Blue Dot

A few degrees of planetary warming may not sound alarming but it is. A few microseconds of error don't sound like much but they can mean the difference between navigating a spacecraft successfully to Mars, or not. In this episode Dave talks to Drew Shindell about a web article called " A Degree of Concern: Why Global Temperatures Matter ." Written by NASA Media Specialist Alan Buis, Shindell, a Duke University Atmospheric Physicist was the scientific collaborator on the project which explains

In this very special episode, we pay tribute to two legends: Dr. Christopher Columbus Kraft Jr. and NASA's historic Mission Operations Control Room number 2 (aka MOCR 2). Dr. Kraft passed away on July 22, two days after America celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon Landing. Kraft was the man who literally invented the concept of flight control for NASA from the first American space flights of Project Mercury from 1961-63 through Project Gemini and Apollo culminating with the nine

Dave talks to Gideon Bradshaw and Andrew Cohen, the BBC filmmakers behind the new NOVA series The Planets on PBS. Part of the "Summer of Space" on PBS, the series features state of the art science combined with cinematic effects featured on major Hollywood films from the special effects artists who created The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Captain America: The First Avenger -- LOLAVFX.

Fred Haise was made famous by the movie Apollo 13, in which he was portrayed by Bill Paxton in the story of the most famous Apollo mission other than Apollo 11. But he was also a member of the Apollo 11 team, serving as back up lunar module pilot in case something happened to Buzz Aldrin prior to the flight. Dave talks to Fred about what it was like to go through all the training for the first moon landing as well as being the last person in the command module Columbia when he was responsible

The Summer of Apollo 11 continues! Find out what Dave's first and second favorite movies of all time are, spoiler alert, one of them is the topic of this show! Dave talks to Australian filmmaker Rob Sitch. His 2000 movie The Dish starred Sam Neill ( Jurassic Park ) and Patrick Warburton ( Seinfeld and A Series of Unfortunate Events ). It tells the sometimes humorous, often inspiring and always warm story of a team of radio astronomers at the Parkes Radio Telescope in Australia's outback who are

Robert Stone's three part documentary, Chasing The Moon, airs July 8-10 on the PBS history series The American Experience. After previewing the epic series, Dave interviewed Robert and the pair had an in depth conversation on the project from genesis to final cut. They also discuss the cultural meaning of the Moon landing as we look back at it through the lens of history fifty years later. And a new segment debuts on the show: Blue Dot's "Teachable Moment" where producer Matt Fidler poses a

Dave learns about fighting fire with fire in this episode as he talks to CSU Chico Professor of Geography Don Hankins. Dr. Hankins teaches a course called "Pyrogeography" examining the role of fire on both landscapes and the communities that inhabit them. Hankins is a firm believer in the importance of using prescribed burning techniques to control fuel loads and enhance the native ecology of areas throughout California that evolved with fire as a natural element of their ecosystems.

It's our Father's Day episode! Interviews with scientists and their Dads as Dave talks to planetary scientist David Grinspoon and his father Lester (who also happens to be a world class professor of psychiatry from Harvard University Medical School), his favorite YouTube science communicator Dianna Cowern, aka "Physics Girl" and her tree farming, Hawaiian resort operating father Bill and finally, a moving conversation between Alan Stern, Principal Investigator of the New Horizons mission that

Dave meets with a kindred soul as Archaeologist and California State University Chico Anthropology Department Professor Lisa Westwood joins him in Studio C to talk about the archaeology of the space age. She's the lead author of the book The Final Mission: Preserving NASA's Apollo Sites with co-authors Beth O'Leary and Milford Wayne Donaldson.

The award winning documentary The Biggest Little Farm is the focus of Dave's conversation with filmmaker turned farmer John Chester. He along with his wife Molly and their rescue dog Todd moved from a Los Angeles apartment onto a rundown 200 acre piece of property in Moorpark, Calif. With the help of their mentor Alan York, they set out to rehabilitate the land into a biodynamic farm that had livestock, fruit trees and crops that grow and flourish in harmony with the surrounding native plant