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: The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera aboard NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter captured these sand ripples and the large dune (at center) on Feb. 9, 2009. Color has been added to make textures easier to see., Credit: NASA/JPL-CALTECH
Two pioneering Mars orbiters are still doing great work above the Red Planet, while the first operational Crew Dragon spaceship has delivered four ...

Bought by WFHB, KBUT Crested Butte, Colo., KWMR, KCNP, KRZA and more


  • Added: Nov 18, 2020
  • Length: 28:50
  • Purchases: 9
Caption: An artist's impression of a gravitational microlensing event by a free-floating planet., Credit: Jan Skowron / Astronomical Observatory, University of Warsaw
A distant, lonely planet has been discovered as it wanders the galaxy, while Bill Nye helps us celebrate selection of a radically-simple sample col...

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


  • Added: Nov 10, 2020
  • Length: 28:50
  • Purchases: 9
Caption: Artist impression of TransAstra spacecraft., Credit: TransAstra Corporation
Joel Sercel believes we are entering an era in which asteroid mining and other commercial development of space are imminent, but he’s concerned abo...

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


  • Added: Nov 04, 2020
  • Length: 28:50
  • Purchases: 9
Caption: TOUCHDOWN ON ASTEROID BENNU! Rocks fly off asteroid Bennu after NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft touched the surface to collect a sample on 20 October 2020. The sample head touched Bennu's surface for 6 seconds while a bottle of nitrogen gas stirred rocks and, Credit: NASA/Goddard/University of Arizona
The leader of the OSIRIS REx asteroid sample return mission shares more details of last week’s encounter in an exclusive interview, while we also l...

Bought by C89.5 - KNHC Seattle, WFHB, KMRE-LP Bellingham, Wash., KCNP, KWMR and more


  • Added: Oct 27, 2020
  • Length: 28:50
  • Purchases: 11
Caption: That's asteroid Bennu on the left. It's actually far smaller than Venus, revealed on the right by radar., Credit: NASA/Goddard/University of Arizona
The OSIRIS-REx spacecraft appears to have collected its first sample from asteroid Bennu, while a team led by Jane Greaves has discovered what coul...

Bought by C89.5 - KNHC Seattle, WFHB, KWMR, KBUT Crested Butte, Colo., KCNP and more


  • Added: Oct 21, 2020
  • Length: 28:50
  • Purchases: 9
Caption: The moon and Earth's edge, photgraphed from the International Space Station., Credit: NASA
Creators of an outstanding new collection of poems about spaceflight and exploration join Mat Kaplan to talk about the book as Bill Nye and other n...

Bought by WFHB, KMRE-LP Bellingham, Wash., RadioStPete Florida, KWMR, KBUT Crested Butte, Colo. and more


  • Added: Oct 14, 2020
  • Length: 28:50
  • Purchases: 10
Caption: In this image taken on May 20, 2020 at the Kennedy Space Center, engineers and technicians insert 39 sample tubes into the belly of the Perseverance Mars rover. Each tube is sheathed in a gold-colored cylindrical enclosure to protect it from contamination, Credit: NASA/JPL-CALTECH
NASA’s planetary protection officer joined Mat Kaplan’s Humans to Mars summit panel for a great conversation about protecting worlds throughout the...

Bought by C89.5 - KNHC Seattle, WFHB, KMXT, KBUT Crested Butte, Colo., KWMR and more


  • Added: Oct 06, 2020
  • Length: 28:50
  • Purchases: 10
Caption: An artist's impression of the fully-deployed James Webb Space Telescope, planned for launch in 2021., Credit: NASA
Astronomer and planetary scientist Heidi Hammel’s AURA shines bright across our solar system and beyond.

Bought by C89.5 - KNHC Seattle, WFHB, KMRE-LP Bellingham, Wash., KWMR, KBUT Crested Butte, Colo. and more


  • Added: Sep 30, 2020
  • Length: 28:50
  • Purchases: 12
Caption: The Planetary Society's Emily Lakdawalla in the JPL clean room as Perseverance, the Mars 2020 rover, was being readied for launch., Credit: Mat Kaplan
Planetary Society Solar System Specialist Emily Lakdawalla makes a big announcement, and share stories from her long history with the organization.

Bought by KMRE-LP Bellingham, Wash., KWMR, KCNP, KBUT Crested Butte, Colo., KRZA and more


  • Added: Sep 23, 2020
  • Length: 28:50
  • Purchases: 8
Caption: Artist's impression of Venus, with an inset showing a representation of the phosphine molecules detected in the high cloud decks., Credit: ESO / M. Kornmesser / L. Calçada & NASA / JPL / Caltech
It could be a profound and historic discovery made on Earth’s nearest planetary neighbor.

Bought by WFHB, C89.5 - KNHC Seattle, KMRE-LP Bellingham, Wash., KVSC, KWMR and more


  • Added: Sep 16, 2020
  • Length: 28:50
  • Purchases: 11
Caption: Dwarf planet Ceres is shown in these false-color renderings, which highlight differences in surface materials., Credit: NASA/JPL-CalTech/UCLA/MPS/DLR/IDA
Former Dawn mission director Marc Rayman of JPL reveals the secrets of the bright spots on dwarf planet Ceres, and we celebrate his 10 years as Pla...

Bought by KBUT Crested Butte, Colo., KICI Iowa City, KVSC, C89.5 - KNHC Seattle, WYAP and more


  • Added: Sep 09, 2020
  • Length: 28:50
  • Purchases: 12
Caption: A mosaic of 102 Viking orbiter images of Mars, showing a hemisphere of the planet centered on the immense Valles Marineris canyon system. Prepared by the U.S. Geological Survey. , Credit: NASA/JPL/USGS
Georgetown University planetary scientist Sarah Stewart Johnson chronicles the long history of our fascination with Mars and the possibility of lif...

Bought by C89.5 - KNHC Seattle, KDNK, WYAP, KWMR, KBUT Crested Butte, Colo. and more


  • Added: Sep 02, 2020
  • Length: 28:50
  • Purchases: 10
Caption: The detailed, all-sky picture of the infant universe created from nine years of WMAP data. The image reveals 13.77 billion year old temperature fluctuations (shown as color differences) that correspond to the seeds that grew to become the galaxies., Credit: NASA/WMAP Science Team
How will the universe end? That’s the question explored by cosmologist Katie Mack in her very entertaining new book.

Bought by C89.5 - KNHC Seattle, KBUT Crested Butte, Colo., KCNP, KWMR, WMUU-LP and more


  • Added: Aug 26, 2020
  • Length: 28:50
  • Purchases: 8
Caption: Jupiter's south pole, captured by the Juno orbiter., Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
New research reveals why Earth is on its own in this solar system’s habitable zone where liquid surface water flows, but the same isn’t true across...

Bought by C89.5 - KNHC Seattle, KMXT, KVSC, WYAP, KCNP and more


  • Added: Aug 19, 2020
  • Length: 28:50
  • Purchases: 11
Caption: The two parts of the SuperCam instrument are shown mounted on an optical bench. The units are connected by electronic cables and an optical fiber., Credit: Los Alamos National Lab
SuperCam principal investigator Roger Wiens shares how his new and improved laser-based spectrometer will help look for past life in Jezero Crater,...

Bought by C89.5 - KNHC Seattle, KCNP, KWMR, KBUT Crested Butte, Colo., WMUU-LP and more


  • Added: Aug 12, 2020
  • Length: 28:50
  • Purchases: 10
Caption: NASA astronauts Robert Behnken, left, and Douglas Hurley are seen inside the SpaceX Crew Dragon Endeavour spacecraft onboard the SpaceX GO Navigator recovery ship shortly after having landed in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Pensacola, Florida, Sunda, Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls
Splashdown! An astronaut and former leader of Dragon capsule development at SpaceX is back to celebrate the spacecraft’s successful mission, as a P...

Bought by C89.5 - KNHC Seattle, KICI Iowa City, RadioStPete Florida, KCNP, KWMR and more


  • Added: Aug 04, 2020
  • Length: 28:50
  • Purchases: 11
Caption: The Emirates Mars Mission Hope spacecraft undergoes testing., Credit: UAE Space Agency
Our special guests are the leaders of the Emirates Mars Mission whose Hope spacecraft is now headed for the Red Planet.

Bought by C89.5 - KNHC Seattle, KVSC, KWMR, KBUT Crested Butte, Colo., WMUU-LP and more


  • Added: Jul 29, 2020
  • Length: 28:50
  • Purchases: 9
Caption: Artist concept of the UAE Hope spacecraft in orbit above Mars., Credit: UAE Space Agency
The United Arab Emirates is headed for Mars as comet NEOWISE speeds back to the outer reaches of the solar system.

Bought by C89.5 - KNHC Seattle, RadioStPete Florida, KBUT Crested Butte, Colo., KWMR, WMUU-LP and more


  • Added: Jul 22, 2020
  • Length: 28:50
  • Purchases: 10
Caption: Perseverance, NASA's 2020 Mars rover, explores Jezero crater in this artist's concept., Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Join a Perseverance mission deputy project scientist to learn how the rover will search for past life on the Red Planet.

Bought by C89.5 - KNHC Seattle, KBUT Crested Butte, Colo., KWMR, WMUU-LP, WXAV 88.3FM Chicago and more


  • Added: Jul 15, 2020
  • Length: 28:50
  • Purchases: 9
Caption: False color image of Pluto taken by the New Horizons spacecraft., Credit: NASA/JHUAPL
Principal Investigator Alan Stern returns on the 5th anniversary of the New Horizons encounter with Pluto to tell us about the wealth of knowledge ...

Bought by C89.5 - KNHC Seattle, KCNP, KBUT Crested Butte, Colo., KWMR, WMUU-LP and more


  • Added: Jul 08, 2020
  • Length: 28:50
  • Purchases: 9