Planetary Radio

Series produced by Mat Kaplan

Series image

The Planetary Society's travel show that takes you to the final frontier, featuring commentary by Society CEO Bill Nye the Science Guy.

For over 20 years, we've been proud to bring Planetary Radio to our dedicated listeners. However, after careful consideration, we discontinued our traditional broadcast distribution on Aug. 2, 2023. We invite Radio stations to continue airing the extended podcast version of the show, along with any of our previous episodes. You can find the extensive archive of our broadcasts and our new podcast MP3s here: https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/radio-episodes-files For more information about Planetary Radio, visit our website at https://www.planetary.org/radio. For inquiries or support, contact Sarah Al-Ahmed, the host and producer of Planetary Radio, at planetaryradio@planetary.org. Thank you again for being an integral part of the Planetary Radio family. We look forward to continuing our cosmic journey together through the wonders of our podcast and beyond. Hide full description

For over 20 years, we've been proud to bring Planetary Radio to our dedicated listeners. However, after careful consideration, we discontinued our traditional broadcast distribution on Aug. 2, 2023. We invite Radio stations to continue airing the extended podcast version of the show, along with any of our previous episodes. You can find the extensive archive of our broadcasts and our new podcast MP3s here: https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/radio-episodes-files For more information about Planetary Radio, visit our website at https://www.planetary.org/radio. For inquiries or support, contact Sarah Al-Ahmed, the host and producer of Planetary Radio, at planetaryradio@planetary.org. Thank you again for being an integral part of the Planetary Radio family. We look forward to... Show full description


519 Pieces

Order by: Newest First | Oldest First
Caption: Jim Bell's new book chronicles the Voyager mission to the outer solar system and beyond., Credit: Dutton Publishing
Planetary scientist and author Jim Bell has just written “The Interstellar Age—Inside the Forty-Year Voyager Mission.” He talks with Mat Kaplan abo...

Bought by WTJU


  • Added: Mar 03, 2015
  • Length: 28:50
  • Purchases: 1
Caption: Elected officials hear about Virgin Galactic's LauncherOne rocket and WhiteKnightTwo air launch vehicle., Credit: Virgin Galactic
6,000 job-seekers came to the new Long Beach, California home of Virgin Galactic’s LauncherOne rocket on a recent morning. We sit down with CEO Geo...

Bought by KMUD, KSVR Studios: Skagit Valley Radio, WXAV 88.3FM Chicago, KWMR, and KFCF FM


  • Added: Mar 10, 2015
  • Length: 28:50
  • Purchases: 5
Caption: Former Curiosity Rover Project Scientist John Grotzinger, Credit: Mat Kaplan
The Mars Science Laboratory rover has accomplished its primary goals on the Red Planet, and John Grotzinger has left his central role to become Cha...

Bought by WTJU, KMUD, KSVR Studios: Skagit Valley Radio, WXAV 88.3FM Chicago, KWMR and more


  • Added: Mar 17, 2015
  • Length: 28:50
  • Purchases: 6
Caption: One of the best images so far of dwarf planet Ceres, centered on the mysterious "bright spots.", Credit: NASA / JPL / UCLA / MPS / DLR / IDA
Senior Editor Emily Lakdawalla has returned from the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference in Texas with the latest revelations about our solar sy...

Bought by KMUD, KSVR Studios: Skagit Valley Radio, WXAV 88.3FM Chicago, KFCF FM, and KWMR


  • Added: Mar 23, 2015
  • Length: 28:50
  • Purchases: 5
Caption: Towering mock-up of Bigelow Aerospace's Olympus space habitat., Credit: Mat Kaplan
Bigelow Aerospace’s BEAM expandable/inflatable space module will be attached to the International Space Station later this year. Mat travels to the...

Bought by KWMR, KMUD, KSVR Studios: Skagit Valley Radio, WXAV 88.3FM Chicago, and KFCF FM


  • Added: Mar 30, 2015
  • Length: 28:50
  • Purchases: 5
Caption: NASA's pathways to the Red Planet., Credit: NASA
A human mission to orbit Mars might be possible by 2033, and it might be accomplished at reasonable cost and with existing or nearly-ready technolo...

Bought by KWMR, KMUD, KSVR Studios: Skagit Valley Radio, WXAV 88.3FM Chicago, and KFCF FM


  • Added: Apr 07, 2015
  • Length: 28:50
  • Purchases: 5
Caption: A six-meter Supersonic Inflatable Aerodynamic Decelerator (SIAD) is spin tested in a JPL clean room., Credit: Mat Kaplan
Landing on Mars is hard, and the bigger you are, the harder it gets. Rob Manning returns to tell us about one of NASA’s best hopes for getting much...

Bought by KMUD, WXAV 88.3FM Chicago, KSVR Studios: Skagit Valley Radio, KWMR, and KFCF FM


  • Added: Apr 12, 2015
  • Length: 28:51
  • Purchases: 5
Caption: The Planetary Defense Conference in Frascati, Italy hosted Planetary Radio Live., Credit: Mat Kaplan
Planetary Radio Live was the only public event at the just-completed Planetary Defense Conference in Italy. Join us for excerpts from an all-star c...

Bought by KRZA, KMUD, KWMR, WXAV 88.3FM Chicago, KSVR Studios: Skagit Valley Radio and more


  • Added: Apr 21, 2015
  • Length: 28:51
  • Purchases: 6
Caption: LightSail voyages across the cosmos., Credit: The Planetary Society
The road to space has been a rocky one for most spacecraft, and LightSail is no different. Challenges remain even with the May 20th launch of a tes...

