The WFMT Radio Network

Big Picture Science

Genre: Science Magazine
Length: 1 hour
Frequency: Weekly
DELIVERY TYPE: ContentDepot; PRX; Pacifica Network
Optional Breaks: One
Hosts: Gary Niederhoff, Molly Bentley & Seth Shostak
Executive Producer: Molly Bentley
Underwriters: NASA Astrobiology Institute; Bad Astronomy; Distant Suns; Trimberger Family Foundation and podiversity

The WFMT Radio Network is pleased to announce that beginning March 1, we will be the new representatives of the Big Picture Science series.

Big Picture Science is a weekly one-hour science program produced at the SETI Institute’s radio studio in Mountain View, California, that examines life and technology on this planet….and beyond, with a broadcast and podcast every week.

The world has changed since enterprising hominids chipped stones to use as tools. Today’s scientific and technological development moves faster than a speeding maglev train. The Big Picture Science radio show and podcast engages the public with modern science research through lively and intelligent storytelling. Science radio doesn’t have to be dull. The only dry thing about our program is the humor.

Big Picture Science takes on big questions by interviewing leading researchers and weaving together their stories of discovery in a clever and off-kilter narrative style.

What came before the Big Bang? How does memory work? Will our descendants be human or machine? What’s the origin of humor? We ponder these questions daily … and expound on them weekly. This one-hour radio magazine reveals science as an adventure. But wait! There’s more!

Are you a doubting Thomas? Good. Join us as we separate science from pseudoscience – and facts from the phony – in Skeptic Check, our monthly episode devoted to critical thinking. Whether it’s astrology, Bigfoot, or the incessant onslaught of dubious medical claims, we tackle it all, wielding the skeptical tools of solid science. It’s Skeptic Check… but don’t take our word for it!

But it wasn’t always so! The program began with the title Are We Alone? in 2002 as a commercially-supported call-in show distributed to a handful of stations on Radio America by Bill Oxley and Seth Shostak, who actually broadcast from their respective living rooms in San Diego and Mountain View. In 2004, Molly Bentley joined AWA as an editor and executive producer, and about that time, support from the NASA Astrobiology Institute allowed us to build our own radio studio and move away from single interview call-ins, to a thematic multi-interview produced show.

Barbara Vance joined AWA at that time and has kept us organized and hitting program deadlines ever since. Bill left the show in 2005 to pursue other interests and Gary Niederhoff joined us with his considerable voice talent and editing skills. Then Jay Weiler showed up. After a short stint on the Discovery Channel’s outlet on Sirius Satellite Radio, we began distributing Are We Alone? on the Public Radio Satellite System (PRSS) and the Public Radio Exchange (PRX).

Big Picture Science is supported in part by Sami David, Rena Shulsky David, and the NASA Astrobiology Institute. Skeptic Check is presented thanks to a generous donation from the Trimberger Family Foundation.

Big Picture Science is available to radio stations for broadcast from PRSS, PRX and Pacifica Network. It can also be found on iTunes and other podcast sites.

This series is available free of charge to all stations. For more information, please contact Tony Macaluso at 773-279-2114, email: tmacaluso@wfmt.com or Carol Martinez at 773-279-2112, email: cmartinez@wfmt.com.

Broadcast Schedule

Coming Soon