logo
episode-header-image
Nov 2021
33m 20s

What happens if you drop a feather in sp...

American Public Media
About this episode
In space, will a feather stay still? Fall down? Float away? Turns out, the answer depends on where you are! But one thing affects your feather no matter what: gravity! So Galileo is joining us all the way from the 1500s to fill us in on his theory about gravity. Then, we’re heading to space, and dropping a feather in a few different places to see what happen ... Show More
Up next
Yesterday
Brains On presents Smash Boom Best: American Robin vs Mourning Dove
Get ready for a Smash Boom Best bird bonanza. Tommy Siegel and Billy Libby have gone bananas for birds in the last few years. They’re real-life friends and musicians, who host the podcast Extremely Accurate Bird Songs. Today, however, friends become foes as they each rep a differ ... Show More
39m 42s
Oct 27
Brains On presents Forever Ago: History Mystery Sounds
This week Brains On is giving you an extra helping of Mystery Sounds… with a twist! Listen as our pals at Forever Ago try to stump you with history Mystery Sounds! Joy Dolo and co-host Gabi are having a history sound extravaganza! Join them as they listen to mystery sounds from t ... Show More
36m 18s
Oct 26
Sneak Peek: Molly debates Sanden in Sloths vs Cheetahs!
Molly Bloom as a debater? It’s true! This is a sneak peek at a bonus episode we just shared in our Smarty Pass feed. Molly debates Sanden in a Smash Boom Best showdown between Cheetahs and Sloths. To hear the full, ad-free episode, join Smarty Pass. You also get access to all the ... Show More
22m 31s
Recommended Episodes
Feb 2024
What would happen if you took a party balloon to space?
Have you ever accidentally let go of a helium balloon and watched it float up … up … and away? It drifts way up in the sky until it’s just a tiny speck! But what would happen if a balloon made it all the way to outer space? We asked astrophysicist Amanda Farah to help us find the ... Show More
5m 22s
Jan 2014
Up in the Air
<p>Up in the Air: How long can a bird stay in the air? How about an airplane? From human flight to the future of laser-powered drone aircraft, the answers may surprise you in this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind. And be sure to click here for a mini-gallery of birds and planes ... Show More
35m 40s
May 2022
Finding your way in space
What’s up and what’s down for astronauts who are floating in zero gravity? 
6m 18s
May 2022
What if gravity were much stronger?
Daniel and Jorge answer listener questions about gravity, the CMB and distant disappearing objects! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. 
55m 11s
Sep 2023
Longer Tables Leaves the Planet!
What’s it like to eat in space? How does space change a person? Why go to space in the first place? This week astronauts Michael López-Alegría and Peggy Whitson take the show where no podcast has gone before. Plus José receives his first-ever low-Earth-orbit food review, and chew ... Show More
44m 25s
Jul 2023
Things You Thought You Knew – Where the Sun Don’t Shine
<p>Does being in space mean there is no gravity? What does noon have to do with the Artemis Mission? Neil deGrasse Tyson and comedian Chuck Nice break down weightlessness, planetary alignments, and what is going on on the south pole of the moon. </p><p>NOTE: StarTalk+ Patrons can ... Show More
41m 55s
Apr 2020
Space
<p>One of the most consistent questions we get at the show is from parents who want to know which episodes are kid-friendly and which aren’t. So today, we're releasing a separate <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/radiolab-kids">feed</a>, Radiolab for Kids. To kick it ... Show More
58m 53s
Jul 2020
Listener Questions 11: Deep questions about gravity and particles.
tail spinning
42m 44s
Feb 2021
The Bird and The Balloon Telescope
What happens when a baby falcon meets a balloon telescope in an old Wild West town? An astrophysics animal adventure, of course! Erika Hamden is an astrophysicist who’s attempting to launch a space balloon telescope called FIREBall, an experiment to study distant galaxies. But he ... Show More
17m 44s
Jun 2025
The Feather That Wouldn't Dry
A curious duckling finds a mysterious feather and believes it holds the secret to flying—long before she’s ready. Her quiet journey down the creek becomes a lesson in patience, letting go, and learning to trust the rhythm of her own becoming. Start The Clear Mind Quest—a free 5-d ... Show More
39m 48s