Pale Blue Pod
by Multitude
Pale Blue Pod is an astronomy podcast for people who are overwhelmed by the universe but want to be its friend. Astrophysicist Dr. Moiya McTier and comedian Corinne Caputo demystify space one topic at a time with open eyes, open arms, and open mouths (from so much laughing and jaw-dropping). By the end of each episode, the cosmos will feel a little less “ahhh too scary” and a lot more “ohhh, so cool!” New episodes every Monday.
Episodes
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Pop Quiz Time!
It's time to see how much you've learned about your friend, the universe! Moiya's got 26 space questions for Connie... will she answer enough correctly to move onto her 2nd year at the podiversity? Listen to find out! Messages Order our MERCH! certifiedcrucial.com/collections/pale-blue-pod Order...
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C is for Catstronomy
Connie and Moiya cover copious amounts of cosmic carryings-on, from centaurs to coulomb forces. They close with a collaborative cat-preciation corner. Messages Order our MERCH! certifiedcrucial.com/collections/pale-blue-pod Order Moiya's book, MOTHERS OF INVENTION Become a star and join the…
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Lifeforce Movie Review
To celebrate spooky season, Connie and Moiya watched about the 1985 sci-fi horror movie Lifeforce. They share the parts of the move that peeved them and stole their hearts, then rate the movie on the pod's Official Movie Rubric. Messages Order our MERCH!...
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Rerun: Scary Stuff in Space
Moiya and Corinne reveal what scares them about space and try to soothe each other's fears. Get ready for cold temperatures, lonely rovers, empty voids, and galaxy clusters full of screaming souls. Messages Order our MERCH! certifiedcrucial.com/collections/pale-blue-pod Order Moiya's book…
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What's the best constellation?
Connie is back to help Moiya prepare for a lecture on the history of constellations. After tracing the evolution of the zodiac and pole stars, they decide which constellation is the best of the IAU's 88. Messages Order our MERCH! certifiedcrucial.com/collections/pale-blue-pod Order Moiya's book,...
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Star Trek with Zila Treks
Happy 60th birthday to Star Trek! To celebrate, Moiya chats with Zila Treks about the franchise's history and cultural impact. Zila tells Moiya about her favorite series, Deep Space Nine, and Moiya leads a matching game with the shows' various captains. Guest Zila Treks is a Star Trek content...
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Entangled States with Dr. Karmela Padavic-Callaghan
What can quantum physics tell us about a life lived at the intersections and margins? According to Karmela and their new book, a lot! Moiya interviews Karmela and they talk about bad bubbles, quantum bones, and the power of abstract thinking. Guest Dr. Karmela Padavic-Callaghan is a science...
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Invisible Rainbows with Dr. Alfredo Carpineti
Astronomy writer Alfredo Carpineti tells Moiya about his new book, covering everything from fast radio bursts to historical book burnings to the late, great Dolly Parton. Guest Dr. Alfredo Carpineti is an astrophysicist and science communicator. He is the creator and co-host of IFLScience’s…
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Cloudy With a Chance of Starships by Dr. Seven Rasmussen
Moiya interviews fellow astronomy writer Dr. Seven Rasmussen about her new book. They discuss the Drake equation, Fermi paradox, and Hollywood's disappointing portrayal of alien diversity. Guest Dr. Seven Rasmussen is an astrobiologist and author of the new book, Cloudy With a Chance of Starships...
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Rerun: Let's Play Outer Wilds
Moiya and Mischa gather around a campfire to play the video game Outer Wilds... or rather, Mischa plays and Moiya watches in fascination. Listen to hear what Moiya thinks about the game's ancient alien architecture and planet surface textures. Guest Star: Mischa Stanton is a multidisciplinary...
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Rerun: "Active Galactic Nuclei" with Rory Bricca
Moiya invites Rory to talk about his black hole-inspired symphony composition and explain how he got musical instruments to sound like event horizons and gravitational time dilation. This episode features a recorded performance by the Yale Symphony Orchestra. Guest Star: Rory Bricca is a…
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Mothers of Invention: A History of Creativity from the Greek Muses
Merry Muses Week! This week, Connie interviews Moiya about her new book, Mothers of Invention. They cover Moiya's inspiration for the book, the muses personalities, and a dream casting for a TV adaptation of the book. *Note* since recording this episode, Moiya has re-downloaded Spotify and made a...
