Best Space Podcasts | Our Favourite Shows for Exploring the Cosmos

In a weird roundabout way, it took making a “space podcast” of our own before we actually went down the rabbit hole of listening to most of these shows ourselves here at The Podcast Host. It’s been such an enjoyable listening experience so far that we figured our own audience might be interested in hearing our current recs. So here’s a Best Space Podcasts roundup for you!

The Hostile Worlds podcast brought to life as a cartoon. Find out more in our guide to audio animation.

Interplanetary Podcast

A weekly series from England. Co-hosts Jamie and Matthew discuss the latest news news on all things space exploration in a fun and enjoyable way. They have regular interviews too with some top-tier guests – a recent one being astronaut Tim Peake!

Interplanetary Podcast Website |Interplanetary Podcast on Apple Podcasts | Interplanetary Podcast on Stitcher

Tin Can

Tin Can is an Audio Drama series about an astronaut who’s stranded alone in his spacecraft in deep space. It’s an atmospheric and entertaining story with sublime music and sound design. A great intro to fiction podcasts if you don’t dabble in them already.

Tin Can Website | Tin Can on Apple Podcasts | Tin Can on Stitcher

Main Engine Cut Off

Host Anthony Colangelo brings you weekly news and opinions on spaceflight, space exploration, and the latest big stories in astronomy. It’s refreshing (and often rare) to hear a quality monologue show these days, but Main Engine Cut Off is definitely one such podcast. MECO contains some great interviews too, but in the main, it’s a solid solo show.

Main Engine Cut Off Website | Main Engine Cut Off on Apple Podcasts | Main Engine Cut Off on Stitcher

Planetary Radio

Planetary Radio is one of the big guns in space podcasting. It’s a weekly show done in a very “magazine” radio show style. The weekly episodes are punchy, well-produced, informative, and accessible.

Planetary Radio Website | Planetary Radio on Apple Podcasts | Planetary Radio on Stitcher

The Space Above Us

The Space Above Us is a weekly show which takes you on an audio journey of what it’s actually like to be an astronaut aboard real-life space missions. It’s a fully scripted monologue show, but always engaging and never boring, despite the technical subject matter.

The Space Above Us Website | The Space Above Us on Apple Podcasts | The Space Above Us on Libsyn

The Hyacinth Disaster

Another fiction podcast, The Hyacinth Disaster is a self-contained 7 part hard sci-fi story about a crew of asteroid miners who run into some pretty big trouble. The production and acting are both excellent, and the story becomes increasingly gripping as you move through each episode.

The Hyacinth Disaster Website | The Hyacinth Disaster on Apple Podcasts | The Hyacinth Disaster on Stitcher

Gravity Assist

This is a series produced by NASA themselves, and dives into the subject of space exploration both in the past and in the future. The first season was a truly engaging tour of our solar system, featuring interviews with some of the top folks in the industry, brought to you by NASA’s Director of Planetary Science, Jim Green.

Gravity Assist Website | Gravity Assist on Apple Podcasts | Gravity Assist on Soundcloud

Space Rocket History

Space Rocket History is an incredibly well put together scripted solo show, featuring audio clips from past missions to space. Each episode is a historical account of real life events in space exploration, and a real deep dive into some of the practical aspects of manning and flying rockets.

Space Rocket History Website | Space Rocket History on Apple Podcasts | Space Rocket History on Stitcher

SpacePod

SpacePod is a really accessible interview show. Both presenter Carrie Nugent and her long list of guests know their stuff, but have conversations that mere a mortal like myself can understand without feeling left out. It’s a weekly show with a decent sized back catalogue to work through.

SpacePod Website | SpacePod on Apple Podcasts | SpacePod on Stitcher

WeMartians

A highly-produced documentary-style show sprinkled with plenty clips and actuality. Mars is the core subject here, but the range of episode topics are pretty wide, ranging from technology to planetary science, and beyond. New episodes tend to be released every two weeks.

WeMartians Website | WeMartians on Apple Podcasts |

StarTalk Radio

Another of the space podcast big guns, and it’s hard to ignore anything that has Neil deGrasse Tyson in it. Episodes of StartTalk aren’t always about space, but the wider subject of science in general. It’s probably the perfect introduction to space podcasts though, for someone who’s very new to the medium.

StarTalk Website | StarTalk on Apple Podcasts | StarTalk on Stitcher

Hostile Worlds

Is it bad form to mention our own show? Well,  it’s better to ask for forgiveness rather than permission, isn’t it? Hostile Worlds is an audio drama-documentary hybrid which takes you on fully soundscaped immersive journeys to places like Venus and Saturn’s moon Titan.

Hostile Worlds Website | Hostile Worlds on Apple Podcasts | Hostile Worlds on Stitcher

Best Space Podcasts

As with any “best of” roundup, this is purely an opinion based on what we’ve heard so far. We’re always looking for more suggestions, so please feel free to add to the list in the comments section below.

And we’ve got some other roundups too if you’re looking to further bolster your playlist. Check out Best Podcasts for Kids, Best Fiction Podcasts, Best Movie Podcasts, and Best Technology Podcasts, depending on what sort of stuff you’re after!

Want to Launch Your Own Space Podcast?

The universe is a big place, and there’s more than enough room for your own show about space, the stars, or the planets. 

If you’ve never run a podcast before, it’s easier than you think. Here’s our free step by step guide – it’ll walk you through the entire process from planning, to promotion. Have fun!