Big Picture Science for Monday 27 April 2015 - Invisible Worlds

Big Picture Science - Invisible Worlds

ENCORE: You can’t see it, but it’s there, whether an atom, a gravity wave, or the bottom of the ocean … but we have technology that allows us to detect what eludes our sight. When we do, whole worlds open up.

Without telescopes, asteroids become visible only three seconds before they slam into the Earth. Find out how we track them long before that happens. Also, could pulsars help us detect the gravity waves that Einstein’s theory predicts?

Plus, why string theory and parallel universes may remain just interesting ideas … the story of the woman who mapped the ocean floor … and why the disappearance of honeybees may change what you eat.

Guests:

• David Morrison – NASA space scientist and Director of the Carl Sagan Center at the SETI Institute
• May Berenbaum – Entomologist, University of Illinois
• Scott Ransom – Astronomer, National Radio Astronomy Observatory
• Lee Smolin – Theoretical physicist, Perimeter Institute of Theoretical Physics, Canada, author of Time Reborn: From the Crisis in Physics to the Future of the Universe
• Hali Felt – Author of Soundings: The Story of the Remarkable Woman Who Mapped the Ocean Floor

This encore podcast was first released on September 23, 2013

Permalink: http://radio.seti.org/episodes/Invisible_Worlds

You can listen to this and other episodes at http://radio.seti.org/, and be sure to check out Blog Picture Science, the companion blog to the radio show.

Big Picture Science for Monday 03 November 2014 - Sounds Abound

Big Picture Science - Sounds Abound

ENCORE: The world is a noisy place. But now we have a better idea what the fuss is about. Not only can we record sound, but our computers allow us to analyze it.

Bird sonograms reveal that our feathery friends give each other nicknames and share details about their emotional state. Meanwhile, hydrophones capture the sounds of dying icebergs, and let scientists separate natural sound from man-made in the briny deep.

Plus, native Ohio speakers help decipher what Neil Armstrong really said on that famous day. And, think your collection of 45 rpm records is impressive? Try feasting your ears on sound recorded before the Civil War.

Guests:

• Bob Dziak – Oceanographer, Hatfield Marine Science Center, Oregon State University, Program Manager, Acoustics Program, NOAA
• Michael Porter – Senior scientist of H.L.S. Research, La Jolla, California
• Patrick Feaster – Sound media historian at Indiana University
• Laura Dilley – Assistant professor in the Department of Communicative Sciences and Disorders, Michigan State University
• Jenny Papka – Co-director of Native Bird Connections
• Michael Webster – Professor of neurobiology and behavior, director of the Macaulay Library, Cornell University

This encore podcast was first released on August 5, 2103.

Permalink: http://radio.seti.org/episodes/Sounds_Abound

You can listen to this and other episodes at http://radio.seti.org/, and be sure to check out Blog Picture Science, the companion blog to the radio show.

Big Picture Science for 09/23/13 - Invisible Worlds

Big Picture Science - Invisible Worlds

You can’t see it, but it’s there, whether an atom, a gravity wave, or the bottom of the ocean … but we have technology that allows us to detect what eludes our sight. When we do, whole worlds open up.

Without telescopes, asteroids become visible only three seconds before they slam into the Earth. Find out how we track them long before that happens. Also, could pulsars help us detect the gravity waves that Einstein’s theory predicts?

Plus, why string theory and parallel universes may remain just interesting ideas … the story of the woman who mapped the ocean floor … and why the disappearance of honeybees may change what you eat.

Guests:

• David Morrison – NASA space scientist and Director of the Carl Sagan Center at the SETI Institute
• May Berenbaum – Entomologist, University of Illinois
• Scott Ransom – Astronomer, National Radio Astronomy Observatory
• Lee Smolin – Theoretical physicist, Perimeter Institute of Theoretical Physics, Canada, author of Time Reborn: From the Crisis in Physics to the Future of the Universe
• Hali Felt – Author of Soundings: The Story of the Remarkable Woman Who Mapped the Ocean Floor

Permalink: http://radio.seti.org/episodes/Invisible_Worlds

You can listen to this and other episodes at http://radio.seti.org/, and be sure to check out Blog Picture Science, the companion blog to the radio show.

