Off the Radar

For the first time in more than 50 years, humans are preparing to venture back into deep space.

With the launch of Artemis II, part of NASA’s Artemis program, four astronauts will travel around the Moon aboard the Orion spacecraft, flying farther from Earth than any crew since the Apollo era. Powered by the Space Launch System (SLS), this historic mission marks a major step toward returning humans to the Moon and building a long-term presence beyond Earth.

In this episode, we explore what makes Artemis II different, why this mission matters right now, and how it connects the legacy of Apollo to the future of human spaceflight, including future lunar missions and Mars exploration.

We’re joined by planetary scientist Dr. Barbara Cohen of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, whose work on lunar samples, meteorites, and impact history helps us better understand the Moon and what it can teach us about Earth and the solar system.

Was last week’s severe weather forecast a “bust” - or was it just misunderstood?

The Storm Prediction Center is making changes to how it communicates severe weather risk, with a new focus on not just where storms could happen, but on how intense they might be. But with that shift comes a challenge: how do you convey higher-end potential without creating expectations that may not fully materialize?

In this episode, we break down a recent East Coast setup that left many wondering why a widely discussed severe threat didn’t result in a major outbreak everywhere it was forecast.

Joining the show is Evan Bentley from the Storm Prediction Center, who takes us inside how these outlooks are created, why they are rooted entirely in science and probability, and how they are designed to inform meteorologists and communicators.

We also explore the growing conversation around trust in forecasting: when things don’t play out as expected, should meteorologists apologize? Or is the real issue how forecasts are interpreted by the public?

This is a candid look at uncertainty, communication, and the responsibility of forecasting when severe weather is on the way!

For seventy-six years, Pluto was a planet. Then, in 2005, astronomer Dr. Mike Brown discovered Eris - a distant icy world roughly the same size as Pluto - forcing astronomers to confront a question they had quietly avoided for decades: what actually counts as a planet?

The answer led to the 2006 vote that redefined the solar system and stripped Pluto of its status, turning Brown into the unlikely public face of a controversial decision. 

But this story isn’t just about Pluto.

It’s about how scientific definitions evolve. It’s about the vast, largely unexplored region beyond Neptune known as the Kuiper Belt. And it’s about Brown’s current hunt for something even bigger: a massive, unseen ninth planet whose gravity may already be shaping the outer solar system.

In this episode, we go to the edge of our cosmic neighborhood with the astronomer who changed it - and may be on the verge of changing it again.

Every winter, aircraft depart in snow and freezing rain under a simple but unforgiving rule: a clean aircraft flies. That rule was shaped by tragedy.

In this episode, we revisit the 1982 crash of Air Florida Flight 90 - a disaster that exposed the deadly consequences of ice contamination and inadequate thrust on takeoff, and helped transform winter flight standards. The lessons from that day reshaped deicing procedures, crew training, and federal regulations that still govern cold-weather operations.

We’re joined by retired airline captain and aviation safety expert Steven Green, whose four decades of flying and deep work in aircraft icing and accident analysis bring critical perspective to the science and the stakes. Together, we examine how ice disrupts flight, the crashes that rewrote the rules, and why the margin for error in winter aviation remains razor thin.

One week after the Blizzard of 2026 buried parts of the Northeast under more than three feet of snow, we’re going behind the forecast.

On this episode of Off the Radar, Emily Gracey sits down with fellow meteorologists Joe Martucci and Chris Gloninger to break down the science and strategy behind one of the most impactful winter storms of the season. From the early model signals to the moment confidence surged, they walk through how the forecast evolved as the bomb cyclone rapidly intensified.

Joe and Chris also share what it was like to predict a major storm while living in the communities directly in its path, the biggest challenges they faced communicating impacts, and what made this blizzard stand out from others in recent memory.

It is a behind-the-scenes look at the decisions, data, and real-world experience that shaped the forecast for the Blizzard of 2026.