 A weekly broadcast dedicated to the topic of outer space, Planetary Radio is part of The Planetary Society.
Founded in 1980 by personalities such as famed planetary scientist, author and television host of Cosmos Carl Sagan, the Planetary Society is the world's largest space interest group. Their grassroots advocacy campaigns work to assure the continuation of space exploration programs and their "insider" information broadcast via educational venues helps to connect us all with outer space.
One of the Planetary Society's educational communication portals is "Planetary Radio". Planetary Radio's podcast pulls in thousands of new listeners each week, is one of the most popular science shows on iTunes and is also aired each week on 85 public radio stations and XM Satellite Radio. Highlighting interviews with key people involved in space exploration, guests have included renowned celebrities such as science fiction writer Ray Bradbury, Apollo astronaut Buzz Aldrin, Bill Nye the Science Guy, Stephen Squyres of the Mars Exploration Rovers, NASA administrators, and movie director James Cameron. Planetary Radio also offers coverage at special events such as the flight of SpaceShip One, the landings of the Mars Rovers, and the arrival at Saturn of the Cassini spacecraft.
Mat Kaplan, Media Producer for the Planetary Society is largely responsible for conducting and taping their on-air content. Initially starting with analog recordings using cassette machines, Kaplan's digital recordings were made with the first generation MiniDisc machines, then consumer MP3 players. Kaplan craved a pro-level machine with XLR inputs and for years scanned key manufacturer's web sites. His patience and solid research looking for an audio field recorder providing the highest quality recording with the least chance of failure led him to the EDIROL R-4.
Now almost all of Planetary Radio's regular segments are recorded using the R-4. "What's Up!" includes an irreverent review of the night sky, a weekly space trivia contest, and "This Week in Space History". "Rrrraaannndommm Sppppaaaacccee Faaaacttt!" is (of course!) introduced with over-the-top reverb. Although other society members such as Director of Projects Bruce Betts and "Q&A" radio host Science and Technology coordinator Emily Lakdawalla assist with these productions, Kaplan is the recording guru that uses the R-4 to assure the recordings are stellar.
Recording live interviews on the R-4 and later editing them for broadcast on Planetary Radio, interviews with speakers such as Dr. Bob Pappalardo from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena are extremely valuable. Pappalardo is one of the world's foremost experts on Jupiter's mysterious moon Europa and his interview with Kaplan inspired ponderings of what or who might be swimming in Europa's warm salty ocean that lies beneath its crazy quilt layer of ice.
 The R-4's internal hard drive captures these interviews as audio files which are then transferred to Kaplan's PC via the USB 2.0 port. For live interviews, Kaplan sets up 2 Sennheiser 421's and plugs them into the R-4's XLR ports; if he's on the run he'll plug in a single omnidirectional dynamic mic. When recording live events, the line inputs on the R-4 are used taking a line feed from the event's mixer board. Telephone interviews are recorded using a Telos digital hybrid directly porting into Kaplan's PC where Sony's Sound Forge handles the audio editing.
One of Kaplan's favorite features on the R-4 is the analog limiter which provides a pleasant sounding soft cap on a recording's level. Kaplan has spent enough time recording to know that by engaging the R-4's limiter and prudent placement of his mics, he can confidently record on the R-4 without keeping his eyes constantly on the meter levels.
Archiving a speaker's salient comments is easy if the interview is short but cumbersome with lengthy audio files. Kaplan cites an instance when capturing some very long sessions at the recent International Space Development Conference. When recording, Kaplan used the R-4's Index feature available by punching the R-4's "mark" button, to assure that when editing later he didn't overlook a lecturer's significant remarks - this indexing allowed quick access to the speaker's bullet points.
When asked about Kaplan's favorite features on the R-4 he responded: "Oh, that's a hard one. Here are the finalists: XLR inputs, great recording flexibility, battery power, analog limiter, USB 2.0, great display and meters, big hard drive, file naming and management system, portability, easy to learn and easy to use."
There's lots to see, so plan on staying awhile when you check out the entire Planetary Society's website.
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