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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.
Commercial space astronaut Sian Proctor and astronomer John Read join Planetary Radio to discuss “Baby's Guide to the Night Sky,” their new book introducing the youngest children to constellations and the wonders of the Cosmos.
Green Bank, West Virginia, bans cell phones and Wi-Fi, so that its giant radio telescope can listen undisturbed. This week, Senior Communications Advisor Mat Kaplan talks with director Katie Dellamaggiore and physicist Ellie White about the documentary "Small Town Universe," and Public Education Specialist Kate Howells previews August's total solar eclipse.
The European Space Agency's Rosalind Franklin rover finally has a path to Mars. ExoMars Project Scientist Jorge Vago joins Planetary Radio to discuss the rover's 2-meter drill, its onboard astrobiology lab, and what it would mean to finally find evidence that Mars was once home to life.
China’s Tianwen-2 mission has arrived at the quasi-moon Kamoʻoalewa. We sit down with Planetary Society contributing editor and freelance space journalist Andrew Jones to explore what this ambitious sample-return mission could reveal about our Solar System's history.
NASA's Dragonfly mission is sending a car-sized, nuclear-powered rotorcraft to Saturn's moon Titan. Lead rotor engineer Felipe Ruiz and principal investigator Zibi Turtle from Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory join us to discuss the engineering of flight on Titan with just two years to launch.
Jack Kiraly, The Planetary Society's director of government relations, joins Sarah Al-Ahmed to discuss proposed grant rule changes that could upend U.S. science funding, a major NASA reorganization, and the fallout from the destruction of Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket.
Colonel Eileen Collins, the first woman to pilot and command a Space Shuttle, joins us to discuss “Spacewoman,” the new documentary telling the story of her extraordinary life and career.
The Los Angeles Astronomical Society is one of the oldest and largest amateur astronomy clubs in the United States, and this year it’s turning one hundred. We were there at Griffith Observatory for the centennial celebration to find out what keeps a community of skywatchers going for a century.
Amy Williams, astrobiologist and associate professor at the University of Florida, discusses a landmark experiment that revealed more than 20 organic molecules preserved in ancient Martian rock. We explore what this chemical discovery tells us about Mars' ancient habitability.
For the first time, the Planetary Society's annual Day of Action was followed by Igniting Discovery, a showcase of the NASA-funded science we're fighting to protect, held in the U.S. Senate building.
The fight to save NASA science is back. Planetary Radio host Sarah Al-Ahmed takes you to Washington, D.C., for the 2026 Day of Action, where Planetary Society members, scientists, and advocates hit Capitol Hill to oppose a proposed 46% cut to NASA's science budget.
At Yuri's Night 2026, held at Griffith Observatory the day after Artemis II splashed down, Sarah Al-Ahmed spoke with educators, engineers, astronauts, and space philosophers about 65 years of human spaceflight and what it means to see Earth from space.
“Project Hail Mary” has arrived on the big screen, and we're diving into the real science behind Andy Weir's latest blockbuster with senior communications adviser Mat Kaplan, award-winning Nature correspondent Alexandra Witze, Virginia Tech astrophysicist Nahum Arav, and Planetary Society chief scientist Bruce Betts.
The Artemis II crew has returned home safely after a historic journey around the Moon. We celebrate some of the most extraordinary moments from the mission. Meanwhile, back on Earth, the new Presidential Budget Request proposes a 47% cut to NASA's science budget, threatening 84 missions.
Four astronauts are on their way around the Moon for the first time in over 50 years. This week on Planetary Radio we bring you the sounds of launch day and the voices of the people who made it happen.
Lisa Carnell, Director of NASA's Biological and Physical Sciences Division, explains AVATAR, the experiment flying organ chips grown from astronaut cells on Artemis II. Then, asteroid hunter Alain Maury tells the story of discovering a sungrazing comet that could become one of the most spectacular in decades.
Steve Platts, chief scientist of NASA’s Human Research Program walks us through the health experiments aboard Artemis II, followed by Planetary Society Chief of Space Policy Casey Dreier on NASA's Ignition Day announcements.
As humanity heads back to the Moon, Europe is stepping up. We bring you voices from the European Space Conference and take you inside the Moonlight Initiative panel building the Moon’s future.
Gentry Lee, the subject of the new documentary “Starman,” reflects on nearly five decades at JPL, the missions that defined the Space Age, and the search for life beyond Earth.
NASA has restructured the Artemis program, shifting Artemis III from a planned lunar landing to a low-Earth-orbit systems test following the rollback of Artemis II. We hear remarks from NASA leadership and break down what the changes mean with Planetary Society space policy experts.