Planetary Science podcasts

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

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.

Nature reporters discuss evidence for a distant Jupiter-mass exosatellite and the discovery of a rare transmissible cancer in wild catfish.

David Kipping considers how to reason about extraterrestrial life when evidence is scarce. The discussion covers promising places to search, the interpretation of possible biosignatures and the role of statistical inference, alongside questions about habitable worlds and moons beyond our solar system.

Hosted by Janna Levin

Sean Carroll and astronomer Natalie Batalha discuss the transition from discovering individual exoplanets to systematically understanding planetary populations. They explore how frequently stars host planets, how planetary sizes and orbital distances are distributed, and what observations can reveal about atmospheres and possible habitats for life. Batalha draws on her experience with NASA's Kepler mission to explain what researchers have learned and which questions future observations may answer.

Hosted by Sean Carroll