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: Artist's impression of newly-discovered exoplanet TOI 700 d that is in its star's habitable zone., Credit: NASA/GSFC
Another near Earth-sized planet has been found in the habitable zone around a distant star, discovered by a powerful space telescope named TESS.

Bought by KVSC, KWMR, KBUT Crested Butte, Colo., KCNP, WMUU-LP and more


  • Added: Feb 15, 2020
  • Length: 28:50
  • Purchases: 7
Caption: This artist's concept depicts NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope in space much as it would appear at the end of its mission on January 30, 2020. The backdrop depicts the sky in infrared light much as Spitzer would have seen it early in its mission., Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/R. Hurt (IPAC)
Leaders of the just-ended Spitzer Space Telescope mission help us celebrate sixteen years of discoveries about our solar system, exoplanets and gal...

Bought by KCNP, KWMR, WMUU-LP, KBUT Crested Butte, Colo., KRZA and more


  • Added: Feb 05, 2020
  • Length: 28:50
  • Purchases: 6
Caption: Jupiter and its Great Red Spot as seen by the Juno orbiter in 2019., Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS/Kevin M. Gill
Juno mission principal investigator Scott Bolton provides an enticing taste of the Jupiter orbiter’s mind-bending discoveries.

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  • Added: Jan 29, 2020
  • Length: 28:50
  • Purchases: 8
Caption: This mosaic image of asteroid Bennu is composed of 12 PolyCam images collected on Dec. 2 by the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft from a range of 15 miles (24 km)., Credit: NASA/Goddard/University of Arizona
OSIRIS-REx mission leader Dante Lauretta takes us to mysterious asteroid Bennu where a first sample collection site has been selected.

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  • Added: Jan 22, 2020
  • Length: 28:50
  • Purchases: 7
Caption: The MILO Institute was introduced at the 2018 International Astronautical Congress in Bremen., Credit: ASU/Antonio Stark
Planetary scientist Jim Bell and space entrepreneur Lon Levin are founders of a new non-profit that aims to make robotic space exploration much mor...

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  • Added: Jan 15, 2020
  • Length: 28:50
  • Purchases: 8
Caption: Planetary Society solar system specialist Emily Lakdawalla visits the Mars 2020 rover on 27 December 2019 during a media event held at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California., Credit: Father & Sun Productions/The Planetary Society
Host Mat Kaplan and Planetary Society solar system specialist Emily Lakdawalla go inside NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory clean room to see the Mar...

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  • Added: Jan 08, 2020
  • Length: 28:50
  • Purchases: 9
Caption: Hellas Basin from the Mars Express orbiter, Credit: ESA / DLR / FU Berlin / Justin Cowart
Planetary Society experts Jason Davis, Casey Dreier and Emily Lakdawalla join host Mat Kaplan to explore what's ahead in 2020.

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  • Added: Dec 31, 2019
  • Length: 28:50
  • Purchases: 6
Caption: This artist's rendition depicts NASA's Mars 2020 rover studying a martian rock outrcrop., Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
The Red Planet is slowly revealing its deepest secrets, but there’s much more to learn. The biggest mystery is whether it has ever been home to lif...

Bought by KDNK, RadioFreePalmer, KBUT Crested Butte, Colo., KCNP, WMUU-LP and more


  • Added: Dec 24, 2019
  • Length: 28:50
  • Purchases: 7
Caption: Astronomer Alessandro Nastasi at the GAL Hassin International Center for Astronomical Sciences in Sicily, winner of a 2019 Shoemaker NEO grant., Credit: Alessandro Nastasi
Six amateur astronomers and small observatories around the world have just been named as the recipients of the 2019 Eugene Shoemaker Near Earth Obj...

Bought by KDNK, KCNP, KBUT Crested Butte, Colo., KWMR, WMUU-LP and more


  • Added: Dec 17, 2019
  • Length: 28:50
  • Purchases: 7
Caption: The crew of the spaceship Rocinante is at the center of The Expanse novels and TV series., Credit: Amazon
Season 4 of The Expanse is about to begin on Amazon Prime. Host Mat Kaplan visits with the authors of the eight novels (so far) that are the basis ...

