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
Jim Bell Sends New Eyes to Mars
From: Mat Kaplan
Series: Planetary Radio
Caption: Mastcam-Z in the Malin Space Science Systems Clean Room, Credit: Briony Horgan
The leader of the Mastcam-Z team talks about how the best cameras ever on the surface of Mars will help us explore a region that could once have su...

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


  • Added: Jul 01, 2020
  • Length: 28:50
  • Purchases: 7
China on the Final Frontier
From: Mat Kaplan
Series: Planetary Radio
Caption: China's Yutu-2 rover on the Moon., Credit: CNSA
China has big plans for a space station, exploration of the Moon and Mars, and possibly a mission that will follow Voyager beyond the edge of the s...

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


  • Added: Jun 23, 2020
  • Length: 28:50
  • Purchases: 9
LightSail 2: A Year of Solar Sailing
From: Mat Kaplan
Series: Planetary Radio
Caption: This image taken by LightSail 2's camera 2 on 9 February 2020 shows the Red Sea and the Nile River. North is approximately at right. The sail appears slightly curved due to the spacecraft's 185-degree fisheye camera lens. The image has been color adjusted, Credit: The Planetary Society
Sail on! Leaders of the LightSail 2 mission join 50,000 supporters in celebration of a year in space.

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  • Added: Jun 17, 2020
  • Length: 28:50
  • Purchases: 8
Staying Alive in Space
From: Mat Kaplan
Series: Planetary Radio
Caption: The Expedition 50 astronauts on board the International Space Station., Credit: NASA
Are we learning how to keep men and women alive on a 3-year round trip to Mars?

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  • Added: Jun 10, 2020
  • Length: 28:50
  • Purchases: 11
Crew Dragon Thrills While Mars Chills
From: Mat Kaplan
Series: Planetary Radio
Caption: Astronaut Bob Behnken is welcomed aboard the International Space Station from his Crew Dragon spaceship., Credit: BILL STAFFORD / NASA - Johnson Space Center
After a special message we present highlights of the successful arrival at the International Space Station of the Crew Dragon spacecraft, followed ...

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  • Added: Jun 03, 2020
  • Length: 28:50
  • Purchases: 8
Celebrating 30 Years of Hubble with Astronaut John Grunsfeld
From: Mat Kaplan
Series: Planetary Radio
Caption: In this 30th anniversary Hubble portrait, the giant red nebula (NGC 2014) and its smaller blue neighbor (NGC 2020) are part of a vast star-forming region in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a satellite galaxy of the Milky Way, located 163,000 light-years away., Credit: NASA/STScI
Astrophysicist and former astronaut John “Hubble Repairman” Grunsfeld looks back over three decades of beautiful science and inspiration delivered ...

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  • Added: May 26, 2020
  • Length: 28:50
  • Purchases: 9
Crew Dragon Deep Dive with Astronaut Garrett Reisman
From: Mat Kaplan
Series: Planetary Radio
Caption: The SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule for Demonstration Mission-2 arrives at the Kennedy Space Center's pad 39A, Credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
Former astronaut Garrett Reisman helped lead development of the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft that is about to carry astronauts to the Internationa...

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  • Added: May 20, 2020
  • Length: 28:50
  • Purchases: 9
Looking for Life in Alien Oceans
From: Mat Kaplan
Series: Planetary Radio
Caption: Artist's concept of a lander on the icy surface of Jupiter's moon Europa., Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
JPL scientist Kevin Hand is endlessly fascinated by the possibility of life in the hidden oceans of the outer solar system’s moons, and now he has ...

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


  • Added: May 12, 2020
  • Length: 28:50
  • Purchases: 8
The Crew Dragon Countdown Begins, With Former NASA Deputy Administrator Lori Garver
From: Mat Kaplan
Series: Planetary Radio
Caption: NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken familiarize themselves with SpaceX’s Crew Dragon, the spacecraft that will transport them to the International Space Station as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. , Credit: NASA
American astronauts are about to fly from Florida to the International Space Station for the first time in nine years, thanks to the commercial spa...

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  • Added: May 06, 2020
  • Length: 28:50
  • Purchases: 8
Life on Mars: Joining the Quest with Penny Boston and Jim Green
From: Mat Kaplan
Series: Planetary Radio
Caption: Perseverance, the Mars 2020 rover, explores the Red Planet in this artist's concept., Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
The search for life on the Red Planet is at a critical stage. What will come next if we find it?

