Site • RSS • Apple PodcastsDescription (podcaster-provided):
Do you ever feel dizzy when you think about the incomprehensible scale of space? We call that feeling Cosmic Vertigo. Welcome to a head-spinning conversation between two friends about the sparkly -- and not so sparkly -- stuff in the sky.Themes and summary (AI-generated based on podcaster-provided show and episode descriptions):
➤ Astronomy and astrophysics conversations • Space “sounds” and sonification • Telescopes, observatories, black holes • Cosmology extremes: density, temperature, vacuum, Big Bang • Fast radio bursts, interstellar visitors • Apollo 11, ISS, eclipses, Mars, alien-life questions • Space junk, Australian space policy • Indigenous sky stories and STEMM pathwaysThis podcast is a conversational astronomy show built around the feeling of “cosmic vertigo”: awe (and occasional discomfort) at the scale, strangeness, and extremes of the universe. Across its episodes, the hosts use storytelling, humor, and everyday analogies to explain astrophysics concepts such as density, emptiness, temperature extremes, cosmic timescales, and the life cycles of stars and black holes. Some installments focus on particular phenomena—like fast radio bursts, eclipses, and interstellar visitors—treating them as mysteries that can be investigated through evidence and scientific method.
A recurring thread is how astronomy is done in practice: the role of observatories and radio telescope networks, the engineering and human decision-making behind major missions, and the ways scientific infrastructure intersects with communities and culture. The podcast also spends significant time on space activity closer to Earth, including orbital debris (“space junk”) and the purpose and workings of national space institutions.
The show incorporates multiple formats, including listener Q&A segments, short themed mini-episodes built around guessing “space sounds” and sonifications, and a serialized narrative recounting key moments of the Apollo 11 Moon landing from launch through return. Guests include astronomers, cosmologists, and space historians/archaeologists, and the hosting reflects STEMM career pathways and barriers, including perspectives connected to Indigenous Australian knowledge and the cultural stories embedded in the night sky.
