Blue Dot

Series produced by North State Public Radio

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Conversations exploring where science and pop culture collide. Hosted by Dave Schlom with audio production by Matt Fidler.

Blue Dot, named after Carl Sagan's famous speech about our place in the universe, features interviews with guests from all over the regional, national and worldwide scientific communities. Host Dave Schlom leads discussions about the issues science is helping us address with experts who shed light on climate change, space exploration, astronomy, technology and much more. Dave asks us to remember: from deep space, we all live on a pale, blue dot.


212 Pieces

Order by: Newest First | Oldest First
BD - Meet the Beetles! A conversation with Caltech entomologist Joseph Parker
From: North State Public Radio
Series: Blue Dot
Caption: Rove beetle with an attending ant , Credit: Parker Lab Caltech
Dave visits with Dr. Joseph Parker, entomologist and beetle expert and head of the Parker Lab at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena...

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  • Added: Jul 18, 2024
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 1
BD - The greatest photograph of all: Earthrise and the man who took it, William Anders
From: North State Public Radio
Series: Blue Dot
Caption: Gerry Griffin with his photograph of Earthrise signed by Apollo 8 astronauts Frank Borman, Jim Lovell and William Anders.
Blue Dot pays tribute to one of the most iconic photographs ever taken, Earthrise, taken by Apollo 8 astronaut William Anders on Christmas Eve, 196...

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  • Added: Jul 11, 2024
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 1
BD - In memoriam: Blue Dot's 2022 tribute to Ed Stone
From: North State Public Radio
Series: Blue Dot
Caption: Scientist Edward C. Stone., Credit: NSAS / JPL
Blue Dot revisits an episode where we profiled the amazing career of one of America's greatest space scientists, Ed Stone. Stone passed away at the...

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  • Added: Jun 27, 2024
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 1
BD - 1906: The Great Northern California Earthquake Pt. 2
From: North State Public Radio
Series: Blue Dot
Caption: San Francisco in ruins, 1906, Credit: Balloon Photography by George R. Lawrence
Blue Dot concludes its look back and forward at the earthquake that shook Northern California on April 18, 1906. Dave visits once again with Susan...

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  • Added: Jun 20, 2024
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 1
BD - 1906: The Great Northern California Earthquake Pt. 1
From: North State Public Radio
Series: Blue Dot
Caption: 1906 Damage to a home in San Francisco, Credit: Grove Karl Gilbert USGS
Dave teams up with scientists from the United States Geological Survey for part one of a two part in depth look at the massive earthquake that stru...

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  • Added: Jun 13, 2024
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 1
BD - One of California's truly special places: Angelo Coast Range Reserve
From: North State Public Radio
Series: Blue Dot
Caption: Angelo Coast Range Reserve , Credit: Ian Shive
Located between Highway 101 and the Pacific Coast Highway in Mendocino County is one of the most pristine pieces of northern coastal range ecosyste...

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  • Added: Jun 06, 2024
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 1
BD - The Rescue Effect: a conversation with author and environmental scientist Michael Mehta Webster
From: North State Public Radio
Series: Blue Dot
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Dave visits with NYU Environmental Studies Professor Michael Mehta Webster to discuss his book, The Rescue Effect: The Key to Saving Life on Earth....

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  • Added: May 30, 2024
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 1
BD - The process of subduction with geophysicist Magali Billen, UC Davis
From: North State Public Radio
Series: Blue Dot
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Dave visits with UC Davis Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences geophysics professor Magali Billen to talk about one of Earth's most dynamic a...

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  • Added: May 23, 2024
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 1
BD - Eagles 101: the lives of eagles and the eagle cam phenomenon!
From: North State Public Radio
Series: Blue Dot
Caption: Liberty on the Redding, CA nest with Sol and Luna, Credit: Terri Lhuillier
Bald and golden eagles are some of the most magnificent birds in North America. Dave is joined by Michelle Hawkins, Director of The California Rapt...

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  • Added: May 09, 2024
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 1
BD - Musings on the Moon with author Christopher Cokinos
From: North State Public Radio
Series: Blue Dot
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Dave finds a kindred spirit with Christopher Cokinos, author of the new book, Still as Bright: An Illuminating History of the Moon from Antiquity t...

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  • Added: May 02, 2024
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 1
BD - The amazing undersea world of sharks with Dave Ebert, aka "The Lost Shark Guy"
From: North State Public Radio
Series: Blue Dot
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Dave visits with one of the world's foremost experts on sharks, Dr. David Ebert. Dave is the Director of the Pacific Shark Research Center at San J...

Bought by KAZU Seaside, Calif. and KSPB Pebble Beach


  • Added: Apr 18, 2024
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 2
BD - Nature's soaring scavengers: the Vulture Family
From: North State Public Radio
Series: Blue Dot
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Dave investigates the world of vultures and condors with the Director of the UC Davis California Raptor Center, Michelle Hawkins. One of the most u...

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  • Added: Apr 11, 2024
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 1
BD - State of the Drake Equation in 2024: The search for extraterrestrial intelligence (Part Two)
From: North State Public Radio
Series: Blue Dot
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In the conclusion of Blue Dot's two part look at the state of the Drake Equation in 2024, Dave is once again joined by special co host Bill Diamond...

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  • Added: Mar 28, 2024
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 1
BD - State of the Drake Equation in 2024: The search for extraterrestrial intelligence (Part One)
From: North State Public Radio
Series: Blue Dot
Caption: The late Frank Drake and his famous equation, Credit: SETI Institute
Dave is joined by special co host Bill Diamond, President and CEO of the SETI Institute, for an in depth look at the state of the famous Drake Equa...

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  • Added: Mar 21, 2024
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 1
BD - Riparian restoration with River Partners
From: North State Public Radio
Series: Blue Dot
Caption: Dos Rios Ranch Preserve , Credit: River Partners
Dave visits with guests from River Partners, a conservation organization born of a vision of farmers with conservation interests who sought more of...

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  • Added: Mar 07, 2024
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 1
BD - Exploring the ancient world of the Neanderthals with Ludovic Slimak
From: North State Public Radio
Series: Blue Dot
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Dave visits with French archaeologist and paleoanthropologist Ludovic Slimak about his multi decadal research into Neanderthals. Author of the new ...

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  • Added: Feb 29, 2024
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 1
BD - Education and research at the UC Natural Reserves System and National Parks
From: North State Public Radio
Series: Blue Dot
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Dave looks at some interesting ways the University of California's Natural Reserves System are used for both education and scientific research. Som...

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  • Added: Feb 15, 2024
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 1
BD - Whale-SETI: a communications interaction with Twain the Humpback Whale
From: North State Public Radio
Series: Blue Dot
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In this very special episode Dave visits with three researchers who were part of an incredible series of experimental communications with a humpbac...

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  • Added: Feb 01, 2024
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 1
BD - Monitoring surface water from space: Surface Water and Ocean Topography mission
From: North State Public Radio
Series: Blue Dot
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Dave is joined by two scientists to discuss the Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) mission which launched in December of 2022. NASA Jet Prop...

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  • Added: Jan 25, 2024
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 1
BD - Meteor Showers 101 with Peter Jenniskens
From: North State Public Radio
Series: Blue Dot
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Dave is joined by SETI Institute meteor astronomer Peter Jenniskens to take a deep dive into the science of meteors and meteor showers. Dr. Jennisk...

Bought by KSPB Pebble Beach


  • Added: Jan 18, 2024
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 1

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