Podcasts about national air

The Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum opened 5 new galleries earlier this week – a big milestone in a multi-year revamp that began in 2018. The museum has seven more galleries to renovate before the July, 2026 deadline. 

The MOSAIC final rule, an interview with the founder and CEO of Flying Eyes Optics, FAA guidance on certification of powered lift vehicles, new galleries opening at the National Air and Space Museum, a Delta pilot lands and gets immediately arrested, deer strikes in Alaska, and the NTSB investigation of a fatal flight in that state. Also, thoughts on recent moves to relocate the Space Shuttle Discovery from the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum to Space Center Houston. Guest Dean Siracusa Dean Siracusa is the founder and CEO of Flying Eyes Optics. Dean, a pilot, started the company when he realized that existing sunglasses did not perform well with the increased clamping force of modern aviation headsets. Flying Eyes temples are made of a patented material that allows the temples to conform to your head instead of curving around your ears. They're easy to put on and take off while wearing a headset or helmet. The flexibility of the temple material and shatterproof polycarbonate lenses makes these glasses hard to break. Hillel Glazer, our Aviation Innovation and Entrepreneurship Correspondent, interviewed Dean at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2025. Aviation News U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy Announces Improvements to Recreational Aviation Safety, Expansion of Light-Sport Sector The Modernization of Special Airworthiness Certification (MOSAIC) final rule was announced by U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy. The new rule makes changes to the Light Sport Aircraft (LSA) category and Sport Pilot privileges by expanding an alternative to experimental amateur-built aircraft. MOSAIC: Removes the weight limit Encompasses aircraft with higher speeds, more seats, and retractable landing gear.  Allows for new types of propulsion and modern avionics. Allows aerial work with LSA, such as infrastructure and forest inspections, photography/filming, and agricultural surveillance. Allows pilots operating under Sport Pilot privileges to fly a broader range of aircraft. Reduces regulatory requirements by expanding the types of aircraft that qualify as LSA and the types of aircraft pilots can fly under Sport Pilot privileges. Changes for sport pilots and light-sport repairmen take effect 90 days after the final rule publishes. Changes for LSA certification take effect 365 days after the final rule publishes. Video: Secretary Sean P. Duffy Holds Press Conference for Important Announcement on General Aviation https://www.youtube.com/live/iRzzTspdjUM?si=gje-ftiRm94Y2eY4 EAA Airventure Oshkosh 2025 Facts and Figures Attendance for the week: approximately 704,000, the highest on record. More than 10,000 aircraft, 2,543 show planes, nearly 6,000 volunteers, and 962 commercial exhibitors. FAA Releases Powered-Lift Certification Guidance Originally, certification of the new advanced air mobility (AAM) aircraft types, such as eVTOLs, had been worked under Part 23 regulations for light aircraft. In 2022, the FAA categorized them as powered-lift under FAR 21.17(b) regulations for special class aircraft. That category had no airworthiness standards and operating rules. The FAA has now released an advisory circular “streamlining the certification process for advanced air mobility aircraft by releasing guidance for how manufacturers can meet the agency's aircraft design and performance safety standards. It establishes a consistent, performance-based framework for manufacturers to follow.  The FAA will carefully evaluate each proposed design to ensure it meets the agency's rigorous standards.” The AC defines powered-lift as heavier-than-air aircraft that use “engine-driven lift devices” or engine thrust for vertical takeoff and landing and low-speed flight. For lift during horizontal flight, they use rigid airfoils such as wings. National Air and Space Museum Opens Five New Galleries July 28 [2025] The Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum opened five ...

