Looking Up
Join Dean Regas, astronomer, author, and space expert on a journey through the stars! Guests from all over the globe bring their knowledge and passion about today’s latest scientific discoveries and advancements. From eclipses to supernovas, from rockets to rovers; there’s a whole universe to explore! Dean is the author of “How to Teach Grown-Ups About Pluto” and “100 Things to See in the Night Sky” and was the longtime host of PBS' Stargazers television program. Looking Up is a production of Cincinnati Public Radio.
Episodes
January 2, 2026 • 16 mins
Mars and Martians. They go together in the public's mind. The Earthling fascination with "alien invaders" goes back a long time. But why? And what does it say about all of us here on Earth? Dean explores this cultural phenomenon with David Baron, author of "The Martians." Send us your thoughts at lookingup@wvxu.org or post them on social media using #lookinguppodcast
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December 19, 2025 • 18 mins
Revisiting a favorite episode from 2025: Dean chats with Inspiration4 astronaut and artist, Dr. Sian Proctor about seeing Earth from outer space, and her book, "Earthlight, The Power of Earthlight and the Human Perspective."
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December 5, 2025 • 13 mins
Dean chats with Dr. Katie Mack, astrophysicist, cosmologist, and author of the book, "The End of Everything." They discuss how all of this might end, could it be a crunch, a freeze or a rip? Send us your thoughts at lookingup@wvxu.org or post them on social media using #lookinguppodcast Find Us Online: Twitter: @lookinguppod @deanregas, Instagram: @917wvxu @deanregas, Tiktok: @cincinnatipublicradio @astronomerdean, Episode transcr...
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November 21, 2025 • 15 mins
Venus is close-by and similar in size to Earth, but until recently, we couldn’t tell much about it. Dr. Rakesh Mogul, Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry, at Cal Poly Pomona took another look at old Venus data to potentially change what we know about our sister planet. Dean chats with Dr. Mogul to unravel the mystery.
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November 7, 2025 • 16 mins
Peter Hillary's father, Sir Edmund Hillary, was the first person to climb Mt. Everest. Mark Armstrong's father, Neil Armstrong, was the first person to walk on the moon. Now, the two sons of iconic explorers are going on an adventure together to the North Pole. This journey, and a parallel journey their fathers took in 1985, are the subject of a new documentary, 'North Pole ’85'. Music in this episode was composed by Blue Dot Sess...
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October 27, 2025 • 19 mins
After NASA's recent milestone of over 6000 exoplanets tracked, Dean Regas has one big question. Is anyone living on them? On this episode, Dean chats with Dr. Malena Rice, a planetary astrophysicist and assistant professor in the Yale Department of Astronomy, to find out. Find Us Online: Twitter: @lookinguppod @deanregas, Instagram: @917wvxu @deanregas, Tiktok: @cincinnatipublicradio @astronomerdean, Episode transcript: www.wvxu.or...
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October 10, 2025 • 16 mins
What happens if you fall into a black hole? What would it sound like? What would you see? Dean Regas chats with Dr. Janna Levin, Professor of Physics and Astronomy at Barnard College of Columbia University, to find out the answers to these questions and more. Send us your thoughts at lookingup@wvxu.org or post them on social media using #lookinguppodcast
Find Us Online: Twitter: @lookinguppod @deanregas, Instagram: @917wvxu @dea...
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September 29, 2025 • 18 mins
Dr. Konstantin Batygin, professor of Planetary Science at Caltech, made a joke that turned out to be true. In 2014, another Caltech professor, Mike Brown, brought an intriguing research paper to Batygin's attention. The paper described a peculiar planetary alignment in the outer solar system. While developing theoretical models to explain the paper's assertions, Brown and Batygin had a running gag, "We were like, okay, as a joke, l...
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September 12, 2025 • 15 mins
Has anyone written more screenplays than Albert Einstein? On this episode of Looking Up, Dean Regas consults with comedian, screenwriter, and Chris Hadfield look-alike, Thomas Lennon, on this very question.
Extra music from Free Music Archive in this episode: Imprinter by Chad Crouch, Robert Wadlow’s Blister by Monroeville Music Center and Last rites for Maria Capovilla by Monroeville Music Center. Send us your thoughts at looki...
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August 29, 2025 • 15 mins
"Some people hustle pool, some people hustle cars, but have you ever heard of the man who hustles stars?" From 1976 to 1997, these lines began every episode of Jack Horkheimer: Star Hustler, the astronomy show from WPBT, South Florida PBS. Later on Star Hustler was rebranded to Star Gazers, and hosts Dean Regas and James Albury took over after Horkheimer's passing. In this episode of Looking Up, Dean and James reminisce on product...
