Site • RSS • Apple PodcastsDescription (podcaster-provided):
Pale Blue Pod is an astronomy podcast for people who are overwhelmed by the universe but want to be its friend. Astrophysicist Dr. Moiya McTier and comedian Corinne Caputo demystify space one topic at a time with open eyes, open arms, and open mouths (from so much laughing and jaw-dropping). By the end of each episode, the cosmos will feel a little less “ahhh too scary” and a lot more “ohhh, so cool!” New episodes every Monday.Themes and summary (AI-generated based on podcaster-provided show and episode descriptions):
➤ Astronomy explained with humor • stars and stellar evolution • exoplanets and habitability • cosmology: Big Bang, CMB, universe’s fate • telescopes, observatories, missions • stargazing and sky events • space myths, conspiracies, sci‑fi/media fact-checking • space law, colonization, art-science connectionsThis podcast is a comedic, beginner-friendly astronomy show that aims to make space feel less intimidating by explaining one concept at a time through conversation between an astrophysicist host and a rotating co-host/guests. Episodes mix clear scientific grounding with jokes, games, and pop-culture references, often using everyday metaphors to translate technical ideas into approachable language.
Across the feed, the subject matter ranges from how stars and planets form to how the universe began and how it might end. There’s a strong emphasis on exoplanets and planetary types, what “Earth-like” really means, and how astronomers assess habitability and search for signs of life, including discussion of plants in space and biosignature detection. Listeners also get tours of observational tools and methods—different kinds of light (infrared and ultraviolet), gravitational waves, major telescopes and sky surveys, and how maps of the galaxy are built—along with practical guidance for stargazing and what to look for in the sky over coming months.
The show also touches astronomy’s connections to society and culture: naming conventions for celestial objects, space law and ownership, the history of astronomy and notable scientists, and how myth and storytelling intersect with scientific explanations. Some installments fact-check conspiracies and “ancient aliens” claims, while others use science fiction and space movies as a springboard for discussing what the science gets right or wrong. Guest conversations sometimes broaden into themes like art-science collaboration, books about physics and cosmology, and what exploration means for humanity.
| Episodes: |
|
The Universe has a Queer Agenda 2026-Jun-15 62 minutes |
|
Microwave light 2026-Jun-08 58 minutes |
|
we love our Pre Main Sequence Stars 2026-Jun-01 41 minutes |
|
Earth-like, Smearth-like 2026-May-25 50 minutes |
|
Happy Mother's Day, Mother Nature 2026-May-18 50 minutes |
|
Astronomy Sample Platter 2026-May-11 82 minutes |
|
An Astronomer Rage Watches Ancient Aliens 2026-May-04 54 minutes |
|
A is for Astronomy 2026-Apr-27 56 minutes |
|
Getting High on the Universe's Supply 2026-Apr-20 61 minutes |
|
Astronomers do April Fools Again! 2026-Apr-13 60 minutes |
|
The Edge of Space-Time with Dr. Chanda Prescod-Weinstein 2026-Apr-07 65 minutes |
|
Seeds of Life 2026-Mar-30 63 minutes |
|
Infrared Light 2026-Mar-23 48 minutes |
|
Sky Sights: March - September 2026-Mar-16 54 minutes |
|
Fermi? No, Fer You! 2026-Mar-09 55 minutes |
|
Honey, I shrunk the Neptunes 2026-Mar-02 55 minutes |
