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The Supermassive Podcast

The Royal Astronomical Society

Astronomy History

Latest episode

110 episodes

Black holes in the lab and meeting Ryan Gosling
2026-03-18 | 38 mins.
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] 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.
What is the Hubble Tension?
2026-02-26 | 1h 5 mins.
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] 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.
2026: The year in space... And at sea?!
2026-02-11 | 26 mins.
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] 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.
Q&A: Meteors, Artemis II, and Space Bathtubs
2026-01-29 | 51 mins.
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 podcast

Join The Supermassive Club for ad-free listening, forum access, and extra content from the team. And email your questions to [email protected] 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.
How to Time Travel
2025-12-23 | 54 mins.
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] 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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About The Supermassive Podcast

The UK's #1 space podcast.Science journalist Izzie Clarke and astrophysicist Dr Becky Smethurst whizz through the universe to explore the latest research with leading experts, dive to history from the society’s archives and take on your weird and wonderful questions about all things space. Can we gravitationally hitch-hike out of the solar system? Do we live in a multiverse? What is time? Plus Dr Robert Massey is on hand with his top star-gazing tips.Want to support the show? Join The Supermassive Club for exclusive content, star-gazing forums and ad-free listening... supermassive.supportingcast.fmAnd keep adding to The Supermassive Mailbox with your pictures and questions for the team. Send them to [email protected] or follow them on Instagram, @SupermassivePod.The Supermassive Podcast is a Boffin Media production for the Royal Astronomical Society. The producers are Izzie Clarke and Richard Hollingham. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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