Firefly Aerospace has been awarded a $176.7 million NASA Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) contract to deliver five NASA-sponsored payloads to the Moon's south pole in 2029. The US Space Systems Command (SSC) has awarded $37.5 million to five companies for Protected Tactical Satellite Communications. The NASA- ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) satellite launched from India, and more. Remember to leave us a 5-star rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Be sure to follow T-Minus on LinkedIn and Instagram. Selected Reading Firefly Awarded $177 Million NASA Contract for Mission to the Moon's South Pole Space Systems Command Continues to transform acquisition of SATCOM capabilities    NASA-ISRO's NISAR Earth Satellite Ready for Launch ‘We have a cloud, and that's the end': first Australian-made orbital rocket crashes shortly after takeoff - The Guardian Canadian Lunar Utility Rover Argo and ThinkOrbital to Partner on Long-Range X-Ray Imaging Mission for Space Domain Awareness Slingshot Aerospace Launches TALOS: AI Agent for Mission-Ready Space Operations and Strategy  SpaceWERX selects New Frontier Aerospace to Develop Bifröst Orbit Transfer Spacecraft Starlink performed 144,000 collision-avoidance maneuvers between December and May; wants equal reporting rules for all NASA Selects Human Space Flight Technical Integration Contractor Mission patch competition 2025 Space for Humanity Immortalized at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum T-Minus Crew Survey Complete our annual audience survey before August 31. Want to hear your company in the show? You too can reach the most influential leaders and operators in the industry. Here's our media kit. Contact us at space@n2k.com to request more info. Want to join us for an interview? Please send your pitch to space-editor@n2k.com and include your name, affiliation, and topic proposal. T-Minus is a production of N2K Networks, your source for strategic workforce intelligence. © N2K Networks, Inc. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join the National Air and Space Museum's director Chris Browne and Aviation Week's Joe Anselmo for a private tour of the revamped museum in Washington. Watch the video version on Youtube here. Thank you to our sponsor GE Aerospace. Learn more about how GE Aerospace and its partners are defining flight for today, tomorrow, and the future here

In just a few weeks, five brand new galleries are opening in the museum down on the mall, including galleries where we are once again hanging some (really big) things from the ceiling. We're revisiting this season eight behind-the-scenes episode to remind you just how they get up there. AirSpace is looking up! (We know, we know, we're usually looking up what with the air and the space-ness of our podcast) But today we're exploring how we hang really big, priceless artifacts from the ceiling in the Museum. We asked two friends whose jobs are to do just that to talk to us about just what it takes to put airliners, spacecraft, X-wings and more up on the ceiling.Thanks to our guests on this episode: Tony Carp, Museum Specialist, National Air and Space Museum Hannah O'Toole, Exhibit Designer, National Air and Space Museum

AirSpacers are watchers of movies, but we are also readers of books. In our inaugural Book Club we're reading The Milky Way: An Autobiography of Our Galaxy by Dr. Moiya McTier. This book is a non-fiction romp through the Milky Way's life (and future death) told from its perspective. How does the Milky Way feel about consuming other galaxies? Does watching us humans get boring? Can a galaxy be self-conscious about its black hole? Dr. Moiya explores these questions and more with personality, or should we say galaxality? Read along with the AirSpace book club.Thanks to our Guest in this episode:Dr. Moiya McTier, AuthorFind the transcript at s.si.edu/airspaces10e12AirSpace is created by the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum with generous support from Lockheed Martin.

If you've been to visit us on the National Mall in the last several years you may have noticed that we've been under construction. Which is very exciting! But even more exciting is some of that construction is done! On July 28, we're welcoming visitors into five brand new galleries. But you, lovely AirSpace listener, get a little bit of a sneak peek. A behind the scenes look at Futures in Space, one of the new galleries with two of its curators — including AirSpace host Matt Shindell. Thanks to our Guest in this episode:Dr. Emily Margolis, Curator- National Air and Space MuseumFind the transcript at s.si.edu/airspaces10e11 AirSpace is created by the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum with generous support from Lockheed Martin.

