Big Picture Science

Series produced by Big Picture Science

Series image

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.

From free-thinking robots... to the recipe for dark matter... to the mix-and-match genes of synthetic biology, we have it all! One episode a month, Skeptic Check, is devoted to critical thinking.

Produced at the SETI Institute and hosted by Seth Shostak and Molly Bentley.

Big Picture Science can be found on iTunes and other podcast sites. Radio stations carrying the program are listed on our "listening" page at radio.seti.org

The program is freely available to radio stations for broadcast.

The show began with the title Are We Alone? in 2002.


329 Pieces

Order by: Newest First | Oldest First
In Living Color
From: Big Picture Science
Series: Big Picture Science
Piece image
The world is a colorful place, and human eyes have evolved to take it in – from vermillion red to bright tangerine to cobalt blue. But when we do, ...

Bought by CHSR-FM 97.9, WRGY, Cove Mountain Educational Broadcasting, KBBI Alaska, KZUM and more


  • Added: Nov 27, 2023
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 13
The T-Rex Files
From: Big Picture Science
Series: Big Picture Science
Caption: The T-Rex Files, Credit: Seth Shostak
T-Rex is having an identity crisis. Rocking the world of paleontology is the claim that Rex was not one species, but actually three. It’s not the f...

Bought by CHSR-FM 97.9, Cove Mountain Educational Broadcasting, WRGY, KBBI Alaska, WMUU-LP and more


  • Added: Nov 20, 2023
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 13
Neanderthal in the Family
From: Big Picture Science
Series: Big Picture Science
Caption: Neanderthal in the Family, Credit: Seth Shostak
Back off, you Neanderthal! It sounds as if you’ve just been dissed, but maybe you should take it as a compliment. Contrary to common cliches, our P...

Bought by CHSR-FM 97.9, WRGY, Cove Mountain Educational Broadcasting, KZUM, KBBI Alaska and more


  • Added: Nov 13, 2023
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 14
Night Flight
From: Big Picture Science
Series: Big Picture Science
Caption: Night Flight, Credit: Seth Shostak
Owls are both the most accessible and elusive of birds. Every child can recognize one, but you’ll be lucky to spot an owl in a tree, even if you’re...

Bought by CHSR-FM 97.9, WRGY, Cove Mountain Educational Broadcasting, KBBI Alaska, KZUM and more


  • Added: Nov 06, 2023
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 13
Extraordinary Ordinary Objects
From: Big Picture Science
Series: Big Picture Science
Caption: Extraordinary Ordinary Objecets, Credit: Seth Shostak
“To live is to count and to count is to calculate.” But before we plugged in the computer to express this ethos, we pulled out the pocket calculat...

Bought by KMRE-LP Bellingham, Wash., Cove Mountain Educational Broadcasting, WRGY, KZUM, WLPR and more


  • Added: Oct 30, 2023
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 14
Like Lightning
From: Big Picture Science
Series: Big Picture Science
Caption: Like Lightning, Credit: Seth Shostak
Every second, lightning strikes 50 to 100 times somewhere. It can wreak havoc by starting wildfires and sometimes killing people. But lightning als...

Bought by CHSR-FM 97.9, Cove Mountain Educational Broadcasting, KMRE-LP Bellingham, Wash., WRGY, KZUM and more


  • Added: Oct 23, 2023
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 15
Skeptic Check: Worrier Mentality
From: Big Picture Science
Series: Big Picture Science
Piece image
Poisonous snakes, lightning strikes, a rogue rock from space. There are plenty of scary things to fret about, but are we burning adrenaline on the...

Bought by WRGY, Cove Mountain Educational Broadcasting, KMRE-LP Bellingham, Wash., KZUM, KBBI Alaska and more


  • Added: Oct 16, 2023
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 16
How Hot is Too Hot
From: Big Picture Science
Series: Big Picture Science
Caption: How Hot is Too Hot?, Credit: Seth Shostak
Extreme heat is taking its toll on the natural world. We use words like “heat domes” and “freakish” to de-scribe our everyday existence. These high...

Bought by KUFM - Montana Public Radio, KTAL-LP [Las Cruces Community Radio], WVTF, CHSR-FM 97.9, Cove Mountain Educational Broadcasting and more


  • Added: Oct 02, 2023
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 17
Skeptic Check: Near Death Experiences
From: Big Picture Science
Series: Big Picture Science
Caption: Near Death Experiences, Credit: Seth Shostak
Near death experiences can be profound and even life changing. People describe seeing bright lights, staring into the abyss, or meeting dead relati...

Bought by KTAL-LP [Las Cruces Community Radio], CHSR-FM 97.9, Cove Mountain Educational Broadcasting, WRGY, KBBI Alaska and more


  • Added: Sep 25, 2023
  • Length: 54:15
  • Purchases: 14
Into the Deep
From: Big Picture Science
Series: Big Picture Science
Caption: Into the Deep, Credit: Seth Shostak
Have you ever heard worms arguing? Deep-sea scientists use hydrophones to eavesdrop on “mouth-fighting worms.” It’s one of the many ways scientist...

