Totality Talks - The Solar Eclipse Podcast

Show Notes: Basselian Elements — Eclipse Chasers & Citizen Scientists Host Leticia Ferrer talks with Luca Quaglia and Alessandro Pezzi of BasilianElements.com, a team of eclipse chasers known for their detailed mountain-shadow and lunar-limb mapping ahead of major solar eclipses. Topics covered: 1:04 — How the international team came together (university friends from Italy, joined by collabora...

Guest: Sævar Helgi Bragason  (Icelandic eclipse expert, organizer of Iceland's 2026 total solar eclipse preparations)  Episode Summary Chris and Leticia interview Sævar, Iceland's leading eclipse expert, ahead of the August 2026 total solar eclipse crossing Iceland. Sævar shares his personal eclipse history, the massive undertaking of preparing an entire country for the event, and what t...

Ep#26 - Nick James - AstroTrails UK Guest: Nick James, veteran eclipse chaser and longtime AstroTrails guide/traveler 0:58 – Welcome & intro: Nick's history traveling with AstroTrails 1:58 – The 2020 Argentina eclipse: pulling off a COVID-era trip via a special educational license, quarantine bubble, and the horse-paddock viewing site 8:36 – History of AstroTrails: from the 1973 Monte Umb...

Leticia Ferrer and Chris welcome back returning guest Jay Anderson, a meteorologist known for producing cloud-cover forecasts for solar eclipse chasers, ahead of the upcoming eclipse in Spain, Iceland, and Greenland. Visit Jay’s website for all things eclipse weather: http://www.eclipsophile.com Topics covered: 1:16 — Introduction: Jay Anderson, "the Eclipsophile" 2:37 — Jay's eclip...

Show Notes — Ep24: Chasing Totality with Jared Koh Jared Koh joins Totality Talks to discuss Chasing Totality: The Complete Handbook for the 2026 Total Solar Eclipse , co-written with his father Joe Koh, and their family's eclipse-chasing journey since 2008. Topics covered: 0:33 — Introduction and Jared's eclipse count (4 total, 1 annular) 0:54 — First eclipse in 2012 aboard a cruise shi...

In this episode, we chat with Joe Rao — veteran meteorologist, Hayden Planetarium lecturer, and eclipse chaser with 14 total solar eclipses under his belt. Episode Highlights 1:07 — Joe's eclipse journey began at 16, witnessing his first total solar eclipse in Gaspé, Quebec (1972) 1:47 — The five airborne eclipses Joe has chased, including flights arranged with the late Dr. Glenn Schneider 2:...

Welcome back to TT!    ***(episode updated July 6)*** In this episode we have Anne Buckle and Graham Jones from Timeanddate.com They are the hosts of the eclipse livestreams on Time& Date.com and they join us from Norway.  Hope you enjoy are chat with Anna and Graham! Leticia and Chris interview Anne Buckle and Graham Jones of timeanddate.com about their eclipse resources, astronomy writing, a...

In this episode, we are speaking with Nacho Perez, The Director of Galáctica (the Center for the Observation and Dissemination of Astronomy in Teruel, Spain).  He is an astronomer and science communicator, coming into Astronomy through Art.  Galaticia is nominated as the European Museum of the year, and hosts many public outreach astronomy events which I was fortunate to attend last year.   He sha...

In this episode we have part 1 of a  2 parter focusing on Spain 2026.   Part one is our interview with Tania Uhlig from Comboi Spain travel. She joins from Spain to chat all things eclipse España!  Time is getting short before the next event... book your travel before things start getting strange! Part 2 is with Nacho Pérez of Galactica (Spain) with Tania as translator... publishing very soon! htt...

In this episode, we welcome Dr. Angela Speck. Professor of astrophysics and the chair of the Department of Physics and Astronomy at University of Texas San Antonio.  She’s wanted to become an astronaut since she was 5 years old. While not scheduled to fly, she continues to vigorously study the untold secrets of the cosmos. The English-born professor has become a leading eclipse expert, having firs...

Welcome back to Totality Talks! In this episode, we chat with the authors of the new book The Eclipse Effect:  How to seize extraordinary moments to build strong communities. We welcome back, from the UK Jamie Carter. He is the foremost solar eclipse journalist - regular contributor to Forbes.com ,  space.com and editor of whenisthenexteclipse.com He co-authors the book with Debra Ross… from Roche...

In this episode we chat with FB Eclipse Travel and Discussion group founder and eclipse chasing traveler, Janine Frances from Pennsylvania. We chat about eclipses past and the annular eclipse over Easter Island in October of 2024... and of course, we chat about the coming total solar eclipses.  My audio file was corrupted for the last 3rd of the episode... I do believe the context works out after...

