Astronomy, argued cheerfully at escape velocity.
Walkabout the Galaxy turns astronomy news into a brisk roomful of arguments, stumper questions, corrections, and delighted side quests. The Astroquarks move from Artemis plans to cosmic rays, Snowball Earth, black holes, and asteroid oddities without sanding off the banter.
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Walkabout the Galaxy is astronomy with the table manners left at home. The Astroquarks talk quickly, interrupt freely, and treat confusion as a useful launchpad. A question about an impossible space experience can lead into Artemis mission planning. A riff about scary Olympic sports can turn toward Snowball Earth and the speed of climate transitions. A misheard name or stray pop-culture reference may sit right beside JWST, MAVEN, Roman, Rubin, or Parker Solar Probe. The show works because the looseness is backed by competence. Nobody sounds like they are reading a museum placard. They sound like people who have argued about infrared wavelengths before and are happy to do it again. The recurring stumper questions give each episode a comic spark before the science arrives. Once it arrives, the conversation can get surprisingly exact. Artemis III becomes a discussion of rehearsal missions, docking, landers, and Apollo parallels. Asteroids open into wavelength ranges and telescope observations. Cosmic rays become protons, helium nuclei, electrons, and strange energies rather than a vague space hazard. The tone stays irreverent without treating the subject as small. It can be silly. It can also pause over a spacecraft that may have been hit, a supernova hazard, or an Earth locked under ice for millions of years. That swing is part of the identity. The show is best for listeners who want astronomy to feel social instead of ceremonial. It rewards people who enjoy jokes, corrections, and quick resets as much as clean explanations. The recurring voices make the show feel lived-in, with running bits about music videos, listener locations, fake labels for fans, and the Astroquarks themselves. It is science conversation with scuffed edges, strong opinions, and enough momentum that even the detours usually find orbit.
Made for: For space-curious listeners who like real astronomy wrapped in fast banter, odd hypotheticals, and friendly disagreement. It especially suits people who enjoy learning through conversation rather than polished lecture.
What sets it apart: The show’s edge is its roundtable chemistry: jokes, corrections, and tangents become the explanation instead of delaying it. It makes advanced space topics feel like an ongoing argument among people who know the material and enjoy the mess.
An irreverent and informative tour of the latest, greatest, and most interesting discoveries in astronomy.
Based on 6 episodes we listened to · September 2026
Astronomy news becomes collaborative reasoning, with spacecraft, cosmic phenomena, and scientific uncertainty discussed through informed, good-humored conversation.
Walkabout the Galaxy turns astronomy news into a lively group conversation among Josh Caldwell, Addie Dove, Jim Cooney, and Audrey Martin. A recurring opening question establishes the mood: curious, playful, and comfortable with disagreement.
MAVEN goes quiet, and you get a Martian rock joke before the cosmic rays.
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Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
A lively mix of a shareable astronomy stumper, Artemis updates, and hosts working through the moving parts.
Walk About the Galaxy opens on a playful stumper about sharing a space-related experience, then shifts into the Artemis III change and the hosts' reactions to it.
A stumper about astrophysical death opens into a funny, useful tour of infrared wavelengths.
Astrophysical death turns out to be a sharp way into the loose, technically alert world of Walk About the Galaxy. The Astroquarks begin with an astro-metaphysical stumper about choosing an imminent demise by asteroid impact, tidal-wave destruction, or immediate aftereffects,…
An Olympic opener gives way to snowball Earth, under-ice oceans, and climate shifts that can happen fast.
Walkabout the Galaxy opens on a silly Olympic question before settling into two sturdy science ideas: snowball Earth, where oceans can freeze over and sunlight cannot really reach them, and a planet that behaves like an ocean world under ice.
A serious astronomy question leads into a loose, news-heavy conversation about launches, the Roman Space Telescope, and submarine landslides.
Walk About the Galaxy opens with the show's first 2026 Stumper, a serious astronomy question, then moves through space news that touches the Roman Space Telescope, new launch activity, a recent Indian PSLB failure, and the familiar rhythm of rockets in central Florida.
A loose year-end astronomy hangout that turns MAVEN, cosmic rays, and Parker Solar Probe into conversation.
Walkabout the Galaxy closes out another year with the Astroquarks trading jokes about the show's long run, weighing Aurora Borealis against Aurora Australis, and drifting into MAVEN's odd tracking data from Mars.
A lunar fuel plan and nearby-supernova risk share the stage with a lunch-minded detour on energy units.
Walk About the Galaxy pairs lunar logistics with the more unnerving question of what a nearby supernova might mean for Earth. The Astroquarks look at a proposed vehicle for moving materials and fuel from low-Earth orbit to lunar orbit for use by lunar landers, then set a stated…
A space-policy chat built around a universal stumper and Artemis III's revised path.
Walkabout the Galaxy opens with a planet-wide stumper about which astronomy, physics, or space experience everyone should have, then folds that question into Artemis III and the shift away from a one-shot lunar landing toward more rehearsal in 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.
The hosts of Walk About the Galaxy discuss volcanic activity on Venus and share trivia about the 1966 film Fantastic Voyage.
The hosts discuss Cygnus X-3 and a naked-eye nova, along with a stumper inspired by the Apple TV+ show Dark Matter.
The hosts of Walk About the Galaxy discuss the final flight of Virgin Galactic's VSS Unity and its implications for space tourism.
The Astroquarks debate which celestial spectacle they'd most want to witness: a daytime comet, supernova, or lunar impact.
The hosts of Walk About the Galaxy open with a stumper about giving everyone an astronomy experience, from seeing Earth from space to falling into a black hole.
Walkabout the Galaxy episode 420 opens with a stumper about which astronomy or space experience every person on Earth should have, and Audrey Dove answers with seeing Earth from ISS distance.
Walkabout the Galaxy opens with a hypothetical choice among asteroid impact, solar flare, vacuum exposure, and black hole spaghettification before shifting into two science segments.
Walkabout the Galaxy opens with the hosts choosing which Winter Olympic event they would attempt, then pivots to a sponsor joke about the coefficient of kinetic friction and a curling discussion that turns into a physics problem.
The hosts of Walk About the Galaxy discuss a stumper question about where to place a telescope for a month of solo observations.
The hosts of Walk About the Galaxy introduce themselves and discuss the cold weather, with a playful banter about missing co-host Eddie Dove.
Walkabout the Galaxy opens with Josh Caldwell, Addie Dove, Jim Cooney, and Audrey Martin answering the “single most important unanswered question in astronomy today,” then pivots to cosmological tension.
Parker Solar Probe is mapping the Alfvén surface while flying through the corona.
The hosts of Walk About the Galaxy introduce themselves and discuss fan names before presenting a stumper about choosing a celestial sight to see.
The hosts of Walk About the Galaxy discuss a listener's question about placing a webcam anywhere in the universe and debate the best location for dynamic views.