Bought by KMUD, KWMR, KFCF FM, KSVR Studios: Skagit Valley Radio, and WXAV 88.3FM Chicago


  • Added: Apr 27, 2015
  • Length: 28:51
  • Purchases: 5
Caption: A depiction of the MESSENGER spacecraft is shown flying over Mercury's surface displayed in enhanced color., Credit: NASA/JHU APL/Carnegie Institution of Washington
We open with the countdown to destruction--the MESSENGER spacecraft’s impact on Mercury ended its spectacularly successful mission. Principal Inve...

Bought by KRZA, KMUD, KSVR Studios: Skagit Valley Radio, WXAV 88.3FM Chicago, KWMR and more


  • Added: May 04, 2015
  • Length: 28:51
  • Purchases: 6
Caption: Artist’s concept of the New Horizons spacecraft as it approaches Pluto and its largest moon, Charon, in July 2015., Credit: JHUAPL/SwRI
Humankind’s arrival at Pluto is barely two months away. The science and images have already started to flow from New Horizons, according to the mis...

Bought by KMUD, KSVR Studios: Skagit Valley Radio, WXAV 88.3FM Chicago, KWMR, and KFCF FM


  • Added: May 11, 2015
  • Length: 28:51
  • Purchases: 5
Caption: Image of Ceres and its mysterious “bright spots” taken by the Dawn spacecraft from 13,600 km (8,400 miles) above the surface., Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA/MPS/DLR/IDA
It’s the biggest dwarf planet between here and Pluto, and it has a new permanent resident. The Dawn spacecraft is orbiting Ceres in the asteroid be...

Bought by KMUD, KWMR, KSVR Studios: Skagit Valley Radio, and KFCF FM


  • Added: May 18, 2015
  • Length: 28:50
  • Purchases: 4
Caption: Artist's conception of a LightSail in Earth orbit., Credit: The Planetary Society
This special edition takes you behind the scenes on May 20, 2015 as LightSail is lifted into orbit. You’ll hear the thrilling launch, meet key tea...

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  • Added: May 25, 2015
  • Length: 28:50
  • Purchases: 5
Caption: The first human steps onto Mars in this illustration from the 2015 Humans to Mars Report., Credit: Explore Mars, Inc.
Explore Mars revealed the 2015 Humans to Mars Report at a recent conference in Washington. CEO Chris Carberry gives us a quick tour of this realist...

Bought by RadioStPete Florida, KMUD, WXAV 88.3FM Chicago, KWMR, KSVR Studios: Skagit Valley Radio and more


  • Added: Jun 01, 2015
  • Length: 28:50
  • Purchases: 6
Caption: Cassini's last close-up view of Saturn's "creepy" moon, Hyperion., Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute
Our most frequent guest, Cassini Project Scientist Linda Spilker, returns with another update on the magnificent mission at Saturn, including evide...

Bought by KMUD, KFCF FM, KSVR Studios: Skagit Valley Radio, KWMR, and WXAV 88.3FM Chicago


  • Added: Jun 09, 2015
  • Length: 28:50
  • Purchases: 5
Caption: LightSail stretches its sails in low Earth orbit., Credit: The Planetary Society
After a roller coaster ride that included a maddening eight-day silence, the LightSail test mission finally achieved all of its major goals. Leader...

Bought by KMUD, KSVR Studios: Skagit Valley Radio, KFCF FM, WXAV 88.3FM Chicago, and KWMR


  • Added: Jun 14, 2015
  • Length: 28:51
  • Purchases: 5
Caption: This artist's concept depicts Europa's "Great Lake." Researchers predict many more such lakes are scattered throughout the moon's icy shell., Credit: Britney Schmidt/Dead Pixel VFX/Univ. of Texas at Austin
We return to the beautiful Aquarium of the Pacific in southern California for a fascinating conversation about ocean science. What we learn down h...

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  • Added: Jun 23, 2015
  • Length: 28:51
  • Purchases: 6
Caption: Some of the attendees at the 2015 Planetary Defense Conference in Frascati, Italy., Credit: ESA CC BY-SA IGO 3.0
We’ve already brought you Planetary Radio Live from the 2015 PDC near Rome, Italy. Now you’ll hear a small sampling of the scientists, engineers, p...

Bought by KMUD, KSVR Studios: Skagit Valley Radio, KWMR, WXAV 88.3FM Chicago, and KFCF FM


  • Added: Jun 30, 2015
  • Length: 28:51
  • Purchases: 5
Caption: July 6, 2015 color image of Pluto from New Horizons., Credit: NASA/JHUAPL/SWRI
Two visits with the Planetary Society Senior Editor this week, as Emily first provides an update on the Rosetta comet mission and then returns with...

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  • Added: Jul 06, 2015
  • Length: 28:50
  • Purchases: 5
Caption: An artist’s conception of what Kepler 138b, its sister planets and its star might look like., Credit:  Danielle Futselaar, SETI Institute
SETI Institute scientist Jason Rowe returns to tell us about the smallest exoplanet so far that has had its size and mass determined. Jason also ta...

Bought by KPIK-LP, KMUD, KRZA, KSVR Studios: Skagit Valley Radio, KWMR and more


  • Added: Jul 13, 2015
  • Length: 28:50
  • Purchases: 7