Bought by KTAL-LP [Las Cruces Community Radio], CHSR-FM 97.9, Cove Mountain Educational Broadcasting, WRGY, KBBI Alaska and more


  • Added: Sep 18, 2023
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 15
What's a Few Degrees?
From: Big Picture Science
Series: Big Picture Science
Caption: What's a Few Degrees, Credit: Seth Shostak
Brace yourself for heatwave “Lucifer.” Dangerous heatwaves may soon become so common that we give them names, just like hurricanes. This is one of ...

Bought by CHSR-FM 97.9, WCAI / WNAN Cape & Islands, Mass., KTAL-LP [Las Cruces Community Radio], WRGY, Cove Mountain Educational Broadcasting and more


  • Added: Sep 11, 2023
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 16
Building a Space Colony
From: Big Picture Science
Series: Big Picture Science
Caption: Building a Space Colony, Credit: Seth Shostak
Ready to become a space emigre? For half a century, visionaries have been talking about our future off-Earth – a speculative scenario in which many...

Bought by CHSR-FM 97.9, KTAL-LP [Las Cruces Community Radio], WRGY, Cove Mountain Educational Broadcasting, KBBI Alaska and more


  • Added: Sep 04, 2023
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 14
Talk the Walk
From: Big Picture Science
Series: Big Picture Science
Caption: Talk the Walk, Credit: Seth Shostak
Birds and bees do it … and so do fish. In a discovery that highlights the adaptive benefits of walking, scientists have discovered fish that can wa...

Bought by CHSR-FM 97.9, WRGY, Cove Mountain Educational Broadcasting, WUFT, KBBI Alaska and more


  • Added: Aug 28, 2023
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 16
A Twist of Slime
From: Big Picture Science
Series: Big Picture Science
Caption: A Twist of Slime, Credit: Seth Shostak
Your daily mucus output is most impressive. Teaspoons or measuring cups can’t capture its entire volume. Find out how much your body churns out and...

Bought by KTAL-LP [Las Cruces Community Radio], WRGY, Cove Mountain Educational Broadcasting, KBBI Alaska, CHSR-FM 97.9 and more


  • Added: Aug 21, 2023
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 14
Granting Immunity
From: Big Picture Science
Series: Big Picture Science
Caption: Granting Immunity, Credit: Seth Shostak
“Diversity or die” could be your new health mantra. Don’t boost your immune system, cultivate it! Like a garden, your body’s defenses benefit from...

Bought by WCAI / WNAN Cape & Islands, Mass., CHSR-FM 97.9, KTAL-LP [Las Cruces Community Radio], Cove Mountain Educational Broadcasting, WRGY and more


  • Added: Aug 14, 2023
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 15
Skeptic Check: UFO Conspiracy
From: Big Picture Science
Series: Big Picture Science
Caption: Skeptic Check: UFO Conspiracy, Credit: Seth Shostak
UFOs are back. This time they’ve landed on Capitol Hill in the form of a public, congressional hearing. We watched the hearing with great interest,...

Bought by CHSR-FM 97.9, WVTF, WRGY, Cove Mountain Educational Broadcasting, KBBI Alaska and more


  • Added: Aug 07, 2023
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 16
We'll Always Have Parasites
From: Big Picture Science
Series: Big Picture Science
Caption: We'll Always Have Parasites, Credit: Scott Gardner
Imagine tapeworms longer than the height of an adult human. Or microbes that turn their hosts into zombies. If the revulsion they induce doesn’t do...

Bought by KTAL-LP [Las Cruces Community Radio], Cove Mountain Educational Broadcasting, WRGY, KBBI Alaska, WMUU-LP and more


  • Added: Jul 31, 2023
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 12
Fantastic-er Voyage
From: Big Picture Science
Series: Big Picture Science
Caption: Fantastic-er Voyage, Credit: Seth Shostak
Thinking small can sometimes achieve big things. A new generation of diminutive robots can enter our bodies and deal with medical problems such as ...

Bought by CHSR-FM 97.9, KTAL-LP [Las Cruces Community Radio], RadioFreePalmer, KIYU-FM, WRGY and more


  • Added: Jul 18, 2023
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 13
Dinosaurs' Last Gasp
From: Big Picture Science
Series: Big Picture Science
Caption: Dinosaurs' Last Gasp, Credit: Seth Shostak
Do we have physical evidence of the last day of the dinosaurs? We consider fossilized fish in South Dakota that may chronicle the dramatic events t...

Bought by KIYU-FM, WRGY, Cove Mountain Educational Broadcasting, KZUM, KBBI Alaska and more


  • Added: Jul 10, 2023
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 15
Allergy Reason
From: Big Picture Science
Series: Big Picture Science
Caption: Allergy Reason, Credit: Seth Shostak
Runny nose. Itchy, watery eyes. Sneezing. If you don’t have allergies, you probably know someone who does. The number of people with allergies, inc...

Bought by WVTF, WCAI / WNAN Cape & Islands, Mass., KIYU-FM, WRGY, Cove Mountain Educational Broadcasting and more


  • Added: Jul 03, 2023
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 16

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