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Heliocentrism, the biggest blow to humanity's ego
Moiya tells Connie how astronomers broke the millennia-old narcissistic belief that Earth sits at the center of the universe. From Aristarchus to Copernicus, you'll meet the most important players in the heliocentrism game. Messages Order our MERCH! certifiedcrucial.com/collections/pale-blue-pod...
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Creativity: a history and a crisis
To kick off Moiya's book month, here's a deep dive into the philosophy and science of creativity. Between Plato's thoughts on poets and tips for surviving the creativity crisis, hopefully you'll learn something that ignites your creative spark! Messages Order our MERCH!...
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the Edge of the Universe
Moiya and Connie zoom out past the cosmic web of galaxies and the surface of last scattering to discuss the shape of the universe at its largest scales. At the end, Connie ranks some juicy secrets. Messages Order our MERCH! certifiedcrucial.com/collections/pale-blue-pod Become a star and join the...
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Is CERN shifting timelines?
Short answer: No. Listen to learn the longer answer involving timeline inconsistencies and energy thresholds, and stick around to test your mettle against the Mandela Effect. **Correction: The LHC tunnel is 27km in circumference, not diameter** Messages PRE-ORDER OUR MERCH!...
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B is for Bastronomy
Besties Moiya and Connie babble about a bunch of astronomical bywords beginning with B. But beware, some are a bit bonkers. Note: Moiya realized during review that she mispronounced Baade, but the bit was too good to remove. Messages PRE-ORDER OUR MERCH!...
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What Marvel got wrong about the Quantum realm
...everything. Marvel got everything quantum wrong, but that's okay. Moiya is here to tell Connie the true history and science of quantum physics. Messages PRE-ORDER OUR MERCH! certifiedcrucial.com/collections/pale-blue-pod Become a star and join the patreon at patreon.com/palebluepod! Go…
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How NASA pushed an asteroid away
Happy Asteroid Day! Honor those dearly departed Tunguska reindeer by learning about NASA's DART mission, which made sure we never have to go out like the dinosaurs! Next five near asteroid approaches: https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/asteroid-watch/next-five-approaches/ Messages PRE-ORDER OUR MERCH!...
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2001's Space Odysseys
Moiya watched 2001: A Space Odyssey for the first time and has big opinions! She ends up telling Connie about actual space news from 2001 so the whole episode isn't full of negativity. We apologize in advance to everyone who loves this film! Messages Become a star and join the patreon at...
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The Universe has a Queer Agenda
From nonbinary quantum particles to polyamorous galaxy groups, Moiya's telling Connie how the universe clearly isn't straight! And since we're all space, doesn't that say something exciting about us?! Messages Become a star and join the patreon at patreon.com/palebluepod! Go supernova and support...
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Microwave light
Moiya tells Connie about microwaves, the lights and the ovens, then they play a special game of FMK. Messages Become a star and join the patreon at patreon.com/palebluepod! Go supernova and support Pale Blue Pod on PayPal Listen to This Guy Sucked every Thursday Find Us Online Website:...
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we love our Pre Main Sequence Stars
Don't feel bad if you take a long time to get ready for a night out... stars spend millions of years getting ready for hydrogen fusion! This week, Moiya explains to Connie what's keeping the baby stars busy all that time. Messages Become a star and join the patreon at patreon.com/palebluepod! Go...
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Earth-like, Smearth-like
Moiya tells Connie about the most "Earth-like" planets discovered so far. Spoiler alert: if Earth has a doppelgänger out there, we haven't found it! Messages Become a star and join the patreon at patreon.com/palebluepod! Go supernova and support Pale Blue Pod on PayPal Listen to Simple & Clean...
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Happy Mother's Day, Mother Nature
Connie helps Moiya practice for her Mothers' Day lecture, an homage to everyone's ultimate mother: Earth. Messages Become a star and join the patreon at patreon.com/palebluepod! Go supernova and support Pale Blue Pod on PayPal Listen to Dreaming Against the Machine every Tuesday Find Us Online...
