Episode
The Hitchhiking Microbe’s Guide to the Galaxy
- Podcast
- Unexplainable
- Published
- Apr 15, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 1578
- Processing state
not_requested- Canonical source
- https://www.vox.com/unexplainable
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Summary
Can microbes travel through space on meteorites? It’s an idea called “lithopanspermia,” and to work out if it’s even feasible, some researchers decided to shoot microbes — with a gun. Guests: K.T. Ramesh, professor of science and engineering at Johns Hopkins University; Lily Zhao, mechanical engineer at Johns Hopkins University For show transcripts, go to vox.com/unxtranscripts For more, go to vox.com/unexplainable And please email us! [email protected] We read every email. Support Unexplainable (and get ad-free episodes) by becoming a Vox Member today: vox.com/members Thank you! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices