Blue Dot
Blue Dot, named after Carl Sagan's famous speech about our place in the universe, features interviews with guests from all over the regional, national and worldwide scientific communities. Host Dave Schlom leads discussions about the issues science is helping us address with experts who shed light on climate change, space exploration, astronomy, technology and much more. Dave asks us to remember: from deep space, we all live on a pale, blue dot.
Blue Dot: The Big One times two? The link between Cascadia and the San Andreas Fault with Chris Goldfinger
Host Dave Schlom is joined by Oregon State marine geologist Chris Goldfinger to take an in-depth look at the West Coast's two most dangerous faults, the San Andreas and Cascadia.
Blue Dot: The great heat wave of 1936 with author Geoff Williams
Host Dave Schlom is joined by Geoff Williams, author of the new book, The Summer of Death: The Great Heat Wave of 1936 and the Making of Modern America.
Blue Dot: How animals influence human thought: A conversation with author Michael Bond
Host Dave Schlom is joined by British author Michael Bond, author of the new book, Animate: How Animals Shape the Human Mind. Bond specializes in writing about psychology and human behavior and in this masterful work, he goes back to the very beginnings of humanity's relationship with the animal world.
Blue Dot: An innovative solution to removing and storing carbon: biochar and bio-oil with Charm Industrial
Host Dave Schlom explores the world of biochar and ways to remove carbon from the landscape with Pyrolysis engineer Joe Polin and policy expert Nora Cohen Brown from Charm Industrial.
Blue Dot: Hot Creek in peril: a proposed gold mine threatens one of California's natural wonders
Host Dave Schlom examines an environmental issue exploding in eastern California.
Blue Dot: The "earthquake gate" in Southern California between the San Andreas and San Jacinto faults
Host Dave Schlom is joined by Liliane Burkhard, a geophysicist and planetary scientist at the University of Bern in Switzerland, to discuss a recent study linking earthquakes on two of Southern California's major faults.
Blue Dot: California 1776: what was it like? With pyrogeographer Don Hankins
To mark the nation's 250th birthday, host Dave Schlom is joined by California State University Chico geography professor Don Hankins to discuss what California would have been like in 1776.
Best of Blue Dot: The art and science of fly fishing with Hall of Famer Mike Mercer
Host Dave Schlom gets to delve into his favorite pastime, fly fishing, with two of his heroes -- Mike Mercer and Bryan Quick from The Fly Shop in Redding, California.
Best of Blue Dot: Sky ghosts of the cosmos: Comets
Host Dave Schlom is joined by two scientists from the SETI Institute in Mt. View, California, to talk about one of hisfavorite celestial phenomena -- comets.
Blue Dot: Animal intelligence with Lori Marino
Host Dave Schlom is joined by neuroscientist and animal intelligence advocate Dr. Lori Marino, who was recently named the 2026 winner of the Frank Drake Award by the SETI Institute in Mountain View, California.
Best of Blue Dot: Wildlife photography with Yellowstone's Tom Murphy
Host Dave Schlom is joined by nature and wildlife photographer Tom Murphy for an in-depth conversation about his life and career.
Blue Dot: All that glitters: a conversation with Dominic Frisby author of The Secret History of Gold
Host Dave Schlom is joined by British humorist and financial writer Dominic Frisby.
Blue Dot: Understanding the basic science of spaceflight with Trisha Muro
Host Dave Schlom is joined by science educator and author Trisha Muro to discuss her new book, It's (Just) Rocket Science: Exploring Physics Through Spaceflight Missions.
Best of Blue Dot: Exploring the Salish Sea and coast with the SeaDoc Society
Host Dave Schlom is joined once again by Joe Gaydos and Bob Friel from the SeaDoc Society based on Orcas Island in the Pacific Northwest.
Blue Dot: Studying penguins for a season in Antarctica with Louise K. Blight
Blue Dot's host Dave Schlom is joined by Canadian conservation biologist and marine bird expert Louise K. Blight to talk about her new book, Where The Earth Meets The Sky: A Story of Penguins, People, and Place in Antarctica.
Blue Dot: Rivers from space and on the ground: the US/French SWOT mission and restoration of Battle Creek
Blue Dot host Dave Schlom takes a look at rivers from space and on the ground in this fluvial episode.
Blue Dot: Bird conservation success stories with Scott Weidensaul
Host Dave Schlom is joined by Pulitzer Prize finalist and New York Times best-selling author Scott Weidensaul to talk about his latest book, The Return of the Oystercatcher.
Blue Dot: California's wild and scenic Eel River and California Fly Fisher magazine
Host Dave Schlom is joined by Charles Schneider, a Connectivity Program Manager for California Trout, to discuss the human and natural history of California's third-largest watershed, the Eel River.
Blue Dot: The science behind NASA's historic return to the Moon with Artemis 2
Blue Dot presents a special program produced during the Artemis 2 mission to take an in-depth look at the science objectives for the historic lunar mission, which launched from the Kennedy Space Center on April 1, 2026, and flew by the Moon on April 6.
Best of Blue Dot: On the frontiers of philosophy and physics: a conversation with Caltech's Chip Sebens
Host Dave Schlom is joined by California Institute of Technology Philosophy Professor Chip Sebens for an engaging look at how philosophical thought and methodology can help unravel the mysteries of modern Physics.