TrueSciPhi logo

TrueSciPhi

 

Podcast Profile: The Supermassive Podcast

Show Image SiteRSSApple Podcasts
116 episodes
2020 to 2026
Median: 41 minutes
Collection: Physics, Math, and Astronomy


Description (podcaster-provided):

The UK's #1 space podcast.
Science journalist Izzie Clarke and astrophysicist Dr Becky Smethurst whizz through the universe to explore the latest research with leading experts, dive to history from the society’s archives and take on your weird and wonderful questions about all things space. Can we gravitationally hitch-hike out of the solar system? Do we live in a multiverse? What is time? Plus Dr Robert Massey is on hand with his top star-gazing tips.
Want to support the show? Join The Supermassive Club for exclusive content, star-gazing forums and ad-free listening... supermassive.supportingcast.fm
And keep adding to The Supermassive Mailbox with your pictures and questions for the team. Send them to [email protected] or follow them on Instagram, @SupermassivePod.
The Supermassive Podcast is a Boffin Media production for the Royal Astronomical Society. The producers are Izzie Clarke and Richard Hollingham.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.


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

➤ astronomy and astrophysics explainers • black holes, gravity, time, cosmology • Solar System planets, Mars water history, Pluto • space missions and telescopes (Artemis, Voyager, JWST) • space debris, dark skies, solar storms • listener Q&A, stargazing tips, SETI and alien communication

This podcast explores space science and astronomy through a mix of explainers, interviews with researchers and mission specialists, and listener-driven Q&A. Across the episodes, the hosts unpack how we study the universe—from the design and capabilities of modern space telescopes to the ways astronomers use signals like gravitational waves and radio bursts to probe distant phenomena and large-scale cosmic structure. Recurring topics include black holes (their properties, event horizons, jets, and open questions about their origins), the nature of time and gravity, and cosmological puzzles such as the “Hubble tension” about how fast the universe is expanding.

A substantial portion of the content connects current research to active and upcoming space missions. Human exploration features prominently, with discussion of returning to the Moon, the role of astronauts versus robots, and practical realities of living and working in space. Planetary science is another core thread, including the geology and atmospheres of inner planets, Mars’ past water, rings and debris in planetary systems, and the risks posed by asteroids and solar storms. The show also addresses the near-Earth environment, including satellite mega-constellations, space debris mitigation, and efforts to protect dark skies for astronomy.

Listener questions often broaden the scope into speculative or “what if” scenarios—ranging from exotic objects and rogue worlds to the scientific search for extraterrestrial life and how communication might work—while still aiming to ground answers in established physics and observation. Regular skywatching tips help tie the science back to what audiences can see in the night sky.


