The Habitat

by Gimlet
4,280

On a remote mountain in Hawaii, there's a fake planet Mars. Six volunteers are secluded in an imitation Mars habitat where they will work as imitation astronauts for one very real year. The goal: to help NASA understand what life might be like on the red planet—and plan for the day when the dress rehearsals are over, and we blast off for real. Host Lynn Levy has been chronicling this experiment from the moment the crew set foot in their habitat, communicating with them through audio diaries that detail their discoveries, their frustrations, and their evolving and devolving relationships with each other. From those diaries, Gimlet Media has crafted an addictive serialized documentary: the true story of a fake planet.

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Recent Reviews
  • Parkinfam4
    Wonderful!
    I wish I would have discovered this sooner. The show is well done, the host is amazing, and the story is such an interesting journey. Thank you for sharing this for free! I loved it!
  • driven2review
    So amazing
    This series was formative for my entire podcast listening life. Super good. So happy to hear it all again on Apple.
  • Phancy Fox
    There are more episodes
    Hey listeners, you can find the rest of the episodes on you tube for free. Thank me later ;)
  • OfficialBry
    1 episode
    Seems interesting but there’s only one episode
  • Raqueldelreyyyy
    1 episode for what?
    why is there only 1 episode available?! it’s more convenient to listen on the apple podcast app than on a website.
  • SparksJoy
    Missing episodes
    Please add back the rest of the shows!
  • Meg_Long
    Only One Episode Available
    I love Gimlet podcasts!! I heard of this podcast from another Gimlet podcast and put it in my podcast library on Apple Podcasts to eventually get to. There is only 1 episode available on Apple Podcasts, but I know there are at least 7 episodes listed on Gimlet's website. Please add the remaining episodes back to Apple Podcast App! Thank you -
  • ifanfdijt
    Why are episodes no longer available?
    Only episode 1 available
  • KanoH
    Confused
    Having the same issue as others. Listened to 5 episodes and now it says episode 1 is only available?
  • MEKmommy
    I definitely felt this
    I binged and felt like I was IN THERE. By the time I got to the “Tortilla” ep *I* needed a break from everyone and had to turn it off for a bit 😂
  • ~ Violet ~
    Gossipy Garbage
    Add me to the list of people who dislike the over focus on interpersonal issues. Made me feel voyeuristic in the worst way. I feel bad for the participants.
  • nicknameMCN
    Season 2??
    Where is it?? I need it!
  • Ughshsjsj
    AMAZING
    best podcast I’ve ever listened too... the way you create characters and scenes is unparalleled and what a creative way to track a story overtime! You probably could’ve slipped in a little more science since you have the audience so hooked with the story but overall fantastic fantastic fantastic
  • AmShy87
    What a mesmerizing voice
    Lynn Levy,s voice is sweet. Sound of her smile omg...... I hope you are as beautiful as your voice. 😉Looking forward for more content from you.
  • autumnlori
    Make more shows please 🥺☹️😩
    Please make more shows i love your episodes thank you
  • AdamGiardino
    Unforgettable
    Whenever I look at the log of shows I’ve listened to, I see this one and am shocked how I so easily forget this masterpiece. Such a great show and a must-listen.
  • JTLaw25
    Super Interesting!
    Loved this show. Had no idea experiments like these were happening. Fascinating to listen to how it all plays out!
  • 123Bahini
    Missed Opportunities
    The storytelling was engaging, but I felt that it lacked the umph I had hoped for. It was interesting to hear what the experiment entailed, but I wanted to come away with more. The social interaction communicated was interesting, but expected. The real story is what we didn’t hear. What they wrote in their surveys, the level of work they completed. I had hoped to learn what NASA learned, and we didn’t get that. Just a surface-level social look into life in a dome. Interesting but not groundbreaking.
  • CBCLT
    Outstanding!!
    Fascinating, entertaining, and brilliantly conceptualized.
  • Yrivera16
    Very little scientific information
    I was disappointed that when I finished this podcast it felt like I had barely learned anything about life on Mars. The host gives some scientific facts here and there but mostly just focuses on the personal lives of the participants. It is almost obsessive the way their real work is dismissed in order to focus on who they like or dislike. The petty drama was already expected so I’m not sure why so much time was spent on it. I would rather have heard more from the participants themselves. I feel bad for shay who had to hear the show become all about the other’s dislike of her.
  • buns28
    Nice!
    Save the earth 🌍 it’s urgent! Also I don’t really wanna die early 😂 PLEASE😭
  • Assertedcobra61
    Very interesting
    This podcast has a lot of very good info about the mars and mars conditions. GOOD STUFF!!!!!!
  • erixfuscas
    Amazing
    This podcast was amazing. I couldn’t get enough of it.🙂
  • ghiakarla_
    Short and straight to the point
    I found this entertaining and actually interesting with the space facts. Each episode was straight to the point and highlighting the volunteers routine. I did start to find uninteresting towards the end when the narrator was just focused on the gossip towards Shay and the relationships going on.
  • cocomokie
    How to Make Nothing out Something
    Podcast host rambled on and on- I’d rather hear from the actual people in the experiment. Interesting angles are overlooked while faux reality TV drama is overblown. Also, absolutely no one, on earth, Mars, or anywhere is the galaxy has ever wanted to listen to her and another producer chewing LOUDLY right into the microphones for 5 minutes while mocking the food. Who thought that was decent content? We get it- space food isn’t gourmet- is there really nothing more interesting here?
  • kdub4audi
    Mars is a great planet of our soler sistum
    I love this podcast I wanna add stars love space. Mars is an awesome planet of our soler sistum.
