Space Podcasts I'm Hooked On

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?