• Amazing Amazonia

    The Amazon is often described as an ecosystem under dire threat due to climate change and deliberate deforestation. Yet there is still considerable hope that these threats can be mitigated.  In the face of these threats, indigenous conservationists are attempting to strike a balance between tradition and preserving Amazonia.  Meanwhile, two river journeys more than…

    Amazing Amazonia
  • Skeptical Sunday: Bear Right in a Bull Market

    When we’re in love, we do some crazy things. And that’s OK. But when we merge lanes on the highway, sign up for a credit card, or just order a book, we’re as irrational as a teenager who’s got a crush. Find out why we’re mad in money matters, why… Listen ⇢

    BearRightMED_1
  • TXT MSG: Behavior

    From iPods to Google to Facebook – information swims at our fingertips and friends are just a txt msg away. Digital devices have re-defined what it means to be connected – but how else are they shaping behavior? Join us for the second of a two-part series on how the… Listen ⇢

    TXTMSG2MED_1
  • TXT MSG: Thought

    From iPods to Google to Facebook – information swims at our fingertips and friends are just a txt msg away. Digital devices have re-defined what it means to be connected – but how else are they shaping behavior? Join us for the first of a two-part series on how the… Listen ⇢

    TXTMSG1MED_1
  • Skeptical Sunday: Bigfoot Press Conference

    Finally, Bigfoot meets habeus corpus: three men claim they have the body of the elusive hirsute creature on ice, and throw a big press conference to prove it. Lots of journalists show up, as do the Bigfoot baggers. Days later the purported historic discovery turned out to be – gasp!… Listen ⇢

    BigfootPressConfMED_1
  • Seth’s Attic

    Why wait until the robins are bobbin’ to do a bit of spring cleaning? Join Seth and Molly as they dare to enter the cobweb-cluttered confines of Seth’s attic and sort out trash from treasure in his dusty collection. Find out which of these odds and ends are salvageable and… Listen ⇢

    SethsBasementMED_0
  • From Mars to Eternity

    The discovery of water on Mars has scientists asking whether they’re could have once been life on the Red Planet. It’s a big question – and it’s prompted us to follow up with a few of our own, such as: what is our relationship to the cosmos? How do we… Listen ⇢

    MarsToInfinityMED_2
  • Why We Do What We Shoo Be Do Be Do

    We see a man laughing and we smile in response. Our heart goes out to the sad-looking woman on the train. Humans are empathetic creatures – we feel what others feel, even the emotions of strangers. And it may be due to brain cells that researchers have only recently discovered:… Listen ⇢

    WhyWeDoMED_1
  • Skeptical Sunday: Risky Business

    Airplanes falling out of the sky! Lethal bird flu! Killer rocks from space! There’s a lot that can do us in, and it would seem you have good reason to worry. Except that you’re worried about the wrong things! Many of our fears are misplaced. It’s more likely you’ll die… Listen ⇢

    RiskMED_1
  • Genes That Fit

    Remember Mr. Potato Head? You changed his look by snapping in plastic mustaches, googly eyes and feet. Now imagine doing the same with a living cell: inserting the genes you want to create the organism you want. Welcome to the world of synthetic biology. It has potential to create new… Listen ⇢

    GenesFitMED_1

2026 Webby Award Nominee
for our three part series on the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina

Big Picture Science is an immersive radio show and podcast that reveals the unexpected connections in science.

Our Skeptic Check episodes take a critical look at extraordinary science claims and pseudoscience.

Don’t settle for a science snapshot. Get the big picture. 

Hosted By

Molly Bentley Executive Producer and Co-Host, Big Picture Science  

Seth Shostak Producer and Co-Host, Big Picture Science
Senior Astronomer, SETI Institute

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