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The Supermassive Podcast

The Supermassive Podcast

The UK's #1 Astronomy Podcast

The Royal Astronomical Society · Izzie Clarke

126 episodesEN

Show overview

The Supermassive Podcast has been publishing since 2020, and across the 6 years since has built a catalogue of 126 episodes, alongside 27 trailers or bonus episodes. That works out to roughly 80 hours of audio in total. Releases follow a monthly cadence.

Episodes typically run thirty-five to sixty minutes — most land between 22 min and 48 min — though episode length varies meaningfully from one episode to the next. None of the episodes are flagged explicit by the publisher. It is catalogued as a EN-language Science show.

The show is actively publishing — the most recent episode landed 2 days ago, with 20 episodes already out so far this year. Published by Izzie Clarke.

Episodes
126
Running
2020–2026 · 6y
Median length
41 min
Cadence
Monthly

From the publisher

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.fmAnd 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.

Latest Episodes

View all 126 episodes

BepiColombo's Massive Mission to Mercury

Nov 3, 202654 min

Has dark matter been discovered? Disc or doughnut? And why black holes are black

Oct 19, 202623 min

Antimatter is Bananas!

Oct 5, 202652 min

More space vampires and tea in orbit

Sep 21, 202626 min

The Kuiper Belt...Revisited

Sep 3, 202646 min

Colanders and is space a stew?

Aug 20, 202628 min

Top Tips To See The Eclipse

Aug 7, 202625 min

Q&A: Could Dark Matter Be Space Vampires?

Jul 24, 202649 min

Can Time Travel be sped up? What is the Bootes Void? And G'day to Australians

Jul 10, 202619 min

What the heck are neutrinos?

Jun 23, 202654 min

Why Is There Motion in the Universe?

Jun 12, 202618 min

Will the Next Space Telescopes Unravel Current Physics?

May 28, 20261h 3m

Did Gravity Wipe Out The Dinosaurs?

May 13, 202619 min

Into the Space Debris Swamp

Apr 30, 202649 min

Our Artemis II Debrief

Apr 15, 202633 min

When Space Goes Rogue....

The Supermassive Team are going rogue (more so that usual!) This time, it’s all about the non-conforming objects in space. Black holes, planets and the other rogue objects Izzie and Dr Becky can think of... Plus, Dr Robert Massey takes on your questions and shares his stargazing tips for April. A big thank you to Gavin Coleman from Queen Mary's University, and Astronomy Now magazine editor and owner, Stuart Clark. For more accessible astronomy, the recommend you read their brilliant articles on astronomynow.com. Join The Supermassive Club for ad-free listening, forum access, and extra content from the team. And email your questions to [email protected] or follow us on Instagram, @SupermassivePod.The Supermassive Podcast is a Boffin Media production. The producers are Izzie Clarke and Richard Hollingham. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Apr 1, 202647 min

Black holes in the lab and meeting Ryan Gosling

It’s a massive bonus episode this month with both listener questions and an extended interview with the producer/directors of the new Ryan Gosling film: Project Hail Mary. Dr Becky and Dr Robert are joined by editor Richard to tackle questions on creating a black hole in the lab, how long a planet lasts and the size of the biggest black hole. Guest reporter, Sue Nelson, chats to Phil Lord and Chris Miller about Project Hail Mary and Becky reveals what she chatted about with Ryan Gosling.  Join The Supermassive Club for ad-free listening, forum access, and extra content from the team. And email your questions to [email protected] or follow us on Instagram, @SupermassivePod. The Supermassive Podcast is a Boffin Media production. The producers are Izzie Clarke and Richard Hollingham. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mar 18, 202638 min

What is the Hubble Tension?

There's a crisis in cosmology when it comes to understanding a little thing like the acceleration of our universe, aka The Hubble Tension. And in this episode, Izzie Clarke and Dr Becky Smethurst are digging into what this is and (trying to) explain the science behind it. A huge thank you to our guests, (Nobel Prize winning-) Professor Adam Riess from John Hopkins University and Professor Silvia Galli from Institut d'Astrophysique de Paris. Join The Supermassive Club for ad-free listening, forum access, and extra content from the team. And email your questions to [email protected] or follow us on Instagram, @SupermassivePod.The Supermassive Podcast is a Boffin Media production. The producers are Izzie Clarke and Richard Hollingham. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Feb 26, 20261h 5m

2026: The year in space... And at sea?!

What are the biggest space missions of 2026? And what are the best stargazing opportunities this year? The Supermassive Team - Izzie Clarke, Dr Becky Smethurst, Dr Robert Massey and Richard Hollingham - share their astronomical excitement for the year ahead and ponder if they should charter a boat for the August eclipse.Thank you to listeners Anne Edgeworth and Karolina who inspired this episode.To support the show, join The Supermassive Club for ad-free listening, forum access, and extra content from the team. If you have a question for the team - or have a boat we can borrow! - get in touch via [email protected] or on Instagram, @SupermassivePod.The Supermassive Podcast is a Boffin Media production. The producers are Izzie Clarke and Richard Hollingham. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Feb 11, 202626 min

Q&A: Meteors, Artemis II, and Space Bathtubs

The Supermassive Podcast is back for 2026, and we've got a MEGA Q&A. What happens when two nebulae collide? Where did Neptune and Uranus form? What’s the procedure for a medical emergency on the ISS? And more. Plus, Izzie, Dr Becky, Robert and Richard cover everything you need to know ahead of the launch of Artemis II. And here are the links to things we promised you in this episode... Our episode "How to Time Travel"Our episode "Do We Live in a Multiverse?"Richard's brilliant Space Boffins podcastJoin The Supermassive Club for ad-free listening, forum access, and extra content from the team. And email your questions to [email protected] or follow us on Instagram, @SupermassivePod.The Supermassive Podcast is a Boffin Media production. The producers are Izzie Clarke and Richard Hollingham. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jan 29, 202651 min
The Royal Astronomical Society