Help Me Make Universe Today Even Better
When you joined Patreon, I offered to do a quick one-on-one interview with you - many of you took me up on the offer. One of the questions I asked was, What can we do better? That's a very useful practice that helps us a lot internally by providing an outside view perspective on Universe Today, our YouTube, Patreon and everything else we do. Especially from the biggest fans of our work. You catch the nuanced problems that casual viewers don't notice.
But why limit it to just the onboarding interviews? You might still have great ideas.
If you have any constructive feedback, ideas, suggestions or anything else that can improve what we do – put it in the comments down below.
I can't promise that I'll implement your suggestions. But be sure that we'll review and consider each one. We value your opinion. So, this post will be a dedicated place to express it.
Comments (62)
I must say you asking us how to make it better proves that you are already better than most other channels. I love what you do - keep it up please and thank you for all the work you put into it for us. Sincerely. Thank you.
Though I kinda use this podcast to escape the human drama on earth, I don’t mind the discussion of political situations or perspectives from time to time. If I’m not in the mood I can just skip that part. I don’t think you should listen to people who tell you to be quiet about such matters.
Agreed there
Great work and great content! I particularly like that it's clean. No commercials, but also no intro tunes or sound effects. Please keep it like this. Love the Q&A's, space bites and overtime. The in-depth topics are mostly from interviews. The only thing I would like added are specials. For example: Everything we know about Pluto, Explaining Relativity, Understanding Spacetime, or any other topic. So dedicated shows on one topic.
Overall your work is great. It is my number one escape from politics on the internet.
I may have just sent two short posts--oh, well. I agree with Bart that you need proofreaders/copyeditors for the Universe Today articles. That was going to be my main complaint; he just said it sooner. (FYI, I was a technical writer, and I'm available free. You have my email address.) I like straight science more than technology. I don't need the nuts and bolts of the next big telescope. I want hypervelocity stars from Andromeda, magnetic poles flipping, etc. In general, keep up the good work!
Aaak! Did I just post something? Oops. In the Universe Today articles, I sometimes feel teased and dropped. The article starts a topic; just as I'm ready for more details, it ends.
I enjoy the Q&As. Mostly I listen to them while walking on the treadmill.
An index page somewhere where there was a straight forward list of the I views name, date, subject would be good could also have q&a and over time lists each one as links to the item. Has also tags like black holes or #planet9.bor #jwstv Aia It would just make it easier to fing things
The interviews are my favorite thing to listen to. idk if it’s possible to do more but I would absolutely listen to them if there were!
I always enjoy the content and your presentation. These two suggestions are probably very particular to me (1) Make all the weekly content available as an .epub that could be downloaded or emailed? (2) Ask the authors read their weekly articles and then combine them into a long podcast.
Its not UTs job to solve AI slop, "the algorithm", the big money war on science or other emerging threats.. but such a forum should exist, not just complaining but looking for solutions, and UT probably should be a member and help publicise it.
Perhaps a series of short-form explainers for astronomical foundational concepts and terms for people new to astronomy that can have their URLs dropped into descriptions of your regular long-form stuff when relevant (or linked through the UT app). Maybe a list like: The H-R diagram Tidal locking Units of measurement (light years vs parsecs vs AU and where they're used) Red shift and "Z" Standard candles Types of supernovae Classification of exoplanets (icy vs rocky vs super-earth vs mini-Neptune vs. gas giant etc.) Nebula types, Bok globs, etc. Galaxy types Parallax and astrometry Lensing Telescope types The EM spectrum A catalog of major observatories (space and other) and what they specialize in ....I could go on for way too long. The idea is a library of "evergreen" 2-4 minute explainers that go beyond the one-sentence summary but stop short of math and advanced physics. You have an audience that is savvy to most of these things, but as new people come in because something is making headlines or the High Holy Algorithm dropped something in their YouTube feeds, we want to be sure that there isn't a barrier of understanding. Not to dumb down the regular content, but to quickly bring people up to speed and get them coming back.
When you do live Q & As, it seems like you are answering questions off the top of your head. Sometimes your answers are unsatisfying, as if you are dismissing a dumb question with a simple answer. I'm not sure how you could do it better, but I would answer as if I were a science teacher in high school and try to turn the dumb question into a teachable moment.