The first book to combine exquisite cartographical charts of the Moon with a thorough exploration of the Moon's role in popular culture, science, and myth. President John F. Kennedy's rousing “We will go to the Moon” speech in 1961 before the US Congress catalyzed the celebrated Apollo program, spurring the US Geological Survey's scientists to map the Moon. Over the next eleven years a team of twenty-two, including a dozen illustrator-cartographers, created forty-four charts that forever changed the path of space exploration.For the first time, each of those beautifully hand-drawn, colorful charts is presented together in one stunning book. In Lunar: A History of the Moon in Myths, Maps and Matter (U Chicago Press, 2024), National Air and Space Museum curator Matthew Shindell's expert commentary accompanies each chart, along with the key geological characteristics and interpretations that were set out in the original Geologic Atlas of the Moon. Interwoven throughout the book are contributions from scholars devoted to studying the multifaceted significance of the Moon to humankind around the world. Traveling from the Stone Age to the present day, they explore a wide range of topics: the prehistoric lunar calendar; the role of the Moon in creation myths of Ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome; the role of the Moon in astrology; the importance of the Moon in establishing an Earth-centered solar system; the association of the Moon with madness and the menstrual cycle; how the Moon governs the tides; and the use of the Moon in surrealist art.Combining a thoughtful retelling of the Moon's cultural associations throughout history with the beautifully illustrated and scientifically accurate charting of its surface, Lunar is a stunning celebration of the Moon in all its guises. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/history

If you were curating a mixtape that might be heard by aliens billions of years from now - but definitely would be seen by your fellow Earthlings - what would you put on it? In 1977, two Voyager spacecraft launched from Cape Canaveral on a journey that would take them beyond our solar system. Affixed to the side of these two planetary explorers was the Voyager Golden Record — the ultimate mixtape of humanity — containing 27 pieces of music as well as pictures and sounds of Earth. But how did these selections get made? Nearly 50 years later, we're teaming up with our friends at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum's podcast, AirSpace, to explore what's on the record, how it got made, and its legacy.Learn more about AirSpace! Airspace Hosts: Matthew Shindell, curator of space history at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space MuseumEmily Martin, planetary geologist at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space MuseumGuests:Ann Druyan, Voyager Golden Record Creative DirectorLawrence Azerrad, Co-founder of Macroscopic

Alan Lowe speaks with Dr. Margaret Weitekamp of the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum about its transformation ahead of America's 250th anniversary. They explore how new exhibits, immersive storytelling, and iconic artifacts like the Wright Flyer, Space Shuttle Discovery, and Neil Armstrong's spacesuit bring aviation and space history to life. Weitekamp discusses the museum's role as both a public institution and research center, preserving innovations from early flight to modern space exploration. She also reflects on international collaboration, private sector contributions, and how triumph and tragedy alike shape our understanding of humanity's journey beyond Earth.     Guest Bio Dr. Margaret Weitekamp is the curator and department chair of the space history department at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum. She holds a BA from the University of Pittsburgh and earned her MA and PhD in history from Cornell University. A former Mellon Fellow in the humanities, she also served as the American Historical Association's NASA Aerospace History Fellow at NASA Headquarters. Since joining the museum in 2004, she has led major curatorial efforts and became department chair in 2019. Dr. Weitekamp is a widely published author, including Space Craze and Spaceships: An Illustrated History of the Real and the Imagined.     Show Highlights (2:09) The goals of the renovation and when it's going to be completed (6:28) The Udvar-Hazy Center (8:09) What Margaret Weitekamp does at the National Air and Space Museum (10:49) Key moments of American flight innovation documented at the museum (18:50) Artifacts on display that tell the story of American innovation in getting to the moon (22:12) The space shuttle's impact on our understanding of Earth and space (25:58) How the museum communicates with NASA about adding to their collection (29:32) The role of international competition versus collaboration in forwarding innovation (32:48) The private sector's role in space innovation and how the museum interacts with it (34:57) How satellites are used and what American innovations have contributed to them (38:35) The way the Air and Space Museum teaches about unmanned missions like Voyager (41:13) What we've learned from past mistakes, such as the Challenger explosion (44:59) What's made the biggest impression on Margaret since she's been at the museum (47:11) What we should keep in mind when looking at the next 250 years of space innovation (49:51) How to follow what's going on at the National Air and Space Museum     Links Referenced Spaceships: An Illustrated History of the Real and the Imagined: https://www.amazon.com/Spaceships-2nd-Illustrated-History-Imagined/dp/1588347265/ Space Craze, America's Enduring Fascination With Real and Imagined Space Flight: https://www.amazon.com/Space-Craze-Americas-Fascination-Spaceflight/dp/1588347257 National Air and Space Museum: https://airandspace.si.edu  

