Exploring the wonders of the Cosmos, one mystery at a time
218 episodes listed below
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Astronomy, space, and science news and education delivered in a fun, friendly format! Short form Astronomy Minutes and full-length episodes featuring interviews with some of the top scientists, authors, and developers around the globe! aicreatorhouse.substack.com
Based on 6 episodes we listened to · September 2026
James Maynard pairs theatrical humor with interviews that clarify how missions, instruments and simulations turn cosmic questions into testable science.
James Maynard treats space science as material for a staged production, moving from scripted characters and jokes into narrated context and specialist interviews.
Venus sounds suspiciously like Arizona; your reward is a scientist explaining what its probes can actually measure.
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Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
Folklore, politics, and a lively medieval mystery with a theatrical finish.
Set in 12th century England, this episode folds knights, nobles, and local fear into a mystery that keeps circling back to power. A black shuck, a griffin, and a sea beast all compete for blame, while landholding, debts, ships, and village politics do most of the real work.
A wide-ranging space story that feels strongest when it gets personal.
The episode moves from myth to balloons to space without getting stuck in any one stop, and that broad sweep works because it keeps circling back to a simple question: why people keep reaching higher. Katie Coleman gives it shape.
A grounded Venus episode that mixes mission history, clear science, and real mystery.
Venus is framed less like a destination than a riddle. The piece moves from mythology to Galileo, then to VERITAS, DAVINCI, and EnVision, and that sequence gives the argument real lift.
A conversational look at how computer models made cosmology more testable.
The episode gives a clear, lively tour of cosmology through computer models, following how astronomers and cosmologists use simulations to study galaxies, dark matter, black holes, and the wider universe.
A playful tour of solar-system water, with JUICE and its instruments kept front and center.
The episode works because it keeps the scale of the subject in check. It moves from lunar polar craters to Mars and Jupiter's icy moons, with Olivier Vattas of the European Space Agency guiding the discussion around JUICE and the questions it is built to answer: how much water…
A lively dinosaur survival episode that starts with movie myths and ends in years of darkness, crop failure, and doomsday stakes.
This PlayNext episode pulls dinosaurs back from movie shorthand toward the fossil record, moving from the end-Cretaceous world into the sun-blocking aftermath.
A playful AI satellite frames a clear look at cheaper launches and the growing business of low Earth orbit.
The Cosmic Companion uses Ziggy, a whimsical AI satellite, as a playful way into the business of reaching orbit. Ziggy's search for a private launch company gives the episode a clear path, moving from SpaceX's early Falcon 1 failures into Vance's view of a low Earth orbit…
Neil deGrasse Tyson and comic co-hosts field Cosmic Queries on physics, space, and beyond.
Rotating StarTalk scientist-hosts and a comedian co-host tackle listener-submitted cosmic questions.
ABC Radio National pairs daily Artemis II updates with its five-part Challenger Legacy investigation.
Patient space coverage with real mission context.
This segment introduces a discussion on artificial intelligence and the future of humanity, referencing ancient stories like Talos and Pandora as early examples of AI concepts.
This segment explores the bizarre and fascinating aspects of Earth, including its formation, core composition, heat generation, and unique features like oceans and microorganisms.
This segment humorously critiques human society through a space chimp's perspective before transitioning to a discussion about exploration with Jon Waterman from National Geographic.
This episode segment explores the nature of intelligence beyond humans, focusing on the surprising sentience of fungi and their vast underground mycelial networks, including the largest single living organism in Oregon's Malheur National Forest.
This Earth Day 2024 episode explores how fiction and storytelling have historically inspired environmental movements, starting with ancient examples like the Epic of Gilgamesh.
This episode segment explores the history of solar eclipse predictions, from ancient fears and superstitions to modern scientific forecasting, featuring insights from Stephen Wolfram and examples of how past civilizations reacted to these cosmic events.
A Halloween-themed fairy tale about a space traveler lost in the cosmos, narrated by a Grim Reaper character.
An invisible person humorously discusses the practical and social difficulties of being invisible, including issues with mirrors, shaving, clothing, vitamin D deficiency, and conveying emotions without facial expressions.
This segment introduces a discussion on global warming with author Elizabeth Rusch, explaining the science behind greenhouse gases and their impact on climate change.
A humorous time-travel monologue where the speaker lists comical misunderstandings of modern America as ancient Greece, blending historical references with contemporary observations.
This episode segment explores how scientists determine details about dinosaurs beyond the fossil record, featuring Stephanie Warren Drimmer discussing her book 'Jurassic Smarts'.
This episode segment introduces the topic of gravity, discusses its basic nature and historical understanding from ancient Greeks to Isaac Newton, and previews an interview with Joe Swiggum from the NanoGrav Collaboration.
This segment introduces an episode exploring the greatest mysteries of the universe, focusing on the Big Bang and the Planck Epoch, with insights from cosmologist Lawrence Krauss.
This segment introduces the mysteries of dark matter and dark energy, explaining their dominance in the universe and the historical discovery of dark matter by Fritz Wicke in 1933.
This episode segment discusses establishing space stations in low-Earth orbit as training grounds for living in space and developing technologies like life support systems and 3D printing to advance human expansion into the solar system.
The Cosmic Companion episode "The Wizard and The Scholar" follows Ellara, the town wizard of Rye, and Adelaide of Granada as they compare magic, astronomy, and the practical problem of surviving a murder investigation.
Former NASA astronaut Cady Coleman joins The Cosmic Companion host James G.
Stephen Cain of UC Riverside argues that Venus is not just the solar system’s hottest planet but a key test case for planetary habitability, because it is similar in size and age to Earth while now looking radically different.
This episode explores STEAM education through the historical analogy of STEAM trains, discussing the science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics behind their development and impact.
This episode explores the challenges of human bodies adapting to space environments, featuring an interview with Christina Sauer from National Geographic Kids.
The Cosmic Companion episode "Coding the Universe" centers on computer models and simulations that help astronomers study the universe.
James Maynard talks with European Space Agency project scientist Olivier Vattas about JUICE, which launched on 14 April from French Guiana and will spend eight years cruising to Jupiter.
The Cosmic Companion talks with paleontologist Steve Brusatte about Nat Geo Kids' How to Survive in the Age of Dinosaurs and his work on Jurassic World Dominion.
The Cosmic Companion talks with Ashley Vance, author of When the Heavens Went on Sail, about how private spaceflight shifted from government launches to venture-backed rocket and satellite startups.
Astronomy News with the Cosmic Companion (19 October 2021) interviews Dr.