Episodes:
Episode Image Why Is There Motion in the Universe?
2026-Jun-12
18 minutes
Episode Image How Do Space Telescope Work?
2026-May-28
63 minutes
Episode Image Did Gravity Wipe Out The Dinosaurs?
2026-May-13
19 minutes
Episode Image Into the Space Debris Swamp
2026-Apr-30
49 minutes
Episode Image Our Artemis II Debrief
2026-Apr-15
33 minutes
Episode Image When Space Goes Rogue....
2026-Apr-01
47 minutes
Episode Image Black holes in the lab and meeting Ryan Gosling
2026-Mar-18
38 minutes
Episode Image What is the Hubble Tension?
2026-Feb-26
65 minutes
Episode Image 2026: The year in space... And at sea?!
2026-Feb-11
26 minutes
Episode Image Q&A: Meteors, Artemis II, and Space Bathtubs
2026-Jan-29
51 minutes
Episode Image How to Time Travel
2025-Dec-23
54 minutes
Episode Image Slingshots, Christmas Presents & Alien Communication
2025-Dec-15
24 minutes
Episode Image Protecting Our Dark Skies
2025-Dec-01
49 minutes
Episode Image Supermassive Gone Rogue
2025-Nov-14
22 minutes
Episode Image A Watery History of Mars
2025-Nov-01
47 minutes
Episode Image Mercury, Gemini and Pringles
2025-Oct-16
32 minutes
Episode Image Don't Panic…but a solar storm could be a disaster
2025-Sep-24
47 minutes
Episode Image Are we Living in a Black Hole?
2025-Sep-09
14 minutes
Episode Image Supermassive Q and A...Live!
2025-Aug-26
46 minutes
Episode Image What Shape is Space?
2025-Aug-12
19 minutes
Episode Image Astronauts. Do we need them?
2025-Jul-29
50 minutes
Episode Image Where are Earth's rings?
2025-Jul-19
12 minutes
Episode Image Why isn't Pluto a planet?
2025-Jun-30
50 minutes
Episode Image BONUS - Why aren’t stars closer together?
2025-Jun-11
17 minutes
Episode Image Is Time Real?
2025-May-28
57 minutes
Episode Image BONUS - Mole People on Mars
2025-May-13
16 minutes
Episode Image What is Gravity?
2025-Apr-24
53 minutes
Episode Image BONUS - Can we gravitationally "hitch hike" out of the Solar System?
2025-Apr-11
15 minutes
Episode Image Returning to the Moon - with ESA Astronaut Matthias Maurer
2025-Mar-31
52 minutes
Episode Image BONUS - Can A Star Orbit Another Star?
2025-Mar-12
12 minutes
Episode Image Sample Return Missions - What Could Possibly Go Wrong?
2025-Feb-28
46 minutes
Episode Image EMERGENCY BONUS - Asteroid 2024 YR4
2025-Feb-19
13 minutes
Episode Image BONUS - Could we capture a primordial black hole?
2025-Feb-12
16 minutes
Episode Image The Search for Space Aliens
2025-Jan-29
55 minutes
Episode Image Q&A - Space Potatoes and Christmas Stars
2024-Dec-21
53 minutes
Episode Image BONUS - Why can't anything go faster than the speed of light?
2024-Dec-13
14 minutes
Episode Image The Mystery of Fast Radio Bursts
2024-Dec-05
40 minutes
Episode Image BONUS - Nuclear Pasta & G-Astronomy
2024-Nov-19
17 minutes
Episode Image Strange Stars and Bizarre Binaries
2024-Nov-06
48 minutes
Episode Image BONUS - A Bumper Edition
2024-Oct-19
31 minutes
Episode Image Untangling the Cosmic Web
2024-Oct-02
43 minutes
Episode Image BONUS - What distorts time?
2024-Sep-26
15 minutes
Episode Image We Made It To Mercury!
2024-Sep-04
35 minutes
Episode Image BONUS - Galaxy Spin and Saving Herstmonceux Observatory
2024-Aug-21
13 minutes
Episode Image Venus aka "Earth's Evil Twin"
2024-Aug-01
42 minutes
Episode Image BONUS - Overmassive Galaxies
2024-Jul-20
22 minutes
Episode Image Q&A - Black Hole Special
2024-Jul-03
50 minutes
Episode Image BONUS - Lumpy Space Potatoes
2024-Jun-21
14 minutes
Episode Image The Major Lunar Standstill
2024-Jun-04
47 minutes
Episode Image BONUS - Why does the Aurora Borealis look better on my phone?
2024-May-23
19 minutes
Episode Image Voyager: Where no-one has gone before...
2024-Apr-29
47 minutes
Episode Image BONUS - Wobbly Planets and Baby Names
2024-Apr-10
13 minutes
Episode Image Into The Interstellar
2024-Mar-26
45 minutes
Episode Image BONUS - Dust, stars and alien streetlights
2024-Mar-13
12 minutes
Episode Image Quakes in Space
2024-Feb-28
53 minutes
Episode Image BONUS - Double Yolker Galaxies
2024-Feb-12
13 minutes
Episode Image The End of the World
2024-Jan-30
47 minutes
