Programs

Five Faves: 2005 Edition Executive producer Adam Harris walks us through some of the most memorable sets and performances from his first season with Mountain Stage, twenty short years ago. Tune in to hear The Del McCoury Band, Alison Krauss & Union Station, Lizz Wright, Guy Clark, Nanci Griffith, Odetta and more! https://bit.ly/4sptuc8

In 1971, a red-headed, tree-loving astronaut named Stu ‘Smokey’ Roosa was asked to take something to the moon with him. Of all things, he chose to take a canister of 500 tree seeds. After orbiting the moon 34 times, the seeds made it back to Earth. NASA decided to plant the seeds all across the country and then… everyone forgot about them. Until one day, a third grader from Indiana stumbled on a tree with a strange plaque: "Moon Tree." This discovery set off a cascading search for all the trees that visited the moon across the United States. Science writer, and our very own factchecker, Natalie Middleton (https://www.nataliemiddleton.org/) tells us the tale.Read Lulu’s remembrance of Alice Wong for Transom.org: 13 questions I’ll never get to ask Alice Wong (https://transom.org/2026/13-questions-ill-never-get-to-ask-alice-wong/). Check out Natalie’s map to find your nearest moon tree on our show page (https://radiolab.org/podcast/moon-trees)!Help us hunt for more moon trees. If you know of an undocumented moon tree, contact Natalie at nataliemiddleton.org. Check out Natalie’s essay on Moon Trees (https://orionmagazine.org/article/moon-tree/) and Space Zinnias (https://orionmagazine.org/article/astronaut-scott-kelly-flower-experiment-space/) in Orion Magazine (https://orionmagazine.org/).Visit NASA’s official Moon Tree Page (https://science.nasa.gov/resource/apollo-moon-trees/) for a list of all the Apollo 14 Moon Trees in the world. To learn more about Stu Roosa or to learn more about acquiring your own half Moon Tree, check out the Moon Tree Foundation (https://www.moontreefoundation.com/), spearheaded by Stu’s daughter, Rosemary Roosa. A reminder that Terrestrials also makes original music! You can find ‘Tangled in the Roots’ and all other music from the show here (https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/radiolab-kids/just-the-songs).EPISODE CREDITS: Terrestrials was created by Lulu Miller with WNYC Studios. This episode was produced by Tanya Chawla and sound-designed by Joe Plourde. Our Executive Producer is Sarah Sandbach. Our team includes Alan Goffinski, Ana González and Mira Burt-Wintonick. Fact checking was by Diane Kelly. Special thanks to Sumanth Prabhaker from Orion magazine, retired NASA Scientist Dr. Dave Williams, Joan Goble, Tre Corely and NASA scientist Dr. Marie Henderson.Our advisors for this show were Ana Luz Porzecanski, Nicole Depalma, Liza Demby and Carly Ciarrocchi.Support for Terrestrials also comes from the Simons Foundation, the Arthur Vining Davis Foundations, and the John Templeton Foundation.Signup for our newsletter!! It includes short essays, recommendations, and details about other ways to interact with the show. Sign up (https://radiolab.org/newsletter)!Radiolab is supported by listeners like you. Support Radiolab by becoming a member of The Lab (https://members.radiolab.org/) today.Follow our show on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook @radiolab, and share your thoughts with us by emailing radiolab@wnyc.org.Leadership support for Radiolab’s science programming is provided by the Simons Foundation and the John Templeton Foundation. Foundational support for Radiolab was provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.

