
ABOUT THE PROJECT
LOGLINE
Science meets comedy on PBS. Each week, sharp correspondents, celebrity guests, and at least one medieval alchemist help prove that curiosity has never been this funny.
SYNOPSIS
THIS WEEK ON EARTH is a science-comedy series for PBS hosted by a comedian who is not a scientist but plays one on TV—an enthusiast, not an expert, whose genuine curiosity and improvisational instincts make the week’s most fascinating scientific discoveries feel urgent, funny, and alive.
Structured like a late-night comedy show but built on the rigor of public media, THIS WEEK ON EARTH covers the full spectrum of science—astrophysics, medicine, ecology, neuroscience, climate, genetics—through a rotating cast of science correspondents, celebrity guests, and at least one medieval alchemist. Each episode is organized around a unifying scientific theme, explored through a signature monologue, correspondent field pieces, a long-form interview, and a closing Moment of Zen.
In any given episode, correspondents might report from a research lab on a breakthrough hiding in plain sight, profile an unsung scientific hero, or investigate a wellness myth with the full weight of peer-reviewed evidence. The science is always real. The approach is never dry.
THIS WEEK ON EARTH is built on a simple conviction: comedy is not in competition with scientific seriousness—it is its most powerful ally. A joke about a melting glacier lands harder than a documentary. A Nobel laureate explaining CRISPR becomes unforgettable when she’s seated next to an alchemist recommending leeches. Wonder and laughter are not opposites. They are, in fact, the same instinct.
At a moment when public trust in science is fragile and public media faces real pressure, THIS WEEK ON EARTH aims to be something durable: the show that a new generation points to as the thing that made them fall in love with learning.
PROJECT TYPE Web Series
DIRECTOR Steve Goldbloom
SCREENWRITER Sarah Rose Siskind
PRODUCER Steve Goldbloom
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER Sarah Rose Siskind, Steve Goldbloom, Marc Lieberman
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