Episode Image Do We Live In A Multiverse?
2023-Dec-22
48 minutes
Episode Image BONUS - Could Space Junk Block JWST's View?
2023-Dec-21
13 minutes
Episode Image Neptune... At Last!
2023-Nov-28
49 minutes
Episode Image BONUS - Space News Bulletin
2023-Nov-14
28 minutes
Episode Image Q&A - Spice Girls, Black Holes, and Ice-Cream in Space
2023-Oct-27
40 minutes
Episode Image BONUS - Have you heard of "Ploonets"?
2023-Oct-13
18 minutes
Episode Image Uranus the Oddball
2023-Sep-29
52 minutes
Episode Image BONUS - Team Enceladus or Team Europa?
2023-Sep-18
13 minutes
Episode Image Here Comes the Sun...with NASA's Head of Science
2023-Aug-28
50 minutes
Episode Image BONUS - Aimless telescopes & beyond the Milky Way
2023-Aug-11
11 minutes
Episode Image Most of the Universe is missing...
2023-Jul-28
46 minutes
Episode Image BONUS – White holes, astrology and why is Venus so hot?
2023-Jul-06
17 minutes
Episode Image A (brief) History of Astronomy
2023-Jun-22
48 minutes
Episode Image BONUS - Why do Gas Giants exist?
2023-Jun-13
14 minutes
Episode Image BIG Observatories
2023-May-27
45 minutes
Episode Image BONUS - Are Lunar Poles Arbitrary?
2023-May-13
15 minutes
Episode Image 40: Becky Loves Saturn
2023-Apr-29
50 minutes
Episode Image 39: BONUS - Do black holes stop time?
2023-Apr-07
13 minutes
Episode Image 39: Jupiter The Monster
2023-Mar-24
47 minutes
Episode Image 38: BONUS - More Comets, Less Asteroids
2023-Mar-10
12 minutes
Episode Image 38: Gettin' Gravitational Wave-y
2023-Feb-24
44 minutes
Episode Image 37: BONUS - The Supermassive Mailbox
2023-Feb-11
13 minutes
Episode Image 37: Q&A - Black Hole Burps and Space Station Pacman
2023-Jan-31
48 minutes
Episode Image 36: Stargazing with Team Supermassive
2022-Dec-21
47 minutes
Episode Image Double Astronaut Special: Returning to the Moon
2022-Nov-25
50 minutes
Episode Image 34: How to Deflect an Asteroid
2022-Oct-27
46 minutes
Episode Image 33: Q&A - The Year in Space
2022-Sep-30
54 minutes
Episode Image 32: JWST First Images... FINALLY!
2022-Aug-27
55 minutes
Episode Image 31: Life on Mars - LIVE from Standon Calling
2022-Jul-29
42 minutes
Episode Image 30: Rocky Planets Rock
2022-Jul-01
51 minutes
Episode Image 29: Gas Giants are Weird
2022-May-31
49 minutes
Episode Image 28: How to Kill a Galaxy
2022-Apr-30
43 minutes
Episode Image 27: How to Build a Galaxy
2022-Mar-25
44 minutes
Episode Image 26: The Marvellous Moon
2022-Feb-25
52 minutes
Episode Image 25: A Supermassive Q&A!
2022-Jan-28
44 minutes
Episode Image 24: Eclipses & Expeditions
2021-Dec-24
40 minutes
Episode Image 23: The End of the Universe
2021-Nov-26
43 minutes
Episode Image 22: JWST - Seeing the First Stars
2021-Oct-29
39 minutes
Episode Image 21: Icy Worlds
2021-Oct-01
39 minutes
Episode Image 20: Firey Worlds
2021-Aug-27
43 minutes
Episode Image 19: Radiation Belts and Billionaires
2021-Jul-30
40 minutes
Episode Image 18: A Hunk of Space Junk
2021-Jun-25
44 minutes
Episode Image 17: Hunting for Planet 9
2021-May-28
42 minutes
Episode Image 16: Mysteries of the Kuiper Belt
2021-Apr-23
41 minutes
Episode Image Neutron Stars - with Jocelyn Bell Burnell
2021-Mar-26
42 minutes
Episode Image A Star Is Born
2021-Feb-26
40 minutes
Episode Image New Year, New Universe
2021-Jan-22
39 minutes
Episode Image Gamma Rays & Christmas Stars
2020-Dec-18
42 minutes
Episode Image Radio Skies & Strange Signals
2020-Nov-20
40 minutes
Episode Image Humans In Space - with Astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti
2020-Oct-23
41 minutes
Episode Image The Power of Space Probes
2020-Sep-25
41 minutes
Episode Image Journey to the Centre of the Earth
2020-Aug-28
35 minutes
Episode Image Down To Earth
2020-Jul-23
39 minutes
Episode Image Looking for Alien Life
2020-Jun-25
38 minutes
Episode Image Exploring Exoplanets
2020-May-21
37 minutes
Episode Image Under the Space Weather
2020-Apr-23
36 minutes
Episode Image Our Neighbourhood Star
2020-Mar-19
37 minutes
Episode Image It's All Relativity...
2020-Feb-20
38 minutes
Episode Image Seeing The Invisible Universe
2020-Jan-17
40 minutes