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Astronomy Sample Platter
Moiya breaks down the different sub-fields of astronomy for Connie, from planet studies all the way up to cosmology, revealing the research interests and reputations (as she sees them!) for each field. Messages Become a star and join the patreon at patreon.com/palebluepod! Go supernova and…
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An Astronomer Rage Watches Ancient Aliens
Moiya watched the first episode of Ancient Aliens so you don't have to, and now she's telling Connie all about it. Come for the fact checking, stay to hear Moiya's brain slowly turn to mush by the end of the episode. Messages Become a star and join the patreon at patreon.com/palebluepod! Go...
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A is for Astronomy
Moiya and Connie cover an assortment of astronomy terms starting with the letter A, from antimatter to asteroids. Prepare to be A-mazed! Messages Become a star and join the patreon at patreon.com/palebluepod! Go supernova and support Pale Blue Pod on PayPal Listen to Tiny Matters every Wednesday...
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Getting High on the Universe's Supply
Moiya and Connie talk about plants grown in space, the accuracy of Matt Damon's poop potatoes in The Martian, and how astronomers look for plants on other planets... all while playing a special sort of drinking game. Messages Thanks for answering our Merch Interest Survey! Become a star and join...
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Astronomers do April Fools Again!
Moiya introduces Connie to the tradition of prank astronomy papers to showcase how nerdy we truly are! Come for the jokes about pasta and pizza, stay for the hint about next week's episode. Messages Thanks for answering our Merch Interest Survey! Become a star and join the patreon at...
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The Edge of Space-Time with Dr. Chanda Prescod-Weinstein
Moiya invites Dr. Chanda Prescod-Weinstein to discuss her new book, The Edge of Space-Time. They talk stationery preferences, quantum physics, the connection between science and myth, and so much more! Guest Dr. Chanda Prescod-Weinstein is a theoretical physicist, professor, and author. Their new...
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Seeds of Life
Connie helps Moiya prepare for a lecture about how life started on Earth and the different ways people have explained it in myth for millennia. They talk about crafting humans out of clay, the search for habitable planets, and the meta-myth of the Dogon's relationship to Sirius. Messages Watch…
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Infrared Light
It's getting hot in here! Moiya tells Connie about infrared light and its uses on Earth and in space. They play a fun game, Some Like It Hot! Messages Watch and follow THAT'S A LOT, please! Watch on YouTube, Instagram, and Tiktok Become a star and join the patreon at patreon.com/palebluepod! Go...
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Sky Sights: March - September
Moiya and Connie plan out their stargazing for the next six months and share what they're looking forward to in the spring and summer. Messages Watch and follow THAT'S A LOT, please! Watch on YouTube, Instagram, and Tiktok Become a star and join the patreon at patreon.com/palebluepod! Go…
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Fermi? No, Fer You!
Moiya and Connie talk about the Fermi Gamma Ray Space Telescope and its discoveries. Messages Watch and follow THAT'S A LOT, please! Watch on YouTube, Instagram, and Tiktok Become a star and join the patreon at patreon.com/palebluepod! Go supernova and support Pale Blue Pod on PayPal Join the...
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Honey, I shrunk the Neptunes
The most common type of planet in our database of thousands oddly doesn't exist in our solar system! They're called mini neptunes, the missing link between rocky and gaseous worlds, and this episode will reveal their secrets and remaining mysteries. Messages Watch and follow THAT'S A LOT, please!...
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The Moon landing was real, we promise!
Moon landing deniers are all around us -- especially if you live in Russia! -- so Connie and Moiya are giving you the facts about flag poles, fuzzy shadows, and starless skies to combat the most common lunar conspiracy theories. Messages Watch and follow THAT'S A LOT, please! Watch on YouTube,...