Pancho Barnes was larger than life. Born at the turn of the century, she spent the next 75 years defying every societal norm she found stuffy, boring or just plain stupid. She rode horses and then flew planes in the movies. She raced airplanes and briefly held the women's airspeed record. She owned a notorious inn/restaurant/club/hotel/airport in the desert near what would become Edwards Air Force Base. The Happy Bottom Riding Club was populated by Pancho, her personality and famous people from Roy Rogers to Chuck Yeager. We're exploring all the excitement that was the life of Pancho Barnes.Thanks to our guest in this episode:Lauren Kessler- Author, The Happy Bottom Riding Club: The Life and Times of Pancho BarnesFind the transcript at here. AirSpace is created by the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum with generous support from Lockheed Martin.

The first book to combine exquisite cartographical charts of the Moon with a thorough exploration of the Moon's role in popular culture, science, and myth. President John F. Kennedy's rousing “We will go to the Moon” speech in 1961 before the US Congress catalyzed the celebrated Apollo program, spurring the US Geological Survey's scientists to map the Moon. Over the next eleven years a team of twenty-two, including a dozen illustrator-cartographers, created forty-four charts that forever changed the path of space exploration.For the first time, each of those beautifully hand-drawn, colorful charts is presented together in one stunning book. In Lunar: A History of the Moon in Myths, Maps and Matter (U Chicago Press, 2024), National Air and Space Museum curator Matthew Shindell's expert commentary accompanies each chart, along with the key geological characteristics and interpretations that were set out in the original Geologic Atlas of the Moon. Interwoven throughout the book are contributions from scholars devoted to studying the multifaceted significance of the Moon to humankind around the world. Traveling from the Stone Age to the present day, they explore a wide range of topics: the prehistoric lunar calendar; the role of the Moon in creation myths of Ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome; the role of the Moon in astrology; the importance of the Moon in establishing an Earth-centered solar system; the association of the Moon with madness and the menstrual cycle; how the Moon governs the tides; and the use of the Moon in surrealist art.Combining a thoughtful retelling of the Moon's cultural associations throughout history with the beautifully illustrated and scientifically accurate charting of its surface, Lunar is a stunning celebration of the Moon in all its guises. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

The first book to combine exquisite cartographical charts of the Moon with a thorough exploration of the Moon's role in popular culture, science, and myth. President John F. Kennedy's rousing “We will go to the Moon” speech in 1961 before the US Congress catalyzed the celebrated Apollo program, spurring the US Geological Survey's scientists to map the Moon. Over the next eleven years a team of twenty-two, including a dozen illustrator-cartographers, created forty-four charts that forever changed the path of space exploration.For the first time, each of those beautifully hand-drawn, colorful charts is presented together in one stunning book. In Lunar: A History of the Moon in Myths, Maps and Matter (U Chicago Press, 2024), National Air and Space Museum curator Matthew Shindell's expert commentary accompanies each chart, along with the key geological characteristics and interpretations that were set out in the original Geologic Atlas of the Moon. Interwoven throughout the book are contributions from scholars devoted to studying the multifaceted significance of the Moon to humankind around the world. Traveling from the Stone Age to the present day, they explore a wide range of topics: the prehistoric lunar calendar; the role of the Moon in creation myths of Ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome; the role of the Moon in astrology; the importance of the Moon in establishing an Earth-centered solar system; the association of the Moon with madness and the menstrual cycle; how the Moon governs the tides; and the use of the Moon in surrealist art.Combining a thoughtful retelling of the Moon's cultural associations throughout history with the beautifully illustrated and scientifically accurate charting of its surface, Lunar is a stunning celebration of the Moon in all its guises. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/science