|
The Moon landing was real, we promise! 2026-Feb-23 50 minutes |
|
Life and Work of Dr. Mercedes Richards 2026-Feb-16 52 minutes |
|
Names in Space 2026-Feb-09 57 minutes |
|
Moiya's 31 Favorite Space Facts 2026-Jan-26 45 minutes |
|
Nope Review 2026-Jan-19 50 minutes |
|
Moiya's Birthday Episode! 2026-Jan-12 50 minutes |
|
First things in the universe 2026-Jan-05 53 minutes |
|
Last things in the universe 2025-Dec-29 60 minutes |
|
Astronomy's Greatest Gifts 2025-Dec-22 55 minutes |
|
Chemical Rays to Ultraviolet Light 2025-Dec-15 61 minutes |
|
Hipparchus, the first star mapper 2025-Dec-08 47 minutes |
|
Caution: Hot Jupiters Ahead 2025-Dec-01 58 minutes |
|
Cosmic Thanksgiving 2025-Nov-24 58 minutes |
|
Gaia Maps the Galaxy 2025-Nov-17 60 minutes |
|
The Moon is So Pretty 2025-Nov-10 62 minutes |
|
ConStar Intro Game Show Extravaganza! 2025-Nov-03 73 minutes |
|
Monsters in Space with ConStar 2025-Oct-27 34 minutes |
|
Supernova Rerun 2025-Oct-21 52 minutes |
|
#150: PBP's Greatest Hits! 2025-Oct-13 62 minutes |
|
Scariest Planets with Brandon Grugle 2025-Oct-06 58 minutes |
|
The Week NASA Started with Dr. Deboki Chakravarti 2025-Sep-29 65 minutes |
|
Collisions in Space with Maria DeCotis 2025-Sep-22 56 minutes |
|
Stargazing Calendar with Noah McTier 2025-Sep-15 48 minutes |
|
Build-A-Telescope with Julia Schifini 2025-Sep-08 68 minutes |
|
"Active Galactic Nuclei" with Rory Bricca 2025-Sep-01 61 minutes |
|
Milky Way Live Lecture 2025-Aug-25 56 minutes |
|
Sunshine with Sean Crespo 2025-Aug-18 65 minutes |
|
LIGO with Caroline D'Angelo 2025-Aug-11 62 minutes |
|
Space Colonization with Grace Johnson 2025-Aug-04 65 minutes |
|
Firefly Review with Corey Rindler 2025-Jul-28 61 minutes |
|
Space News with Amanda McLoughlin 2025-Jul-21 50 minutes |
|
Painting the Cosmos with Dr. Nia Imara 2025-Jul-14 40 minutes |
|
Cosmic Microwave Background with Ann Bartow 2025-Jul-07 62 minutes |
|
Space Law with AJ Link 2025-Jun-30 49 minutes |
|
Weird Universe with Dr. Erika Hamden 2025-Jun-23 51 minutes |
|
Moonraker Review with Dr. Claire Aubin 2025-Jun-16 66 minutes |
|
Tiny Space Matters with Dr. Sam Jones 2025-Jun-09 55 minutes |
|
Space x Visual Art with J Wright 2025-Jun-02 63 minutes |
|
April Fools Papers with Wow If True 2025-May-26 59 minutes |
|
A Day at NASA Goddard 2025-May-19 62 minutes |
|
Rerun: Carl Sagan in a Barn 2025-May-12 54 minutes |
|
Mesoamerican Astronomy with Keenan Steiner 2025-May-05 69 minutes |
|
Rerun: Kepler on Swan Lake 2025-Apr-28 51 minutes |
|
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy with Christina Kann 2025-Apr-21 69 minutes |
|
Data Science with Dr. Andrea Jones-Rooy 2025-Apr-14 68 minutes |
|
Newton's Laws with Bijou Kabeya 2025-Apr-07 59 minutes |
|
Birthcharts with Charmeé Taylor 2025-Mar-31 54 minutes |
|
Audience Q&A with Mayanna Berrin 2025-Mar-24 87 minutes |
|
Dark Energy with Chris Alan 2025-Mar-17 66 minutes |
|
TRAPPIST-1 Planets with Chris Cook 2025-Mar-10 56 minutes |
|
Astronomy Acronyms with Alana Goldstein 2025-Mar-03 50 minutes |
|
Astronomy Conference with Constance Gibbs 2025-Feb-24 72 minutes |
|
Voyager Mission with Alen Kolenovic 2025-Feb-17 61 minutes |
|
Alpha Centauri with Bex Taylor-Klaus 2025-Feb-10 58 minutes |
|
Juno Spacecraft with Charlotte Moroz 2025-Feb-03 56 minutes |
|
Let's play Outer Wilds with Mischa Stanton 2025-Jan-27 78 minutes |
|
Space Safety with Mimi Hayes 2025-Jan-20 60 minutes |
