My good buddy, Fraser Cain, a co-inventor and publisher over at Universe Today, has just unveiled a new podcast series which I strongly recommend to anyone who loves space, science, and fiction pertaining to them. Those who follow this site may recognize the name, as Universe Today just happens to be my go-to source for all things space related. From the Curiosity Rover and the Cassini Probe to the mysteries of life on Earth and the universe at large, these guys can be trusted to be in the know!

I even had the honor of writing articles to them for about a year and a half, and I credit this experience with honing my ability to take hard science, gain a basic understanding of it, and then convey it to a general audience in an understandable fashion. Yes, before I worked for these guys, I was truly a geek-in-waiting, someone who didn’t know their quasars from their quarks. Now… well, I’m a little better!

In any case, the podcast series is called Space Stations, and comprises four episodes that take a look at man-made structures in space, beginning with Salyut and Skylab – the earliest Soviet and American attempts to put a manned station into orbit – and then moving onto Russia’s Mir space station, the International Space Station (ISS), and then taking a look at what the future holds for humans living and working in space.

You can check out the series at their website here, or just head on over to Astronomy Cast, the site for Universe Today‘s podcasts, and start listening willy-nilly. Me, my favorite is the fourth and final episode which takes a look at the future of space stations, and anyone claiming to know the first thing about me will not wonder why! I mean, c’mon, future of space, what’s not to love about that???

And of course, you can check out their voluminous archives, which contain podcasts on subjects ranging from Aliens to Physics, Astronomy to Planetary Science, and the history of space flight to current missions and the future of space exploration. I can promise you that if you’re the kind of person who finds the science jokes in The Big Bang Theory hilarious, you will feel like a kid in a candy store!

Trivia Question: Where does the name Universe Today come from? If you answer this question (no Googling!) you will have my enduring respect forever!

Sources: universetoday.com, astronomycast.com