Astronomy podcasts

Shep Doeleman discusses how the Event Horizon Telescope connected radio observatories around the world to resolve the shadows of supermassive black holes. With Janna Levin, he explains the scientific and technical challenges of imaging M87* and the Galactic centre, what the observations can test about black holes, and the ambition to move from still images to movies.

Hosted by Janna Levin, Steven Strogatz

Sue Nelson and Richard Hollingham discuss astronaut training and future missions with European Space Agency reserve astronauts John McFall and Meganne Christian. The conversation includes plans for a private space-station mission and an Atlantic crossing in winter. Project scientist Geraint Jones explains the joint European–Japanese BepiColombo mission as it approaches Mercury.

Hosted by Sue Nelson, Richard Hollingham

Space reporter Brendan Byrne joins Ira Flatow to discuss the transition from the International Space Station toward proposed commercial stations in low Earth orbit. Their wider spaceflight review covers recent launch activity, Japan's planned sample-return mission to the Martian moon Phobos and preparations for the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope.

Hosted by Ira Flatow

Robin George Andrews discusses Japan’s planned sampling mission to Phobos and what returned material could reveal about the moon and Mars. Ashton Flinders explains how camera observations, geochemistry and geophysical monitoring revealed patterns in Kīlauea’s lava fountains. Economist Javier Birchenall examines a historical prediction of runaway population growth and the broader difficulty of forecasting major crises.

Hosted by Sarah Crespi

Hamish Johnston is joined by Oxford neutrino physicist Kirsty Duffy and Physics World's Matin Durrani to discuss the 2026 physics Nobel Prize awarded to Francis Halzen. They examine the IceCube observatory's contribution to detecting high-energy neutrinos from astrophysical sources and the broader history of Nobel-recognized neutrino research. The episode considers why these elusive particles have repeatedly transformed physics and how studying them opens a window onto the universe.

Hosted by Hamish Johnston

Nature’s science-prize roundup discusses the research recognised by the 2026 Nobel prizes: light-based control of neurons, detection of cosmic neutrinos and the emergence of handed organic molecules. A further segment examines what gut microbes can reveal about ancient human populations and journeys. Research highlights address young viewers of online sports videos and observations of black-hole jets. The episode connects neuroscience, particle physics and chemistry with evolutionary questions about the human microbiome.

Physicist Daniel Akerib joins Sean Carroll to examine the search for weakly interacting massive particles and the challenges of directly detecting dark matter. They discuss a single unusual event in recent LUX-ZEPLIN data and why its low statistical significance warrants interest rather than a discovery claim. The conversation connects this result with Akerib’s experience in the Cryogenic Dark Matter Search, LUX and LUX-ZEPLIN experiments.

Hosted by Sean Carroll

This episode explores transient searches, multiprobe cosmology and planetary nebulae through conversations with researchers at Jodrell Bank. Alex Reeves discusses his doctoral research, the computational methods used in multiprobe cosmology and his experience as a PhD student. Alec Csukai reflects on completing a doctorate in planetary-nebula research and the transition beyond graduate study. The presenters also discuss experiences of the August solar eclipse and share highlights from the Jodcast’s twentieth-birthday outreach activities at the National Astronomy Meeting. The episode combines current astrophysics with research-career perspectives and public engagement.

Hosted by Phoebe Ryder, Louisa Mason

Fraser Cain and Pamela L. Gay examine possible futures of the universe across vastly different timescales. Topics include the Milky Way and Andromeda, cosmic isolation as expansion continues, the fading microwave background, the end of star formation and the era of stellar remnants. They discuss uncertain processes such as proton decay, black-hole evaporation through Hawking radiation, entropy and heat death, alongside alternative outcomes if dark energy evolves. These are model-dependent projections. Pamela Gay is a senior scientist at the Planetary Science Institute. Published on 21 September 2026, the episode appears in the feed as The Beginning and End of Everything, Part 2. Its original duration is 37 minutes 7 seconds.

Hosted by Fraser Cain, Pamela L. Gay

Chris Smith presents a science-news episode examining how artificial intelligence could be misused to develop biological weapons and how researchers and regulators are responding. The programme also covers long-lasting genetic scars after childhood chemotherapy, ultra-strong ice as a possible construction material, and methods for tracking weather patterns on distant planets.

Hosted by Chris Smith

Theoretical physicist Jonathan Halliwell joins Steven Strogatz and Janna Levin to discuss how quantum decoherence helps explain the transition from wave-like quantum systems to the classical macroscopic world. The conversation covers quantum cosmology, decoherent histories, the measurement problem, macroscopic realism and why the quantum-to-classical transition does not require a conscious observer.

Hosted by Steven Strogatz, Janna Levin

Fraser Cain and Pamela L. Gay explore what cosmology can establish about the universe’s earliest history and where knowledge remains limited. The discussion covers inflation, the separation of forces, the emergence of particles and nuclei, and density fluctuations that seed later structure. Recombination and the cosmic microwave background lead into the dark ages, the first stars and reionization, with observations including JWST helping test models of the early universe. Pamela Gay is a senior scientist at the Planetary Science Institute. This Astronomy Cast episode was published on 14 September 2026; its publisher feed labels it The Beginning and End of Everything, Part 1. The original duration is 39 minutes 27 seconds.

Hosted by Fraser Cain, Pamela L. Gay

The Science Show reviews a new approach to detecting and measuring concussion, a repurposed satellite for mapping the Universe, intervention to conserve a potentially sterile native plant, AI support for people with dyslexia, and how recommendation algorithms influence reading choices.

Hosted by Robyn Williams, Belinda Smith

University of Arizona planetary scientist Daniel Apai joins Tim Swindle to discuss the Pandora Space Telescope and its potential to reveal the properties of exoplanets and their atmospheres. This Arizona Science episode examines the scientific questions addressed by the observatory as it returns data from Earth orbit. Published on 10 September 2026; listen through Arizona Public Media’s episode page.

Hosted by Tim Swindle

The Supermassive team revisits an interview with Meg Schwamb about the Kuiper Belt and the small bodies beyond Neptune. The conversation explores what these distant objects can reveal about the Solar System’s formation and evolution. This is the explicitly labelled revisited edition published in September 2026.

Andrew Glester speaks with e-MERLIN director Simon Garrington and research-support scientist David Williams-Baldwin about the radio-telescope network’s scientific role and proposed funding cuts. They explain how seven UK telescopes combine signals for high-resolution astronomy, the consequences for researchers and the wider community, and the relationship to other activities at Jodrell Bank. The discussion records the situation and institutional responses at publication in August 2026.

Hosted by Andrew Glester

Vitor Cardoso discusses how observations and theory are changing black-hole physics. The conversation covers Hawking radiation, general relativity, gravitational-wave observations and the Event Horizon Telescope, asking what these measurements reveal about black holes and what future observatories could test.

Hosted by Sean Carroll

This Nature Podcast episode reports on a high-speed star whose orbit could enable measurement of the spin of Sagittarius A*, the supermassive black hole at the centre of the Milky Way. The programme also examines how exoskeletons influence human movement and covers other current science stories.

Nature's podcast explores genetically engineered probiotic bacteria that sense elevated glucose and release therapeutic factors, lowering blood sugar in animal studies. The episode also covers ecological research on pumas, geological erosion, and how a solar eclipse can help researchers probe the Sun's magnetic corona.

The astro[sound]bites team introduces cohost Vivasvaan and his work on galaxy mergers and machine learning. The discussion explains why mergers are useful probes of galaxy evolution and gives an early-career researcher’s perspective on the field.