Journey Toward the Center of the Earth

Can microbes travel through space on meteorites? It’s an idea called “lithopanspermia,” and to work out if it’s even feasible, some researchers decided to shoot microbes — with a gun. Guests: K.T. Ramesh, professor of science and engineering at Johns Hopkins University; Lily Zhao ...  Show more

For the first time in over 50 years, humans have gone to the moon and back. And this time, NASA says we're going to stay. NASA's planning for more missions, a permanent moon base, and even a mission to Mars. But there's a pretty big question hanging over all these dreams: Can hum ...  Show more

Encore episode. The surface of the Earth is constantly recycled through the motion of plate tectonics. So how do researchers study what it used to look like? Planetary scientist Roger Fu talks to host Maddie Sofia about hunting for rocks that can tell us what Earth looked like a ...  Show more

It's our latest roundup of science news! This time, with Ailsa Chang of NPR's All Things Considered, who joins us to discuss three stories that take us on a journey through space — from the sounds of Earth's magnetosphere, to the moons of Jupiter, to a distant phenomenon NASA cal ...  Show more

Turning the Earth into a cube, the gift that just keeps giving. Last episode we had fish bowl spaceships, this time we have sea monsters! If you thought cubifying the Earth couldn’t get more wacky, you’re in for a treat. In the Dead Planets Society season finale, Leah Crane and C ...  Show more

How much junk can we accumulate in Earth's orbit before we seal off our world? Before we cut the planet off from the cosmos and doom civilization to a new dark age? In this episode, Robert and Julie look skyward to space exploration's garbage.