Big Picture Science

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Big Picture Science is a one-hour radio show and podcast that connects ideas in surprising and humorous ways to illuminate the origins, the behavior, and the future of life—and  technology—on Earth.

What came before the Big Bang?  How does the brain work? Will our descendents be human or machine?  What’s the origin of humor?  We ponder these questions daily... and expound on them weekly.

But, wait!  There’s more!

Are you a doubting Thomas?  Good.  Join us as we separate science from pseudoscience—and facts from the phony—in Skeptic Check, our monthly episode devoted to critical thinking.

Whether it’s astrology, Bigfoot, or just the incessant onslaught of UFOs, we take it all on, wielding the skeptical scalpel of solid science.

It’s Skeptic Check... but don’t take our word for it!

 

 

 

Series

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329 Pieces

Big Picture Science is a weekly one-hour science magazine that connects ideas in surprising and humorous ways to illuminate the origins and evolution of life and technology on this planet… and beyond.


Pieces

Caption: Skeptic Check: Rational Lampoon, Credit: Seth Shostak
Why a cognitive scientist says that the very idea of individual thinking is a myth: most of our thinking is done in groups. Also, you know much les...

Bought by CHSR-FM 97.9, KICI Iowa City, Cove Mountain Educational Broadcasting, WRGY, WHCP-LP Cambridge and more


  • Added: May 17, 2021
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 13
Caption: Skeptic Check: Flat Earth, Credit: Seth Shostak
Flat Earthers believe that our planet resembles not a slightly squashed grapefruit but a thick pancake. We look at the difference between a truly ...

Bought by CHSR-FM 97.9, Cove Mountain Educational Broadcasting, WRGY, WHCP-LP Cambridge, WMUU-LP and more


  • Added: Apr 26, 2021
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 14
Caption: Venom Diagram, Credit: Seth Shostak
Evolution has outfitted some animals with a highly effective mechanism for saying “back off!”. Venoms can ward off predators and disable prey, and...

Bought by WMUU-LP, WCNY, WUFT, Cove Mountain Educational Broadcasting, KBBI Alaska and more


  • Added: Apr 12, 2021
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 19
Caption: Volcanic Mind Melt, Credit: Seth Shostak
The more than a thousand volcanoes that dapple Earth’s surface mark the edges of tectonic plates, spewing hot gas and ash, or boiling over with lav...

Bought by WMUU-LP, WCNY, CHSR-FM 97.9, Cove Mountain Educational Broadcasting, WHCP-LP Cambridge and more


  • Added: Apr 05, 2021
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 16
Caption: Skeptic Check: Useful Delusion, Credit: Seth Shostak
Can self-deception be useful? During the pandemic, it has been fashionable to say that we’re “following the science,” and that our behavior is dete...

Bought by WMUU-LP, CHSR-FM 97.9, Cove Mountain Educational Broadcasting, WRGY, KBBI Alaska and more


  • Added: Mar 29, 2021
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 15
Caption: DecodeHer, Credit: Seth Shostak
They were pioneers in their fields, yet their names are scarcely known – simply because they didn’t have a Y chromosome. We examine the accomplishm...

Bought by WMUU-LP, CHSR-FM 97.9, Cove Mountain Educational Broadcasting, WHCP-LP Cambridge, KBBI Alaska and more


  • Added: Mar 15, 2021
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 17
Caption: Creature Discomforts, Credit: Creature Discomforts
We love them, fear them, use them – and sometimes eat them, too. But how well do we really know animals? Our impressions are often simplistic. T...

Bought by CHSR-FM 97.9, Cove Mountain Educational Broadcasting, KBBI Alaska, WXXI Rochester, WRGY and more


  • Added: Feb 22, 2021
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 16
Caption: Mars Attracts, Credit: Seth Shostak
In a historic trifecta for space exploration, spacecraft of three countries will arrive at Mars in February. We talk to the science lead for the Em...

Bought by WRGY, Cove Mountain Educational Broadcasting, WHCP-LP Cambridge, WMUU-LP, KMXT and more


  • Added: Feb 08, 2021
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 6
Caption: Supercomputer Showdown, Credit: Seth Shostak
Do you have a hard-to-answer question? The Summit, Sierra, Trinity, Frontier, and Aurora supercomputers are built to tackle it. Summit tops the pet...

Bought by WCNY, KMUN, Cove Mountain Educational Broadcasting, WRGY, WYAP and more


  • Added: Jan 18, 2021
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 15
Caption: Betting on Pseudoscience, Credit: Seth Shostak
Psychics may not be able to predict the future or sense your thoughts. Nonetheless, they rake in big bucks. But the harm from pseudoscience can go ...

Bought by CHSR-FM 97.9, Cove Mountain Educational Broadcasting, KBBI Alaska, WMUU-LP, WRGY and more


  • Added: Jan 11, 2021
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 15