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

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Insects populations are declining. But before saying “good riddance,” consider that insects are essential to many ecosystems. Find out what might ...

Bought by WMUU-LP, WMUU-LP, CHSR-FM 97.9, KUAC, Cove Mountain Educational Broadcasting and more


  • Added: Aug 24, 2020
  • Length: 54:30
  • Purchases: 15
Caption: On Thin Ice
Ice is more than a repository for water that would otherwise raise sea levels. It’s part of Earth’s cooling system, a barrier preventing decaying o...

Bought by WMUU-LP, WMUU-LP, CHSR-FM 97.9, KUAC, KMUN and more


  • Added: Aug 03, 2020
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 14
Caption: Skeptic Check: Know-It-Alls
Think you’re some kind of expert? Join the club. It’s one thing to question authority; another to offer up your untrained self as its replacement. ...

Bought by WMUU-LP, CHSR-FM 97.9, KUAC, KMUN, Cove Mountain Educational Broadcasting and more


  • Added: Jul 27, 2020
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 14
Caption: Something in the Air, Credit: Seth Shostak
Our response to the virus is changing the air in unexpected ways. A pandemic-driven pause on travel has produced clear skies and a world-wide air q...

Bought by KUAC, KMUN, Cove Mountain Educational Broadcasting, WRGY, WMUU-LP and more


  • Added: Jul 20, 2020
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 13
Caption: COVID Curiosities, Credit: Danielle Futselaar
Some dogs and cats have become sick with COVID. But it’s not just domestic critters that are vulnerable: zoo animals have fallen ill too. There’s m...

Bought by KMUN, CHSR-FM 97.9, Cove Mountain Educational Broadcasting, Royalton Community Radio, WMUU-LP and more


  • Added: Jul 13, 2020
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 16
Caption: Creative Brains, Credit: Seth Shostak
Many animals are industrious and clever, but humans are unique in their creative and inventive impulses. Composer Anthony Brandt and neuroscientist...

Bought by WMUU-LP, WMUU-LP, CHSR-FM 97.9, KMUN, Cove Mountain Educational Broadcasting and more


  • Added: Jul 06, 2020
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 15
Caption: Animals Like Us, Credit: Seth Shostak
Laughing rats, sorrowful elephants, joyful chimpanzees. The more carefully we observe, and the more we learn about animals, the closer their emoti...

Bought by WMUU-LP, CHSR-FM 97.9, KMUN, Cove Mountain Educational Broadcasting, Royalton Community Radio and more


  • Added: Jun 29, 2020
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 14
Caption: Race and Covid
While citizens take to the streets to protest racist violence, the pandemic has its own brutal inequities. Black, Latino, and Native American peopl...

Bought by KWMR, CHSR-FM 97.9, KMUN, Cove Mountain Educational Broadcasting, Royalton Community Radio and more


  • Added: Jun 08, 2020
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 15
Caption: Soap, Skin, Sleep, Credit: Seth Shostak
Some safeguards against COVID-19 don’t require a medical breakthrough. Catching sufficient Z’s makes for a healthy immune system. And, while you wa...

Bought by WMUU-LP, CHSR-FM 97.9, KMUN, Cove Mountain Educational Broadcasting, Royalton Community Radio and more


  • Added: Jun 01, 2020
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 15
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Hey, Alexa, why don’t you laugh at my jokes? Teaching a computer to recognize humor is difficult because no clear definition of humor exists. Send...

Bought by WMUU-LP, WUFT, CHSR-FM 97.9, KMUN, KAZU Seaside, Calif. and more


  • Added: May 25, 2020
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 17