Big Picture Science for 08/05/13 - Sounds Abound

Big Picture Science - Sounds Abound

The world is a noisy place. But now we have a better idea what the fuss is about. Not only can we record sound, but our computers allow us to analyze it.

Bird sonograms reveal that our feathery friends give each other nicknames and share details about their emotional state. Meanwhile, hydrophones capture the sounds of dying icebergs, and let scientists separate natural sound from man-made in the briny deep.

Plus, native Ohio speakers help decipher what Neil Armstrong really said on that famous day. And, think your collection of 45 rpm records is impressive? Try feasting your ears on sound recorded before the Civil War.

Guests:

• Bob Dziak – Oceanographer, Hatfield Marine Science Center, Oregon State University, Program Manager, Acoustics Program, NOAA
• Michael Porter – Senior scientist of H.L.S. Research, La Jolla, California
• Patrick Feaster – Sound media historian at Indiana University
• Laura Dilley – Assistant professor in the Department of Communicative Sciences and Disorders, Michigan State University
• Jenny Papka – Co-director of Native Bird Connections
• Michael Webster – Professor of neurobiology and behavior, director of the Macaulay Library, Cornell University

Permalink: http://radio.seti.org/episodes/Sounds_Abound

You can listen to this and other episodes at http://radio.seti.org/, and be sure to check out Blog Picture Science, the companion blog to the radio show.

Big Picture Science for 02/11/13 - Say La Vie

Big Picture Science - Say La Vie

Researchers have discovered life in a buried Antarctic lake. But we’re not surprised. Life is amazingly adaptive. Expose it to any environment – heat, ice, acid or even jet fuel – and thrives. But this discovery of life under the ice may have exciting implications for finding biology beyond Earth.

Scientists share their discovery, and how they drilled down through a half-mile of ice.

Also, plunge into another watery alien world with director James Cameron, and the first solo dive to the deepest, darkest part of the ocean.

Plus, a Nobel Prize-winning chemist tries to create life in his lab to learn more about biology’s origins, and Martian fossils abound in Robert J. Sawyer’s latest sci-fi novel.

Guests:

• Helen Amanda Fricker – Glaciologist, Scripps Institution of Oceanography at University of California, San Diego
• Jill Mikucki – Microbiologist at the University of Tennessee
• Chris McKay – Planetary scientist, NASA Ames Research Center
• Jack Szostak – Nobel Prize winning chemist, Harvard University, Massachusetts General Hospital
• James Cameron – film director and explorer-in-residence for National Geographic
• Robert J. Sawyer – Hugo Award-winning author; most recently: Red Planet Blues

Permalink: http://radio.seti.org/episodes/Say_La_Vie

You can listen to this and other episodes at http://radio.seti.org/, and be sure to check out Blog Picture Science, the companion blog to the radio show.

Big Picture Science for 03/12/12 - Seth's Cabinet of Wonders

Big Picture Science - Seth's Cabinet of Wonders

It’s always a surprise to sort through Seth’s cabinet of wonders – who knows what we’ll find!

In this cramped cupboard, tucked between shelves of worm gears and used clarinet reeds, we discover a forgotten U.S. sea floor laboratory … copies of the new Cosmos TV series … evidence of science fiction’s predictive powers … software that may replace scientists … and tips on surviving a deadly poison (hint: it helps to be a snake).

Tune in, find out and grab a duster, will you?