|
Faster Than Light travel with Noah McTier 2025-Jan-13 51 minutes |
|
Einstein's Relativity with Em Löwinger 2025-Jan-06 75 minutes |
|
Interstellar review with Christian Royce 2024-Dec-30 68 minutes |
|
Space x Theater with Victoria Male 2024-Dec-23 66 minutes |
|
December Solstice with Sherrod Small 2024-Dec-16 52 minutes |
|
Dark Matter with Chris Alan 2024-Dec-09 58 minutes |
|
Pale Blue Pod At Night 2024-Dec-06 31 minutes |
|
Space Winds with Sharon Spell 2024-Dec-02 61 minutes |
|
The Sun with Tiffanee Lee 2024-Nov-25 72 minutes |
|
Space News with Mayanna Berrin 2024-Nov-18 76 minutes |
|
Apollo Program with Tribble 2024-Nov-11 64 minutes |
|
Leavitt's Law with Orli Matlow 2024-Nov-04 56 minutes |
|
Cosmic horror with Jenna Stoeber 2024-Oct-28 59 minutes |
|
Gravity with Joyelle Nicole Johnson 2024-Oct-21 56 minutes |
|
Corinne's Graduation at the little league stadium 2024-Oct-14 35 minutes |
|
How to Kill an Asteroid with Dr. Robin George Andrews 2024-Oct-07 53 minutes |
|
Earth at Acadia National Park 2024-Sep-30 52 minutes |
|
Distance Ladder at the fire station 2024-Sep-23 43 minutes |
|
Annie Jump Cannon at Rohoboth Beach 2024-Sep-16 46 minutes |
|
Pricey NASA missions at the bank 2024-Sep-09 50 minutes |
|
This Week in Astronomy History 2 2024-Sep-02 40 minutes |
|
Breakthrough Discuss in Oxford 2024-Aug-26 48 minutes |
|
Jupiter Ascending at the dining table 2024-Aug-19 56 minutes |
|
Imagining alien worlds at L2 2024-Aug-12 60 minutes |
|
JWST in a cocktail bar 2024-Aug-05 50 minutes |
|
Uranus in a hot air balloon 2024-Jul-29 49 minutes |
|
Social roundup by the sea 2024-Jul-22 52 minutes |
|
Dr. Beatrice Tinsley in the shire 2024-Jul-15 45 minutes |
|
Publishing with Fraser Cain 2024-Jul-08 74 minutes |
|
Galaxies colliding at the bumper cars track 2024-Jul-01 53 minutes |
|
This Week in Astronomy History #1 2024-Jun-24 45 minutes |
|
Aphelion sky in the ice cream shoppe 2024-Jun-17 47 minutes |
|
Heat in the lecture hall 2024-Jun-10 46 minutes |
|
Venus at the chocolate factory 2024-Jun-03 54 minutes |
|
Paul Movie Review 2024-May-27 49 minutes |
|
STARtorialist with Dr. Emily Rice 2024-May-20 61 minutes |
|
Gemini telescopes at Target Field 2024-May-13 51 minutes |
|
Social roundup on a train 2024-May-06 38 minutes |
|
Galileo in a wine bar 2024-Apr-29 49 minutes |
|
Eclipse Live Show in Erie 2024-Apr-22 87 minutes |
|
April fools papers in the green room 2024-Apr-15 47 minutes |
|
Reminder: Eclipses in a cabin in the woods 2024-Apr-08 55 minutes |
|
Horoscopes on a back country road 2024-Apr-01 42 minutes |
|
Mercury at the boba spot 2024-Mar-25 45 minutes |
|
Armageddon Review by a waterfall 2024-Mar-18 51 minutes |
|
astronomy community with Dra. Nicole Cabrera Salazar 2024-Mar-11 58 minutes |
|
Particles in the Swiss Alps 2024-Mar-04 50 minutes |
|
Social media roundup at a sleepover 2024-Feb-26 41 minutes |
|
Kepler mission on a swan lake 2024-Feb-19 52 minutes |
|
Leap Day in the Irish countryside 2024-Feb-12 55 minutes |
|
AAS Meeting in City Park 2024-Feb-05 73 minutes |
|
American Astronomical Society on Bourbon Street 2024-Jan-29 55 minutes |
|
Planetaria! outside the disco 2024-Jan-22 51 minutes |
|
Neptune in a diner 2024-Jan-15 42 minutes |
|
Laws of motion under an orrery 2024-Jan-08 51 minutes |
|
Caroline Herschel at the Symphony 2024-Jan-01 50 minutes |
|
Things that go Bump in the Universe with Dr. Renée James 2023-Dec-25 51 minutes |
