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.

Public radio's only long format, weekly series devoted to space exploration and the scientists, engineers, astronauts and visionaries who lead it. Most episodes include an in-depth interview along with regular segments that incude:

Planetary Society CEO Bill Nye the Science Guy's weekly commentaries...Emily Lakdawalla's Snapshots From Space...What's Up! (...in the night sky, with other fun and intriguing space info and a weekly contest.)

Several episodes each year are recorded live before an enthusiastic audience, often with live music. We also cover special space events, like the landing of the Curiosity Mars Rover, and take listeners to the places where scientists learn about the cosmos, like Chile's Atacama Desert.

Episodes are available from the PRSS each Tuesday on channel A68.5, from 1600-1630 Eastern. We also make a 128kb MP3 available to stations at our website.

Every week, Planetary Radio visits with a scientist, engineer, astronaut, project manager, advocate, visionary or writer who can provide a unique perspective on the quest for knowledge about our solar system and beyond. We also showcase regular features that raise your space IQ while they put a smile on your face.

Past guests have included Buzz Aldrin, Sally Ride, X Prize Founder Peter Diamandis, Ray Bradbury, Bill Nye the Science Guy, Steve Squyres of the Mars Exploration Rover Project, Galileo's Daughter author Dava Sobel, interplanetary volcano expert Rosaly Lopes, the European Space Agency's Bernard Foing and scores of other leaders.

Each episode also includes an irreverent look at the current night sky with astronomer and Planetary Society Director of Projects Bruce Betts. These "What's Up!" segments also include a Random Space Fact, This Week in Space History, and our popular weekly space trivia contest.

Join our family of 150 stations!
Hide full description

Public radio's only long format, weekly series devoted to space exploration and the scientists, engineers, astronauts and visionaries who lead it. Most episodes include an in-depth interview along with regular segments that incude: Planetary Society CEO Bill Nye the Science Guy's weekly commentaries...Emily Lakdawalla's Snapshots From Space...What's Up! (...in the night sky, with other fun and intriguing space info and a weekly contest.) Several episodes each year are recorded live before an enthusiastic audience, often with live music. We also cover special space events, like the landing of the Curiosity Mars Rover, and take listeners to the places where scientists learn about the cosmos, like Chile's Atacama Desert. Episodes are available from the PRSS each Tuesday on channel... Show full description


511 Pieces

Order by: Newest First | Oldest First
Caption: March 3, 2014 launch from Poker Flat Research Range, Credit: NASA/Christopher Perry
Join Mat Kaplan and other Aurora “virgins” as they seek the Northern Lights in Fairbanks, Alaska, and meet retired rocketeer and Director of the Po...

Bought by KMXT, WXAV 88.3FM Chicago, WESM 91.3 FM, and WOUB


  • Added: Mar 17, 2014
  • Length: 28:51
  • Purchases: 4
Caption: NuSTAR radioactivity map of a supernova., Credit: NASA
It’s the first high energy X-ray telescope in space, and it is providing theory-shattering data along with stunning images of some of the universe’...

Bought by WESM 91.3 FM, WOUB, and WXAV 88.3FM Chicago


  • Added: Mar 06, 2014
  • Length: 28:51
  • Purchases: 3
Piece image
SETI Institute researcher and member of the Kepler team Jason Rowe helps us dig into the latest big announcement about hundreds of planets in solar...

Bought by WMNF, WOUB, WXAV 88.3FM Chicago, and WESM 91.3 FM


  • Added: Mar 04, 2014
  • Length: 28:51
  • Purchases: 4
Caption: Ed Stone and Voyager, Credit: NASA JPL
JPL’s Blaine Baggett has completed “The Stuff of Dreams,” a documentary about an era in planetary exploration that was both exhilarating and exaspe...

Bought by WMNF, WESM 91.3 FM, WXAV 88.3FM Chicago, and WOUB


  • Added: Feb 25, 2014
  • Length: 28:51
  • Purchases: 4
Piece image
Our celebration of the Mars rovers continues from Southern California Public Radio’s Crawford Family Forum, this week featuring planetary scientist...

Bought by WXAV 88.3FM Chicago, WESM 91.3 FM, KSKQ, and WOUB


  • Added: Feb 04, 2014
  • Length: 28:51
  • Purchases: 4
Caption: Family portrait of the Mars Rovers, Credit: JPL/NASA
Opportunity has been rolling across Mars for 10 years! We celebrate the Mars Exploration Rovers and their sisters on the red planet at Planetary R...

Bought by WXAV 88.3FM Chicago, WESM 91.3 FM, KSKQ, and WOUB


  • Added: Jan 27, 2014
  • Length: 28:51
  • Purchases: 4
Caption: New 4th Edition of "The Cosmos", Credit: Cambridge University Press
Astronomers Jay Pasachoff and Alex Filippenko have just published the 4th edition of “The Cosmos: Astronomy in the New Millenium.” They join us fo...

