TrueSciPhi

Podcast Profile: The Jodcast

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328 episodes
2006 to 2026
Median: 63 minutes
Collection: Physics, Math, and Astronomy

Description (podcaster-provided):

Themes and summary (AI-generated based on podcaster-provided show and episode descriptions):

This podcast is a student- and staff-produced astronomy show from the Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics that mixes current developments in space science with longer-form explainers and practical observing advice. Across its episodes, the core structure frequently combines a roundup of recent astronomy news, interviews with working researchers and mission scientists, and a regular stargazing guide that points listeners to what is visible in the night sky at that time of year, largely from a northern-hemisphere perspective. A recurring Q&A segment addresses listener-submitted questions and common puzzles about observing and basic astronomical concepts.

Much of the content focuses on how astronomers study the universe using a wide range of tools and wavelengths. Interviews and features span radio astronomy and large observatories, interferometry, sky surveys, and data-driven projects that involve public participation, alongside spacecraft and space-based observatories. The show often uses active missions and recent results as entry points to explain the underlying physics, including the Sun’s atmosphere and magnetic fields, gravitational lensing, cosmic rays, and the cosmic microwave background.

There is also a strong emphasis on high-energy and time-variable phenomena—such as pulsars, magnetars, novae, gamma-ray bursts, and transient events—along with broader cosmology topics like dark matter, dark energy, the early universe, galaxy formation and evolution, and the role of dust and gas in shaping astronomical structures. Solar system science appears through discussions of planetary exploration and sample-return missions, as well as eclipses and other sky events.

In addition to research and observing, the podcast highlights the wider astronomy community through coverage of conferences, planetariums, outreach initiatives, amateur societies, and occasional tours of facilities connected to Jodrell Bank and other observatories, giving listeners a sense of both the science and the people and institutions behind it.