|
Winter Sky in a cozy cabin 2023-Dec-18 51 minutes |
|
Arrival review in a hot tub 2023-Dec-11 68 minutes |
|
Chandra Observatory in a beachside cafe 2023-Dec-04 49 minutes |
|
Astronaut training in a cave 2023-Nov-27 54 minutes |
|
Dr. Moiya's research in a school library 2023-Nov-20 61 minutes |
|
UFO sightings in a cow field 2023-Nov-13 55 minutes |
|
Mars in a cranberry bog 2023-Nov-06 45 minutes |
|
Spooky space stuff in a Salem cemetery 2023-Oct-30 63 minutes |
|
Ask us anything in the Multitude studio 2023-Oct-23 67 minutes |
|
Arthur C. Walker in a rose garden 2023-Oct-16 49 minutes |
|
NASA operations in a coffee shop 2023-Oct-09 52 minutes |
|
Contact on a Pensacola Beach 2023-Oct-02 65 minutes |
|
Very Large Array at J.P. Wynne High 2023-Sep-25 54 minutes |
Supernovae in a canyon2023-Sep-18 56 minutes |
Loren Grush's The Six at mission control2023-Sep-11 46 minutes |
Saturn in his temple2023-Sep-04 55 minutes |
Dr. Beth Brown on the football field2023-Aug-28 46 minutes |
Messaging aliens in a newsroom2023-Aug-21 65 minutes |
The Milky Way book on the ISS2023-Aug-14 50 minutes |
Gravitational waves in the Barbie dreamhouse2023-Aug-07 58 minutes |
Galaxy Quest review in a church2023-Jul-31 60 minutes |
Green Bank Telescope in a lighthouse2023-Jul-24 56 minutes |
Northern constellations at the north pole2023-Jul-17 41 minutes |
Southern constellations at the Sydney Opera House2023-Jul-10 43 minutes |
Stellar ages at medieval times2023-Jul-03 45 minutes |
The Possibility of Life with Jaime Green2023-Jun-26 48 minutes |
Summer skygazing at the cookout2023-Jun-19 44 minutes |
Starstruck with Sarafina El-Badry Nance2023-Jun-12 52 minutes |
Valerian & the City of 1000 Planets by a mountain stream2023-Jun-05 71 minutes |
End of the universe on the 6 train2023-May-29 51 minutes |
Dr. Claudia Alexander in a horse-drawn carriage2023-May-22 49 minutes |
Jupiter in the Mall of America2023-May-15 49 minutes |
Spherical Earth on a boat2023-May-08 54 minutes |
Neutron stars at the botanical garden2023-May-01 51 minutes |
Hubble space telescope by a campfire2023-Apr-24 54 minutes |
Prospect review in a lush forest2023-Apr-17 59 minutes |
Carl Sagan in a horse barn2023-Apr-10 55 minutes |
Space water in a seaside cottage2023-Apr-03 59 minutes |
Finding exoplanets at the racetrack2023-Mar-27 56 minutes |
Making Moons in an Italian Restaurant2023-Mar-20 55 minutes |
Space Brains in a Neuro Lab2023-Mar-13 66 minutes |
Redshift at the Batting Cages2023-Mar-06 45 minutes |
Black Holes in Central Park2023-Feb-27 68 minutes |
Moonfall at the ALMA Observatory2023-Feb-20 75 minutes |
Star Types in a Movie Theater2023-Feb-13 66 minutes |
Fundamental Force in a Bathhouse2023-Feb-06 62 minutes |
Katherine Johnson at the Kitchen Table2023-Jan-30 41 minutes |
Universal Speed in an Elephant Sanctuary2023-Jan-23 56 minutes |
Aurora in a Ski Lodge2023-Jan-16 44 minutes |
SETI in a Beauty Salon2023-Jan-09 60 minutes |
Space Junk in a Bookstore2023-Jan-02 56 minutes |
Fluid Motion at a Carnival2022-Dec-26 50 minutes |
Light on a Feather Down Couch2022-Dec-19 65 minutes |
Vera Rubin in a Glass Greenhouse2022-Dec-12 50 minutes |
Eclipses in a Cabin in the Woods2022-Dec-05 55 minutes |
Big Bang in a Rain-Lashed Tent2022-Nov-28 50 minutes |
Galaxy Shapes in an Attic2022-Nov-21 50 minutes |
Pluto in Grandma's Living Room2022-Nov-21 50 minutes |
Hello from Pale Blue Pod2022-Nov-07 less than a minute |