Hi Fraser. Thank you for opening up this opportunity to contribute to what I am sure is your continued success. I have three suggestions, all controversial but important to me, and I reckon, important to your sustainability. Like many others, I escape to Universe today to escape the other media madness, so my points are about elements of that madness which creeps into your offerings. 1). Choose to only be a science journo on Universe Today. If you desire to field questions about your desires, favourites or give lifestyle recommendations, then maybe make yourself a celebrity space separate from your space space. 2). While keeping to mainstream space science (which cannot do us actual harm) do not demand us to respect all scientists, some of whom have done some of us actual harm over the last few years. 3). Keep all political issues out. You did well with the U S administration closure and the NASA budget, but one of your writers did less well about Russian collaboration, repeatedly referring to invasion of Ukraine. But all things considered, you are exceptional.
One more thing. I would ABSOLUTELY pay for a monthly or quarterly physical magazine. Every time you mention it as a possibility I get excited at the idea.
Further collaboration with other actual science nerds / tech heads who are also educated in their field and are communicators too, just to show us the other corners of the web that we may not know about, outside the AI slop, of course ;) a la the Starship series with Scott Manley and Marcus House (hoping for a Flight 12 edition ;)
1) a program (and continuing inuing focus on citizen scientist programs (I need to pick one). B) More info on research being done on what it would take for humans to live off-planet, specifically in-situ resource utilization and mammalian reproduction in low-gravity environments.
I would like to see a downloadable app for The Universe Today, so it is easy to find and read your articles.
I think that you can already do that with an RSS reader
As far i'm concerned, you're one of the best science communicators around! I really don't have any major suggestion at this time besides recomending a topic: citizen science projects. I recently engaged in HOYS (Hunting Outbursting Young Stars - https://hoys.space/) wich is very interesting. Perhaps interviewing Dr. Dirk Froebrich, head of the project, would be a good idea. I love Universe Today, just keep it going!
Make sure the cause if the glitches in the video playback is sorted. Cheers
That's something on Patreon's side. We already contacted their support about it.
More Space Bites, I am to lazy to read all the news, if there is no time from you Maybe someone else from universe today.
I “pay” to hear super-talented communicators explain things that interest them. It makes me happy. You are one of those people so I have nothing to add except that I wish the episodes were 10 minutes longer.
I love your content. I've learned a lot! As I've said before, almost everything has changed since I first learned astronomy in the '60s, and have now come back to it as a hobby. For me (Anton disagrees) what would improve your content is to have fewer videos in Space Bites and your interviews. They're often just artists' illustrations, not science at all, and I find them distracting, especially those with a lot of motion. The occasional diagram or real photo would be ok (for me). Currently, I often cover your videos with another window so I can listen and not be distracted.
The Brian and Laurel post was from Brian Boddy, a Master of the Universe fan
Consider having question and answer shows with Canadian astronomy clubs. Many of their members are likely already listeners, and if not, what a great way to increase your reach to an obvious receptive audience. And definitely a way to help support these Canadian clubs. Eg The Durham Region Astronomical Association
I'd find it useful to have transcription of the videos, for when I watching a whole video is not an option or when I want to skim for a particular topic. Besides that, amazing content that I'd need way more time to fully consume!
Please also write time stamps for the Q&A episodes on Patreon like there are for the overtime episodes.
Will do
I have a hard time coming over to Patreon to watch the videos with extra content mostly because the reminder isn't until the end of the video. I would like a reminder nearer the start of the video so it's worth switching over to see the extra content. If that doesn't work then it would be nice to have time stamps on Patreon of where the extra content is in the video or a separate video of the extra content.
I do put timestamps in the Patreon version. It usually says something like "BONUS PART STARTS AT XX:XX". And I usually put it in the beginning of the description. Have a look at the latest episodes on Patreon. Is that what you were looking for?
Hi Fraser. I think i mentioned this to you on our one-on-one call. Universe today to be available to listen it. There a lot of great stories per week, and i guess im not the only one who doesn't have time to read it all. But if there is an audio option we could listen them in the car, when walking etc.