Welcome back to Totality Talks… it has been exactly one year since the Great American Eclipse of April 8, 2024. We are officially off of our hiatus! Only 491 days to go until the next total solar eclipse. In this episode we are doing our first fan interview. Ken and Megan Keifer from Mooresville, Indiana reached out to us  last summer after Ken saw his 2nd and Megan saw her 1st!  Recently, Ken’s w...

Welcome back from our post eclipse hiatus!  In this episode we chat with British Astronomical Association's Mike Frost.... he shares  book, Eclipse and Revelation: Total Solar Eclipses In Science, History, Literature, and the Arts. We chat about eclipses past and future total solar eclipses. He also shares stories that include such shenanigans as breaking into a cemetery with Jay Passachoff t...

Welcome back to Totality Talks!   In this episode, we continue to bask in the afterglow of the 2024 total eclipse.  We have an interesting virgin no more this time around as we chat with an astrophysicist that saw her first total solar eclipse on April 8.  We have physics and astronomy professor from Dallas College Richland Campus - Dr. Heather Appleby.  Dallas College Richland Campus: https://www...

YES!  So, did you see it? Sounds like lucky holes were found …almost everywhere!  Apologies for the delay.... eclipse elation and subsequent eclipse blues are real. We’ve been truckin along to April 8  and hope YOU got to see the total eclipse of the Sun! In this episode, we chat with 2 eclipse virgins no more: producers of the first total solar eclipse musical (based on David Baron’s book America...

Eclipse chasers from around the world are arriving in the path of totality!  In this BONUS episode, we chat about last minute eclipse prep and have a couple of surprise eclipse chaser guests joining us in the fun. we chat with 2 of The Shady Ladies, Sally Kilburn and Dr. Khati Hendry, observers of 14 total solar eclipses.  They just arrived from British Columbia to observe the event.  They join us...

In this episode, we switch gears and talk about eclipse poster art!  Commissioned by the national parks service to create "See America" posters and promote the dark skies of our national parks, we have the eclipse event poster art master, Tyler Nordgren. He is a former astronomy professor, dark sky ambassador, and artist  that gave up his teaching career for art!  Hope you enjoy or chat...

This episode we chat with the premier eclipse climate and weather expert, Jay Anderson.  He is the ultimate  ‘clear skies guy’ as creator of eclipseophile.com, which is THE standard for eclipse trip planning.  He has observed 34 solar eclipses including 24 total solar eclipses. Jay joins us remotely from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. At 10 days out from totality in 2024, we hear about his journey an...

In this episode we chat with Dr. Richard Tresch Fienberg, astronomer and science communicator. He talks about his journey from JPL, to Sky and Telescope, and on to the American Astronomical Society. Of course, we chat about the total solar eclipse of April 8, 2024.  He is now  retired and serves as the head of the American Astronomical  Society’s  Solar Eclipse Task Force. Trained as a professiona...

In this episode, we chat with creator of the essential solar eclipse timer app and author of the book Ecilpse Day 2024 And More.  Expert eclipse enthusiast, eclipse photographer, and plastic surgeon…  Dr. Gordon “Telepun”.  Great info in this episode regarding Eclipse day 2024! Solar Eclipse Timer app: https://www.solareclipsetimer.com/ Eclipse Day 2024 And More Book: https://389141.e-junkie.com/p...

In this episode we chat remotely with the world's only true eclipse journalist, Jamie Carter.  He is based in the UK and writes articles daily that appear in Forbes.com, Space.com, Sky&Telescope, and more. He is also the creator of the website When Is The Next Eclipse https://whenisthenexteclipse.com/ .   We take a trip around the globe and chat about his experiences, writings, and favori...

In this episode we chat with science writer, author,  and eclipse evangelist David Baron.  We have a fascinating conversation about the total solar eclipse experience, world travels, and the total solar eclipse of 1878 across America. Link to David’s must see TedX talk: https://youtu.be/cgxZ4H3gJ8c?si=VXYegDHFT9DJcit7 Link to David’s book American Eclipse: A Nation's Epic Race to Catch the Sh...

In part 2 of our fascinating conversation with Dr. Kate Russo, we continue on about the ineffable.  We also chat about community planning and eclipse chasing in general.    Kate is a native of Queensland, Australia and has authored pioneering books on the psychology of total solar eclipses including Total Addiction and Being In The Shadow. Dr. Kate Russo - Being In The Shadow https://beinginthesha...

In this episode, we get to chat with clinical psychologist, eclipse chaser, and community planner extraordinaire, Dr. Kate Russo. She is a native of Queensland, Australia and has authored pioneering books on the psychology of total solar eclipses including Total Addiction and Being In The Shadow. Our conversation will be split into 2 episodes as we dive into the "ineffable" wonder of tot...