Professor at The University of Western Ontario in planetary geology. Also a parent and OG X-Phile. I use she/her pronouns. https://planetneish.ca/https://bsky.app/profile/planetneish.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/planetneish.bsky.social/post/3mvgic5df6c2qToday on Popcorn Science, we celebrate our “Independence Day”. We journey back to 1996 to discuss how to hack an alien spaceship with a Macintosh Powerbook, why the aliens chose an inefficient strategy to destroy humanity, and how much we loved Fruitopia. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/popcorn-science-podcast/id1812072195?i=100078937226813 Sep 2026 20:57 +0000at://did:plc:fhlix4uc45jkzimm2ltsvct2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mvgic5df6c2qhttps://bsky.app/profile/planetneish.bsky.social/post/3mvda43vgqs27My PhD student and I are going to be on CBC’s Quirks & Quarks today! The pinnacle of achievement for any Canadian scientist. 👩🏻‍🔬 https://www.cbc.ca/radio/quirks/summer-science-special-9.734038112 Sep 2026 13:52 +0000at://did:plc:fhlix4uc45jkzimm2ltsvct2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mvda43vgqs27https://bsky.app/profile/planetneish.bsky.social/post/3mualy3rz4227After a short hiatus, Popcorn Science returns this week with the 2013 movie “Gravity.” This movie is a spectacle with many unrealistic elements, such as overlapping satellite orbits, space suit attire, and George Clooney being interested in a woman his own age. https://www.popcornscience.ca/gravity/index.html29 Aug 2026 19:22 +0000at://did:plc:fhlix4uc45jkzimm2ltsvct2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mualy3rz4227https://bsky.app/profile/planetneish.bsky.social/post/3mrfsze7amk2hAn article describing the field work I conducted in Hawai'i this June with my PhD student and LRO's Mini-RF team. We can learn so much about other planets by studying key analogues on Earth! 🌋 https://news.westernu.ca/2026/07/hawaii-lunar-volcanism/24 Jul 2026 16:55 +0000at://did:plc:fhlix4uc45jkzimm2ltsvct2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mrfsze7amk2hhttps://bsky.app/profile/planetneish.bsky.social/post/3mqhroxoxa22tIn this week’s episode of Popcorn Science, we cover the AppleTV series, “Pluribus”. For our first ever in-person recording, we cover virus transmission, exoplanets, and Vince Gilligan’s love of Albuquerque. Spoiler alert - this episode has the longest “science shine” section of any of our podcasts! https://www.popcornscience.ca/pluribus/index.html12 Jul 2026 18:12 +0000at://did:plc:fhlix4uc45jkzimm2ltsvct2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mqhroxoxa22thttps://bsky.app/profile/planetneish.bsky.social/post/3mpelmp2m5k2bFor the second part of our Andy Weir double feature, John and I discuss “Project Hail Mary.” In this episode, we talk about alien life, the fallacy of the “lone genius”, and why Andy Weir may be a bit too much of a “bro”. https://www.popcornscience.ca/project-hail-mary/index.html28 Jun 2026 18:20 +0000at://did:plc:fhlix4uc45jkzimm2ltsvct2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mpelmp2m5k2bhttps://bsky.app/profile/planetneish.bsky.social/post/3moawktbas22lThis week’s Popcorn Science kicks off our Andy Weir double header, starting with “The Martian.” We discuss wind on Mars, how hard it is to grow potatoes, and why sometimes a movie is better than a book. @arcticsaxifrage.bsky.social https://www.popcornscience.ca/the-martian/index.html14 Jun 2026 14:00 +0000at://did:plc:fhlix4uc45jkzimm2ltsvct2/app.bsky.feed.post/3moawktbas22lhttps://bsky.app/profile/planetneish.bsky.social/post/3mn3ldrpxe222This week on Popcorn Science, John and I take a deep dive into the 1989 film “The Abyss.” We discuss the science of scuba diving, oxygenated breathing fluid, and why no one wants to work with James Cameron. https://www.popcornscience.ca/the-abyss/index.html30 May 2026 17:31 +0000at://did:plc:fhlix4uc45jkzimm2ltsvct2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mn3ldrpxe222https://bsky.app/profile/planetneish.bsky.social/post/3mm2f62kxok2iThis week, Popcorn Science goes back to 1977 to critique one of Spielberg’s early hits, “Close Encounters of the Third Kind.” We discuss the cultural phenomena of alien abductions, music as a universal language, and the hopping tourist industry in Wyoming. https://www.popcornscience.ca/close-encounters/index.html17 May 2026 12:42 +0000at://did:plc:fhlix4uc45jkzimm2ltsvct2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mm2f62kxok2ihttps://bsky.app/profile/planetneish.bsky.social/post/3mlssdsbo322tI had the pleasure of attending a fireside chat with the Artemis astronauts at the Canadian Museum of History last night. What a wonderful group of humans! It reawakened the 12 year-old in me who fell in love with space travel so long ago.14 May 2026 12:17 +0000at://did:plc:fhlix4uc45jkzimm2ltsvct2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mlssdsbo322thttps://bsky.app/profile/planetneish.bsky.social/post/3ml4gnuaaoc23Thrilled to announce I was selected by the DPS for the Claudia J. Alexander Prize for mid-career researchers in planetary science. Honoured to be listed alongside all these amazing people. https://dps.aas.org/news/aas-division-for-planetary-sciences-announces-2026-prize-winners/05 May 2026 14:49 +0000at://did:plc:fhlix4uc45jkzimm2ltsvct2/app.bsky.feed.post/3ml4gnuaaoc23https://bsky.app/profile/planetneish.bsky.social/post/3mkxawjrues2zInyalowdas! In our longest Popcorn Science to date, we take an “Expansive” look at a genre defining series. We ponder what it would be like to die of radiation exposure, realistic ways of living in zero-g, and why James Holden is so darn boring. https://www.popcornscience.ca/the-expanse/index.html03 May 2026 13:23 +0000at://did:plc:fhlix4uc45jkzimm2ltsvct2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkxawjrues2zhttps://bsky.app/profile/planetneish.bsky.social/post/3mjprvgyl3s2sIn this week’s episode of Popcorn Science, John and I are joined by physiologist Dr. Ann Revill to discuss the dinosaurs of Jurassic Park. Hop on the Mr. DNA ride as we discuss ancient mosquitoes, cloning, and a very sexy Jeff Goldblum. Life, uh, finds a way! @arcticsaxifrage.bsky.social https://www.popcornscience.ca/jurassic-park/index.html17 Apr 2026 20:40 +0000at://did:plc:fhlix4uc45jkzimm2ltsvct2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mjprvgyl3s2shttps://bsky.app/profile/planetneish.bsky.social/post/3mj6lfzylb22kThose balloons on top of Orion look a bit like maple leafs. They’re clearly celebrating the first Canadian to go to the Moon. 🇨🇦🍁🎈11 Apr 2026 00:29 +0000at://did:plc:fhlix4uc45jkzimm2ltsvct2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mj6lfzylb22khttps://bsky.app/profile/planetneish.bsky.social/post/3mj6kkerjgs2wThat was a surprisingly emotional roller coaster. Went from nausea to choking up when they reestablished comms. Only brought my daughter down to watch the splashdown after the parachutes had successfully deployed. So glad everyone is safe.11 Apr 2026 00:14 +0000at://did:plc:fhlix4uc45jkzimm2ltsvct2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mj6kkerjgs2whttps://bsky.app/profile/planetneish.bsky.social/post/3miwr2k2ze225I once heard my colleague Jim Head speculate on how human history would have evolved if Orientale was pointed directly at Earth. It would look like a giant eye ball. Can you imagine what that would look like? Now we know. https://www.flickr.com/photos/nasa2explore/55191470911/07 Apr 2026 21:49 +0000at://did:plc:fhlix4uc45jkzimm2ltsvct2/app.bsky.feed.post/3miwr2k2ze225https://bsky.app/profile/planetneish.bsky.social/post/3miucwjq5p222I’m wondering if the crater Reid Wiseman wanted to dedicate to his late wife is in fact Pierazzo crater, also named for a woman who left us too soon due to cancer. It is a bright spot that straddles the near and far sides. ❤️ https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/06/science/moon-crater-carroll-reid-wiseman.html06 Apr 2026 22:31 +0000at://did:plc:fhlix4uc45jkzimm2ltsvct2/app.bsky.feed.post/3miucwjq5p222https://bsky.app/profile/planetneish.bsky.social/post/3miriisut5225On this week’s episode of Popcorn Science, we travel back to 1997’s “The Fifth Element”. In this bright and vibrant vision of the future, we discuss what makes a “perfect being”, the vocal range of aliens, and why NYC in the 23rd century looks so much like the 90s. https://www.popcornscience.ca/the-fifth-element/index.html05 Apr 2026 19:32 +0000at://did:plc:fhlix4uc45jkzimm2ltsvct2/app.bsky.feed.post/3miriisut5225https://bsky.app/profile/planetneish.bsky.social/post/3mimise4q7s2bMy graduate students and I were featured in this CBC article about the Artemis II launch! One of the astronauts is from a small community just outside of London, so there was a lot of local interest in the launch. 🚀 https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/london/londoners-cheer-on-hometown-astronaut-jeremy-hansen-s-historic-moon-mission-9.714888003 Apr 2026 19:54 +0000at://did:plc:fhlix4uc45jkzimm2ltsvct2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mimise4q7s2bhttps://bsky.app/profile/planetneish.bsky.social/post/3mih7dudkis2qI'm know everyone's excited about The Moon today, but I wanted to alert you to a new article I co-authored on another moon. In this review, we discuss potential terrestrial analogues for Saturn's moon Titan. Despite it being an icy world, it looks surprisingly Earth-like! https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2025RG00090901 Apr 2026 17:22 +0000at://did:plc:fhlix4uc45jkzimm2ltsvct2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mih7dudkis2q