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Life and Work of Dr. Mercedes Richards
Moiya and Nya talk about the accomplishments of Dr. Mercedes Richards, a binary star researcher who loved the arts, traveled the world, and spoke multiple languages. Guest Nya Abernathy is a writer and worldbuilder. Stay up to date on her work at nyasabernathy.com. Messages Watch and follow…
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Names in Space
Moiya and Connie talk about the official rules for naming objects in space, from galaxies to individual craters on planets. Messages Watch and follow THAT'S A LOT, please! Watch on YouTube, Instagram, and Tiktok Become a star and join the patreon at patreon.com/palebluepod! Go supernova and…
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Moiya's 31 Favorite Space Facts
Moiya finishes her birth month by telling Connie a space fact for every orbit she's made around the Sun. Messages Watch and follow THAT'S A LOT, please! Watch on YouTube, Instagram, and Tiktok Become a star and join the patreon at patreon.com/palebluepod! Go supernova and support Pale Blue Pod on...
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Nope Review
Moiya and Connie watched Nope and they each want to tell you about it for very different reasons. Listen to learn how many Jean Jackets this alien horror movie gets out of 15. Messages Watch and follow THAT'S A LOT, please! Watch on YouTube, Instagram, and Tiktok Become a star and join the…
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Moiya's Birthday Episode!
Connie takes the lead this week to interview Moiya about all the things she works on besides Pale Blue Pod. Messages Watch and follow THAT'S A LOT, please! Watch on YouTube, Instagram, and Tiktok Become a star and join the patreon at patreon.com/palebluepod! Go supernova and support Pale Blue Pod...
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First things in the universe
Happy 2026, look at that horse! Moiya and Connie go back in time this week to the earliest moments of the universe to see what the first things were. Messages Watch and follow THAT'S A LOT, please! Watch on YouTube, Instagram, and Tiktok Become a star and join the patreon at...
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Last things in the universe
Moiya and Connie talk about the long-term fate of the universe, beyond the last stars and last black holes, to the random quantum miracles that could restart the universe anew. Messages Watch and follow THAT'S A LOT, please! Watch on YouTube, Instagram, and Tiktok Become a star and join the…
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Astronomy's Greatest Gifts
Moiya tells Connie about astronomy's practical contributions to society. What's said in this episode doesn't necessarily reflect Moiya's true feelings about timekeeping. Messages Watch and follow THAT'S A LOT, please! Watch on YouTube, Instagram, and Tiktok Become a star and join the patreon at...
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Chemical Rays to Ultraviolet Light
Moiya tells Connie about UV light from its discovery to its uses on Earth. Moiya gets bad news about a beloved actor and Connie comes up with a great circus-related metaphor for our solar system. Messages Watch and follow THAT'S A LOT, please! Watch on YouTube, Instagram, and Tiktok Become a star...
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Hipparchus, the first star mapper
Moiya and ConStar talk about the life and works of Hipparchus, an ancient Greek astronomer who designed the dreaded stellar magnitude system. Messages Watch and follow THAT'S A LOT, please! Watch on YouTube, Instagram, and Tiktok Become a star and join the patreon at patreon.com/palebluepod! Go...
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Caution: Hot Jupiters Ahead
Moiya tells ConStar about the biggest, hottest planets in the universe. Listen to find out why astronomers call them Hot Jupiters, how and where they form, and which celebrity Jupes get invited to walk the coveted blue carpet. Messages Watch and follow THAT'S A LOT, please! Watch on YouTube,...
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Cosmic Thanksgiving
Moiya and ConStar share what they're grateful for in space. And since you're all space, you should know we're grateful for all of you listeners, too! Messages Watch and follow THAT'S A LOT, please! Watch on YouTube, Instagram, and Tiktok Become a star and join the patreon at...
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Gaia Maps the Galaxy
Moiya tells ConStar about the telescope that made the most precise map of the Milky Way galaxy ever... and how it made her cry. ConStar gets a little overwhelmed by the size of the universe and Moiya nerds out over a "fun math derivation" she did in grad school. Messages Watch and follow THAT'S A...
About this show
Pale Blue Pod is an astronomy podcast for people who are overwhelmed by the universe but want to be its friend. Astrophysicist Dr. Moiya McTier and comedian Corinne Caputo demystify space one topic at a time with open eyes, open arms, and open mouths (from so much laughing and jaw-dropping). By the end of each episode, the cosmos will feel a little less “ahhh too scary” and a lot more “ohhh, so cool!” New episodes every Monday.
Hosted by
Multitude