Science Podcast Recommendations

I promised a colleague in work that I’d send him on a list of the science podcasts I recommend, but as I was composing the email I realised this might be of value to others, so I’ve compiled my list as a blog post instead. These are all podcasts I listen to religiously, and in most cases, podcasts I have been listening to for many years.

Astronomy Cast

The show’s tagline is “not just what we know, but how we know what we know”, and what could be more scientific than that? The show doesn’t just aspire to that tag line, it lives up to it, and that’s the main reason I’ve been a happy subscriber for many years. The episodes are about 30 minutes long on average, and come out about once a week. Details at www.astronomycast.com.

Big Picture Science

This show is produced by the SETI institute, but it’s a general science show, not a show focused only on SETI or even astronomy. This show is syndicated across many radio stations in the US, so it’s no surprise that what you get is a professionally scripted, presented, and edited show with amazing guests. The fact that the hosts are friendly and have a good report with each other is the icing on the cake. Details at radio.seti.org.

Gastropod

This is not a pure science show, but there’s a lot of science in it, and it’s definitely a show that does its best to separate fact from fiction. The show’s tag-line is “Food with a side of science and history”, and that sums things up pretty well. This is not a show where you go to learn how to cook, or to pick up interesting recipes. Instead, it’s the kind of show where you learn things like how you can turn the same basic ingredient, milk, into so many and such varied cheeses. This is a professionally scripted and produced show, and it’s released in seasons, so you often have to wait a while for new episodes to come out. I’ve always found it to be worth the wait though! Details at gastropod.com.

The Jodcast

This is a hard-core astronomy show produced by postgraduate students at the University of Manchester and the Jodrell Bank radio telescope. They do a main monthly show, and most months, you also get a bonus extra show about half way through the month. If you’re into Astronomy I think you’ll love the Jodcast, but if you’re not, this show is probably not for you. Details at www.jodcast.net.

The Naked Scientists

A professionally produced weekly podcast covering general science. The show is produced in the UK, and its original incarnation was as a BBC radio show. The show is about an hour long, and always very well researched and paced. One of the things I love about the show is that they put a big focus on interviewing the actual scientists who wrote the papers that are making the scientific news the show covers. Press releases and news reports can’t describe the context and significance of a result nearly as well as the people who actually did the work! Details at www.thenakedscientists.com.

Naked Astronomy

This is an astronomy-focused spin-off from The Naked Scientists. Episodes tend to be about half an hour long, and are obviously completely astronomy focused. If you enjoy the style of The Naked Scientists, and you like Astronomy, then you should enjoy Naked Astronomy. Details at www.thenakedscientists.com/podcasts/astronomy.

Science Vs

I only discovered this show recently, but it’s so good I listened to every show in the archive within the first week of discovering it. The idea is very simple – each episode the show takes on a controversial topic, and looks at it from a purely scientific perspective. Does immigration drive up crime? Do specific gun controls actually reduce deaths? Does removing guns from a society increase crime rates? Does having an abortion increase a woman’s chances of getting breast cancer? The show doesn’t shy away from any of today’s hot topics, but it’s totally apolitical – it’s about the science of these topics, not the politics, and I find that very refreshing. While the show has no problem tackling the big issues, there are also more light-hearted episodes like one which asks the vitally important question – are wine and chocolate good for us or not? Details at gimletmedia.com/science-vs.

Star Talk Radio

This is astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson’s ever-growing network of shows. While there’s often an astronomical focus, these are definitely general science shows, and they tend to be a nice mix of informative and fun. The format always involves a mix of scientists and comedians, which might sound odd, but it really works – it keeps you laughing and learning. The comedians play the role of the everyman perfectly, asking all the “dumb” (no such thing) questions you’re probably shouting at your phone as you listen. Details at www.startalkradio.net.