Blue Dot

Series produced by North State Public Radio

Series image

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.


197 Pieces

Order by: Newest First | Oldest First
Blue Dot meets Oyster Cult! An interview with Blue Oyster Cult Guitarist Richie Castellano
From: North State Public Radio
Series: Blue Dot
Piece image
Blue Oyster Cult guitarist, vocalist and co-producer Richie Castellano makes his second appearance on our show to talk about rock guitar effects an...

Bought by KSPB Pebble Beach


  • Added: Dec 17, 2020
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 1
Blue Dot: Apollo 8 on Christmas
From: North State Public Radio
Series: Blue Dot
Piece image
Blue Dot celebrates Christmas with a repeat of the the look at the very first mission to the Moon -- Apollo 8 - which overlapped Christmas Day. Con...

Bought by KSPB Pebble Beach


  • Added: Dec 23, 2020
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 1
Blue Dot: POETS in THE PARKS: A Conversation with karla k. morton and Alan Birkelbach
From: North State Public Radio
Series: Blue Dot
Piece image
Dave visits with two dear friends, both Poets Laureate of Texas: karla k. morton and Alan Birkelbach. When we last visited with the pair of traveli...

Bought by KSPB Pebble Beach


  • Added: Jan 08, 2021
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 1
Blue Dot: THE NEW CLIMATE WAR: A Conversation with Michael Mann
From: North State Public Radio
Series: Blue Dot
Piece image
Dave visits with one of the world's leading climate scientists, Dr. Michael Mann. The professor of atmospheric sciences at Penn State's just publis...

Bought by KSPB Pebble Beach


  • Added: Jan 14, 2021
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 1
Blue Dot: The Flight of Apollo 14 Part 1
From: North State Public Radio
Series: Blue Dot
Piece image
In the latest of Blue Dot's Apollo@50 series we look back at the third successful lunar landing mission, Apollo 14, which took place during early F...

Bought by KSPB Pebble Beach


  • Added: Jan 28, 2021
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 1
Blue Dot: What's Killing Killer Whales?
From: North State Public Radio
Series: Blue Dot
Piece image
Dave talks to wildlife veterinarian Joe Gaydos from the Sea Doc Society (a research center on Orcas Island in the Salish Sea off the Washington Coa...

Bought by KSPB Pebble Beach


  • Added: Jan 23, 2021
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 1
Blue Dot: Apollo 14 Pt. 2 -- Commander Al Shepard and Mission Control
From: North State Public Radio
Series: Blue Dot
Piece image
We continue our Apollo@50 special with part two of our look back at Apollo 14. In this episode we focus on the Commander and America's first astron...

Bought by KSPB Pebble Beach


  • Added: Feb 05, 2021
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 1
Blue Dot: The Last Stargazers: A Conversation with Astronomer Emily Levesque
From: North State Public Radio
Series: Blue Dot
Piece image
Life long amateur astronomer Dave Schlom is joined by professional astronomer Emily Levesque to talk about her recently published book: The Last St...

Bought by KAZU Seaside, Calif. and KSPB Pebble Beach


  • Added: Feb 11, 2021
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 2
Blue Dot: Climate Extremes: Texas Freeze and Urban Heat
From: North State Public Radio
Series: Blue Dot
Piece image
Dave investigates two very different but interrelated topics: the deep freeze that sent the power grid in Texas into near collapse and how our citi...

Bought by KSPB Pebble Beach


  • Added: Feb 25, 2021
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 1
Blue Dot: Polar Climate Change and Our Weather - A conversation with Jennifer Francis
From: North State Public Radio
Series: Blue Dot
Caption: Jennifer Francis
Dave talks to polar climate expert Jennifer Francis about the hows and whys of the north polar region's dramatic warming is affecting weather here ...

Bought by KSPB Pebble Beach


  • Added: Mar 12, 2021
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 1
Blue Dot: Tales of Space Future and Past
From: North State Public Radio
Series: Blue Dot
Piece image
Dave talks to NASA's Jason Derleth, the executive in charge of the NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts Program about some future proposals that are b...

Bought by KSPB Pebble Beach


  • Added: Mar 20, 2021
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 1
Blue Dot: Groundwater Issues in California and The West: An interview with UC Davis Hydrologist Thomas Harter
From: North State Public Radio
Series: Blue Dot
Caption: the water cycle
If there is one most contentious issue in the history of California, it is probably water. From the Owens Valley water wars from the early 20th cen...

Bought by KSPB Pebble Beach


  • Added: Mar 25, 2021
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 1
Blue Dot: Access to Wild Spaces For ALL: A conversation with Dudley Edmondson and Lynnea Atlas-Ingebretson
From: North State Public Radio
Series: Blue Dot
Piece image
​Dave visits with birder and wildlife photographer Dudley Edmondson, author of Black and Brown Faces in America's Wild Faces and outdoor educator/a...

Bought by KSPB Pebble Beach


  • Added: Apr 15, 2021
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 1
Blue Dot: USGA Science - Making Golf Courses More Environmentally Sustainable
From: North State Public Radio
Series: Blue Dot
Piece image
Dave talks to two scientists from the United States Golf Association about their efforts to make golf courses more environmentally friendly in a wo...

Bought by KSPB Pebble Beach


  • Added: Apr 23, 2021
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 1
Blue Dot: A REAL Science Project - Ellery McQuilkin and a High Sierra Glacier
From: North State Public Radio
Series: Blue Dot
Piece image
Dave visits with Lee Vining High School junior Ellery McQuilkin about a very real science project that has earned her spots in the California State...

Bought by KSPB Pebble Beach


  • Added: Apr 29, 2021
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 1
Blue Dot: California's Weird, Wonderful Sea: Mono Lake
From: North State Public Radio
Series: Blue Dot
Piece image
Dave takes us on an aural field trip to one of his favorite places, Mono Lake in Eastern California near Yosemite National Park. Dave talks to two ...

Bought by KSPB Pebble Beach


  • Added: May 14, 2021
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 1
Blue Dot: A REAL LIFE INDIANA JONES: A conversation with Professor Russell Shapiro
From: North State Public Radio
Series: Blue Dot
Piece image
Dave talks to Russell Shapiro, a geology professor at California State University at Chico. Dr. Shapiro has a fascinating array of interests and ad...

Bought by KSPB Pebble Beach


  • Added: May 27, 2021
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 1
Blue Dot: Rangeland Management in Drought and Sheep to the Rescue: a conversation with UC Davis scientists
From: North State Public Radio
Series: Blue Dot
Piece image
California's rangelands are undergoing critical stress in a historic drought. How are ranchers coping with the lack of water and forage for their a...

Bought by KSPB Pebble Beach


  • Added: Jun 11, 2021
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 1
Blue Dot: ​Mercury Rising: Jeff Shesol's New Book Casts New Light on The Right Stuff
From: North State Public Radio
Series: Blue Dot
Piece image
Dave delves into some familiar territory for him, the early space program, but with some fresh takes on the space race with author Jeff Shesol. Hi...

Bought by KSPB Pebble Beach


  • Added: Jun 17, 2021
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 1
Blue Dot: VENUS REVISTED and ASTEROID IMPACT SCENARIOS
From: North State Public Radio
Series: Blue Dot
Piece image
This show deals with some kinda scary places and potentially dangerous future events. Dave talks to astrobiologist David Grinspoon about two newly ...

Bought by KSPB Pebble Beach


  • Added: Jul 08, 2021
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 1

Playlists That Feature This Series: