Blue Dot

Blue Dot: One year after the Dixie Fire: Blue Dot returns to Lassen Volcanic National Park and visits Hat Creek Radio Observatory

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Host Dave Schlom at Lassen Volcanic National Park.
Matt Fidler

Host Dave Schlom is joined by Producer Matt Fidler as Blue Dot returns to Lassen Volcanic National Park one year after the massive Dixie Fire. Along the way, they visit with Park Superintendent Jim Richardson, a visitor from Montana, and Ranger Amanda Sweeney as they see firsthand how the Park is bouncing back a year after the wildfire.

After leaving the park, Matt and Dave head to the Allen Telescope Array at the SETI Institute-operated Hat Creek Radio Observatory and get a tour of some of the cutting-edge technology from Science and Engineering Manager Alexander Pollak and assistant Sarah Schoultz.

Dave Schlom is the longtime host and creator of Blue Dot. From surfing to Voyager in interstellar space, rock guitar to orcas in our imperiled oceans, the topics on Blue Dot are as varied as the host’s interests and connections -- which are pretty limitless! An internationally respected space history journalist, Dave is also deeply fascinated by all aspects of the grand workings of nature’s awesome machinery on scales ranging from galactic to subatomic. And topics take in all aspects of the arts and sciences.
Matt Fidler is a producer and sound designer with over 15 years’ experience producing nationally distributed public radio programs. He has worked for shows such as Freakonomics Radio, Selected Shorts, Studio 360, The New Yorker Radio Hour and The Takeaway. In 2017, Matt launched the language podcast Very Bad Words, hitting the #28 spot in the iTunes podcast charts.