Episodes
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What is the Bootes Void? Why do we only see one side of the Moon? Can time travel be sped up? And what's the smallest amount of visible space debris? The Supermassive Podcast team answer your questions... And work on their Australian accents!?
For the first time ever, you can now watch this episode on YouTube.
For ad-free listening, join The Supermassive Club. Every member helps keep the show running, so thank you!
Send us your astronomy attempts, questions (and nonsense!) to [email protected].uk, on Instagram at @supermassivepod or post in The Supermassive Club.
The Supermassive Podcast is a Boffin Media Production, the producers are Izzie Clarke and Richard Hollingham. Hayley Wilson is the video editor.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Is this the toughest subject we’ve ever tackled? Izzie certainly thinks so and it’s even making Dr Becky and Dr Robert's brains hurt. Helping them to make sense of these ‘weird and interesting’ particles are Dr Kirsty Duffy at the University of Oxford and Director of the Paris Astrophysics Institute, Professor Kumiko Kotera.
For ad-free listening and to view Izzie's trajectory to becoming a better astronomer, join The Supermassive Club. Every member helps keep the show running, so thank you!
Send us your astronomy attempts, questions (and nonsense!) to [email protected].uk, on Instagram at @supermassivepod or post in The Supermassive Club.
The Supermassive Podcast is a Boffin Media production. The producers are Izzie Clarke and Richard Hollingham.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Missing episodes?
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What happens if two diamond core stars collide? Will the Moon drift away from Earth? Why is there motion in the universe? And why we need a space AND time machine. Izzie, Dr Becky and Robert dive into The Supermassive Mailbox to answer your questions.
For ad-free listening and to view Izzie's trajectory to becoming a better astronomer, join The Supermassive Club. Every member helps keep the show running, so thank you!
Send us your astronomy attempts, questions (and nonsense!) to [email protected].uk, on Instagram at @supermassivepod or post in The Supermassive Club.
The Supermassive Podcast is a Boffin Media production. The producers are Izzie Clarke and Richard Hollingham.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Nancy Grace Roman. Ariel. The next generation of space telescopes are here. Astrophysicist Dr Becky Smethurst and science journalist Izzie Clarke explore how they work, what they can tell us and why they might unravel our current understanding of the universe. Plus Dr Robert has your stargazing tips for June.
Thank you to Dr Tom Barclay from NASA's Roman telescope and Dr Chris Pearson from RAL Space.
The Supermassive Podcast is a Boffin Media production. The producers are Izzie Clarke and Richard Hollingham.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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How do we calculate a black hole's event horizon? Does Mercury's tail impact Earth? Can we name a planet Rupert? And did gravity wipe out the dinosaurs? Izzie Clarke & Dr Becky Smethurst dive into the rather whimsical Supermassive Mailbox to answer your questions.
Want to name an Exoworld? Here's the IAU website to start a campaign: https://nameexoworlds.iau.org/
Send your questions, whimsical messages and your night sky photos to [email protected].uk or find us on Instagram @SupermassivePod. Or why not support the show by joining The Supermassive Club? You'll get ad-free listening and access to The Supermassive forum.
The Supermassive Podcast is a Boffin Media production. The producers are Izzie Clarke and Richard Hollingham.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Izzie & Dr Becky think that space needs a spring clean, so this episode is all about space debris. What is it? How big of a problem is it? And what is being done to remove it?
With thanks to PhD student Megan Perks from the University of Southampton, who studies how safe all these new satellite constellations are, and photographer Max Alexander, who has created an exhibition all about space debris. It’s called Our Fragile Space and it’s on for free outside of the Royal Astronomical Society until 10th May 2026.
Join The Supermassive Club for ad-free listening, forum access, and extra content from the team. And email your questions to [email protected].uk or follow us on Instagram, @SupermassivePod.
The Supermassive Podcast is a Boffin Media production. The producers are Izzie Clarke and Richard Hollingham.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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What. A. Mission. The Supermassive Team are in AWE of the Artemis II Crew and the people that helped them to loop around the Moon. From scientific aims to societal impact, Izzie Clarke, Richard Hollingham and Dr Robert Massey reflect on this latest step to returning to the Moon and their experiences of watching it unfold. Richard was at the launch, Robert is pen pals with Reid Wiseman, and Izzie... is extremely jealous of them both!
Join The Supermassive Club for ad-free listening, forum access, and extra content from the team. And email your questions to [email protected].uk or follow us on Instagram, @SupermassivePod.
The Supermassive Podcast is a Boffin Media production. The producers are Izzie Clarke and Richard Hollingham.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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The Supermassive Team are going rogue (more so that usual!) This time, it’s all about the non-conforming objects in space. Black holes, planets and the other rogue objects Izzie and Dr Becky can think of... Plus, Dr Robert Massey takes on your questions and shares his stargazing tips for April.
A big thank you to Gavin Coleman from Queen Mary's University, and Astronomy Now magazine editor and owner, Stuart Clark. For more accessible astronomy, the recommend you read their brilliant articles on astronomynow.com.
Join The Supermassive Club for ad-free listening, forum access, and extra content from the team. And email your questions to [email protected].uk or follow us on Instagram, @SupermassivePod.
The Supermassive Podcast is a Boffin Media production. The producers are Izzie Clarke and Richard Hollingham.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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It’s a massive bonus episode this month with both listener questions and an extended interview with the producer/directors of the new Ryan Gosling film: Project Hail Mary.
Dr Becky and Dr Robert are joined by editor Richard to tackle questions on creating a black hole in the lab, how long a planet lasts and the size of the biggest black hole. Guest reporter, Sue Nelson, chats to Phil Lord and Chris Miller about Project Hail Mary and Becky reveals what she chatted about with Ryan Gosling.
Join The Supermassive Club for ad-free listening, forum access, and extra content from the team. And email your questions to [email protected].uk or follow us on Instagram, @SupermassivePod.
The Supermassive Podcast is a Boffin Media production. The producers are Izzie Clarke and Richard Hollingham.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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There's a crisis in cosmology when it comes to understanding a little thing like the acceleration of our universe, aka The Hubble Tension. And in this episode, Izzie Clarke and Dr Becky Smethurst are digging into what this is and (trying to) explain the science behind it.
A huge thank you to our guests, (Nobel Prize winning-) Professor Adam Riess from John Hopkins University and Professor Silvia Galli from Institut d'Astrophysique de Paris.
Join The Supermassive Club for ad-free listening, forum access, and extra content from the team. And email your questions to [email protected].uk or follow us on Instagram, @SupermassivePod.
The Supermassive Podcast is a Boffin Media production. The producers are Izzie Clarke and Richard Hollingham.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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What are the biggest space missions of 2026? And what are the best stargazing opportunities this year? The Supermassive Team - Izzie Clarke, Dr Becky Smethurst, Dr Robert Massey and Richard Hollingham - share their astronomical excitement for the year ahead and ponder if they should charter a boat for the August eclipse.
Thank you to listeners Anne Edgeworth and Karolina who inspired this episode.
To support the show, join The Supermassive Club for ad-free listening, forum access, and extra content from the team.
If you have a question for the team - or have a boat we can borrow! - get in touch via [email protected].uk or on Instagram, @SupermassivePod.
The Supermassive Podcast is a Boffin Media production. The producers are Izzie Clarke and Richard Hollingham.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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The Supermassive Podcast is back for 2026, and we've got a MEGA Q&A.
What happens when two nebulae collide? Where did Neptune and Uranus form? What’s the procedure for a medical emergency on the ISS? And more. Plus, Izzie, Dr Becky, Robert and Richard cover everything you need to know ahead of the launch of Artemis II.
And here are the links to things we promised you in this episode...
Our episode "How to Time Travel"Our episode "Do We Live in a Multiverse?"Richard's brilliant Space Boffins podcastJoin The Supermassive Club for ad-free listening, forum access, and extra content from the team. And email your questions to [email protected].uk or follow us on Instagram, @SupermassivePod.
The Supermassive Podcast is a Boffin Media production. The producers are Izzie Clarke and Richard Hollingham.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Fire up your flux capacitor and dematerialise your Tardis because The Supermassive Podcast is traveling in time. Is it possible? How does it work? And, crucially, which films got the physics right (or wrong!)?
Thank you to Dr Emma Osborne from the University of York, and Dr Alfredo Carpinetti from IFLScience for their help on this episode. Alfredo's upcoming book, Invisible Rainbows, will be available for pre-order soon.
Here's the Time Travel in Fiction Rundown from Minute Physics
Join The Supermassive Club for ad-free listening, forum access, and extra content from the team. And email your questions to [email protected].uk or follow us on Instagram, @SupermassivePod.
The Supermassive Podcast is a Boffin Media production. The producers are Izzie Clarke and Richard Hollingham.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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What would it be like to feel gravitational waves? How are satellites protected from extreme solar storms? How do gravity slingshots work? Are aliens potentially communicating outside of the electromagnetic spectrum? Plus Izzie, Dr Becky and Robert share their annual Christmas present recommendations.
Keep sending your questions to [email protected].uk, Instagram @SupermassivePod or members can post on The Supermassive Club's forum.
Join The Supermassive Club for ad-free listening, forum access, and extra content from the team.
The Supermassive Podcast is a Boffin Media production. The producers are Izzie Clarke and Richard Hollingham.
The Supermassive Podcast is a Boffin Media production. The producers are Izzie Clarke and Richard Hollingham.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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What are the threats to our dark night skies? And what needs to be done to protect them? Izzie, Dr Becky and Robert explore this important topic and head outside (...and the weather was not on their side!)
Thank you to Dr Samantha Lawler at the University of Regina in Saskatchewan and Andy Lawrence, the Regis professor of astronomy at the University of Edinburgh.
Don't forget to join The Supermassive Club for ad-free listening, forum access, and extra content from the team.
The Supermassive Podcast is a Boffin Media production. The producers are Izzie Clarke and Richard Hollingham.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Can JWST detect exomoons? How can black holes keep absorbing more mass? How big is our cosmic neighbourhood? And what is a rogue black hole?! Izzie, Dr Becky and Robert answer YOUR questions.
You can add to The Supermassive Mailbox by emailing [email protected].uk or messaging us on instagram @SupermassivePod.
To support the show join The Supermassive Club and access ad-free listening, forum discussions, and member's only content.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Grab your space swimsuit, Izzie and Dr Becky explore Mars' wet past. When did the red planet have water? Where did it go? And were there canals on Mars?
Thank you to Joe McNeil from the Natural History Museum and Sian Prosser from the Royal Astronomical Society.
If you like this topic, you might want to check out the NHM's new exhibition Space: Could life exist beyond Earth?
Don't forget to join The Supermassive Club for ad-free listening, forum access, and behind the scenes from the team.
The Supermassive Podcast is a Boffin Media production. The producers are Izzie Clarke and Richard Hollingham.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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It’s space book club time, featuring the latest book by author and photography expert Andy Saunders: Gemini and Mercury Remastered. Producer Richard enthuses about these mid-60s missions and we talk to the author. Meanwhile, Dr Becky, Izzie and Dr Robert also discuss Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir and A City on Mars by Kelly and Zach Weinersmith. With questions on the size of space and why the centres of galaxies are brighter, it really is quite the bonus episode.
You can hear a longer version of the interview with Andy Saunders in the latest Space Boffins Podcast.
Join The Supermassive Club for ad-free listening and share your questions, images and more. Or email reach us at [email protected].uk or on Instagram @SupermassivePod (particularly if you discover a comet).
The Supermassive Podcast is a Boffin Media production. The producers are Izzie Clarke and Richard Hollingham.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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It's been 166 years since scientists recorded the world's most powerful solar explosion. Izzie, Dr Becky and Dr Robert Massey are big fans of anniversaries, so they investigate how the Carrington Event affected the Earth - and why something similar today could be devastating.
Thanks to Kate Bond from the Royal Astronomical Society and Matthew West from ESA's Vigil for joining us on this episode.
Join The Supermassive Club for ad-free listening and to share you questions, images and more. Or email them to [email protected].uk or on Instagram @SupermassivePod.
The Supermassive Podcast is a Boffin Media production. The producers are Izzie Clarke and Richard Hollingham.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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What would happen if the supermassive black hole at the centre of our galaxy disappeared? Dr Becky is back to tackle your toughest of black hole questions. Alongside science journalist Izzie Clarke and Dr Robert Massey, the team also discuss what the night sky would look like in an elliptical galaxy…and are we living inside a black hole?
Join The Supermassive Club for ad-free listening and share your questions, images and more. Or email them to [email protected].uk or on Instagram @SupermassivePod.
The Supermassive Podcast is a Boffin Media production. The producers are Izzie Clarke and Richard Hollingham.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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