Planetary Radio brings you the human adventure across our Solar System and beyond. We visit each week with the scientists, engineers, leaders, advocates, and astronauts who are taking us across the final frontier. Regular features raise your space IQ while they put a smile on your face. Join host Sarah Al-Ahmed and Planetary Society colleagues including Bill Nye the Science Guy and Bruce Betts as they dive deep into space science and exploration. The monthly Space Policy Edition takes you inside the DC beltway where the future of the US space program hangs in the balance. Visit planetary.org/radio for an episode guide and much more.
Latest episodes
Showing 20 · updated from the feed
2026 NASA's Innovative Advanced Concepts Symposium: Part 2 — Solar sails and breathing beyond Earth
In this second of two episodes from the 2026 NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) Symposium at Wichita State University, Sarah Al-Ahmed talks with researchers develop
Oct 7 1 h 00 min
2026 NASA's Innovative Advanced Concepts Symposium: Part 1 — Nuclear sensors and cave explorers
Some of the most exciting science in our Solar System is hidden in places we've never been able to reach. In this episode, Sarah Al-Ahmed shares three conversations from
Sep 30 1 h 01 min
Hayabusa2 flies by asteroid Torifune
JAXA's Hayabusa2 flew within 400 meters (1,300 feet) of asteroid Torifune on July 5 and confirmed that it's a contact binary, two lobes stuck together. Paul Abell, NASA's
Sep 23 1 h 00 min
Book Club Edition: Alien Oceans by Kevin Hand
Where are we most likely to find evidence of life, past or living, in the Solar System? Planetary scientist and author Kevin Hand looks to warm, salty ocean depths beneat
Sep 18 1 h 07 min
Star Trek at 60: What Vulcans and Klingons can teach us about being human (Part 2)
This is part two of our Star Trek 60th anniversary series. Robert Picardo, the Emergency Medical Hologram on Star Trek: Voyager and a member of The Planetary Society's bo
Sep 16 1 h 07 min
Star Trek at 60: What do we value the most? (Part 1)
Star Trek turned 60 on Sept. 8, 2026, and to celebrate, we're kicking off a special two-part series exploring the franchise's deep and lasting connection to real-world sp
Sep 9 59 min
Space Policy Edition: The Long Space Age with Alex MacDonald
We tend to think of private space exploration as a recent phenomenon. But as Alex MacDonald, former Chief Economist at NASA, argues in his book "The Long Space Age," priv
Sep 4 1 h 07 min
World Space Week and farewell to Swift
Dennis Stone, president and co-founder of the World Space Week Association, takes us behind the scenes of the largest annual space event on Earth. From its origins as a v
Sep 2 1 h 04 min
The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is ready to launch
After decades of development, the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is preparing to launch. Once in orbit, Roman will conduct the widest surveys of the universe ever atte
Aug 26 56 min
Book Club Edition: Becoming Martian by Scott Solomon
Will we change or terraform Mars to better suit humans? Or are we more likely to change ourselves to better fit the red planet? How far can evolution take us in these new
Aug 21 1 h 17 min
The SpaceX Falcon 9 that crashed into the Moon
A SpaceX Falcon 9 upper stage slammed into the moon on August 5 after spending over a year and a half drifting through the Earth-Moon system. Jared Head, museum facilitat
Aug 19 1 h 03 min
Total solar eclipse 2026: Astrophotography and birdsong
On August 12th, 2026, the Moon’s shadow will sweep across Iceland, Greenland, and Spain, bringing the first total solar eclipse visible from Europe since 1999. And becaus
Aug 12 57 min
Space Policy Edition: “Science: A New Golden Age” - Reimagining U.S. science policy
The White House's Office of Science and Technology Policy recently released "Science: A New Golden Age", a sweeping report that calls for a fundamental reimagining of how
Aug 7 1 h 10 min
LHS 1140b: The first atmosphere detected on a rocky habitable-zone exoplanet
For the first time, scientists have confirmed an atmosphere on a rocky exoplanet in the habitable zone of another star. Sarah Al-Ahmed is joined by Collin Cherubim, NASA
Aug 5 57 min
TERP RAPTOR: A student-built mission to asteroid Apophis
On Friday, April 13, 2029, asteroid Apophis will pass closer to Earth than our geostationary satellites. While NASA, ESA, and JAXA are all sending missions, a team of stu
Jul 29 1 h 01 min
Hot Jupiters: The ‘Roasted Planet’ and the wrong-way hotspot
Two hot Jupiters presented at the 248th American Astronomical Society meeting push our understanding of exoplanet atmospheres to the extreme. Research Scientist Tiffany K
Jul 22 1 h 02 min
Book Club Edition: “The Edge of Space-Time” by Chanda Prescod-Weinstein
It may be the best book subtitle we’ve encountered in the Planetary Society book club: “Particles, Poetry and the Cosmic Dream Boogie.” Theoretical physicist and black fe
Jul 17 59 min
Sian Proctor and John Read on teaching babies to love the Cosmos
“Baby's Guide to the Night Sky” introduces the youngest kids — down to newborns — to constellations and the wonders of the Cosmos. It comes from two people who've spent t
Jul 15 57 min
Small Town Universe: Inside Green Bank's Radio Quiet Zone
Green Bank, West Virginia is home to the world's largest fully steerable radio telescope. It's also the only town in the U.S. where cell phones and Wi-Fi are banned, so t
Jul 8 55 min
Space Policy Edition: What's going on with commercial space stations?
