Best Starbase Podcasts (2026)

1
S8 Ep302: STARBASE AND THE MECHAZILLA CATCH Colleague Eric Berger. The final segment centers on Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas, where SpaceX built a modern rocket factory on swampland to construct the ... 8:29

Play Pause

2h ago8:29

8:29

STARBASE AND THE MECHAZILLA CATCH Colleague Eric Berger. The final segment centers on Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas, where SpaceX built a modern rocket factory on swampland to construct the massive Starship. Berger details the "Chopstick" system, a tower designed to catch returning Super Heavy boosters to eliminate landing legs and enable rapid reu…

1
SpaceX Starship Flight 12 Update - Hardware Details, Flight Information, News from Starbase Texas 10:15

1d ago10:15

10:15

SpaceX is preparing to launch Starship Flight 12, the maiden flight of Block 3 vehicles. Booster 19 and Ship 39 will fly with Raptor 3 engines for the first time, generating 19 to 22 percent more thrust than Block 2. The launch window opens in late February or March 2026 from Pad 2 at Starbase. SpaceX will not attempt a booster catch on this flight…

1
S8 Ep294: THE CRISIS OF THE THIRD CENTURY AND AMERICAN PARALLELS Colleagues Gaius and Germanicus, Friends of History Debating Society, Londinium, 92 AD. Gaius and Germanicus explore Rome's "Crisis of the ... 18:39

1h ago18:39

18:39

THE CRISIS OF THE THIRD CENTURY AND AMERICAN PARALLELS Colleagues Gaius and Germanicus, Friends of History Debating Society, Londinium, 92 AD. Gaius and Germanicus explore Rome's "Crisis of the Third Century," where military coups and a fractured empire nearly caused total collapse. Germanicus draws parallels to the currently divided US elite and c…

1
S8 Ep293: DOMESTIC MELODRAMA AND THE FOG OF RHETORIC Colleagues Gaius and Germanicus, Friends of History Debating Society, Londinium, 92 AD. Turning to domestic matters, the speakers discuss a controversy ... 9:01

1h ago9:01

9:01

DOMESTIC MELODRAMA AND THE FOG OF RHETORIC Colleagues Gaius and Germanicus, Friends of History Debating Society, Londinium, 92 AD. Turning to domestic matters, the speakers discuss a controversy in Minnesota involving an ICE-related death, describing the situation as a "melodrama" obscured by a "fog of rhetoric." Germanicus contrasts this "theater"…

1
S8 Ep293: THE THEATER OF CHAOS IN PERSIA AND VENEZUELA Colleagues Gaius and Germanicus, Friends of History Debating Society, Londinium, 92 AD. From a wine bar in Londinium, Gaius and Germanicus analyze ... 20:04

1h ago20:04

20:04

THE THEATER OF CHAOS IN PERSIA AND VENEZUELA Colleagues Gaius and Germanicus, Friends of History Debating Society, Londinium, 92 AD. From a wine bar in Londinium, Gaius and Germanicus analyze modern geopolitical tensions through a Roman lens. They discuss unrest in "Persia" (Iran) and Venezuela, noting that Roman armies traditionally fail in Persia…

1
S8 Ep302: THE CHUTE SHOW AND HUMAN SPACEFLIGHT Colleague Eric Berger. Berger discusses the Commercial Crew Program, noting that while Boeing's participation legitimized the effort for Congress, SpaceX ... 11:14

2h ago11:14

11:14

THE CHUTE SHOW AND HUMAN SPACEFLIGHT Colleague Eric Berger. Berger discusses the Commercial Crew Program, noting that while Boeing's participation legitimized the effort for Congress, SpaceX ultimately led the way. The development of the Crew Dragon involved the "Chute Show," a team camping in the desert to iteratively test parachutes. Despite the …

1
S8 Ep302: STARLINK: FUNDING THE FUTURE Colleague Eric Berger. To finance the immense cost of Mars colonization, SpaceX developed Starlink, a constellation intended to comprise 12,000 satellites for global ... 6:32

