{"podcast":{"title":"EarthDate","slug":"earthdate-7713094","podcast_index_feed_id":7713094,"rss_url":"https://feeds.blubrry.com/feeds/3957418.xml","website_url":"http://blubrry.com/3957418/","image_url":"https://assets.blubrry.com/coverart/1400/3957418-201603.jpg","author":"Switch Energy Alliance","episode_count":300,"summary":"EarthDate is a short-format weekly audio program delivering concise, science-based stories about the Earth: its geology, environments, and the processes that shape our planet over deep time and today. Beginning in 2026, EarthDate is managed by Switch Energy Alliance and hosted by SEA's founder Dr. Scott W. Tinker. Together, we explore earth systems, natural resources, and their relevance to everyday life, with a focus on clear, accessible science education for broad audiences. EarthDate is written and directed by Emmy-winning filmmaker Harry Lynch, and researched by Lynn Kistler. We search for captivating stories to remind listeners that science can enlighten, educate and entertain.","last_synced_at":null,"page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/earthdate-7713094"},"episode":{"title":"How Tall Can Earth’s Mountains Get?","slug":"how-tall-can-earth-s-mountains-get","published_at":"2026-05-16T14:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/earthdate-7713094/how-tall-can-earth-s-mountains-get","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/earthdate-7713094","url":"https://blubrry.com/3957418/153852858/how-tall-can-earths-mountains-get/","audio_url":"https://media.blubrry.com/3957418/content.blubrry.com/3957418/EarthDate_S14_E15.mp3","summary":"The largest mountain in our solar system is not on Earth but on Mars. Olympus Mons is 72,000 feet tall—that’s two and a half times higher than Everest! And mountains on Earth will never get that tall. Why? First, we have stronger gravity. About two and a half times that of Mars. Our mountains form when tectonic plates push together. One plate slides over the other, or the plates crush together in the middle. Both lift material upward. And they form when volcanoes carry magma from within the Earth, up and out. And as soon as they form, gravity starts pulling them back down into Earth’s crust. As they sink, their bases can melt, spreading them wider rather than tall. Another height-limiting factor is erosion by Earth’s plentiful water. Rain runs down a mountain, which erodes it grain by grain. Snow freezes into glaciers, which can carve through mountain ranges, pushing rock debris downhill in front of them. Or, water seeps into cracks and freezes, then breaks off rock in chips or entire slabs—and gravity takes over from there. Combined, plate tectonics, gravity and water put a limit on Earth’s mountains. The top ten average around 28,000 feet tall. However, these forces also make Earth’s mountains rise and fall faster than on other planets in the solar system. They may not be as tall, but in my view, their complex stories make them even more interesting.","meta_description":"The largest mountain in our solar system is not on Earth but on Mars. Olympus Mons is 72,000 feet tall—that’s two and a half times higher than Everest! An…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":120,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/earthdate-7713094/episodes/how-tall-can-earth-s-mountains-get/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/earthdate-7713094/how-tall-can-earth-s-mountains-get.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}