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
Skeptic Check: Anti-Vax
From: Big Picture Science
Series: Big Picture Science
Caption: Skeptic Check: Anti-Vax, Credit: Seth Shostak
They were developed in a matter of months, and they’re 90 percent effective at stopping infection. They protect against serious illness or death. A...

Bought by WVTF, KZUM, CHSR-FM 97.9, KBCS 91.3 FM Community Radio, WFAE and more


  • Added: Aug 09, 2021
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 23
New Water Worlds
From: Big Picture Science
Series: Big Picture Science
Caption: New Water Worlds, Credit: Seth Shostak
The water is coming. By century’s end, the oceans could be anywhere from 2 to 6 feet higher, threatening millions of people and low-lying property....

Bought by WMUU-LP, WMUU-LP, CHSR-FM 97.9, KAZU Seaside, Calif., Cove Mountain Educational Broadcasting and more


  • Added: Jul 19, 2021
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 15
Cicadas and Zombie Seeds
From: Big Picture Science
Series: Big Picture Science
Caption: Cicadas and Zombie Seeds, Credit: Seth Shostak
Rip van Winkle snoozed for 20 years, and Sleeping Beauty for 100. But seeds in an underground bottle have easily beaten both these records, germina...

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


  • Added: Jul 12, 2021
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 13
Skeptic Check: Pentagon UFO Report
From: Big Picture Science
Series: Big Picture Science
Caption: Pentagon UFO Report, Credit: Seth Shostak
When the government announced it would release a report about strange aerial phenomena, public excitement and media coverage took off like a Saturn...

Bought by KMUN, Interlochen Public Radio, WRGY, Cove Mountain Educational Broadcasting, WHCP-LP Cambridge and more


  • Added: Jul 05, 2021
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 14
Skeptic Check: Science Breaking Bad
From: Big Picture Science
Series: Big Picture Science
Caption: Science Breaking Bad, Credit: Seth Shostak
The scientific method is tried and true. The fallible humans behind the research, however, not so much. Find out why the hyper-competitive pursuit...

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


  • Added: Jun 28, 2021
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 14
After The Plague
From: Big Picture Science
Series: Big Picture Science
Caption: After the Plague, Credit: Seth Shostak
Everyone is familiar with the immediate consequences of a pandemic – sickness and death. But the long-term ramifications can be just as dramatic: a...

Bought by WMUU-LP, WMUU-LP, CHSR-FM 97.9, WKMS, Interlochen Public Radio and more


  • Added: Jun 21, 2021
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 16
Air Apparent
From: Big Picture Science
Series: Big Picture Science
Caption: Air Apparent, Credit: Seth Shostak
It’s easy to take air for granted, but – unlike food and water – you can’t live more than a few minutes without it. This invisible chemical cocktai...

Bought by WMUU-LP, CHSR-FM 97.9, Cove Mountain Educational Broadcasting, WMUU-LP, WHCP-LP Cambridge and more


  • Added: May 31, 2021
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 12
Skeptic Check: Rational Lampoon
From: Big Picture Science
Series: Big Picture Science
Caption: Skeptic Check: Rational Lampoon, Credit: Seth Shostak
Why a cognitive scientist says that the very idea of individual thinking is a myth: most of our thinking is done in groups. Also, you know much les...

Bought by CHSR-FM 97.9, KICI Iowa City, Cove Mountain Educational Broadcasting, WRGY, WHCP-LP Cambridge and more


  • Added: May 17, 2021
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 13
Skeptic Check: Flat Earth
From: Big Picture Science
Series: Big Picture Science
Caption: Skeptic Check: Flat Earth, Credit: Seth Shostak
Flat Earthers believe that our planet resembles not a slightly squashed grapefruit but a thick pancake. We look at the difference between a truly ...

