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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Big Picture Science 
334 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

Moving Right Along
From: Big Picture Science
Caption: Moving Right Along, Credit: Seth Shostak
Find out why modeling the swirl of hurricanes takes a roomful of mathematicians and supercomputers, and how galaxies can move away from us faster t...

Bought by WRST-FM Oshkosh, RadioFreePalmer, WMUU-LP, WRGY, and WRIR


  • Added: Apr 18, 2016
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 5
Surfeit of the Vitalist
From: Big Picture Science
Caption: Surfeit of the Vitalest, Credit: Seth Shostak
In the century and a half since Charles Darwin wrote his seminal On the Origin of the Species, our understanding of evolution has changed quite a b...

Bought by RadioFreePalmer, WMUU-LP, WRIR, and WRGY


  • Added: Apr 11, 2016
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 4
Tale of the Distribution
From: Big Picture Science
Caption: Tale of the Distribution, Credit: Seth Shostak
Very few of us can play the piano like Vladimir Horowitz. His talent was at the tail end of the bell curve of musical ability – that tiny sliver o...

Bought by RadioFreePalmer, WMUU-LP, WRIR, and WRGY


  • Added: Apr 04, 2016
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 4
Who's Controlling Whom?
From: Big Picture Science
Caption: Who's Controlling Whom?, Credit: Seth Shostak
Ants exhibit the kind of swarm behavior that is the model for the next generation of tiny robots. But biology can get hijacked: a fungus can seize...

Bought by WUFT, RadioFreePalmer, WMUU-LP, WRIR, and WRGY


  • Added: Mar 14, 2016
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 5
Land on the Run
From: Big Picture Science
Caption: Land on the Run, Credit: Seth Shostak
Hang on to your globe. The arrangement of continents you see today is not what it once was, nor what it will be tomorrow. Meet our future superco...

Bought by KREV-LP, WMUU-LP, RadioFreePalmer, WRIR, and WRGY


  • Added: Mar 07, 2016
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 5
Replace What Ails You
From: Big Picture Science
Caption: Replace What Ails You, Credit: Seth Shostak
Germs can make us sick, but we didn’t know about these puny pathogens prior to the end of the 19th century. Germ theory and antibiotics created a...

Bought by WRST-FM Oshkosh, WRGY, RadioFreePalmer, WMUU-LP, WRIR and more


  • Added: Jan 25, 2016
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 6
Apt to Adapt
From: Big Picture Science
Caption: Apt to Adapt, Credit: Seth Shostak
Humans are changing their environment faster than their genes can keep pace. This has led to a slew of diseases, from backache to diabetes, says o...

Bought by KUNM, WRGY, WMUU-LP, RadioFreePalmer, and WRIR


  • Added: Jan 11, 2016
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 5
A Stellar Job
From: Big Picture Science
Caption: A Stellar Job, Credit: Seth Shostak
Stars do more than just twinkle. These boiling balls of hot plasma can tell us something about other celestial phenomena. They betray the hiding ...

Bought by KREV-LP, WRGY, 91.7 WHUS Storrs, WYSO, WMUU-LP and more


  • Added: Jan 04, 2016
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 6
You Think; You're So Smart
From: Big Picture Science
Caption: You Think; You're So Smart, Credit: Seth Shostak
Sure you have a big brain; it's the hallmark of Homo sapiens. But that doesn't mean that you've cornered the market on intelligence. Michael Pol...

Bought by KAZU Seaside, Calif., RadioFreePalmer, WMUU-LP, WRIR, WRGY and more


  • Added: Dec 28, 2015
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 6
Look Who's Not Talking
From: Big Picture Science
Caption: Look Who's Not Talking, Credit: Seth Shostak
A U.S. Army major says that social media are breaking up our “band of brothers,” and that soldiers who tweet rather than talk have less cohesion in...

Bought by RadioFreePalmer, 91.7 WHUS Storrs, WMUU-LP, WRIR, and WRGY


  • Added: Dec 14, 2015
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 5

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People who work with Big Picture Science

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Barbara Vance
Producer
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Gary Niederhoff (Admin)