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August 15, 2025 • 17 mins
You might have to watch the sunrise by yourself at Kitt Peak Observatory. At night, astronomers and technicians conduct research and lead tours for the public. But as the sun starts to peek over the Quinlan Mountains, everyone is still asleep. Dean Regas chats with Vannessa Gressieux, the docent and guide coordinator at Kitt Peak National Observatory in Arizona, to learn more. Send us your thoughts at lookingup@wvxu.org or post the...
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August 1, 2025 • 16 mins
Science journalist Anne Saker describes the Chandrasekhar Limit as a range of possibility where if a planet has enough stability in its magnetic force and its gravitational force, it can sustain life. This Nobel Prize winning discovery changed the field of fluid dynamics. Though it was named after theoretical physicist Dr. Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar, he credited his computer, Donna Elbert, "for without her part, there would have be...
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July 11, 2025 • 18 mins
Dean Regas chats with Mark Armstrong, son of Neil Armstrong, about the Apollo 11 moon landing. Listen in to learn about Mark's upbringing under the lunar spotlight, and his current work with the Vantage Earth Foundation.
Send us your thoughts at lookingup@wvxu.org or post them on social media using #lookinguppodcast
Find Us Online: Twitter: @lookinguppod @deanregas, Instagram: @917wvxu @deanregas, Tiktok: @cincinnatipublic...
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June 27, 2025 • 14 mins
Dean Regas chats with astronomer David Levy, unpacking the discovery of the famous Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9. Listen in and find out how you can start chasing comets yourself. Send us your thoughts at lookingup@wvxu.org or post them on social media using #lookinguppodcast
Find Us Online: Twitter: @lookinguppod @deanregas, Instagram: @917wvxu @deanregas, Tiktok: @cincinnatipublicradio @astronomerdean, Episode transcript: www.wvxu.or...
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June 13, 2025 • 13 mins
Dean Regas chats with Dr. Gerard van Belle, a tenured astronomer and the director of science at the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona. Listen to find out how the star Altair got its "oddball" shape. Send us your thoughts at lookingup@wvxu.org or post them on social media using #lookinguppodcast
Find Us Online: Twitter: @lookinguppod @deanregas, Instagram: @917wvxu @deanregas, Tiktok: @cincinnatipublicradio @astronomerdea...
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June 2, 2025 • 17 mins
Dean chats with Alan Stern, a planetary scientist for the New Horizons mission exploring Pluto. Listen for the latest on the mission and behind the scenes audio from the I Heart Pluto Festival in Flagstaff, Arizona. Send us your thoughts at lookingup@wvxu.org or post them on social media using #lookinguppodcast
Find Us Online: Twitter: @lookinguppod @deanregas, Instagram: @917wvxu @deanregas, Tiktok: @cincinnatipublicradio @astr...
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May 16, 2025 • 14 mins
Dean chats with Stephen Hummel, Dark Skies Initiative coordinator at the University of Texas at Austin and at the McDonald Observatory. Listen in to learn how you can support dark sky preservation from home, no matter where you live.
Send us your thoughts at lookingup@wvxu.org or post them on social media using #lookinguppodcast
Find Us Online: Twitter: @lookinguppod @deanregas, Instagram: @917wvxu @deanregas, Tiktok: @cincin...
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May 2, 2025 • 16 mins
Dean gets to the root of this question with guest Oliver Morton, Senior Editor for the Economist and author of the book, "The Moon: A History for the Future." They discuss Musk's likelihood for a Mars landing, and what the future of private space travel could mean for present Earthlings.
Should you be on the rescue-ship to Mars? Tell us what you think by writing to us at looking up@wvxu.org and let us know what job skills will g...
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April 18, 2025 • 17 mins
Dean chats with Noreen Grice, the founder of You Can Do Astronomy, an accessibility design and consulting company with a focus on making astronomy and space science accessible for everyone! Music from Blue Dot Sessions (CC BY-NC) this episode includes the following titles: Batholith, Spinning Cam, Silent Obelisk and Flame.
Send us your thoughts at lookingup@wvxu.org or post them on social media using #lookinguppodcast
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April 4, 2025 • 16 mins
Dean sets the record straight on Asteroid 2024 YR4 and chats with Pranvera Hyseni, a PhD student at the University of California Santa Cruz, and the Founder and Director of Astronomy Outreach of Kosovo.
Send us your thoughts at lookingup@wvxu.org or post them on social media using #lookinguppodcast
Find Us online: Twitter: @lookinguppod @deanregas, Instagram: @917wvxu @deanregas, Tiktok: @cincinnatipublicradio @astronomerdean...
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