan Stern and New Horizons

The New Horizons spacecraft will reach faraway Kuiper Belt object 2014 MU69 in the first minutes of 2019. Will the body informally known as Ultima Thule be as mysterious and exciting as Pluto?

Last Week, Mars. This week, An Asteroid Called Bennu.

The InSight lander has only just arrived on Mars. Now, OSIRIS REx has reached asteroid Bennu after traveling through deep space for a year and a half.

Celebrating Kepler

The Kepler mission has ended. Listen to highlights of the October 30th media briefing that included the father of the fantastically successful planet finder, William Borucki. Then catch the thoughts of Planetary Society editors and commentators Jason Davis and Emily Lakdawalla.

Celebrating Astronomy Day with the Giant Magellan Telescope

Happy Astronomy Day, October 13, 2018! We salute humankind’s long history of stargazing by checking in on what will be our planet’s largest telescope. Patrick McCarthy is an astronomer and a leader of the Giant Magellan Telescope project. He returns with a report on the instrument’s status, followed by a fascinating tour of the GMT facility.

Return to Fiery Mercury With BepiColombo

Elsa Montagnon is Spacecraft Operations Manager for the European/Japanese mission leaving for our solar system’s innermost planet very soon. She joins us to talk about the long journey ahead.

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