  • Ellie0224
    Immediately Interested
    Disclosure: I am only one episode in but I am so interested in this! It is a fascinating study and I can’t wait to follow these guys big-brother-podcast style.
  • ZedrinDaShadowCatGamer
    really disappointed gimlet
    Okay, the chewing sounds are gross, the host tries to force people together and it’s gross to hear her happy about it. And the ads are ridiculously long. Also, I feel like people were being to hard on Shay. They blamed them ‘falling apart’ because of her. And the David Bowie cover? No. Just no. Lynn says: “and we have killer covers.” Me: uhm, you sure? Okay this is just too long, so yeah that’s what I gotta say about this disappointing podcast. ._.
  • Cr39144
    THE EATING SOUNDS ARE UNBEARABLE
    I love this podcast but oh my god I cannot be the only one who hates chewing noises. Every other podcast I listen to cuts out eating noises, but this one really leans into it... I’m still listening because the story is great, but it’s basically hell 😂 NO MORE CHEWING I BEG OF YOU
  • Livhypnoswag
    So well done. Research, sound, etc!
    I adored this podcast so much! I wish it followed every team entering the dome! <3 keep up the great work.
  • trekTnek
    Superb
    This show is beautiful. Filled with heart. The love producer/narrator Lynn has for the six HI-SEAS participants is so absolute you cannot help but feel it too. Delightfully charming and filled to the brim with amazing surprises and emotional resonance. Listen to this podcast!
  • LeMe333
    Started out good...
    Enjoyed the first few episodes but it turns into a silly reality TV show. Not much science to be learned here.
  • Kev. Durr
    Ugh
    That David Bowie cover, no. So bad.
  • sally ryed
    Soooooooo good!
    I would recommend this to anyone who is very curious to learn more about mars and what they might have to do if they were really there. The audio is amazing and I really like the title the way it gives me the good kind of chills. This might not happen to everyone but I got them. It also tells you that you can get along with random strangers with the right amount of time. All in all, I loved this podcast.
  • Z_Bean
    Good listen!
    I enjoyed listening to this podcast. I listen to podcasts to occupy my mind at night, while running, while cleaning, or while cooking. I listened to this one pretty quickly because it was good! It took me a while to figure out whether it was real or not (sometimes I’m not the brightest). It’s interesting to hear what went on in the habitat!
  • yespa
    I don’t like podcasts and I finished this in 1 day
    ⬆️ all I have to say
  • Band them
    Excellent Work
    The Habitat is a well done, enjoyable, and unique podcast. The evolution of the crew throughout their year on “Mars” was insightful. Listening to this podcast was a blast and I hope for more podcasts similar to this one! Great work!
  • ChowmeinHair
    Low effort
    Made it halfway through. Subject matter never really went beyond a mild “reality show.”
  • DottieM26
    Bland
    Overall this show was pretty bland. It didn’t deliver anything noteworthy on character or space missions, and the final episode felt extremely anticlimactic.
  • Flightfanatic
    Too Much Chewing
    I love this topic and the podcast overall. However, find listening to people eat really unpleasant, especially when it's coming through my headphones with no background noise to distill it. In just the first few episodes I've skipped through a lot of portions to avoid hearing extended clips of people chewing.
  • NickMif
    It’s okay
    I’d much rather hear more of the participants in the experiment rather than the host, extreme amount of advertising too, every 10 minutes it’s a break for a stupid ad. Think the ads are done?? Sorry another 5 ads after the first! I love the 6 people tho, real cool stuff other than the host and ads
  • JettiJ
    Brilliant
    I wasn’t sure what to expect from this podcast but, wow, I’m in love. I’ve listened to it three times and am currently using it as a storytelling tool in my literature class! It’s put together well and the writing/sound blend together and feel more like watching a film than simply listening to a podcast. Beautifully done!
  • Winterfuzz55
    Eh
    Too many ads. Too many credits. Too much cursing by the host. Too much hosting period. Not enuf of the participants. Boring.
  • swrv
    Not worth the time
    I listened to this series hoping to learn something but it ended up being a well produced, self indulgent examination of the most superficial aspects of group dynamics. Don't expect to learn anything about long term space lifestyle adaptations from this podcast. It ultimately becomes a reality show style, relationship based, “are they hooking up? (giggle giggle)”, “I can’t stand that person” show set in a dome on a volcano in Hawaii.
  • Mmiloo w
    Fascinating and well produced
    This is a great podcast. Yes, they focus more on the social aspect of the experiment, which I see some people complaining about, but that’s why I find it so fascinating. Very well produced, I can’t imagine all the hours of recordings they had to go through to edit a year’s worth of content down but GREAT JOB!
  • al arma
    Cursing?
    Decent podcast but the host’s cursing was very unnecessary and caught me off-guard.
  • Jsk5891
    Bingeworthy!
    Interesting & gets you thinking about the future & life on Mars & the whole psychology of it. Very bingeworthy!
  • M K 1
    Greatest Thing That I Never Knew About
    This is an example of why podcasts are sooooo amazing! I didn't know anything about this experiment -- and it is amazing, the podcasts, of course!
  • Emmanuel Lemire
    Pretty good
    Enjoyed this. Took a few episodes for me to get into it but I did atlast. The random info about NASA and space travel was pretty cool. The people's tapes were also interesting. Felt a bit disconnected from them but by the last episode I knew them a lot better. I'd love to hear a follow up about how subsequent trials have gone and if they've found any patterns from group to group.
  • S_rain95
    Love
    This is just so freaking cool to hear about
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