Listen Up! Planetary Radio Hits the Airwaves and Internet

Planetary Radio, a new venture by The Planetary Society and public radio station KUCI of Irvine, California, will launch Monday, November 25, 2002 at 5:30 PM Pacific time. The weekly half-hour program airs at 88.9 FM, but listeners outside the station's range can tune in over the Internet at The Planetary Society’s website.

Planetary Radio's premiere will feature an interview with Louis Friedman, Executive Director of The Planetary Society. Friedman will introduce listeners to the space interest organization and discuss how the Society's advocacy of Pluto and Europa missions has engendered Congressional support for the missions. He will also give an overview of The Planetary Society's range of current projects and public activities.

"Planetary Radio will present an exciting array of space exploration adventures and new information about what's happening in the solar system and universe," said Friedman. "Regular news programs can't devote more than a minute to distant worlds - we now will provide an entire half hour every week."

Two regular segments will also be introduced in Monday's debut program:

· What's Up? - a weekly chat with the Society's Director of Projects, Bruce Betts, and show producer Mat Kaplan. "What's Up?" will cover a wide range of topics, from current Planetary Society activities to what's visible in the night sky.

· Random Space Facts - informative, timely tidbits by Emily Lakdawalla, Science and Technology Coordinator at The Planetary Society.

Future programs will feature interviews with a variety of interesting subjects, including David Anderson about the SETI@home project, science fiction author and physicist Gregory Benford, and Bill Nye the Science Guy, a member of the Society's Board of Directors.

KUCI is the student-operated public radio station at UC Irvine. The station's website features a link to the live broadcast stream, which can be enjoyed around the world.

Planetary Radio will air from 5:30 to 6:00 PM Pacific Time every Monday. Anyone missing a show will be able to listen to it in program archives on The Planetary Society's website.