You can do that with the tools in your browser. For example, Chrome on Android allows you to do that. Safari on iOS also does that. So, it's a function that's already available on the client side.
More particle physicists please, or anything similar, Even a few alternative theories and experimentalists.
Idea: Make the Universe Today website a downloadable archive so that it will never be lost and so that it can be read offline. For example: Wikipedia and many other websites can be downloaded in Zim format and read via Kiwix. It should be straightforward now that UT is a static website.
I love Universe Today--just keep it going! I teach Astrophysics and (separately) Astrobiology. I send students from both classes to the site regularly. Some of the past final exams I have written (I do whimsical themed finals in the style of Advent of Code) were directly inspired by interviews and stories on this channel. Like others down below, my favorite videos are the interviews. Last summer I taught a radio astronomy minicourse and I emailed one of the Universe Today interview-ee's directly with a few questions, and ended up meeting on Zoom. He was a gold mine of information and useful resources. I've also emailed article authors with questions and gotten swift and thorough responses that translated directly into curriculum improvements and updates. This field moves so fast that the textbooks are out of date before they even published, so staying abreast of the most recent developments is challenging, and this channel is so so helpful. As someone else commented, having more short summary videos about particular topics would be helpful. The ones that were made in the past still exist and I still reference them (e.g. I just sent a student to Fraser’s “Would iron kill a star” video yesterday). Thanks again for all you do!
HI there! I've been a big fan for years and want/need you to keep up all the good work. Just wanted to mention that Hank & John Green (educational material I also totally support!) have just done a kewl thing with their Complexly educational engine organization. (see this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eziN5NJBI5U ) It might spark some affiliations with you and team if you could go to "educational" levels in addition to the higher lever research and reporting you usually do. You and they both have the same motivations for free, quality content!
Oh, and how bout those top 100 books/movies list we’ve been promised?? What the fraq?
We're working on it
Loved your podcast and particularly your steadfast commitment to science. What I enjoyed about your podcasts in the beginning was that they were straight to the point. No music. No ads. Just straight astronomy information. More and more, I find you straying away from astronomy to other information which I did not sign up for. Your favourite shows. What’s on your shelf. What do you think about AI. Your favourite games. What your garden looks like. You’re now getting deeper into that by encouraging non- astronomy rants. When I tune in for astronomy news and hear all about the steam gaming engine etc I find myself less and less likely to return. I know some folks are encouraging you to do this. I’m encouraging you to do less. Some is fun, but I feel that line was passed a while ago. I used to always listen to your podcasts. Now, not so much.
I really enjoy your starship updates with Scott and Marcus, always light hearted and good fun. Maybe try similar chats with other youtubers about all matters space related.
Recently I’ve notice Fraser’s energy is way up, he’s more engaging, looks like he’s having more fun (which is hard on such frequent videos), and there’s a bit more humor. It makes for way more appealing videos. -keep up the enthusiasm -more humor (mistakes are fun, goofy thumbnails, sarcastic rants about Uranus) -I like keeping the whole Q&A vids up on YouTube, that will grab people. -I liked the starship debriefs with Markus House and Scott Manly. Occasional co-labs. -stick to your guns on no ads -ask for more Patreon support! We will pay. Explain how it helps you fight the man.
Hey, hi! One thing I'd really like to on a periodic basis (quarterly ?) is an update on the current knowledge developments about Gravity and Quantum Physics integration. Also (as it does frequently happen) a summary on the Hubble tension and also on Dark Matter theoretical construct to better understand how it meets the standard model and the lambda CDM. In summary, going periodically into Relativistic, Quantum and Standard model integration and Lambda-CDM developments. I probably named things in the wrong way... this is why I believe I could be helped out by reviewing those... ;) Cheers
One thing I really liked back in the pre-COVID era of Universe Today was 8-15 min videos of Frasier walking through a specific topic (e.g., LaGrange points, terraforming mars, solar sails, etc.). Upon being dropped, I remember a lot folks expressing frustration and I recall Frasier mentioned the reason was because it took too many resources to put those videos together, and I totally understand that (interviews/Q&A are amazing and provide great value). However, as someone not always steeped in these topics, I find it useful to have an occasional video on a comprehensive topic or an introductory overview, just to set me up to better absorb the interviews and Q&A, even if it is just once every 1-2 months. I generally get base knowledge on various topics through the Q&A, but sometimes its harder for me to string together responses from different questions on a similar topic. So take that as it is worth - would love one video every 1-2 months of Fraiser talking through a single topic!
Yeah, I agree with Hovado. I think one of the best ways to beat the slop machine is to collaborate with other human creators. Join forces to beat back the Dark Slop!
I love inteviews and Patreon/standard Q&A. As a podcast listener space bites are good but there is a lot of graphis I dont see so its on the bottom of my chart. Maybe some quest, collaborations, you have Paul Sutter on the team. You arr frend with Arthur Issac or John Michael Godier.
A lot of us out here are deaf or hard of hearing and cannot take advantage of the podcast or any other form of audio. Please keep the text components strong. Thanks!
On the contrary, some of us listen to the videos/podcasts without looking at the visuals/images, so a short description of what we're supposed to be seeing is always helpful
So no carriage returns in Patreon comments. Got it. Some small things about the new site: Older content like this https://www.universetoday.com/articles/jupiter has formatting issues and some have broken image links. Also while articles have high-level categories assigned to them (Exoplanets, Planetary Science, etc), there's no list of categories for you to drill into.
I like Universe Today's overall direction, so no big-picture suggestions. Here are a couple of small things about the new site:
Hi Fraser. First of all, thank you for the education in astronomy field you have provided to me over the years. My greatest joy is the spacebites and long format interviews. Universe today newsletter is absolute top, however, due to my occupation and being father of 3 I rarely have time to read it, therefore, I'm more into spacebites, because I can listen it on my headphones while working. So, I would enjoy the full audio or digital space news instead of space bites, even better if it would be coupled up kind of analysis and comments from you of some of the news events like, what are the implications of this or that if appropriate. Anyways, thank you for your work, keep going guys.
I know it's not a perfect solution but you can actually listen to the articles. It's a function that modern browsres provide. Usually called "reading mode" or something similar. Not perfect but better than nothing :)
I wish there were more interviews and more/longer space bites. I am often frustrated when I hear an interesting story on space bites and then I hear “to find out more, read the article on the website.” I do occasionally go to the site but I utilize the podcast by far the most (I never skip an episode). And maybe less question/answer episodes? Regardless, you and your team do a wonderful job and thank you for doing what you do!
Patron here. I know they were difficult to arrange, but the old version of space bites (I’m forgetting the name) where you had a couple of your friends and a graduate student on to talk about space-related news topics was great, because you had smart, personable people talking semi-casually on a topic. Sort of like a bunch of astronomers talking shop over drinks. Is there any way you can bring it back occasionally, like maybe on a quarterly basis? The one thing you do now that has that vibe are the Starship test flight discussions with Scott Manley and Marcus House. Thanks!
I've mentioned this a couple of times and not to beat a dead horse but... Is there any easy way to see Q&A+ bonus questions on a TV? I saw that you don't want to put any content behind a paywall so Nebula is not an option but since I don't watch video content on a Mac/PC nor a phone, I feel like I'm really missing out. I love your content but you are "hiding" that content to everyone like me who wants to view videos on TVs. I've seen a few + questions that I really wanted to see so I have gone to the web site and fast forwarded to the bonus question but it's not something I do for 95% of the bonus questions even though I would be interested in seeing all of them. Any work-around would be greatly appreciated.
I'm not much of an intellectual on the subject of astronomy. My knowledge is limited to one semester in college many years ago. I cannot find any fault with Universe Today. It is all amazing to me. I spend most of my days now (I'm an old man) wondering why there are billions of stars and planets. What is the purpose of all that? I used to think God created it (I grew up religious) but the more I learn the less likely that seems. So just keep up what you are doing.
The more we find of the observable universe the less likely it is that a single entity created it.
Also, today's RSS feed had the image of the Dwarf telescope upside down 🙃
You need proofreaders. Your science writers are excellent but I still find typo-spellings and broken sentence structure in a lot of articles.
Oh, and if you're a patron and didn't do the interview, or still want to, just drop me an email.