Guests:

• Neil deGrasse Tyson – Astrophysicst at the American Museum of Natural History and author of Space Chronicles: Facing the Ultimate Frontier
  
• Robert J. Sawyer – Hugo award-wining science fiction author; his newest title is Triggers
  
• Ben Hellwarth – Author of Sealab: America’s Forgotten Quest to Live and Work on the Ocean Floor
• Hod Lipson – Roboticist at Cornell University
• Chris Feldman – Biologist, University of Nevada, Reno

Permalink: http://radio.seti.org/episodes/Seth_s_Cabinet_of_Wonders

You can listen to this and other episodes at http://radio.seti.org/, and be sure to check out Blog Picture Science, the companion blog to the radio show.

Big Picture Science for 08/29/11 - Into the Unknown

Big Picture Science - Into the Unknown

During the great age of exploration men risked their lives to set foot upon unknown lands, whether in the humid jungles of Peru or on the barren ice cap of the South Pole. We’ll hear those dramatic tales…

… but also where modern exploration is taking us. Could it be to the deepest, darkest part of the sea?

Or to space? Discover how to build a space suit that will let you move like an athlete on Mars. Also, why some say that the ultimate frontier requires no packing and no travel: voyages into the human brain.

Guests:

• Dava Newman – Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics Engineering Systems, MIT
• David Eagleman – Neuroscientist, Baylor College of Medicine and author of Incognito: The Secret Lives of the Brain
• Mark Adams – Author of An Empire of Ice: Scott, Shackleton and the Heroic Age of Antarctic Science
• Edward Larson – Author of An Empire of Ice: Scott, Shackleton and the Heroic Age of Antarctic Science
• Liz Taylor – President, Deep Ocean Exploration and Research, Alameda, CA

Permalink: http://radio.seti.org/episodes/Into_the_Unknown

You can listen to this and other episodes at http://radio.seti.org/, and be sure to check out Are We A Blog?, the companion blog to the radio show.

Are We Alone for 04/19/10 - Habitats Not For Humanity

Are We Alone - Habitats Not For Humanity

We place sharks in aquariums and elephants in zoos – to observe and conserve. But what if aliens have done the same to us? We’ll hear from Stephen King on a doomed result of a domed experiment - hatched by off-Earth beings, and why captivity may actually save some species on this planet.

Plus, you’re entering the Habitable Zone: which is the best bet for life elsewhere in the Solar System - Europa, Enceladus or Mars?

Guests:

• Stephen King - Novelist, author of Under the Dome: A Novel
• Jim Kasting - Geoscientist, Penn State University and author of How to Find a Habitable Planet (Science Essentials)
• Oliver Morton - Journalist, author of Eating the Sun: How Plants Power the Planet
• John Fraser - Director for the Institute for Learning Innovations and Adjunct Assistant Professor at Hunter College CUNY
• Amanda Hendrix - Planetary Scientist, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
• Bob Pappalardo - Planetary Scientist, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Permalink: http://radio.seti.org:80/episodes/Habitats_Not_For_Humanity

You can listen to this and other episodes at http://radio.seti.org/, and be sure to check out Are We A Blog?, the companion blog to the radio show.

Are We Alone for 03/08/10 - Skeptic Check: Climate Clamor

Are We Alone - Skeptic Check: Climate Clamor

Arctic ice is melting, atmospheric temperatures are climbing – yet climate change science is under attack. Detractors claim that researchers are manipulating data and hoodwinking the public. And the public is increasingly skeptical about the science.

Find out what’s behind the surge of climate change skepticism… what the IPCC really does… and why snowstorms don’t refute global warming.

Plus a health report on the world’s coral reefs and what we’ll miss if they disappear.

It’s Skeptic Check… but don’t take our word for it!

Guests:

• Stephen Schneider – Climate scientist, Stanford University
• Phil Chapman – Apollo 14 Mission Scientist, now a geophysicist and consultant on energy and astronautics
• Simon Donner – Geographer at the University of British Columbia
• Sheila Jasanoff – Professor of Science and Public Policy at Harvard University

You can listen to this and other episodes at http://radio.seti.org/, and be sure to check out Are We A Blog?, the companion blog to the radio show.