Bought by WMNF, WXAV 88.3FM Chicago, KSKQ, WESM 91.3 FM, and WOUB


  • Added: Jan 21, 2014
  • Length: 28:51
  • Purchases: 5
Caption: Gemini Planet Imager first light image of exoplanet Beta Pictoris a
Principal Investigator and physicist Bruce Macintosh joins astronomer Franck Marchis to celebrate first light from the most powerful instrument for...

Bought by WMNF, Marfa Public Radio, WXAV 88.3FM Chicago, WESM 91.3 FM, KSKQ and more


  • Added: Jan 14, 2014
  • Length: 28:51
  • Purchases: 6
Caption: Planetary Evangelist Emily Lakdawalla
24 spacecraft are either busy exploring the solar system or speeding toward an exciting destination. The Planetary Society's Senior Editor takes u...

Bought by WMNF, KSKQ, WXAV 88.3FM Chicago, WESM 91.3 FM, RadioFreePalmer and more


  • Added: Jan 07, 2014
  • Length: 28:51
  • Purchases: 6
Caption: NEOWISE Mission Principal Investigator Amy Mainzer
Take a spacecraft that can no longer survey the realm of galaxies and repurpose it to discover thousands of much nearer asteroids and comets. Put i...

Bought by KSKQ, WXAV 88.3FM Chicago, WESM 91.3 FM, and WOUB


  • Added: Dec 31, 2013
  • Length: 28:51
  • Purchases: 4
Caption: Artist's conception of Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity at Endurance Crater
What a long, wonderful trip it has been for Spirit and Opportunity, the Mars Exploration Rovers. Planetary Society reporter Salley Rayl has been wr...

Bought by WXAV 88.3FM Chicago and WESM 91.3 FM


  • Added: Dec 24, 2013
  • Length: 28:51
  • Purchases: 2
Caption: Chang'e 3 Lander on the Moon, Credit: CTV
The annual fall meeting of the American Geophysical Union revealed lots of science, some of it astounding. Emily Lakdawalla was there with Advocac...

Bought by KSVR Studios: Skagit Valley Radio, WXAV 88.3FM Chicago, and WESM 91.3 FM


  • Added: Dec 17, 2013
  • Length: 28:51
  • Purchases: 3
Caption: Karl Battams, Comet ISON Observer
Maybe it wasn’t “the comet of the century,” but ISON has left a scientific legacy that is beyond compare. That’s according to Karl Battams of NASA’...

Bought by WXAV 88.3FM Chicago, WXDU, WESM 91.3 FM, and KMXT


  • Added: Dec 10, 2013
  • Length: 28:51
  • Purchases: 4
Piece image
The life of explorer and teacher Dr. Bruce Murray was celebrated last November 10th at Caltech. This week we present a few excerpts from the tribu...

Bought by WXAV 88.3FM Chicago and WESM 91.3 FM


  • Added: Dec 03, 2013
  • Length: 28:51
  • Purchases: 2
Piece image
Alyssa Rhoden studies Jupiter’s moon Europa…from a distance. She, many other scientists and millions of space exploration fans around the globe wan...

Bought by WXAV 88.3FM Chicago and WESM 91.3 FM


  • Added: Nov 26, 2013
  • Length: 28:51
  • Purchases: 2
Caption: Bill Nye reports live from the launch of the MAVEN Mars orbiter, Credit: Loren Roberts
MAVEN set out for Mars on November 18. Planetary Radio Live joined the celebration from Pasadena, California with Bruce Betts, Emily Lakdawalla, h...

Bought by WXAV 88.3FM Chicago and WESM 91.3 FM


  • Added: Nov 19, 2013
  • Length: 28:51
  • Purchases: 2
Caption: 2013 SpaceUp LA, Credit: Mat Kaplan
What would YOU do with $10 Billion for space exploration and development? That’s what Mat Kaplan asked the passionate space enthusiasts at the 201...

Bought by WXAV 88.3FM Chicago and WESM 91.3 FM


  • Added: Nov 12, 2013
  • Length: 28:51
  • Purchases: 2
Caption: The All-Sky Optical Seti Instrument
A burst of laser light could let humanity know it is not alone in the universe. Harvard’s Paul Horowitz and Curtis Mead will give us an update on t...

Bought by WXAV 88.3FM Chicago and WESM 91.3 FM


  • Added: Nov 04, 2013
  • Length: 28:50
  • Purchases: 2
Caption: Pellet of Plutonium 238 for spacecraft, Credit: Department of Energy
Casey Dreier tells the winding tale of Plutonium 238, the radioactive isotope that is vital for exploration of the solar system. The US came danger...

Bought by WXAV 88.3FM Chicago and WESM 91.3 FM


  • Added: Oct 29, 2013
  • Length: 28:51
  • Purchases: 2
Caption: Jupiter From Voyager 2, Credit: Jonsson
Juno Principal Investigator Scott Bolton reviews the spacecraft's Earth flyby and previews its long stay at our solar system's king of planets. Bil...

Bought by WXAV 88.3FM Chicago and WESM 91.3 FM


  • Added: Oct 22, 2013
  • Length: 28:50
  • Purchases: 2