Venusology (VENUS) with Vicki Hansen

Gassy veils! Orange sunlight! Alien life? It’s the sole goddess of our solar system: Venus. And to tour us through her beauty is the charming and enthusiastic planetary geologist and Venusian expert Dr. Vickie Hansen, a Senior Scientist at the Planetary Science Institute. In what is sure to become an instant classic, Vickie will delight you with tales of space probes past and future, dazzling terrain, myths, melting machinery, “noodle data,” analogues to Earth, tectonic misconceptions, and reactions to self-help books that capitalize on our solar geography. Also: what does Venus smell like? Donations went to the Planetary Science Institute and the Nature ConservancyMore episode sources and links: alieward.com/ologies/venusologyJan. 15, 2026: "Bad Art for Good" Los Angeles event ticketsOther episodes you may enjoy: Heliology (THE SUN/ECLIPSES), Areology (MARS), Astrobiology (ALIENS), Cosmology (THE UNIVERSE), Selenology (THE MOON), Mythology (STORYTELLING), Astrobromatology (SPACE FOOD), Black Hole Theory Cosmology (WHAT ARE BLACK HOLES?!), Scotohylology (DARK MATTER), UFOlogy (UNEXPLAINED AERIAL PHENOMENA), Space Archaeology (SPACE JUNK), Quantum Ontology (WHAT IS REAL?)400+ Ologies episodes sorted by topicSmologies (short, classroom-safe) episodesSponsors of OlogiesTranscripts and bleeped episodesBecome a patron of Ologies for as little as a buck a monthOlogiesMerch.com has hats, shirts, hoodies, totes!Follow Ologies on Instagram and BlueskyFollow Alie Ward on Instagram and TikTokEditing by Mercedes Maitland of Maitland Audio Productions and Jake ChaffeeManaging Director: Susan HaleScheduling Producer: Noel DilworthTranscripts by Aveline Malek Website by Kelly R. DwyerTheme song by Nick Thorburn Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.