POPULAR SPACE EXPLORATION PODCAST HITS THE AIRWAVES IN CENTRAL FLORIDA
Are We There Yet? airs on 90.7 WMFE & 89.5 WMFV at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday
ORLANDO – 90.7 WMFE’s popular space exploration podcast took the giant leap to the airwaves in Central Florida on Nov. 12.
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The new look of Are We There Yet?[/caption]
Tune in at 6:30 p.m. Tuesdays for Are We There Yet? hosted by space reporter Brendan Byrne. The half-hour radio program will air on both 90.7 WMFE in Orlando and sister station 89.5 WMFV in The Villages.
WMFE is proud to be “America’s space station,” with Byrne’s space beat reporting frequently appearing on national NPR shows such as Morning Edition and All Things Considered and the BBC. Creating a version of the podcast for WMFE’s terrestrial airwaves will satisfy the ever-growing appetite for space news in the Central Florida community, especially along the Space Coast, where NASA and private industry giants SpaceX, United Launch Alliance and Blue Origin are making history.
“This is such an exciting time for space exploration,” Byrne said. “NASA is setting its sights on the moon and Mars, while the private space industry is developing new rockets and technology at an exponential pace. There’s so much to talk about, which is why we are bringing the show to not only podcast listeners, but our WMFE and WMFV listeners, too.”
Podcast blasts off
Are We There Yet?, the centerpiece of WMFE's podcasting and multiplatform efforts, launched in 2016 to dig into the next chapter in human space exploration. Byrne has showcased conversations with the engineers and scientists building the technology one day heading to Mars, and talks with visionaries and leaders who want to take humankind to deep space.
Two years after the podcast’s debut, it hit one million downloads. It has continued to grow a worldwide audience, with listeners across 123 countries and about 35,000 episode downloads each month.
Expanded scope & new look
As the podcast developed and the new administration set its sights on returning to the moon, the conversations naturally broadened to include issues not directly related to the Mars mission. With its jump to the airwaves, Are We There Yet? has a new look that fits with that wider scope. Its design is reminiscent of science fiction of the 1960s and '70s that are coming true today like The Jetsons and Buck Rodgers, Byrne said.
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Brendan Byrne[/caption]
The new radio show has three parts:
- Space news headlines
- Conversations with scientists, engineer, astronaut or visionary
- Segment called “I’d Like to Know” with University of Central Florida planetary scientists taking listener questions about astronomy, space and planetary science. Submit your questions to AreWeThereYet@wmfe.org
The first three episodes:
Episode 1: For the first show, we talk with retired NASA astronaut Nicole Stott about the milestone all-female spacewalk – what does this mean for gender diversity in the astronaut corps? LISTEN>>
Episode 2: We look at NASA’s Voyager 2 mission. It recently punched through the boundary of interstellar space after more than 40 years of flying through the solar system. New York Times Science Report Kenneth Chang brings us up to speed on how the science is changing the way we think about our solar system. LISTEN>>
Episode 3: We chat with author and SpaceX engineer Andrew Rader about the history of human exploration (we’re talkin’ all the way back to caveman history) and how the desire to explore is leading humanity to other worlds. LISTEN>>
The podcast episodes will feature extended interviews from on-air episodes and bonus content that didn’t make it to the air. Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts, or listen through the website.
T Minus Zero
Brendan Byrne is also the host of T Minus Zero (T-0), a partnership between 90.7 WMFE and WJCT in Jacksonville that live streams rocket launches other big space events on Facebook Live. Started in April 2019, these launch videos with Byrne's briefings go out to dozens of public radio and TV stations’ pages across the country to their more than a million followers.
You can catch rocket launches from NASA, SpaceX and United Launch Alliance on the Are We There Yet? Podcast Facebook page. Last month, we live-streamed the historic all-female spacewalk, which garnered more than 10,000 views across the network. Videos go live about 5 minutes before a scheduled launch. Set yourself up to get a notification every time the page goes live, and you’ll never miss one.
About Community Communications Inc.:
Community Communications Inc. is a non-profit, member-supported, community-based public broadcasting company that operates 90.7 WMFE-FM, metro Orlando’s primary provider of NPR programming; 90.7-2 Classical; and 89.5 WMFV, public radio for The Villages, Leesburg and The Golden Triangle. Part of the community since 1980, Community Communications focuses on providing quality national and local news and programming. Visit wmfe.org and wmfv.org for more information.
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MEDIA INQUIRIES: Are We There Yet? host Brendan Byrne is available for interviews. Please contact Communications & Marketing Specialist Jenny Babcock at jbabcock@wmfe.org or 407-273-2300 ext. 112.