2h ago6:32

6:32

STARLINK: FUNDING THE FUTURE Colleague Eric Berger. To finance the immense cost of Mars colonization, SpaceX developed Starlink, a constellation intended to comprise 12,000 satellites for global internet coverage. Bergerexplains that while the concept of low Earth orbit internet existed, SpaceX was the first to make it practical by mass-producing s…

1
S8 Ep302: LANDING ZONES AND EXPLODING SATELLITES Colleague Eric Berger. Focusing on the historic December 2015 return-to-flight, Berger describes the first successful land landing of a Falcon 9 at Cape ... 11:19

2h ago11:19

11:19

LANDING ZONES AND EXPLODING SATELLITES Colleague Eric Berger. Focusing on the historic December 2015 return-to-flight, Berger describes the first successful land landing of a Falcon 9 at Cape Canaveral. This feat required overcoming the National Reconnaissance Office's fears that sonic booms would damage spy satellites. However, this success was ma…

1
S8 Ep302: DENSIFICATION AND THE CRUSHED SODA CAN Colleague Eric Berger. Berger explains the technical leaps required for the "Falcon 9 Full Thrust," specifically the use of densified propellants. By super ... 6:19

2h ago6:19

6:19

DENSIFICATION AND THE CRUSHED SODA CAN Colleague Eric Berger. Berger explains the technical leaps required for the "Falcon 9 Full Thrust," specifically the use of densified propellants. By super-chilling liquid oxygen to nearly -300°F, SpaceX increased propellant density by 10-12%, drastically improving payload capacity. This innovation accompanied…

1
S8 Ep302: RISKY BUSINESS: DRAGON, NASA, AND REUSABILITY Colleague Eric Berger. To fund its Mars ambitions, SpaceX relied on NASA cargo contracts, which required the development of the Dragon spacecraft ... 13:24

2h ago13:24

13:24

RISKY BUSINESS: DRAGON, NASA, AND REUSABILITY Colleague Eric Berger. To fund its Mars ambitions, SpaceX relied on NASA cargo contracts, which required the development of the Dragon spacecraft. Berger highlights a pivotal moment in 2012 when SpaceX combined two test missions (C2 and C3) to save time, a risky move that required rewriting flight softw…

1
S8 Ep302: THE ROAD TRIP FROM HADES AND THE FALCON 9 Colleague Eric Berger. Berger chronicles the grueling transition from the single-engine Falcon 1 to the nine-engine Falcon 9 in 2009, describing it as ... 9:03

2h ago9:03

9:03

THE ROAD TRIP FROM HADES AND THE FALCON 9 Colleague Eric Berger. Berger chronicles the grueling transition from the single-engine Falcon 1 to the nine-engine Falcon 9 in 2009, describing it as a "long hot summer" of intense engineering. The process involved a chaotic transport of the oversized rocket, which physically crashed into a building in Lou…

1
S8 Ep302: THE AUDACIOUS VISION: A MILLION TONS TO MARS Colleague Eric Berger. In his discussion of the 2016 Guadalajara speech, Eric Berger details Elon Musk's "grandioso architecture" for Mars colonization ... 8:45

2h ago8:45

8:45

THE AUDACIOUS VISION: A MILLION TONS TO MARS Colleague Eric Berger. In his discussion of the 2016 Guadalajara speech, Eric Berger details Elon Musk's "grandioso architecture" for Mars colonization, proposed during a time of deep skepticism following rocket failures. Musk envisioned not just a visit, but a self-sustaining civilization requiring the …

1
S8 Ep301: MISUNDERSTANDING RUSSIA AND THE PERSISTENCE OF THE THREAT Colleague Professor Eugene Finkel. Finkel argues that debates over Ukraine joining the EU or NATO miss the core issue: Russia's ideological ... 9:22

2h ago9:22

9:22

MISUNDERSTANDING RUSSIA AND THE PERSISTENCE OF THE THREAT Colleague Professor Eugene Finkel. Finkel argues that debates over Ukraine joining the EU or NATO miss the core issue: Russia's ideological refusal to accept Ukraine's existence. He criticizes Western leaders for treating Russia as a transactional, rational actor rather than a revanchist imp…

