Third Pod from the Sun

Jane Baldwin is a storm chaser, only her mode of chasing is computational modeling using multiple streams of data. As an Assistant Professor of Earth System Science at UC Irvine, she models how hurricanes and other natural hazards respond to atmospheric dynamics. We talked to Jane about the challenge of forecasting not just the damage to buildings from cyclones, but also the economic and social im...

The Earth's oceans play a crucial role in regulating the planet's climate by absorbing and storing vast amounts of heat and carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. However, due to human activities such as the burning of fossil fuels and deforestation, the oceans are warming at an alarming rate. This increase in ocean temperature is causing a range of devastating impacts, from more frequent and severe...

Are you a math person? Does thinking about math make your head hurt? Well, we hate to break it to you, but we’re all math people! Math is part of our everyday lives, whether we realize it or not. And math is a crucial part of understanding our climate and climate change. In recognition of this reality, we’re kicking off a special collaboration with the Institute for Mathematical and Statistical In...

Peter Falcon is an Earth Science communications specialist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory with an atypical background: behavioral science. As a communications specialist, Peter acts as a liaison between NASA projects – such as the CloudSat program – and students, teachers, and the general public. Peter sits down with us to talk about his academic upbringing, the important role family has play...

Hashima Hasan is the program scientist for NASA’s James Webb, XP, and NuSTAR telescopes, helping to bring those missions from cradle to grave. Hashima followed the space race closely growing up in India, which inspired her to navigate into the sciences from a world where girls were told that they couldn’t. She talked with us about writing simulation software for Hubble, troubleshooting its first b...

Cynthia Hall is the community coordinator for NASA’s Transform to Open Science program, where she works with organizations and communities to build diverse scientific collaborations with NASA. She works to make scientific research and processes more inclusive and accessible to everyone. Cynthia talks with us about open science, her influential NASA Academy internship, and backpacking on the job fr...

Dr. Alex Lockwood is the project scientist on the science communication team for the James Webb Space Telescope at the Space Telescope Science Institute. While earning her Ph. D. in Planetary Astronomy and Science, Alex had the unique opportunity to star in a movie about the challenges faced by grad students. She discovered a passion for communication through her stint on the silver screen, and no...

When it comes to data archiving, Michele Thornton has you covered. As a Geospatial Data Professional for ORNL-DAAC, Michele ensures that NASA funded research is accessible not only to researchers out in the field but to a larger user community – archival work that is vital for future researchers. She talks with us about how Jacques-Yves Cousteau inspired her love of science and how her field work...

As a leading international expert in weather and climate and Georgia Athletic Association Distinguished Professor of Geography and Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Georgia, James Marshall Shepherd knows a lot about climate, and just as importantly, how to talk about it. We chatted with Marshall about the emerging problem of science delayism, being a black man in science, and obtaining the...

We're back! And this time, we're heading to the moon! Well, not the moon, but to space! Well, that's not quite true either. But we are  starting season two with a series all about folks who with for and with NASA. Join us as we hear from (not-as-seen-on-TV) meteorologists, space librarians (who are on Earth and know a lot about space...the the inverse would be really cool), and being a movie star...

For many of us, the word “extinctions” conjures up images of dinosaurs, asteroids, and (maybe?) volcanos. And while that last point did likely play a role in the demise of the dinosaurs, volcanos in their own right can go extinct. In this episode, we chatted with volcanologist Janine Krippner, Honorary Research Associate at the University of Waikato, about what exactly makes a volcano extinction,...

Tanya Harrison never thought she was going to be an astronaut. But she was determined to go to space. And she did just that – through satellites, first to Mars, and now looking back at our own third rock from the Sun as she uses satellites to map places near and far. We talked with her about what it’s like to be a Martian, making science more accessible to those with disabilities, and what it’s li...

When you hear the word “extinction,” chances are you probably think of the extinction of the dinosaurs and a big rock. But did you know that there were other factors at play that lead to that extinction including volcanos and sea-level rise? We talked with David Mascato and Will Harris of the Common Descent podcast about dinosaurs (of course), K-Pg misconceptions, and what an asteroid-included cha...

