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.


330 Pieces

Order by: Newest First | Oldest First
Skeptic Check: Know-It-Alls
From: Big Picture Science
Series: Big Picture Science
Caption: Skeptic Check: Know-It-Alls
Think you’re some kind of expert? Join the club. It’s one thing to question authority; another to offer up your untrained self as its replacement. ...

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


  • Added: Jul 27, 2020
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 14
On Thin Ice
From: Big Picture Science
Series: Big Picture Science
Caption: On Thin Ice
Ice is more than a repository for water that would otherwise raise sea levels. It’s part of Earth’s cooling system, a barrier preventing decaying o...

Bought by WMUU-LP, WMUU-LP, CHSR-FM 97.9, KUAC, KMUN and more


  • Added: Aug 03, 2020
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 14
The X-Flies
From: Big Picture Science
Series: Big Picture Science
Piece image
Insects populations are declining. But before saying “good riddance,” consider that insects are essential to many ecosystems. Find out what might ...

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


  • Added: Aug 24, 2020
  • Length: 54:30
  • Purchases: 15
Space: Why Go There
From: Big Picture Science
Series: Big Picture Science
Caption: Space: Why Go There, Credit: Seth Shostak
It takes a lot of energy and technology to rocket into space. Find out why it’s worth it, from the practical importance of satellites to the thril...

Bought by WMUU-LP, KAWC / Border Radio - KOFA, CHSR-FM 97.9, WRST-FM Oshkosh, KUAC and more


  • Added: Sep 07, 2020
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 15
Life on Venus?
From: Big Picture Science
Series: Big Picture Science
Caption: Life on Venus?, Credit: Seth Shostak
Have scientists found evidence of life on Venus? Known for its scorching temperatures and acidic atmosphere, Earth’s twin hardly seems a promising ...

Bought by CHSR-FM 97.9, WRGY, KBBI Alaska, WMUU-LP, WHCP-LP Cambridge and more


  • Added: Sep 14, 2020
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 6
Geology is Destiny
From: Big Picture Science
Series: Big Picture Science
Caption: Geology is Destiny, Credit: Seth Shostak
Geology is big history. If the Ice Age had been a bit warmer, the U.S. might have only 13 states. But humanity has introduced its own geologic er...

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


  • Added: Oct 12, 2020
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 16
Skeptic Check: Stay Skeptical
From: Big Picture Science
Series: Big Picture Science
Caption: Skeptic Check: Stay Skeptical, Credit: Seth Shostak
Whether you call it hooey, codswallop, or malarky, misinformation is not what it used to be. It’s harder to spot now. New-school BS is often cloake...

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


  • Added: Oct 26, 2020
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 15
The Other Living World
From: Big Picture Science
Series: Big Picture Science
Caption: The Other Living World, Credit: Seth Shostak
Reason for hope is just one thing that ecologist Carl Safina can offer. He understands why many of us turn to nature to find solace during this str...

Bought by WMUU-LP, WMUU-LP, CHSR-FM 97.9, KAZU Seaside, Calif., KMUN and more


  • Added: Nov 02, 2020
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 17
Time Travel Agents
From: Big Picture Science
Series: Big Picture Science
Caption: Time Travel Agents, Credit: Seth Shostak
Hey, let’s meet last week for coffee. Okay, we can’t meet in the past… yet. But is it only a matter of time before we time travel? Physicists have ...

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


  • Added: Nov 09, 2020
  • Length: 54:03
  • 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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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

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