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
Caption: Seth's Tool Shed, Credit: Seth Shostak
A scheme for finding life on Mars, adopting to climate change, and a new moon of Pluto.

Bought by WRIR


  • Added: Sep 05, 2011
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 1
Caption: Into the Unknown, Credit: Seth Shostak
From voyages to the bottom of the sea, to the edges of space: join us on treks of modern exploration.

Bought by KSKQ and WRIR


  • Added: Aug 29, 2011
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 2
Caption: Swarm in Here, Credit: Seth Shostak
Collective intelligence is what makes bees and ants so successful – find out how researchers are helping humans to get their collective act together.

Bought by WRIR


  • Added: Aug 22, 2011
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 1
Caption: Skeptic Check: Plotting Along, Credit: Seth Shostak
Why conspiracy theories persist – from 9-11 to UFOs to fluoride in our water.

Bought by WVTF, WRIR, and WRST-FM Oshkosh


  • Added: Aug 15, 2011
  • Length: 54:01
  • Purchases: 3
Caption: Written in Code, Credit: Seth Shostak
Genes aren’t worth much unless they’re turned on – find out what factors influence gene expression and how to unleash your inner-Einstein

Bought by WRIR


  • Added: Aug 08, 2011
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 1
Caption: Cell! Cell!, Credit: Seth Shostak
The story of Henrietta Lacks who unwittingly donated her tissue to science in 1951 and whose cells still grow in laboratories around the world today.

Bought by KSKQ, WRIR, WRST-FM Oshkosh, and New Hampshire Public Radio


  • Added: Aug 01, 2011
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 4
Caption: Water the Chances, Credit: Seth Shostak
Getting the salt out: the most promising technologies for desalination… how astronauts filter “water-closet water” to drink… and, turning salt pond...

Bought by WVTF, WRIR, WRST-FM Oshkosh, and New Hampshire Public Radio


  • Added: Jul 25, 2011
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 4
Caption: Know Laughing Matter, Credit: Seth Shostak
Why we evolved to laugh plus side-splitting jokes about electrons and relativity.

Bought by WMUU-LP, KICI Iowa City, KMUN, KCSB-FM, KAZU Seaside, Calif. and more


  • Added: Aug 18, 2014
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 11
Caption: The Big Picture, Credit: Ly Ly
How did life begin, what makes up the universe and the true nature of consciousness are some of the biggest puzzlers in science, but answers are in...

Bought by KMRE-LP Bellingham, Wash., KZUM, KUCR 88.3 fm Riverside, Calif., WRGY, WHCP-LP Cambridge and more


  • Added: Jul 11, 2011
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 27