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.


160 Pieces

Order by: Newest First | Oldest First
Apollo 10: Charlie Brown And Snoopy Go To The Moon
From: North State Public Radio
Series: Blue Dot
Caption: Astronaut Tom Stafford touches Snoopy for good luck., Credit: NASA
In our ongoing series of looks back at Project Apollo 50 years later, we examine the Apollo 10 mission. Dave talks to two of his childhood heroes -...

  • Added: May 17, 2019
  • Length: 01:58:00
Innovation Hub's Kara Miller, Poets Laureate Create Magic With Revered Songwriter
From: North State Public Radio
Series: Blue Dot
Caption: Kara Miller from Innovation Hub on WGBH, Credit: MEREDITH NIERMAN / WGBH NEWS
Dave talks to kindred spirits on this episode of the Dot. First up is fellow broad/podcaster Kara Miller. Her Boston based show Innovation Hub from...

  • Added: May 10, 2019
  • Length: 59:00
Picturing Apollo 11- John Bisney & JL Pickering Create A Photographers Dream Book
From: North State Public Radio
Series: Blue Dot
Caption: Image from Picturing Apollo 11, Credit: JOHN BISNEY & JL PICKERING
Dave talks to John Bisney and JL Pickering as we ramp up our coverage of the 50th anniversary of the Moon Landing this summer. Bisney and Pickering...

Bought by KSPB Pebble Beach


  • Added: May 03, 2019
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 1
The Aftermath Of An Epic Disaster
From: North State Public Radio
Series: Blue Dot
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On this episode, Dave interviews Hayley Dieckmann, one of the team of veterinarians from the University of California at Davis Emergency Veterinary...

  • Added: Apr 26, 2019
  • Length: 59:00
Saving the Dead Sea
From: North State Public Radio
Series: Blue Dot
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In this episode, Dave visits with Terri Randall and Avner Tavori, the two filmmakers responsible for the new PBS/NOVA documentary, Saving The Dead ...

  • Added: Apr 20, 2019
  • Length: 59:00
Dr. Mann
From: North State Public Radio
Series: Blue Dot
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Dave is joined by longtime friend of Blue Dot, TV meteorologist Rob Elvington as they talk to one of the world's leading climate scientists, Michae...

  • Added: Apr 02, 2019
  • Length: 59:00
Blue Dot 137: Sea Star's Alarming Decline
From: North State Public Radio
Series: Blue Dot
Caption: Before and after image of sea stars in the Pacific Ocean decimated by wasting disease., Credit: DIEGO MONTECINO / UC DAVIS
We go under the sea, literally, to investigate the alarming decline of sea star populations of the Pacific Coast of North America from Mexico to Al...

  • Added: Mar 15, 2019
  • Length: 59:00
Opportunity Rover Mission
From: North State Public Radio
Series: Blue Dot
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We pay tribute to the Opportunity Rover mission, which was supposed to last for three months but wound up tooling around Meridiani Planum on Mars f...

  • Added: Mar 08, 2019
  • Length: 59:00
Apollo 9
From: North State Public Radio
Series: Blue Dot
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In our third installment of Blue Dot's look back at Project Apollo for the 50th anniversaries of the missions, we examine perhaps the most overlook...

  • Added: Mar 01, 2019
  • Length: 59:00
Alan Stern & Brian May
From: North State Public Radio
Series: Blue Dot
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Dave is joined by two rock stars on this very special episode of Blue Dot. Brian May is the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame guitarist for Queen and alon...

  • Added: Feb 22, 2019
  • Length: 59:00
The Big One
From: North State Public Radio
Series: Blue Dot
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Dave is joined by Blue Dot's expert on all things seismological, Ken Hudnut from the United States Geological Survey in Pasadena as they interview ...

  • Added: Feb 15, 2019
  • Length: 59:00
Blue Dot: InSight
From: North State Public Radio
Series: Blue Dot
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Blue Dot teams with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory to give you a taste of their new podcast series, On a Mission. Created by science journalist L...

  • Added: Nov 19, 2018
  • Length: 59:00
NASA's Josh Willis
From: North State Public Radio
Series: Blue Dot
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Lost in a lot of the noise about climate change and sea level rise is the role that warming ocean currents are playing in the melting of ice. And p...

Bought by KSFR


  • Added: Nov 05, 2018
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 1
The Great San Francisco Earthquake
From: North State Public Radio
Series: Blue Dot
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In this episode we look back at what was once known as, "The Great San Francisco Earthquake." But it isn't the famous disaster from 1906. On Octobe...

  • Added: Oct 12, 2018
  • Length: 59:00
Blue Dot: Cassini's Final Mission
From: North State Public Radio
Series: Blue Dot
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When the Cassini orbiter was sent plunging into Saturn on September 15, it was the end of a mission and the end of an era of solar system explorati...

  • Added: Sep 20, 2018
  • Length: 58:59
Blue Dot: Spitzer
From: North State Public Radio
Series: Blue Dot
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In this episode we celebrate 15 years of the Spitzer Space Telescope. The infrared telescope, one of NASA's "Great Observatory" has helped revoluti...

  • Added: Sep 06, 2018
  • Length: 58:59
Blue Dot: Hunting For Hurricanes
From: North State Public Radio
Series: Blue Dot
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In this episode of Blue Dot we go hurricane hunting with Commander Justin Kibbe. A veteran combat pilot, Justin flies the intrument laden NOAA turb...

  • Added: Aug 29, 2018
  • Length: 58:59
Blue Dot: Wildfires
From: North State Public Radio
Series: Blue Dot
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The catastrophic wildfire season in the west has been called "the new normal?" But is it? And what could normal even mean when confronted by such e...

Bought by KJZZ and Prairie Public


  • Added: Aug 22, 2018
  • Length: 58:59
  • Purchases: 2
Blue Dot: Adam Frank
From: North State Public Radio
Series: Blue Dot
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In this episode Dave talks to Adam Frank. Adam is a regular contributor to NPR's All Things Considered where he weighs in on scientific issues with...

  • Added: Aug 16, 2018
  • Length: 59:04
Blue Dot: Monterey Bay
From: North State Public Radio
Series: Blue Dot
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The Dot goes deep Blue on this episode as we explore the mysterious and immense submarine canyon that lies below the surface of Monterey Bay. Monte...

Bought by KAZU Seaside, Calif.


  • Added: Aug 01, 2018
  • Length: 58:59
  • Purchases: 1

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