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  • Added: Apr 29, 2020
  • Length: 28:50
  • Purchases: 11
The Royal Astronomical Society at 200
From: Mat Kaplan
Series: Planetary Radio
Caption: Burlington House, the home of the Royal Astronomical Society on Piccadilly, London., Credit: Tony Hisgett from Birmingham, UK - Burlington HouseUploaded by tm, CC BY 2.0
Celebrating the 200th anniversary of the Royal Astronomical Society

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  • Added: Apr 22, 2020
  • Length: 28:50
  • Purchases: 10
NASA Administrator James Bridenstine Returns
From: Mat Kaplan
Series: Planetary Radio
Caption: NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine gives remarks on the agency’s Artemis program, Monday, Dec. 9, 2019, at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. Through Artemis NASA plans to land the first woman and next man on the Moon by 2024., Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls
The U.S. space agency’s leader describes how NASA is responding to the pandemic crisis as it works to keep projects and missions on track.

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


  • Added: Apr 15, 2020
  • Length: 28:50
  • Purchases: 11
The Slime Mold and the Universe
From: Mat Kaplan
Series: Planetary Radio
Caption: Galaxy cluster IDCS J1426 is located 10 billion light-years from Earth and weighs almost 500 trillion suns., Credit: ESA/Hubble
One of Earth’s lowliest creatures has inspired and guided a team of scientists toward an improved model for the distribution of galaxies and dark m...

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  • Added: Apr 08, 2020
  • Length: 28:50
  • Purchases: 11
The Next 10 Years: Continuing our Solar System Tour
From: Mat Kaplan
Series: Planetary Radio
Caption: An artist’s impression of the Lucy trojan asteroid explorer, launching in late 2021 for Jupiter., Credit: NASA
Our look ahead at the near-future of solar system exploration continues with Mars, the giant outer worlds, and the smaller bodies that can be found...

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  • Added: Apr 01, 2020
  • Length: 28:50
  • Purchases: 9
The Next 10 Years…An Introduction to the Decadal Survey
From: Mat Kaplan
Series: Planetary Radio
Caption: Artist’s impression of NASA’s VIPER (Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover), a planned robotic lunar rover that will prospect for natural lunar resources, especially water ice, within a permanently shadowed region near the lunar south pole., Credit: NASA Ames/Daniel Rutter
Six scientists give us a preview of where planetary science may be taken in the next 10 years by a new NASA decadal survey.

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  • Added: Mar 25, 2020
  • Length: 28:50
  • Purchases: 11
Building Our Future on Mars
From: Mat Kaplan
Series: Planetary Radio
Caption: Artist's rendering of a 3D-printed habitat on Mars., Credit: NASA/Clouds AO/SEArch
Civil engineer Peter Carrato believes we know how to use what’s available on Mars to build the human structures that will be needed by the first ex...

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


  • Added: Mar 18, 2020
  • Length: 28:50
  • Purchases: 9
The Return of Cosmos and Ann Druyan
From: Mat Kaplan
Series: Planetary Radio
Caption: In a scene from Cosmos, astronauts, untethered and free to explore, make their descent to the moon of a possible world on a pioneering reconnaissance mission., Credit: Cosmos Studios
Cosmos has returned under the steady hand of Ann Druyan. We’ll talk with her about the third season of the television series and her companion book.

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  • Added: Mar 11, 2020
  • Length: 28:50
  • Purchases: 7
African Eyes Look to the Cosmos
From: Mat Kaplan
Series: Planetary Radio
Caption: Astronomers Without Borders founder Mike Simmons, AWB National Coordinator for Nigeria Olayinka Fagbemiro and host Mat Kaplan after their conversation at the Planetary Society, Credit: Mat Kaplan/The Planetary Society
The founder of Astronomers Without Borders brings the organization’s leader in Nigeria to the Planetary Radio microphones.

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


  • Added: Mar 03, 2020
  • Length: 28:50
  • Purchases: 9
The Search for 100 Earths
From: Mat Kaplan
Series: Planetary Radio
Caption: Planet Kepler 186f, seen in this artist's concept, is a nearly Earth-sized planet that orbits in its star's habitable zone, where water could be in liquid form., Credit: NASA/Ames/JPL-Caltech/T. Pyl
The search for worlds like our own is underway, but the challenges are enormous according to astronomers Debra Fischer and Joe Llama.

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  • Added: Feb 26, 2020
  • Length: 28:50
  • Purchases: 7
Life=Matter+Information: Paul Davies and the Demon in the Machine
From: Mat Kaplan
Series: Planetary Radio
Caption: The double helix of DNA is the main carrier of the information of life, but far from the only one, according to Paul Davies and other scientists., Credit: Public Domain
Physicist and author Paul Davies returns to talk about his new book that explores the defining role information plays in life on Earth and perhaps ...

Bought by KWMR, KBUT Crested Butte, Colo., WXAV 88.3FM Chicago, WMUU-LP, KRZA and more


  • Added: Feb 19, 2020
  • Length: 28:50
  • Purchases: 6

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