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


  • Added: Apr 26, 2021
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 14
Venom Diagram
From: Big Picture Science
Series: Big Picture Science
Caption: Venom Diagram, Credit: Seth Shostak
Evolution has outfitted some animals with a highly effective mechanism for saying “back off!”. Venoms can ward off predators and disable prey, and...

Bought by WMUU-LP, WCNY, WUFT, Cove Mountain Educational Broadcasting, KBBI Alaska and more


  • Added: Apr 12, 2021
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 19
Volcanic Mind Melt
From: Big Picture Science
Series: Big Picture Science
Caption: Volcanic Mind Melt, Credit: Seth Shostak
The more than a thousand volcanoes that dapple Earth’s surface mark the edges of tectonic plates, spewing hot gas and ash, or boiling over with lav...

Bought by WMUU-LP, WCNY, CHSR-FM 97.9, Cove Mountain Educational Broadcasting, WHCP-LP Cambridge and more


  • Added: Apr 05, 2021
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 16
Skeptic Check: Useful Delusions
From: Big Picture Science
Series: Big Picture Science
Caption: Skeptic Check: Useful Delusion, Credit: Seth Shostak
Can self-deception be useful? During the pandemic, it has been fashionable to say that we’re “following the science,” and that our behavior is dete...

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


  • Added: Mar 29, 2021
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 15
DecodeHer
From: Big Picture Science
Series: Big Picture Science
Caption: DecodeHer, Credit: Seth Shostak
They were pioneers in their fields, yet their names are scarcely known – simply because they didn’t have a Y chromosome. We examine the accomplishm...

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


  • Added: Mar 15, 2021
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 17
Creature Discomforts
From: Big Picture Science
Series: Big Picture Science
Caption: Creature Discomforts, Credit: Creature Discomforts
We love them, fear them, use them – and sometimes eat them, too. But how well do we really know animals? Our impressions are often simplistic. T...

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


  • Added: Feb 22, 2021
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 16
Supercomputer Showdown
From: Big Picture Science
Series: Big Picture Science
Caption: Supercomputer Showdown, Credit: Seth Shostak
Do you have a hard-to-answer question? The Summit, Sierra, Trinity, Frontier, and Aurora supercomputers are built to tackle it. Summit tops the pet...

Bought by WCNY, KMUN, Cove Mountain Educational Broadcasting, WRGY, WYAP and more


  • Added: Jan 18, 2021
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 15
Skeptic Check: Betting on Pseudoscience
From: Big Picture Science
Series: Big Picture Science
Caption: Betting on Pseudoscience, Credit: Seth Shostak
Psychics may not be able to predict the future or sense your thoughts. Nonetheless, they rake in big bucks. But the harm from pseudoscience can go ...

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


  • Added: Jan 11, 2021
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 15
For Good Measure
From: Big Picture Science
Series: Big Picture Science
Piece image
The reign of Le Grand K has come to an end. After 130 years, this hunk of French metal sitting in a vault will no longer define the kilogram. The n...

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


  • Added: Dec 28, 2020
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 14
Handling the Holidays
From: Big Picture Science
Series: Big Picture Science
Caption: Handling the Holidays, Credit: Seth Shostak
The stress of the holidays can make you want to hide under the covers with a warm cup of cocoa. From gift buying to family gatherings, the holiday...

Bought by WUFT, KOJB 90.1 FM The eagle, KTXK, KZUM, WUFT and more


  • Added: Dec 21, 2020
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 17
Fire Clouds and Ice-teroids
From: Big Picture Science
Series: Big Picture Science
Piece image
Upcoming asteroid missions will bring back samples from Bennu, and get up-close and personal with seven other small bodies to tell us how the solar...

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


  • Added: Dec 14, 2020
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 15
Sex Post Facto
From: Big Picture Science
Series: Big Picture Science
Caption: Sex Post Facto, Credit: Seth Shostak
Birds do it, bees do it, but humans may not do it for much longer – at least not for having kids. Instead, babies will be made in the lab, with ge...

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


  • Added: Nov 16, 2020
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 16

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