Podhero Picks: The Moon Landing Edition
The coming fiftieth anniversary of the Moon landing (July 20th, 2019) has so many of us talking about — and listening to — the historic nature of the event, what it meant for us in its day, and how it informs what we think about space today. We want to jump in on the commemoration game, and are sharing a few podcast episodes (including a few recommendations from you!) that provide a broad history of everything it took to get to that one giant leap in 1969…and perhaps a few things that landing inspired.
“Ep. 05: The Fourth Astronaut” from 13 Minutes to the Moon (BBC)
Recommended by user Emre + our co-founder Garret
“The first time man walked on the moon, and the first time software ran on the moon.”
By this point, many of us have heard the adage: the cell phones we walk around with today are thousands of times more powerful than the computers that sent humans to the moon. While the full series is absolutely worth your time, we want to draw your attention to this episode of BBC’s 13 Minutes to the Moon, host Kevin Fong details just how true that is. The briefcase-sized computer that accompanied Armstrong, Aldrin, and Collins on the mission was developed and programmed by MIT’s Instrumentation Lab. You’ll hear interviews and recordings from the device’s designers, programmers, and everyone who made this revolutionary computer system as integral to the mission as a 4th astronaut.
48 minutes; 11 episodes
“The Series Has Landed” from Another Lousy Millennium: A Futurama Fan Podcast (Gabriele and Luciano Cheng)
Any list of media talking about the moon landing, deserves the opportunity to honor the TV, movies, and songs it inspired. As a Futurama fan, I want to highlight the series’ second episode, which allows its characters to visit the moon over a thousand years after the 1969 mission — with a character who was alive in the 20th century. Matt Groening and David X. Cohen’s Moon is over-commercialized, the home of a theme park deliberately designed to lampoon places like Walt Disney World and Universal Studios. But the gang still manages to find an adventure outside the confines of the park’s curated experience. On this recap podcast, Gabe and Luke share their first impressions of the episode when it first aired in 1999, analyze the episode, and share their favorite quotes. My personal top pick?
Narrator: [on loudspeaker] No one knows where, when or how Man first landed on the moon.
Fry: I do.
31 minutes
“Women and the Space Race” from Apollo 11: Beyond the Moon (CNN)
This podcast serves as a companion to the CNN Films’ documentary Apollo 11, but ultimately aims to extend our gaze beyond the moon. They do so by walking us through the history of the program, including this episode which acknowledges some unsung heroes of the process. In the archival photography of the control room when Apollo 11 launched, only one woman is visible: JoAnn Morgan. She speaks with host Brian Stelter about her time as the very first female engineer at Cape Canaveral, and later her standout moment for this historic launch. Later, Brian talks to Hidden Figures author Margot Lee Shetterley about the contributions that Black female computers made to this groundbreaking mission…and her joy over seeing them emerge from the shadows and into their rightful place in history.
29 minutes; 6 episodes
“The Lunar Land, Pt. 1” from The Curious Cases of Rutherford & Fry (BBC)
Recommended by Podhero user Veronica
Dr. Hannah Fry and Dr. Adam Rutherford solicit big questions from listeners, and talk to the experts that can help answer them. In this two part series, they answer some big questions (yes, plural) from listener Harley Day, who wants to know why we only have one moon. To address it, Rutherford and Fry consult space scientist (and literal lunatic!) Maggie Aderin-Pocock, and cosmic minerologist Sara Russell. In half an hour, you learn several theories about how we got the moon we have, how it compares to the moons of other planets, and why we are far from shortchanged for being the sole planet in the solar system with just one moon.
30 minutes
“The Apollo Program” from SciShow Tangents (WNYC)
This companion to Hank Green’s SciShow on YouTube is what the hosts affectionately call a “lightly competitive knowledge showcase.” In it, the panel trades facts and plays games about the topic at hand…and in this case, the topic was the Apollo program. Give this ep a listen to hear more about what objects were left on the Moon by astronauts (and what tales are actually myths), the ten year old who saved the landmark lunar mission, and the seamstresses who ensured Apollo astronauts were protected from the elements.
30 minutes
Other Recommendations
From the Earth to the Moon Podcast (Rogue Two Media)
“Ep. 71: Apollo and The Moon” from Houston, We Have a Podcast (NASA)
Transcript available- click here
“Ep. 3: Space Germs” from Moonstruck (DraftHouse Media)
Transcript available- click here
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