This is my favorite podcast! Well organized, professionally produced, fascinating topics, clear, intelligent questions and discussions with knowledgeable and engaging experts. Molly and Seth guide the listener through what could be difficult topics but their thoughtful questions and discussions with”big picture” summaries present scientific insights in an enjoyable and understandable way, even for non-tech, non-scientists like me.
Many thanks to everyone involved in sharing their knowledge via this podcast! A few dollars a month on Patreon to support this show is totally worth it but it’s free even if you choose not to donate.
This show has the right format and talent of asking the right questions in the beginning of the show. This is a special talent that makes the guest go deep in the subject at hand. Love it.
I listened to the episode about the ocean genome and found it extremely interesting and informative! Way to go big picture science, can’t wait to hear more! Shannon rocks.
I have followed BPS for years, but after an excellent show about extreme heat caused by climate change they ran a British Petroleum add explaining how green they are. What a sell out. You should be ashamed!
This is one of the best science podcasts available. The hosts are excellent, they are always well versed on the topic, sprinkle their delivery with a tad of natural humor, always ask they key insightful questions, and cover the topics well.
It’s not often you get that combination, really exemplary work!
Very impressive, keep it up!
This is an agenda driven episode, mischaracterizing many who have an open mind about UAPs and associated phenomena. Misstates that there was nothing in the public consciousness about UFO/UAPs prior to 1947-please see the airship flap of the late 1890s, and others. Although this may not be an area of SETI's research, perhaps you could examine the work of proper scientists in this area rather than characterize this phenomena, and those interested in it, at the lowest level of application of critical thinking.
Over the years it became rife with ads and each notices seems to be a recast. Finally I get a new episode on its first run and it’s a ‘special’ that’s pushing big pharma propaganda even though other science shows have been identifying issues with the very topic for the last 6 months.
We’re watching large groups of scientists rapidly grow all around the world to fight an issue of, not regulator capture, but regulatory Stockholm Syndrome. I’ll change my review when you begin covering the topic and interview the scientists and organizations involved. If you’re too afraid to lose some of those advertisers or perhaps you’re receiving some of the far reaching ‘media grants to educa…’ that dries up the moment you acknowledge what’s happening… well maybe just change your title from “Picture” to “Establishment”.
BES does roll off the tongue easier that BPS, you wouldn’t have integrity but at least you’ll have that.
As with so much info being disseminated about Covid and vaccines, info is presented in generalizations with no data to back up the assertions. This is neither informative nor helpful. You could do so much better.
25% of these are great programs, well presented and easy to understand.the rest have become heavily biased and eventually have to delete them as my anger increases.
I like to hear both sides of the coin, but not feel belittled because I don’t feel compelled to follow the leader.
Please stay scientific like the earlier programs.
Edit:
2020 brought nothing but political BS on this podcast. I can’t take it anymore.
I just unsubscribed and deleted all episodes.
Good riddance.
The hosts are not afraid to challenge their guests with interesting, skeptical, funny and insightful questions. The topics are also more interesting to me than most, and their puns will give you a free groan a week.
I admire the makers of this podcast for not being afraid to take on tough issues through the lens of science and by presenting objective facts. In a time when we can’t look to our leader to help us understand what’s going on, it’s a breath of fresh air (albeit through an N95) to hear people talk about what’s provable/real and what’s plain old political hucksterism. No apologies to those offended by truth.
Sadly, this show, like so much of the science programming out there, has become much more political and a whole lot less scientific. It was once great, but no more.
Science Friday was my previous go to source for science podcasts, until I discovered Big Picture Science with Seth Shostak et al.
Simply the best on interesting topics and great questions and conversation.
This is my go to podcast for all things science. Entertaining and informative. I do like the humor as well they interject as well, however I am glad they ditched the little side skits they included in older shows - it was often times just a little bit too cheesy and drawn out.
As a human who values understanding the world around me, I have enjoyed listening to Bi-Pi-Sci since I discovered it a couple of years ago. I have really enjoyed episodes that connect broad topics where I wasn't aware of the connections, or have provided historical context to topics that I have learned the technicals of already, but not the story of the discoveries.
As a science teacher, I have found the "Skeptic Check" episodes to be partcularly valuable for highlighting topics where poor reasoning is on display, and modeling the process of breaking down and examining ideas.
Currently this is my favorite podcast. Nice blend of the hosts chatting with each other and then to interviews with experts on the topic. Super production values. And I cringe when they talk about experiments that are not experiments but are empirical research. There’s no independent variable. A situation is setup and observed—that’s a research project or study. If this podcast is doing science education, and I think it is, then the distinction between experiments and (correlational) research should be scrupulously honored.
One of the best podcasts - bar none. These hosts help unfold fascinating new science with casual humor and great interviews. BPS shares with us the joy of discovery through new facts and ideas about our universe.
Will Stack
Nashville, TN
I enjoy the fact that they have a lot of scientists on the front lines as their guests. These are often people working at research institutes or labs. Of course they also have authors and professors, but a lot of the time guests are working scientists. The topics are varied and Seth and Molly do a fine job of balancing the depth of the subjects. Lots of reviews indicate political bias. I’ve noticed it, and although I don’t always agree, I’m an adult so I don’t mind hearing other peoples’ opinions. It certainly doesn’t ruin the show for me. Great podcast!
This is a political podcast pretending to be about science. Lots of the scientific history is just factually incorrect. After hearing errors in seven of the eight episodes I listened to, I chose to never listen again.
You have a wide-ranging grasp of topics, and a wonderful way of getting the ideas across to novice or professional. So fully worth subscribing-to. I love listening to you, even at 2x speeds
I’ve been a listener going on 7 years. However, just like other media, I’ve noticed a political bias in some of their podcasts which I don’t feel belongs here.
Did Seth wake up on the wrong side of the bed the day that this podcast was recorded?
He was very confrontational towards Sarah Cruddas. He seemed to want to contradict anything she said. He reacted as though any answer she gave was the wrong answer.
Normally his interviews are productive and informative, but unfortunately this wasn’t one of them.
I’d give BPS 5 stars for their excellent subjects and guests if it weren’t for the relentless yuck-yuck, wink and a nod puns and a tendency to reach for greater accessibility by dumbing down the subject matter. I guess this tone is appropriate if their primary audience is children, but this adult finds it all a bit tedious.
As a retired physic’s instructor, I’m greatly disappointed in the way, very important scientific topics, are discussed in these podcasts. Too often the topics of the podcasts are presented from a predetermined, bias viewpoint. Pure science is a quest for the truth. It is not a close minded presentation of selected outcomes used to support a particular point of view.
This show presents fascinating scientific information with humor and very interesting guests. They tackle everything from UFOs to microbes. This is one of the best podcast discoveries I’ve ever made.
