Listener supported WNYC Studios.

Hey Undiscovered listeners. I'm D. Peter Schmidt. I'm a producer for Science Friday. And I used to work on Undiscovered with Annie and Ella back in the day. I wrote music for the show. And I'm back here now because I wanted to let you all know about a new podcast from Science Friday that I'm hosting.

It's called Universe of Art.

And it's all about artists who use science to bring their creations to the next level.

And over the years at Science Friday, I've realized that the relationship between science and art is a lot closer than I originally

thought. I've talked to NASA scientists who were inspired to go into their field because of TV

shows like Star Trek. And I've talked to artists who use scientific equipment like EEG machines

to make their work come to life. And the more scientists and artists I've talked to the more

I've realized how important

the role of art is in our lives, how it influences the choices we make and how we see the world.

So on Universe of Art, we're featuring our favorite art stories from Science Friday, and some

brand new ones too. We'll hear from astronomers who integrate space into their artwork.

I am a painter. In addition to being an astronomer, art and science are two different ways of looking at the world.

And it really shows us that we're united. We all come from the stars, quite literally.

And from drag artists who bring science into their performances.

When I did drag for the first time in the outdoors, as an adult, I put on six-inch high-heel

boots. I started strutting down the trails. And I fell in love with nature in a whole new way.

I saw how queer nature was. I saw how much science was out there.

And even from artists who used their illustration skills to help us understand nature's most

unusual creatures. I thought, oh my goodness, I have to do a comic about an animal with a zillion different butts.

And I also talked to the producers who made those segments about how they came together.

And I was like, you know what? I really want to hear this story.

...