Original photo by NASA |
I’m hooked on podcasts. I subscribe
to 45 of them, mostly space podcasts. I enjoy listening when I’m
doing work with my hands such as cooking and cleaning. Working from
home, I also enjoy hearing the intelligent discussions about topics
of interest to me.
With a lot of us working from home and
staying in these days, I thought I’d share some of my favorite
space podcasts.
Are We There Yet?
This weekly podcast by radio journalist
Brendan Byrne also airs on public radio in Orlando, Florida, 90.7
WMFE. The title refers to the long road to get humans to Mars. In 28
minutes, Brendan gives quick space news updates at the start,
followed by an interview with a space expert, followed by a segment
with three UCF professors on space topics of interest.
Astro, Esq.
This space law podcast by Nathan Johnson, still on break from its first season in 2019, features
interviews with various experts involved in space law and policy in
40 minute segments.
Constellations
This space security podcast by Kratos,
published approximately twice per month, gives updates about new
satellite technologies in 20 – 25 minute segments.
Gravity Assist
This NASA podcast by NASA Chief
Scientist Jim Green, still on break from its third season in 2019,
published 10 to 15 episodes per year. It features 20 – 25 minute
interviews on NASA science missions.
Houston We Have a Podcast
This NASA weekly podcast produced at
Johnson Space Center features hour-long interviews about NASA
missions and technology, occasionally by astronauts.
Liftoff
This biweekly podcast by Stephen
Hackett and Jason Snell of Relay FM, ranging from 30 to 75 minutes
long, gives an overview of the space news topics of the moment.
Main Engine Cut Off (MECO)
This weekly podcast by Anthony
Colangelo, alternates between shorter space news updates (10 – 20
minutes long) and longer interviews with experts (30 – 60 minutes
long).
Mission Eve
Still on break from its first season in
2019, this weekly podcast by Meagan Crawford of the Center
for Space Commerce & Finance features 30 – 60 minute
interviews with women in the space sector.
NASA in Silicon Valley
This NASA podcast produced by Ames
Research Center recently switched formats. It now features live
recordings with multiple interviews per segment throughout the year.
Off-Nominal
This monthly podcast by Jake Robins
and Anthony Colangelo features hour-long interviews with experts on
various topics of interest, space-themed drinks, and space picks of the month.
On a Mission
This NASA podcast produced by JPL is
still on break from its second season in 2019. This weekly podcast,
35 to 45 minutes long, features NASA science missions in a
storytelling format.
On Orbit
This 30 – 60 minute weekly podcast by
On Orbit features interviews by experts in themes such as “connecting
the unconnected” and other satellite communications topics of
interest.
Planetary Radio
Produced by the Planetary Society’s
Mat Kaplan, this weekly podcast 45 – 75 minutes long features
interviews with Planetary Society leaders and outside experts, news
updates, an overview of what’s currently visible in the night sky,
a trivia contest, and a monthly space policy edition.
Small Steps, Giant Leaps
This NASA podcast published once or
twice per month looks back at the Apollo program and forward to
NASA’s plans in the Artemis program.
Space Junk
This hour-long mostly weekly podcast by
OPT Telescopes gives practical information about stargazing and
astrophotography as well as featuring interviews with experts.
Space4U
This monthly podcast by the Space
Foundation features 20 – 40 sometimes multi-part interviews with
experts on a variety of space topics.
Spacepod
This monthly 15 - 30 minute podcast by Carrie Nugent features interviews with space scientists and unusual drinks.
SpaceQ
This formerly weekly podcast but now
being produced a bit less often by Marc Boucher of SpaceQ features
space topics of interest to the Canadian space sector, sometimes news
updates, sometimes interviews, and sometimes audio recordings of
events.
Supercluster
This mostly weekly podcast usually 30 –
60 minutes long features an overview of the space news of the moment
plus occasional interviews with experts.
The Invisible Network
This weekly NASA podcast, currently on
break, features interviews and stories about space communications and
navigation in 15 – 40 minute episodes.
The Orbital Mechanics Podcast
This weekly 30 – 90 minute podcast by
David Fourman, Ben Etherington, and Dennis Just features discussions
on space news of the moment, a space trivia contest, and occasional
interviews with experts.
The Rocket Ranch
This NASA podcast produced by Kennedy
Space Center once or twice per month features 30 – 45 minute
episodes on various NASA historic and current events topics in a
storytelling format.
The Space Above Us
This biweekly podcast by by JP Burke
gives an in-depth look of every historic NASA mission, one mission
per episode, from Mercury to Space Shuttle (as of this writing, he’s
up to STS-33), in 20 – 40 minute episodes.
The Space Angels Podcast (now Space Capital Podcast)
This 30-minute podcast by Chad
Anderson, produced a few times per year, features interviews with
companies in the Space Angels portfolio on various space technologies
and other space experts on space entrepreneurism and the commercial
space industry.
The Space Shot
This 15 – 30 minute weekly podcast by
John Mulnix features a look back at historical space anniversaries of
the week with occasional interviews with experts on a variety of
space topics.
TMRO
This 45 – 75 minute weekly live
recording video broadcast (which I listen after-the-fact in podcast
format) features space news, interviews with experts, and space
discussions.
Universe Today
This podcast by Fraser Cain publishes
several episodes per week including hour-long live video question &
answer sessions, 10-minute segments on a space topic, and 30-minute
interviews with experts.
WeMartians
This biweekly podcast by Jake Robins
features 30 – 45 minute interviews with experts on a variety of
Mars-related topics.
All the above podcasts are presumably
active. But I want to mention one limited-production podcast released
last year:
Moonrise
This 12-part storytelling podcast
series by The Washington Post’s Lillian Cunningham on the history
of the Apollo program, starting from early science fiction to the
Apollo 11 Moon landing, was excellently researched and produced. I
learned a ton of space history from these accounts.
Since publishing this blog entry, I’ve
received many great suggestions from readers! I’d like to add for
your consideration:
13 Minutes to the Moon by BBC World
Services
Casual Space by Beth Mund
Satellite Stories by SES
Terranauts by Iain Christie
This is not an extensive list. There
are other space podcasts out there. What’s your favorite space podcast?
I've been listening to interviews (including your recent one) on The Space Show (www.thespaceshow.com) since David Livingston started it in 2001. I've told David that he has improved my health because I came to look forward to jogging and other boring exercises since that's when I could listen to his latest programs.
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