Science fiction portrays our Milky Way Galaxy as filled with habitable planets populated by advanced civilizations. Back in our real universe, not a microbe has been found by scientists observing exoplanets—Earth-like planets orbiting other stars.

In this podcast, join Geoff Marcy, Professor of Astronomy at University of California, Berkeley, as he discusses the Earth-like worlds discovered by NASA’s new space-born Kepler telescope.

For one year, biologist David Haskell watched the same, one-square-meter patch of old growth forest in the mountains of Tennessee. In this podcast, Dr. Haskell shares some of the stories and scientific insights from his book, “The Forest Unseen,” which chronicles his experience of closely observing one small ecosystem.

As food production goes global, there are a number of hidden forces that shape what we eat. In this podcast, join a group of researchers and food policy experts as they discuss the ethical, biotechnology and patent issues surrounding the food that may or may not end up on the shelves of your local supermarket.

The concept of nothing is as old as zero itself. How do we grapple with the idea and turn nothing into something? In this podcast, join Hayden Planetarium Director Neil deGrasse Tyson as he leads a spirited discussion with a group of physicists, philosophers and journalists on “The Existence of Nothing.”

Few beverages have as rich a history as bitters, the herbal-flavored spirit that was once marketed as medicine but is better known today as an ingredient in cocktails. In this podcast, Brad Thomas Parsons, author of “Bitters: A Spirited History of a Classic Cure-All,” discusses the history of the elixir from its earliest “snake oil” days to its rise as an essential ingredient in the contemporary bar scene.