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  • Added: Dec 11, 2019
  • Length: 28:50
  • Purchases: 7
Piece image
They are not for everyone, but there’s no doubt that alcoholic beverages have been part of human culture for as long as there has been human cultur...

Bought by KDNK, KCNP, KBUT Crested Butte, Colo., KWMR, WMUU-LP and more


  • Added: Dec 04, 2019
  • Length: 28:50
  • Purchases: 7
Caption: Anheuser Busch barley seed experiment in development at Space Tango’s Tangolab before heading to the International Space Station as a modular CubeLab, Credit: Mat Kaplan
Organizations are using the microgravity environment of the International Space Station to develop unique new products. One of them is Kentucky-bas...

Bought by KDNK, KCNP, KWMR, KBUT Crested Butte, Colo., WMUU-LP and more


  • Added: Nov 27, 2019
  • Length: 28:50
  • Purchases: 6
Caption: Senior Editor Emily Lakdawalla visits Mars rover Curiosity at JPL., Credit: Mat Kaplan
Our own Emily Lakdawalla, Planetary Society senior editor and book lover, shares her 2019 list of favorite space books. She also presents a list of...

Bought by KDNK, KBUT Crested Butte, Colo., WMUU-LP, KWMR, KRZA and more


  • Added: Nov 20, 2019
  • Length: 28:50
  • Purchases: 8
Caption: Saturn and its beautiful rings, imaged by the Cassini spacecraft., Credit: NASA/JPL-CALTECH
The outspoken planetary scientist who led the Cassini imaging team finally sits down with Mat Kaplan for a revealing, fun conversation. We also tal...

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  • Added: Nov 12, 2019
  • Length: 28:50
  • Purchases: 7
Caption: Pete Conrad of the Apollo 12 mission next to the Surveyor 3 robotic lander on the Moon., Credit: NASA
Jason Davis helps us celebrate the 50th anniversary of Apollo 12. The Planetary Society wants to hear your space goals, accomplishments and dreams...

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  • Added: Nov 06, 2019
  • Length: 28:50
  • Purchases: 8
Caption: Sasha Sagan and Mat Kaplan enjoy a moment in the Planetary Society studio., Credit: Planetary Society/Merc Boyan
Bill Nye says of Sasha Sagan’s new book, “Sagan finds the meaning of life everywhere—with her family, around the world, and especially among the st...

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  • Added: Oct 30, 2019
  • Length: 28:50
  • Purchases: 8
Caption: Artist concept of a very wet, ancient Mars., Credit: Wikimedia Commons
Planetary scientist Briony Horgan and her team want to know how long liquid water flowed on the surface of the Red Planet before that world froze. ...

Bought by CI Dolphin Radio, KDNK, KBUT Crested Butte, Colo., KWMR, WMUU-LP and more


  • Added: Oct 23, 2019
  • Length: 28:50
  • Purchases: 10
Caption: 2)	Astronaut Mae Jemison and Planetary Society Founder and Executive Director Emeritus Lou Friedman on stage at the 2019 NIAC Symposium’s banquet., Credit: Mat Kaplan
The NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts program gathers its “fellows” each year to share what they’ve learned about some of the most fascinating scie...

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  • Added: Oct 16, 2019
  • Length: 28:50
  • Purchases: 8
Caption: This artist’s view shows the hot Jupiter exoplanet 51 Pegasi b, sometimes referred to as Bellerophon, which orbits a star about 50 light-years from Earth in the northern constellation of Pegasus (The Winged Horse). This was the first exoplanet around a no, Credit: ESO/M. Kornmesser/Nick Risinger
Astronomer and astrophysicist Michel Mayor has just been awarded the 2019 Nobel Prize for physics. Listen to Mat’s 2016 conversation with this reve...

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  • Added: Oct 09, 2019
  • Length: 28:50
  • Purchases: 8
Caption: A large asteroid narrowly misses Earth., Credit: NASA
Planetary scientist Vishnu Reddy studies space objects ranging from satellite debris to planet-killing asteroids. He shares the status of our effo...

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  • Added: Oct 01, 2019
  • Length: 28:50
  • Purchases: 8