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.


202 Pieces

Order by: Newest First | Oldest First
Blue Dot - Sustainability at Monterey Bay Aquarium: A Conversation with Claudia Pineda Tibbs
From: North State Public Radio
Series: Blue Dot
Piece image
Dave visits with the Sustainability Director at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, Claudia Pineda Tibbs as they discuss the many ways that the iconic ocean...

Bought by KSPB Pebble Beach


  • Added: Sep 30, 2021
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 1
Blue Dot - NATURE'S RESILIENCE ON DISPLAY -- A post Dixie Fire trip through Lassen Volcanic National Park
From: North State Public Radio
Series: Blue Dot
Caption: Dave and Matt at the Juniper Lake Campgroud
Dave and producer Matt Fidler were the first two journalists allowed into Lassen Volcanic National Park after the Dixie Fire, the largest single fi...

Bought by KSPB Pebble Beach


  • Added: Oct 14, 2021
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 1
Blue Dot - The Sonic Mind: A Conversation with Neuroscientist Nina Kraus
From: North State Public Radio
Series: Blue Dot
Piece image
Dave visits with Northwestern University neuroscientist Nina Kraus about her work on the science of sound and its importance to our brains. As she ...

Bought by KSPB Pebble Beach


  • Added: Oct 21, 2021
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 1
Blue Dot: SPACE 2021: A look at the highlights
From: North State Public Radio
Series: Blue Dot
Piece image
Dave visits with Brendan Byrne, space reporter for NPR affiliate WMFE in Orlando, Florida about a very busy 2021 in the space business with commerc...

Bought by KSPB Pebble Beach


  • Added: Oct 28, 2021
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 1
BD - ASTRONOMICAL: A visit with author Tim James
From: North State Public Radio
Series: Blue Dot
Piece image
Dave chats with Tim James about his new book, Astronomical: From Quasars to Quarks the Science of Space at its Strangest. The book, scheduled for r...

Bought by KSPB Pebble Beach


  • Added: Nov 04, 2021
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 1
BD - The World's First International Scientific Expedition: A Conversation with Nicholas Crane
From: North State Public Radio
Series: Blue Dot
Piece image
You probably learned in school that the Earth is not a perfect sphere but rather an "oblate spheroid" meaning that it bulges a bit at the equator. ...

Bought by KSPB Pebble Beach


  • Added: Nov 11, 2021
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 1
Blue Dot: Sounds From Mars and Exploring the Heliosphere
From: North State Public Radio
Series: Blue Dot
Piece image
Dave talks to two scientists studying the solar system but in very different ways. First he visits with Los Alamos National Laboratory planetary sc...

Bought by KSPB Pebble Beach


  • Added: Nov 18, 2021
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 1
BD - ROVING MARS: Perseverance, Curiosity and the Evolution of Rovers
From: North State Public Radio
Series: Blue Dot
Piece image
Dave checks in on the Mars rovers, first with Perseverance systems engineer and planetary scientist Vivian Sun as they discuss the rover's operatio...

Bought by KSPB Pebble Beach


  • Added: Dec 02, 2021
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 1
Blue Dot: New Science Building Promotes a Paradigm Shift in Science Education at CSU Chico
From: North State Public Radio
Series: Blue Dot
Piece image
Dave visits his alma mater, CSU Chico to check out the new science building and the big take away isn't just the magnificent edifice, but what is g...

  • Added: Dec 09, 2021
  • Length: 59:00
Blue Dot: A Pale Ale for a Blue Dot - A Visit with Sierra Nevada Brewing Company
From: North State Public Radio
Series: Blue Dot
Piece image
Dave gets to visit with three people from one of his favorite businesses on the planet: Sierra Nevada Brewing Company. Retired UC Davis Professor C...

  • Added: Dec 16, 2021
  • Length: 59:00
BD: The Problem With Climate Change Education in the U.S. -- A Conversation with Katie Worth
From: North State Public Radio
Series: Blue Dot
Piece image
As a former classroom science teacher, Dave knows all too well that climate change education is a tough nut to crack in the U.S. K-12 school system...

Bought by KSPB Pebble Beach


  • Added: Jan 06, 2022
  • Length: 59:01
  • Purchases: 1
BD - Exploring the Universe with The James Webb Space Telescope
From: North State Public Radio
Series: Blue Dot
Piece image
Dave is joined by special guest co-host Dr. Kendall Hall (Professor of Physics CSU Chico) to visit with James Webb Space Telescope science team mem...

Bought by KSPB Pebble Beach


  • Added: Jan 13, 2022
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 1
Blue Dot - FIRE AS A FRIEND RATHER THAN FOE: Cultural Burning with Pyrogeographer Don Hankins
From: North State Public Radio
Series: Blue Dot
Piece image
Dave welcomes back California State University at Chico Pyrogeographer Don Hankins. They talk about Don's background as a member of the plains Miwo...

Bought by KSPB Pebble Beach


  • Added: Jan 27, 2022
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 1
Blue Dot - California's dry winter: state of the drought
From: North State Public Radio
Series: Blue Dot
Piece image
After a promising start to the winter with an autumn atmospheric river event and a series of storms in December, California residents started to br...

Bought by KSPB Pebble Beach


  • Added: Feb 03, 2022
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 1
Blue Dot - A Tale of Two NASA missions: NEA Scout and Oceans Melting Greenland
From: North State Public Radio
Series: Blue Dot
Piece image
Dave helps profile two NASA missions, one about to begin and one that has just completed. First we preview the NEA Scout mission that will launch a...

Bought by KSPB Pebble Beach


  • Added: Feb 10, 2022
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 1
BD - America's first satellite: the inside story of Explorer 1 and JPL
From: North State Public Radio
Series: Blue Dot
Piece image
Dave gets to talk about one of his favorite topics, spaceflight history, with NASA/JPL Historian Eric Conway. We cover the roots of the CalTech Pas...

Bought by KSPB Pebble Beach


  • Added: Feb 17, 2022
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 1
Blue Dot - Talking Pro Football with Laura Britt and Matt Maiocco
From: North State Public Radio
Series: Blue Dot
Piece image
Dave takes a break from the heavy issues of climate change, drought, etc. to have some fun with his two favorite sports journalists, 49ers Insider ...

Bought by KSPB Pebble Beach


  • Added: Feb 24, 2022
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 1
Blue Dot - Scientific research at CSU Chico: led by professors, conducted by students!
From: North State Public Radio
Series: Blue Dot
Piece image
Dave returns to his alma mater, CSU Chico, to find out about some of the research being done by Chemistry and Environmental Science students. First...

Bought by KSPB Pebble Beach


  • Added: Mar 03, 2022
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 1
Blue Dot - The SETI Insitute's quest to find life beyond Earth
From: North State Public Radio
Series: Blue Dot
Piece image
Dave visits with three members of the SETI Insitute based in Mountain View, California. Since its inception in the early 80's, the institute has so...

Bought by KSPB Pebble Beach


  • Added: Mar 11, 2022
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 1
BD - Inside the forecast: a visit with the National Weather Service
From: North State Public Radio
Series: Blue Dot
Piece image
Weather is an important part of the daily lives and commerce of the U.S. In charge of keeping us apprised and safe is the National Weather Service....

Bought by KSPB Pebble Beach


  • Added: Mar 17, 2022
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 1

Playlists That Feature This Series: