Third Pod from the Sun

Third Pod from the Sun is the American Geophysical Union’s award-winning podcast about the people and methods behind the science. I helped found Third Pod in 2017 and served as the podcast’s executive producer until March 2021. In this role I led the vision, production, and execution of of the podcast, identified topics for new episodes, interviewed scientists, crafted narratives from raw interviews, oversaw episode production, and edited and mixed audio tracks. 

Here is a sample of episodes I produced and/or mixed for Third Pod. 

Instruments of unusual size: Rumbling volcanoes act like giant musical instruments that researchers can study to better monitor eruptions.

From athlete to astronaut: Leland Melvin proves that dedication and hard work can help anyone overcome the odds.

Paradise Lost: How an idyllic tropical island became a radioactive battleship graveyard.

Exhuming a buried piece of American history: How scientists are using grave soil to learn about the lives of enslaved Africans in colonial New York.

Night of the killer smog: How two tragedies in the mid-20th century sparked the first-ever acts of clean air legislation.

Toxic city under the ice: How waste from a secret, forgotten, Cold War U.S. military base could poison the environment and nearby communities if climate change continues.

(Hope) diamonds are forever: A day in the life of Jeff Post, curator of the National Gem and Mineral Collection, who is personally responsible for the Hope Diamond and countless other treasures.

Waiting for poop: How scientists are using whale fecal samples to examine the giant mammals’ response to stress.

Tracking adorable chainsaws: How scientists studying northern fur seals are validating indigenous knowledge of the cute but dangerous creatures.

Alvin and the ocean deep: A day in the life of a scientist studying the ocean floor in the submersible Alvin.