PODCAST · science
Miles Ahead
by Miles O'Brien
Join Emmy award-winning journalist, PBS collaborator, and CNN analyst Miles O'Brien as he explores the biggest stories in science, technology, aviation, space, and the environment. With each episode of Miles Ahead, Miles brings his unique perspective, signature clarity, and a lifetime of curiosity to each episode, striving to make the future accessible, understandable, and fascinating.For even more of Miles's insights, subscribe to his Substack: https://milesobrien.substack.com/
Episodes
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Episode 52: The Hunt for the White Bird, part 3
In the final chapter of this three-part series, Miles O'Brien and aviation historian Ric Gillespie examine the physical evidence suggesting that the lost French aircraft L'Oiseau Blanc may lie beneath a remote pond in Newfoundland. From chemically analyzed engine fragments to newly understood...
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Episode 51: The Hunt for the White Bird — Part 2
Did the first transatlantic flight nearly happen two weeks before Lindbergh? In Part 2 of this special Miles Ahead series, Miles O'Brien follows the trail of eyewitnesses in Newfoundland who reported seeing a white aircraft on May 9, 1927 — the day after French aviators Charles Nungesser and...
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Episode 50: The Hunt for the White Bird - Part 1
Miles Ahead: The Hunt for the White Bird is a three-part investigative podcast exploring one of the greatest unsolved mysteries in aviation history: the disappearance of French aviators Charles Nungesser and François Coli during their 1927 attempt to fly nonstop from Paris to New York. Hosted by...
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Episode 49: We Have No Money, So We Have To Think - with Peter Beck
Rocket Lab founder Peter Beck is often mentioned alongside billionaire space entrepreneurs — but his motivations are strikingly different. In this episode of Miles Ahead, Miles O'Brien speaks with Beck about building a multigenerational space company, the discipline required to survive in...
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Episode 48: Titan Unfinished: A Conversation With OceanGate Co-Founder Guillermo Söhnlein
In this conversation, Guillermo Sohnlein, co-founder of Ocean Gate, shares his journey from military service to entrepreneurship in the marine and space exploration sectors. He discusses the founding of Ocean Gate with Stockton Rush, the challenges of deep-sea exploration, and the tragic…
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Episode 47: From The End of Nature to a New Beginning - with Bill McKibben
Journalist Miles O'Brien sits down with legendary climate activist and author Bill McKibben to talk about his new book Here Comes the Sun. They discuss the rapid rise of renewables, China's stunning lead in solar, America's political roadblocks, and why McKibben — yes, the man who once wrote The...
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Episode 46: Science Under Siege — Michael Mann and Peter Hotez on the War Against Truth
In this episode of Miles to Go, Miles O'Brien speaks with climate scientist Michael Mann and vaccine researcher Peter Hotez — two scientists who have endured personal attacks, threats, and political smears for standing up for evidence-based truth. Their new book, Science Under Siege, exposes the...
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Episode 45: Powering the Final Frontier: The Case for Nuclear on the Moon
NASA wants to land a nuclear reactor on the Moon by 2030. Is this the real deal—or another paper plan? Miles O'Brien talks with Bhavya Lal (RAND, former NASA) and Keith Cowing (NASA Watch) about why space needs nukes and how we get there. 🎧 Plus: meltdown myths, mission politics, and Bhavya's...
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Episode 44: "Collision Course over the Capital"
In this episode of Miles to Go, I'm joined by veteran airline captain and aviation analyst Les Abend to examine the deadly midair collision near Reagan National Airport in January 2025 that claimed 67 lives. We dissect the findings from the recent NTSB hearing, detailing how a Black Hawk…
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Episode 43: "Cutoff: When a Pilot Becomes the Threat – Air India 171"
When Air India Flight 171 fell from the sky just seconds after takeoff, killing all aboard and many on the ground, investigators were baffled. The Boeing 787 was mechanically sound. The weather posed no threat. The pilots were sober and experienced. So what went wrong? In this episode of Miles to...
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Episode 42: Leroy Chiao on the perils of long-duration spaceflight
In this wide-ranging conversation, astronaut Leroy Chiao joins Miles to talk candidly about what it's really like to live and work in space — and inside NASA. From Cold War suspicion to Russian cooperation, and from toilet paper certification to Starliner delays, it's a journey full of humor,...