1
S8 Ep301: THE BRUTALITY OF INVASION AND THE FAILURE OF INTELLIGENCE Colleague Professor Eugene Finkel. Batchelor and Finkel discuss the historical roots of Russian cruelty in Ukraine, citing a 1932 letter ... 10:01

2h ago10:01

10:01

THE BRUTALITY OF INVASION AND THE FAILURE OF INTELLIGENCE Colleague Professor Eugene Finkel. Batchelor and Finkel discuss the historical roots of Russian cruelty in Ukraine, citing a 1932 letter from Stalinfearing the loss of Ukraine. Finkel argues that Russian leadership, from the Tsars to Putin, views human life as cheap and uses violence to main…

1
S8 Ep301: VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY AND THE EVOLUTION OF UKRAINIAN IDENTITY Colleague Professor Eugene Finkel. Finkel profiles Volodymyr Zelenskyy, noting his background as a Russian-speaking Jewish media entrepreneur ... 4:53

2h ago4:53

4:53

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY AND THE EVOLUTION OF UKRAINIAN IDENTITY Colleague Professor Eugene Finkel. Finkel profiles Volodymyr Zelenskyy, noting his background as a Russian-speaking Jewish media entrepreneur and comedian who built a career in Moscow. Zelenskyy's rise illustrates a shift in Ukrainian identity from ethnic definitions to a civic nationalism…

1
S8 Ep301: PUTIN'S REVISIONIST HISTORY AND THE 2014 INVASION Colleague Professor Eugene Finkel. During the COVID-19 isolation of 2021, Vladimir Putin wrote an essay based on historical myths, asserting ... 12:47

2h ago12:47

12:47

PUTIN'S REVISIONIST HISTORY AND THE 2014 INVASION Colleague Professor Eugene Finkel. During the COVID-19 isolation of 2021, Vladimir Putin wrote an essay based on historical myths, asserting Ukrainians and Russians are one people and denying Ukraine's right to independent statehood. Finkel argues this revisionism signaled Putin's intent to restore …

1
S8 Ep301: KHRUSHCHEV, CRIMEA, AND THE MYTH OF THE SOVIET FLORIDA Colleague Professor Eugene Finkel. The discussion turns to Nikita Khrushchev, who transferred Crimea to Ukraine in 1954 for practical logistical ... 9:05

2h ago9:05

9:05

KHRUSHCHEV, CRIMEA, AND THE MYTH OF THE SOVIET FLORIDA Colleague Professor Eugene Finkel. The discussion turns to Nikita Khrushchev, who transferred Crimea to Ukraine in 1954 for practical logistical reasons, a decision Putin now contests. Finkel explains that during the 1960s, Ukraine became a manufacturing hub for Sovietmissiles and a "Soviet Flo…

1
S8 Ep301: SOVIET SUBJUGATION, FAMINE, AND THE DESTRUCTION OF INDEPENDENCE Colleague Professor Eugene Finkel. Following the empire's collapse, Ukrainians attempted to form independent states (UNR and ZUNR ... 10:35

2h ago10:35

10:35

SOVIET SUBJUGATION, FAMINE, AND THE DESTRUCTION OF INDEPENDENCE Colleague Professor Eugene Finkel. Following the empire's collapse, Ukrainians attempted to form independent states (UNR and ZUNR), but these failed due to internal weakness and external aggression from Bolsheviks and Poles. Finkel describes the subsequent Soviet era, highlighting the …

1
S8 Ep301: SHIFTING BORDERS AND THE FIGHT FOR GALICIAN IDENTITY Colleague Professor Eugene Finkel. Finkel shares the story of his grandfather, Israel (Lev), a Jew from Galicia who was drafted into the Red ... 6:54

3h ago6:54

6:54

SHIFTING BORDERS AND THE FIGHT FOR GALICIAN IDENTITY Colleague Professor Eugene Finkel. Finkel shares the story of his grandfather, Israel (Lev), a Jew from Galicia who was drafted into the Red Army despite growing up in Poland without speaking Russian. This illustrates the complex history of western Ukraine, which experienced Austrian tolerance re…