NASA's plan for what comes after the International Space Station (ISS) has been anything but stable. Since 2019, the agency's commercial space station strategy has shifte
Jul 3 57 min
Chart trend
Position in the Science chart (US), last 90 days.
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all-time peak
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Chart positions
Where Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and Science ranks today in each Apple Podcasts chart (US, Oct 8, 2026).
A curated, balanced selection of Apple Podcasts reviews.
Planetary Radio is fascinating, informative, and engaging science journalism at its best. Sarah Al-Ahmed, like her predecessor, delivers in equal parts, enthusiasm, curiosity, and information. Deep gratitude for this contribution to scientific journalism. Keep crushing it, Sarah.
idinestridi · Sep 2026
Planetary Radio is the most hopeful, and the most humane, place on the internet. Every episode gives us a chance to feel connected, included, and welcomed, whoever we may be or wherever we may be coming from. Every episode gives us a chance to experience awe. This is what it means to be one human family, headed inexorably Ad Astra. I am so grateful for the weekly reminder of what we can be when we're at our best and doing great things together <3
yuhfdfbged · Jan 2026
Every episode gives such a great informative look at the current state of space exploration. Everyone on this show is passionate about space and it gives you such a sense of hope while maneuvering through challenges. Love to listen!!!
Mirdiddle · Apr 2024
I listen to a lot of podcasts, with many of them being science, astronomy, and space-exploration based. Sarah Al-Ahmed is head and shoulders above the rest in terms of being a great and welcoming host, extremely well-prepared for interviews, and asking very thoughtful and deep questions during her programs. I'm amazed at her ability to synthesize new information during interviews and ask excellent additional questions and comments on the fly. I have learned so much about the current state of planetary science and exploration from this show! Please keep up the fabulous programming and work!
AstroDr. · Mar 2024
Has been one of my favorite podcasts. Over the past couple of months, it’s become a lot more emotion-based and touchy-feely. “How did you feel watching the eclipse?” “Watching liftoff made me want to cry.” Etc. I tuned into this because I’d like to hear about science, not people’s personal stories or emotional tales. Sarah’s a good interviewer, but the questions are less science-related than they used to be. Keep it to science, please.
RandomNickname00 · Nov 2023
I love the Planetary Society, and I am advocate for space policy in the United States. I also understand that with a new host will come changes to the radio show, but one of the most disappointing changes the removal of the space news. The weekly space news section gave quick snippets of what was going on in the space world, and I believe that is a big part of what encourages people to support space exploration and policy. As an advocate for space, I am saddened that weekly space news is no longer a priority for Planetary Radio. I know there’s a newsletter and the website, but having it as a part of my weekly podcast schedule was much more convenient.
RichEagle · Oct 2023
We strive to present a balanced view by showing a diverse range of reviews from Apple Podcasts.
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About Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and Science on Reason.fm
Here you find the Apple Podcasts chart positions of Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and Science, its latest episodes to listen to directly, and reviews from listeners. Rankings are updated daily for the United States.