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Episode 41: Lars Perkins on the Mid-Air Collision over the Potomac
In this special edition of Miles to Go, I sit down with longtime friend and aviation expert Lars Perkins to analyze the NTSB's latest findings on the midair collision over the Potomac River. We discuss the altimeter discrepancy, the challenges of visual flight rules (VFR), and whether night…
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Episode 40: Harold Coghlan on the Mid-Air Collision near Reagan National Airport
A tragic mid-air collision near Washington Reagan Airport has put a spotlight on the dangers of D.C.'s complex airspace. In this episode, veteran pilot Harold Coghlan joins Miles O'Brien to break down what happened, the risks of military and civilian aviation operating so closely, and what needs…
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Episode 39: Jared Isaacman: From Entrepreneur to Space Pioneer and NASA's Next Leader?
This episode of Miles To Go features Jared Isaacman, serial entrepreneur, space explorer, and nominee for NASA Administrator. From founding Shift4 Payments to commanding groundbreaking space missions like Inspiration4 and Polaris Dawn, Isaacman shares his extraordinary journey. We discuss his...
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Episode 38: Not a Landslide, but too Big to Rig - with Alex Halderman
In this conversation, Miles O'Brien and J. Alex Halderman discuss the critical issues surrounding election security, focusing on the importance of trust, the vulnerabilities of local voting systems, and the impact of cybersecurity threats. They explore the implications of razor-thin margins in...
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Episode 37: The Hunt for Methane Leaks - with Melissa Ostroff
In this episode of Miles to Go, we delve into the invisible world of methane leaks with environmental advocate Melissa Ostroff. Armed with a thermal imaging camera, Melissa tracks methane emissions from century-old oil wells in Pennsylvania's Allegheny National Forest to the streets of...
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Episode 36: The Fight for Secure Elections - with Donna Curling
Today is Election Day—at long last. I am exhausted, and I suspect many of you feel the same way. I am in Georgia to cover this important day in history for the PBS News Hour. I'm sure you know by now Georgia is one of the seven swing States where the actual decision will be made on who is our…
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Black Box Episode 3: Inside the Cockpit of JAL 123, The Worst Single Aircraft Accident in History - Part 3
In this three part miniseries, Miles O'Brien and Lars Perkins - along with several special guests - investigate the bizarre circumstances that led to one of the most fatal plane crashes of all time. This is the story of Japan Air Lines Flight 123.
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Black Box Episode 2: Inside the Cockpit of JAL 123, The Worst Single Aircraft Accident in History - Part 2
In this three part miniseries, Miles O'Brien and Lars Perkins - along with several special guests - investigate the bizarre circumstances that led to one of the most fatal plane crashes of all time. This is the story of Japan Air Lines Flight 123.
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Black Box Episode 1: Inside the Cockpit of JAL 123, The Worst Single Aircraft Accident in History - Part 1
In this three part miniseries, Miles O'Brien and Lars Perkins - along with several special guests - investigate the bizarre circumstances that led to one of the most fatal plane crashes of all time. This is the story of Japan Air Lines Flight 123.
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Episode 32: What Happened to China Eastern Flight MU5735
Miles to Go returns after a long hiatus. In this "black box" special, Miles O'Brien talks with two pilots to try and understand why the 737 plummeted to the ground so suddenly and precipitously. Was it deliberate?
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Episode 31: The Challenge of Robots and Artificial Intelligence, a Retrospective – with AI Pioneer Marvin Minsky
Marvin Minsky is often regarded as the father of modern AI, but when Miles visited him in 2010, Minsky wasn't a proud father. In fact, Minsky was disappointed with the lack of progress in the field and had reservations about its future. Unfortunately, Minsky is no longer with us and can't answer...
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Episode 30: How and Why We're Sampling Asteroid Bennu – with NASA's OSIRIS-REx Team
How did our early solar system form? What are the origins of life? How likely are we to get hit by a dangerous asteroid? A daring NASA mission called OSIRIS-REx hopes to find the answers to these big questions at an asteroid named Bennu. This week, the spacecraft arrives at its destination. To...
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Episode 29: Why Europa is the Most Likely Spot We'll Find Aliens – with NASA's Kevin Peter Hand
Jupiter has many moons, but none are quite like Europa: it has a thick crust of ice and a huge amount of liquid saltwater underneath its surface. In fact, many believe it's the best place in the Solar System that we could find other lifeforms. To dive deeper into the mysteries of this icy…
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Episode 28: How Average Americans are Fighting Climate Change – with Clean Air Carolina's June Blotnick
Hurricane Florence was a perfect example of how climate change supercharges extreme weather events. But climate change also affects us in other more subtle, interconnected, and difficult to manage ways. Thankfully, people like June Blotnick, Executive Director of environmental advocacy group…
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Episode 27: Steve Squyres – On Exploring Mars, and Other Celestial Objects
Steve Squyres is the principal investigator for the Mars Exploration Rover Program, which gave us the plucky and productive rovers Spirit and Opportunity. With the latter on life support and the former no longer with us, I spoke with him about his amazing run on Mars and what he's working on now....
