Astronomer and host Michelle Thaller takes a look at the big questions of the cosmos and what the answers can reveal about life here on Earth. From podcast powerhouse PRX, with support from the Sloan Foundation.

Visit our site: orbital.prx.org

Orbital Path

Host Michelle Thaller talks with astronomer and author Phil Plait of Slate's Bad Astronomy blog about this conundrum: why are humans so quick to give aliens the credit for mysteries of the cosmos?

About the Show: Astronomer and host Michelle Thaller takes a look at the big questions of the cosmos and what the answers can reveal about life here on Earth. From podcast powerhouse PRX, with support from the Sloan Foundation.  

Visit our site: orbital.prx.org

Episode 1: Must Be Aliens

Dr. Michelle Thaller talks to Prof. Lisa Randall, a theoretical particle physicist at Harvard, about her new book, Dark Matter and the Dinosaurs: The Astounding Interconnectedness of the Universe. The scientists explore what caused the dinosaurs' extinction and the role dark matter plays in the universe and our world.

About the Show: Astronomer and host Michelle Thaller takes a look at the big questions of the cosmos and what the answers can reveal about life here on Earth. Produced by Lauren Ober. From podcast powerhouse PRX, with support from the Sloan Foundation.

Visit our site: orbital.prx.org

Episode 2: Mass Extinctions Get Personal

The most rare objects in the night sky are only visible in some extreme places. Dr. Michelle Thaller introduces us to Dr. Anna Moore, a scientist whose trips to Antarctica help us better understand the solar system.

Learn more about the show at orbital.prx.org.

Episode 3: The Most Dramatic Sky

Astronomer Michelle Thaller talks with Ashley Davies, a research scientist at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, about the importance of volcanoes in the creation of Earth and how the study of volcanoes in space can help us understand life here. Davies has journeyed to remote volcanoes like Mt. Erebus in Antarctica and Erta Ale in Ethiopia as a way to help map volcanoes like those on Jupiter's moons, Io and Europa, and in turn come that much closer to understanding how life began.

Episode 4: In Praise of Volcanoes

In this special Mother's Day episode, Michelle talks with her mom about what it was like raising a space-obsessed daughter in Wisconsin and watching her grow into a scientist.

Orbital Path is produced for PRX by Lauren Ober. Subscribe iTunes or wherever you listen to podcasts. 

Image: Michelle's sister (top L), Michelle (top R), and their mom in the '80s.

Episode 5: Michelle & Her Mom

Scientific discovery can happen in two ways: “Eureka!” moments of sudden understanding, where researchers glean unexpected insight into new phenomena. Or, a slower, less glamorous hunt for truth that happens day-after-day, for years. But both methods can lead to new understandings that pushes the field forward for future breakthroughs.

In this episode: the sudden realization that led to the discovery of the first ever black hole, and another more methodical search for the moment that a star dies and a black hole is born.

Guests:
Jeremy Schnittman
Paul Murdin
Christopher Kochanek

Learn more about Orbital Path with Michelle Thaller at orbital.prx.org.

Episode 11: Black Hole Breakthroughs

This year on Reveal, we’ve dug into issues that affect people's lives across the country. We told stories about worker abuse, toxic schools, women’s sports and private prisons. So we decided to round out this season with something different: This hour, we look back at stories you, our listeners, told us were the most memorable. 

Help us hold the powerful accountable and speak for the most vulnerable. Please go to www.revealnews.org/donate to support our work today. 

Head over to revealnews.org for more of our reporting. 

Follow us on Facebook at fb.com/ThisIsReveal and on Twitter @reveal.

And to see some of what you're hearing, we're also on Instagram @revealnews.

Reveal

The year in Reveal

The Offshore team heads to the Big Island to gather material for Season Two, and author Lois-Ann Yamanaka gives us a humorous glimpse at working class life in Hawaii.

OFFSHORE

Episode 11: The Gift Shop [Bonus]

The bestselling author of The Blind Side, The Big Short, Moneyball and his newest, The Undoing Project, is known to be a master storyteller. He proves no different in this interview as he tells great stories about his years growing up in New Orleans and how that helped shape his world view and his approach to writing.

#48 Michael Lewis

America's digital dumping ground

PRX is a leading media company, shaping the future of audio by connecting talented producers with their most engaged, supportive audiences.
PRX builds technology and creates cutting-edge content that reaches millions of listeners worldwide.

For 15 years, PRX has operated public radio’s largest distribution marketplace, offering thousands of shows including This American Life, The Moth Radio Hour and Reveal. Named one of Fast Company’s "Ten Most Innovative Companies in Media" in both 2015 and 2017, the company has pioneered new approaches to technology and talent.

In 2014, PRX launched Radiotopia, a curated network of extraordinary podcasts anchored by 99% Invisible from Roman Mars. The network has quickly grown to over 19 million downloads per month (November 2017, Podtrac).

Episode 11: Black Hole Breakthroughs

PRX

Related tracks