A unique kind of human skull has been discovered in China. The team describes the details of this skull, known as the ‘Dragon Man’, and explains how it might belong to a new species of human. And if that’s not exciting enough, its discovery has the most amazing Indiana Jones style backstory too. In breaking news, Jeff Bezos has announced that legendary aviat ... Show More
Nov 14
New genome of ancient human; 95% of us have a dormant virus that causes disease; Formula E cars faster than F1; Bill Bryson joins the pod!
Episode 332
For only the second time, the genome of an ancient Denisovan has been sequenced - thanks to the discovery of a 200,000-year-old tooth found in a Siberian cave. This ancient member of the human family has long been a mystery, so this genome is being described as a bom ... Show More
45m 2s
Aug 2023
Space Swells Brain Cavity, Cave Fossils, Keeping Cool
Today, you’ll learn about a potential obstacle to human flight to Mars, a discovery in a Laotian cave that is sending archaeologists back to the drawing board, and how new technology could keep us cool in a warming world without adding to the problem of climate change. Find episo ... Show More
12m 40s
Feb 2024
The Space Race: Honoring the first African-American space explorers
<p>This week on Planetary Radio, we take a peek behind the scenes at National Geographic's new documentary, “The Space Race,” which celebrates the triumphs and struggles of the first African-American space pioneers and astronauts. Co-directors Diego Hurtado de Mendoza and Lisa Co ... Show More
1h 3m
Jan 2020
Neil Maher, "Apollo in the Age of Aquarius" (Harvard UP, 2017)
Neil Maher talks about the social forces that shaped NASA in the 1960s and 70s, connecting the space race with the radical upheavals of the counterculture. Maher is a professor of history at the New Jersey Institute of Technology and Rutgers University, Newark. He is the author o ... Show More
33m 39s