Hosts Jim DeRogatis and Greg Kot explore the music and legacy of the Raincoats, a post-punk band beloved by musicians and critics alike. Raincoats leaders Gina Burch and Ana da Silva join Jim and Greg to reflect on creating their debut album in 1979 and staying creative in the decades since. Though they never found mainstream success, the Raincoats’ sound left a deep mark on alternative music—including on one of their most famous fans, Kurt Cobain of Nirvana.Join our Facebook Group: https://bit.ly/3sivr9TBecome a member on Patreon: https://bit.ly/3slWZvcSign up for our newsletter: https://bit.ly/3eEvRnGMake a donation via PayPal: https://bit.ly/3dmt9lUSend us a Voice Memo: Desktop: bit.ly/2RyD5Ah  Mobile: sayhi.chat/soundopsFeatured Songs:the Raincoats, "Fairytale In The Supermarket," The Raincoats, Rough Trade, 1979The Beatles, "With A Little Help From My Friends," Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, Parlophone, 1967Gina Birch, "Feminist Song," I Play My Bass Loud, Third Man, 2023Gina Birch, "Causing Trouble Again," Trouble, Third Man, 2025Gina Birch, "I Play My Bass Loud," I Play My Bass Loud, Third Man, 2023the Raincoats, "The Void," The Raincoats, Rough Trade, 1979the Raincoats, "In Love," The Raincoats, Rough Trade, 1979the Raincoats, "Shouting Out Loud," Odyshape, Rough Trade, 1981the Raincoats, "No One's Little Girl," Moving, Rough Trade, 1984the Raincoats, "No Side to Fall In," The Raincoats, Rough Trade, 1979the Raincoats, "Only Loved at Night," Odyshape, Rough Trade, 1981the Raincoats, "Ooh Ooh La La La," Moving, Rough Trade, 1984SPRINTS, "Something's Gonna Happen," All That Is Over, City Slang and Sub Pop, 2025See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

At the dawn of the 19th century, the celestial police were on patrol. They were looking for a planet between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. And on the century’s first day, a future squad member found one – sort of. Later discoveries showed that it wasn’t a planet at all, but the first and largest member of the asteroid belt – a wide band of millions of rocky bodies. Astronomers were looking for a planet because of the numbers. There seemed to be a mathematical relationship between the distances from the Sun to the known planets. But there was a gap between Mars and Jupiter. So one astronomer began organizing a search party: the celestial police. Giuseppe Piazzi, at the Palermo Observatory in Sicily, was on the list of people to invite. But he was already searching on his own. And before he got his invitation, he found something – 225 years ago today. Piazzi originally thought it was a comet – but hoped for something bigger. As other astronomers began studying it, they decided it was the sought-after planet. They named it Ceres, for the Roman goddess of agriculture. Within a few years, though, they’d found several other bodies in similar orbits. So they realized that Ceres wasn’t a planet at all, but just one member of a band of debris – the asteroid belt. Today, Ceres has regained its planetary status – sort of. It’s a dwarf planet – the only one in the inner solar system. Script by Damond Benningfield

It's a special THE MAVERICKS takeover episode! The critically acclaimed roots rock / country band The Mavericks talk to us about the album 'En Español,' a Spanish language album that highlights the Latin music roots and influences shared by members Raul Malo and Eddie Perez.

The one animal we can’t seem to live without, even when we really, really want to. Visit thisamericanlife.org/lifepartners to sign up for our premium subscriptionPrologue: At the announcement of New York City’s inaugural rat czar, we meet Darneice Foster, who despises the rats outside her apartment. And host Ira Glass introduces two special co-hosts for today’s show. (11 minutes)Act One: Producer Elna Baker meets Todd Sklar, a man who can’t quit rats. (22 minutes)Act Two: Fifty years ago, New York City started to put garbage out in plastic bags. This has become the number one food source for rats. Producer Ike Sriskandarajah investigates the decision that led to the city’s rat baby boom. (10 minutes)Act Three: How did Alberta, Canada pull off a feat that has eluded the rest of human civilization? Ira visits the largest rat-less land in the world. (15 minutes)Act Four: We drop a hot mic into a hot mess of a rats’ nest. You’ll never believe what happens next. (3 minutes)Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.orgThis American Life privacy policy.Learn more about sponsor message choices.