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Episode 26: The Murky World of Science Transparency – Hash it Out with NYU Professor George D. Thurston
There are calls in the EPA and in Congress for the use of more transparent science. But what does that mean? Why do scientists seem united against these regulations? And what would it mean if they went into effect? In this special Hash it Out episode, Brian and Fedor talk to vocal opponent of...
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Episode 25: Snorkeling with Some Wild Dolphin Friends – or Another Day in the Office for Denise Herzing
For more than three decades, behavioral biologist Denise Herzing has tracked and observed a pod of wild spotted dolphins that live in the warm clear waters of the Bahamas. She's learned an awful lot about their behaviors and their communication–or is it a language? Denise has as good a chance as...
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Episode 24: The Blessing and Curse of Methane – Hash it Out
Methane is a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde kind of gas: on one hand, it is the cleanest-burning fossil fuel. On the other, if it leaks, methane itself is a much more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide. In this special Hash It Out episode, Brian and Fedor go from 18th century Italian methane guns...
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Episode 23: Inside the Legal Battle to Ban a Deadly Neurotoxin - with Neuroscientist Robert Sapolsky
For several years, environmental advocacy groups have been fighting to ban the pesticide chlorpyrifos from agricultural use. A turnover in leadership at the EPA has led to a moment of indecision on what to do about the chemical. Robert Sapolsky is a neuroscientist who's spent a long time…
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Episode 22: The Chemical Ban That Got a Reprieve from Trump's EPA – with Miriam Rotkin-Ellman of the Natural Resources Defense Council
After years of exhaustive research linking the pesticide chlorpyrifos to a host of developmental and cognitive deficiencies in children, the EPA was poised to ban the chemical in November 2016. But something else happened that same month; the election of Donald Trump. As a result, this potent...
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Episode 21: The Promise and Peril of AI – Hash it Out with Tech Entrepreneur Lars Perkins
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is not off in the distant future... in some ways it is already here. How is AI already changing our lives? Does it work independently of us or does it also have our all-too-human biases? After hashing out machine learning on Episode 19, Brian and Fedor sit down with...
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Episode 20: Welcome to the Madhouse – with Michael Mann and Tom Toles
Communicating the science of climate change, with its overwhelming expert consensus, seems like it should be easy. However, a science-averse media and strong fossil fuel lobby make it exceedingly difficult. Climatologist Michael Mann and cartoonist Tom Toles have teamed up to put climate change…
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Episode 19: What is Machine Learning and How is it Used? – Hash it Out with Cameron Hickey
What is machine learning? How does it work? What are these artificially intelligent algorithms useful for? Considering they are used by Amazon, Google, Netflix, Facebook and many other companies we interact with on a daily basis, what are the benefits and drawbacks? Thanks to a listener…
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Episode 18: Searching for Methane, the Other Greenhouse Gas - with Robert Green of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Methane is a much more potent greenhouse gas than Carbon Dioxide. It is more short-lived than CO2 (about a decade as opposed a century), but it is 85 times more effective at warming. Robert Green is a world-renowned expert in spectroscopy, which is a great way to find methane on distant planets,...
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Episode 17: The Software We Wrote to Understand Junk News - with Producer Cameron Hickey
In the final episode in our series on Junk News, some wisdom from one of the leading experts in the murky world of online misinformation. He also happens to be the producer of the series that we aired on the PBS NewsHour. Now he's taking the software he wrote to Harvard, where they hope to find…
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Episode 16: Inside Facebook - with Tessa Lyons, Head of News Feed Integrity
Facebook was created for people to share family photos and memories. But as ads entered the mix, the platform was refined to hold our attention for as long as possible. Quality was not a consideration - until recently. But how to fix the junk news mess without editing it? Maybe Facebook needs a...
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Episode 15: Inside the Filter Bubble - with Eli Pariser, the man who coined the phrase
The Internet was supposed to provide a utopian virtual world where all of us could come together in peace, love and harmony to better understand each other and our differing viewpoints… But we got derailed on the road to utopia, didn't we? Eli Pariser, the man who coined the phrase "filter…
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Episode 14: Understanding the Eruption at Kilauea – with Geologist Mike Garcia
As Hawaii trembles with earthquakes and the Kilauea volcano continues to spew forth lava and gas, residents and the wider world watch and wonder: how long will this renewed activity continue? To find out, we turn to Mike Garcia, professor of geology at the University of Hawaii and funded by the...