Dive down into the freezing depths of Patricia Lake, in Alberta’s Jasper National Park, and you will find the wreck of the Habbakuk —a sixty-foot model battleship originally constructed of wood and ice. This “berg ship” was the brainchild of the eccentric wartime genius Geoffrey Pyke. In 1943, the Allies were being hard pressed by German U-boats, and British and American leaders were desperate to...

When Christa Peters-Lidard cold-called the head of NASA’s hydrology lab as an undergrad, she wasn’t thinking she’d eventually land that very position. Now as the Acting Director for Sciences and Exploration at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Christa oversees several critical programs – either orbiting, like the James Webb Telescope, or currently in development – by ensuring scientists have the...

As the Scientific Visualization lead for NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Mark SubbaRao oversees the translation of NASA science into images and movies. For Mark, science visualization is a key communication tool that allows the public to interact and explore the various scientific discoveries happening at NASA and beyond. He sits down with us and talks about his beginnings as an astronomer, hi...

As the Deputy Program Manager for NASA’s Radioisotope Power Systems Program at Glenn Research Center, Concha Reid leads a team overseeing and monitoring devices that heat and give power to NASA space projects, such as the recent Orion spacecraft for Artemis 1. She sits down with us to talk about growing up in the Virgin Islands and how that inspired her to study Electrical Engineering, her non-tra...

Being a Hydrologist was never on Matthew Rodell’s radar, let alone working for NASA. But he always trusted the path ahead. Now as their Deputy Director of Earth Sciences for Hydrosphere, Biosphere, and Geophysics (HGB) at Goddard Space Flight Center, he walks us through the important data being collected via remote sensing, being one of the first hydrologists to work on NASA’s Gravity Recovery and...

Dorian Janney is a science communicator for NASA asking the big question: how do we make science accessible? Sparked into Earth Space Science through her son’s curiosity with space, we talk to Dorian on how her journey as an educator and life-long learner led to working on NASA’s Global Precipitation Measurement Mission as a Senior Outreach Specialist, and how citizen scientists from around the wo...

Chris Justice is a geographer and professor at the University of Maryland whose research on land use changes and global agriculture has taken him around the world. His research has had a hand in a variety of NASA programs, including the Moderate Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), Mission to Planet Earth, and the creation of the Global Inventory Modeling and Monitoring group. He talks to us about h...

What do folks who fight food insecurity with satellites, do outreach about Pluto, and map out the Earth's gravitational fields have in common? How about a common thread between those who study light pollution, create science visualizations, and direct exploration? They all work for NASA! Join us for our final series of season one as we talk with NASA scientists who study everything from Earth, to...

Many might think that we know most or all there is to know about our world. On the surface, that might be somewhat true. But below the surfaced, we mapped less of the oceans than of places outside our world like Mars and our moon. Ved Chirayath is trying to change that, not by going down in submarines, but through...computer games. We chatted with him about how we can use the combined power of eng...

When you think of a combo of science & art, what comes to mind? Drawings? Dance? Music? How about quilting? Laura Guertin, Professor of Earth Science at Penn State Brandywine, was looking for creative and innovative to do just that when she came across the idea of showing the effects of climate change (among other things) via quilts! We chatted with her about quilting, crocheting, and other in...

While climate change is a global issue, it affects people on a local, and sometimes personal level. And it disproportionately affects those from traditionally marginalized backgrounds. Luckily, there are people out there like Amaris Alanis Riberior, Center Director of the North Park Village Nature Center at the Chicago Park District, who are working to create an inclusive, intercultural, and inter...

Fresh water is something that many of us take for granted. But for Carmen George and Brianna John, it's not a trivial thing. They're working to bring clean water to the Navajo reservation through Community Outreach and Patient Empowerment. We chatted with them on day two of our annual meeting where the theme was Future of the Planet. This episode was produced by  Shane M Hanlon  and mixed by  Coll...