1
S8 Ep301: THE STATUE OF KHMELNYTSKY AND THE ORIGINS OF IMPERIAL DOMINATION Colleague Professor Eugene Finkel. John Batchelor and Professor Eugene Finkel discuss the 1888 statue of Bohdan Khmelnytsky in ... 10:55

3h ago10:55

10:55

THE STATUE OF KHMELNYTSKY AND THE ORIGINS OF IMPERIAL DOMINATION Colleague Professor Eugene Finkel. John Batchelor and Professor Eugene Finkel discuss the 1888 statue of Bohdan Khmelnytsky in Kyiv, originally a project of Russian nationalists who envisioned a Ukraine stripped of Jews, Poles, and Westerninfluence. Finkel explains Khmelnytsky's 17th-…

1
S8 Ep300: Guest: Ronald White. In his final decades, Chamberlain's war wounds continued to plague him, eventually requiring surgeries that revealed the extent of his suffering to the public. Despite financial ... 8:02

27m ago8:02

8:02

Guest: Ronald White. In his final decades, Chamberlain's war wounds continued to plague him, eventually requiring surgeries that revealed the extent of his suffering to the public. Despite financial struggles and failed business attempts, he remained active, serving as Surveyor of the Port of Portland. He endured personal losses, including the deat…

1
S8 Ep300: Guest: Ronald White. In 1880, Maine faced a violent political crisis known as the "Count Out," where armed mobs threatened the statehouse over a stolen election. Chamberlain, called upon to keep ... 11:42

34m ago11:42

11:42

Guest: Ronald White. In 1880, Maine faced a violent political crisis known as the "Count Out," where armed mobs threatened the statehouse over a stolen election. Chamberlain, called upon to keep the peace, courageously faced a mob intent on killing him. He opened his coat and offered his life to preserve the state's honor, successfully dispersing t…

1
S8 Ep300: Guest: Ronald White. Chamberlain returned to Bowdoin College as its president, attempting to modernize the institution by introducing science and broader curricula. He faced resistance from conservative ... 6:52

35m ago6:52

6:52

Guest: Ronald White. Chamberlain returned to Bowdoin College as its president, attempting to modernize the institution by introducing science and broader curricula. He faced resistance from conservative trustees and alumni but persisted in his vision for a progressive education. Religious tensions also arose as Unitarianism gained influence; Chambe…

1
S8 Ep300: Guest: Ronald White. After the war, Chamberlain became a celebrated orator, using his rhetorical skills to preach reconciliation between North and South. Drafted by Republicans, he served four ... 11:02

2h ago11:02

11:02

Guest: Ronald White. After the war, Chamberlain became a celebrated orator, using his rhetorical skills to preach reconciliation between North and South. Drafted by Republicans, he served four terms as Governor of Maine, focusing on economic reconstruction and railroad expansion. However, his private life was marred by constant pain from his intern…

1
S8 Ep300: Guest: Ronald White. Returning to duty, Chamberlain led a frontal assault at Petersburg in 1864, where he suffered a catastrophic wound through the hips that surgeons deemed fatal. Believing ... 8:02

2h ago8:02

8:02

Guest: Ronald White. Returning to duty, Chamberlain led a frontal assault at Petersburg in 1864, where he suffered a catastrophic wound through the hips that surgeons deemed fatal. Believing he was dying, he wrote a farewell letter to Fanny, yet miraculously survived due to his brother Tom's help and sheer will. Later, at the Battle of Five Forks, …

1
S8 Ep300: Guest: Ronald White. Chamberlain's early war experience included the massacre at Fredericksburg and a smallpox outbreak that sidelined his regiment. Under the tutelage of the disciplinarian Adelbert ... 11:42

41m ago11:42

11:42

Guest: Ronald White. Chamberlain's early war experience included the massacre at Fredericksburg and a smallpox outbreak that sidelined his regiment. Under the tutelage of the disciplinarian Adelbert Ames, Chamberlain learned command strategies. The narrative culminates at the Battle of Gettysburg, where the 20th Maine was ordered to hold the extrem…