Third Pod from the Sun

It’s that time of year again. No, we’re not talking about the holiday season (though, happy holidays everyone!). We’re talking AGU’s annual meeting! To celebrate, we’re releasing an episode each day of the conference, corresponding with the theme of the day. This year, the theme of the meeting is Science Leads the Future, and we’re kicking things off with our CEO, Randy Fiser who focused on the importance of effective science communication (which is exactly what our colleagues in Sharing Science do!).

This episode was produced by Shane M Hanlon and mixed by Collin Warren. Artwork by Olivia Ambrogio. Interview conducted by Autria Godfrey.

Fire is a part of life for many indigenous groups, but for decades cultural burning was restricted and even criminalized. Now, fire is being brought back to the land by indigenous groups to help prevent big blazes, create resilient ecosystems, and provide resources for indigenous communities. We talk about what a cultural burn looks like, how it shapes the land, and how fire relates to social justice.

This episode was produced by Molly Magid and mixed by Collin Warren. Art by Jace Steiner.

This episode is about how random flashes of fireflies gradually acquire synchrony. Studies have shown that this surreal coordination of twinkling occurs through a natural cadence among certain species of fireflies during the mating season.

Scientist Orit Peleg wears many hats. She’s a biophysicist and a computer scientist. Peleg and her group of researchers have arrived at some of these conclusions by trekking through national parks in the United States during the mating season of fireflies. They camp in the forest to observe the fireworks of these lightning bugs and have come back stunned by the visual appeal and mathematics of these pyrotechnics. 

This episode was produced by Anupama Chandrasekaran and mixed by Collin Warren. Illustration by Jace Steiner.

Think about what types of things burn: wood, grasses, fossil fuels… mostly things that were formed by life. Fire also requires oxygen, which is largely produced by life. Did Earth have fire before life evolved? Could any other planets have fire? If there were an exoplanet with fires burning, would we have any way to detect that? To explore these questions, we talked with astrobiologist Antígona Segura Peralta from the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. Though there probably has never been fire anywhere else in our solar system, Antígona told us about other hot-and-glowing types of phenomena that could exist on planets. For example, volcanic lightning on early Mars might have provided energy for the origin of Martian life. It’s an exciting time for astrobiology, and scientists like Antígona are able to make increasing progress toward understanding the potential for life on other worlds. In the process, we’re learning what makes Earth special. And it seems like fire might be something we’ll never find outside our home planet.

This episode was produced by Katrina Jackson and mixed by Collin Warren. Illustration by Jace Steiner.

When the Halema‘uma‘u crater at the summit of Kīlauea Volcano began filling with water in 2019 it wasn’t unprecedented, volcanic crater lakes aren’t uncommon; but, it was surprising for active volcano that hadn’t seen any water at the summit in at least 200 years. The lake had a short lifespan, boiling away in the next eruption, but it helped geologists learn more about how water moves around in the hot rock of volcanic settings. From the summit of Kilauea to Lake Taupo, one of the largest crater lakes in the world, this episode will explore what happens when fire and water mix. 

This episode was produced by Avery Shinneman and mixed by Collin Warren. Illustration by Jace Steiner.

At the end of the decade, NASA’s Artemis missions will return to the moon—traveling through deep space to get there. A lot of things make deep space travel complicated, but one you might not have considered is the risk of fire on the space craft. And how to put fires out if they do start? Astronauts have limited supplies of fire extinguishers and wet wipes for cleanup, but we talked to Augustin Guibaud—a spacecraft fire safety expert—about what space agencies are doing to prepare.

This episode was produced by Sara Whitlock and and mixed by Collin Warren. Illustration by Jace Steiner.

Climate change is accelerating as human-made greenhouse gasses continue to warm our atmosphere. Megafires certainly evoke climate change doomsday feelings, but are these types of fires new to the PNW or were similar instances occurring prior to 2020? To answer these questions we talked to Matthew Reilly, a United States Forest Service scientist, about the causes of these megafires and what we can expect in the upcoming decades.

This episode was produced by Jessica Buser-Young and mixed by Collin Warren. Illustration by Jace Steiner.

We’ve all heard stories about fantastical creatures that people swear they’ve seen and have evidence of but can never be confirmed. Think Bigfoot or the Loch Ness monster. Mermaids or the Kraken. While there’s no evidence backing the existence of these creatures, either in present day or at any point in the past, there must be a reason why such legends were created in the first place. In most cases, the legend in grounded in fact.

During this Halloween season, we’re bringing you four stories from scientists who know a little something about the real-life animals that inspired these legendary creatures. In this episode, the second in a two-part series, we chatted with Rodrigo Salvador, Curator of Invertebrates at the Museum of New Zealand, about the connections between giant squids and the Kraken, and Danielle J. Serratos, Director/Curator of the Fundy Geological Museum, about the links between prehistoric aquatic reptiles and the Loch Ness monster, respectively.

This episode was produced and mixed by Shane M Hanlon.  

We’ve all heard stories about fantastical creatures that people swear they’ve seen and have evidence of but can never be confirmed. Think Bigfoot or the Loch Ness monster. Mermaids or the Kraken. While there’s no evidence backing the existence of these creatures, either in present day or at any point in the past, there must be a reason why such legends were created in the first place. In most cases, the legend in grounded in fact. 

As a special Halloween treat, we're bring back two episodes where we chatted with scientists who know a little something about the real-life animals that inspired these legendary creatures. In this first episode, we chatted with Cristina Brito, Director of the Centre for Overseas History at University of Lisbon, about the connections between mermaids and manatees, as well as Ryan Haupt, Ph.D candidate, Department of Geology and Geophysics, University of Wyoming and co-host of the podcast Science…sort of, about the connections between Bigfoot and prehistoric giant sloths.  

This episode was produced and mixed by Shane M Hanlon. Art by Olivia Ambrogio. 

As the leaves change and temperatures cool, head inside, fire up your headphones, and get ready for hot-podcast fall as share stories about, well, fire. Join us over the next six weeks to hear stories about wildfires, volcanoes, fire in space, and on other planets, indigenous fire knowledge, and…fireflies! And today stick around for a preview of the weeks to come.

This episode was produced by Shane M Hanlon and Jace Steiner, and mixed by Collin Warren. Artwork by Karen Romano Young.