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Episode 13: A Junk News Pioneer - with Cyrus Massoumi, Part 2
Russian actors may have run an online disinformation campaign during the 2016 US presidential elections, but they likely learned their tactics from Americans. As part of our investigation, PBS NewsHour series producer Cameron Hickey tracked down one of these junk news pioneers, Cyrus Massoumi. He...
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Episode 12: A Junk News Pioneer - with Cyrus Massoumi, Part 1
Russian actors may have run an online disinformation campaign during the 2016 US presidential elections, but they likely learned their tactics from Americans. As part of our investigation, PBS NewsHour series producer Cameron Hickey tracked down one of these junk news pioneers, Cyrus Massoumi. He...
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Episode 11: Mapping Misinformation and Russian Influence Online – with Data Journalist Jonathan Albright
Top US intelligence agencies agree that Russia meddled in the 2016 US Presidential election using an organized campaign of online trolling and misinformation. The details of exactly how are harder to uncover. Jonathan Albright, data journalist and Research Director at Columbia University's Tow...
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Episode 10: Whose Best Interest - Can Facebook's Business Model Be Repaired?
The Cambridge Analytica scandal has placed Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook at the center of the data privacy debate. But is Facebook's ad-driven business model fundamentally incompatible with protecting users' personal data? And, if so, what can be done to fix it? Miles O'Brien Productions team...
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Episode 9: Aviation and the "Tombstone Mentality" - How Southwest 1380 Could Have Been Avoided
The uncontained engine failure of Southwest flight 1380 reminds us once again that commercial aviation is a business that does not always put safety first - and regulators seem reluctant to change that. Jennifer Riordan's death could have been avoided if only the FAA did not have a "Tombstone...
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Episode 8: Just the Facts - with Brooke Binkowski of Snopes.com
Long before Facebook, Twitter or even Google existed, the fact checking website Snopes.com was running down the half-truths, misinformation and outright lies that ricochet across the Internet. Today it remains a widely respected clearinghouse of all things factual and not. As part of my series…
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Episode 7: Misinformation on the Internet - Untangling the Web
How did the internet become a tangled web of misinformation? Miles speaks to danah boyd, Principal Researcher at Microsoft Research, founder of Data & Society, and Visiting Professor at New York University. boyd offers insight into the history of misinformation on the internet and the role social...
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Episode 6: How Your Facebook Newsfeed Works
Who or what determines what's in your Facebook Newsfeed? It's a complex algorithm that aims to put what interests you most at the top of the queue. Increasingly, Facebook is focused on trying to determine what content is fake, junk or misleading - and sending it to the bottom. But the purveyors…
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Episode 5: Astronaut Scott Kelly's Guide To The Universe
Miles catches up with Astronaut Scott Kelly and learns about what it's like to spend a year in space. Kelly talks about the physical and emotional toll of his historic mission, the challenges of CO2, radiation exposure, what scientists are continuing to learn upon his return to Earth, and what's...
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Episode 4: Entering A New Dimension In 3D Printing
When you think of 3D printing, you may envision useless trinkets, a cheesy iPhone cover, or extruded cheese doodles. But that would be so 2014 of you! In this episode of Miles To Go, Miles sits down with John Hart, an MIT Engineering Professor and Entrepreneur who is leading the way to a new era…
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Episode 3: Inside North Korea's Nuclear Complex
Siegfried Hecker is a Metallurgist and Nuclear Scientist. He served as the director of the Los Alamos National Laboratory from 1986-1997 and is a professor at The Center For International Cooperation at Stanford University. One of the few people who have actually visited North Korea's nuclear...
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
Join Emmy award-winning journalist, PBS collaborator, and CNN analyst Miles O'Brien as he explores the biggest stories in science, technology, aviation, space, and the environment. With each episode of Miles Ahead, Miles brings his unique perspective, signature clarity, and a lifetime of curiosity to each episode, striving to make the future accessible, understandable, and fascinating.For even more of Miles's insights, subscribe to his Substack: https://milesobrien.substack.com/
HOSTED BY
Miles O'Brien
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Miles Ahead have?
Miles Ahead currently has 52 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Miles Ahead about?
Join Emmy award-winning journalist, PBS collaborator, and CNN analyst Miles O'Brien as he explores the biggest stories in science, technology, aviation, space, and the environment. With each episode of Miles Ahead, Miles brings his unique perspective, signature clarity, and a lifetime of curiosity...
How often does Miles Ahead release new episodes?
Miles Ahead has 52 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
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You can listen to Miles Ahead on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Miles Ahead?
Miles Ahead is created and hosted by Miles O'Brien.
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