The north and south poles are hot news right now, but for disturbing reasons. As the Earth’s atmosphere warms, ice at high latitudes is melting at alarming rates. You’re undoubtedly aware of this massive melt and even feeling anxiety about it. But, due to global-warming-news-fatigue, in which the relentless onslaught of climate statistics has frozen your brain like a Popsicle, you can’t explain why it matters.

We can help. Tune in and find out why it’s bad news if our frozen frontiers turn to mush and slush, as we talk with scientists who are breaking the ice as part of the International Polar Year, a collaboration to expand research and raise awareness of the Arctic and Antarctic, and the global climate system.

Guests:

  • Ralph Harvey – Geologist, Case Western Reserve University and Principal Investigator for the Antarctic Search for Meteorites program (ANSMET)
  • Michael Castellini – Biologist, University of Alaska, Fairbanks
  • Kathy Licht – Geologist, Indiana University-Purdue University, Indianapolis
  • Darlene Lim – Limnologist at NASA Ames and the SETI Institute
  • Charles Bentley – Emeritus Professor of Geophysics, University of Wisconsin at Madison

Podcast also available on PocketCasts, SoundCloud, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, and RSS.

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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