The first book to combine exquisite cartographical charts of the Moon with a thorough exploration of the Moon's role in popular culture, science, and myth. President John F. Kennedy's rousing “We will go to the Moon” speech in 1961 before the US Congress catalyzed the celebrated Apollo program, spurring the US Geological Survey's scientists to map the Moon. Over the next eleven years a team of twenty-two, including a dozen illustrator-cartographers, created forty-four charts that forever changed the path of space exploration.For the first time, each of those beautifully hand-drawn, colorful charts is presented together in one stunning book. In Lunar: A History of the Moon in Myths, Maps and Matter (U Chicago Press, 2024), National Air and Space Museum curator Matthew Shindell's expert commentary accompanies each chart, along with the key geological characteristics and interpretations that were set out in the original Geologic Atlas of the Moon. Interwoven throughout the book are contributions from scholars devoted to studying the multifaceted significance of the Moon to humankind around the world. Traveling from the Stone Age to the present day, they explore a wide range of topics: the prehistoric lunar calendar; the role of the Moon in creation myths of Ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome; the role of the Moon in astrology; the importance of the Moon in establishing an Earth-centered solar system; the association of the Moon with madness and the menstrual cycle; how the Moon governs the tides; and the use of the Moon in surrealist art.Combining a thoughtful retelling of the Moon's cultural associations throughout history with the beautifully illustrated and scientifically accurate charting of its surface, Lunar is a stunning celebration of the Moon in all its guises. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The first book to combine exquisite cartographical charts of the Moon with a thorough exploration of the Moon's role in popular culture, science, and myth. President John F. Kennedy's rousing “We will go to the Moon” speech in 1961 before the US Congress catalyzed the celebrated Apollo program, spurring the US Geological Survey's scientists to map the Moon. Over the next eleven years a team of twenty-two, including a dozen illustrator-cartographers, created forty-four charts that forever changed the path of space exploration.For the first time, each of those beautifully hand-drawn, colorful charts is presented together in one stunning book. In Lunar: A History of the Moon in Myths, Maps and Matter (U Chicago Press, 2024), National Air and Space Museum curator Matthew Shindell's expert commentary accompanies each chart, along with the key geological characteristics and interpretations that were set out in the original Geologic Atlas of the Moon. Interwoven throughout the book are contributions from scholars devoted to studying the multifaceted significance of the Moon to humankind around the world. Traveling from the Stone Age to the present day, they explore a wide range of topics: the prehistoric lunar calendar; the role of the Moon in creation myths of Ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome; the role of the Moon in astrology; the importance of the Moon in establishing an Earth-centered solar system; the association of the Moon with madness and the menstrual cycle; how the Moon governs the tides; and the use of the Moon in surrealist art.Combining a thoughtful retelling of the Moon's cultural associations throughout history with the beautifully illustrated and scientifically accurate charting of its surface, Lunar is a stunning celebration of the Moon in all its guises. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/geography

The first book to combine exquisite cartographical charts of the Moon with a thorough exploration of the Moon's role in popular culture, science, and myth. President John F. Kennedy's rousing “We will go to the Moon” speech in 1961 before the US Congress catalyzed the celebrated Apollo program, spurring the US Geological Survey's scientists to map the Moon. Over the next eleven years a team of twenty-two, including a dozen illustrator-cartographers, created forty-four charts that forever changed the path of space exploration.For the first time, each of those beautifully hand-drawn, colorful charts is presented together in one stunning book. In Lunar: A History of the Moon in Myths, Maps and Matter (U Chicago Press, 2024), National Air and Space Museum curator Matthew Shindell's expert commentary accompanies each chart, along with the key geological characteristics and interpretations that were set out in the original Geologic Atlas of the Moon. Interwoven throughout the book are contributions from scholars devoted to studying the multifaceted significance of the Moon to humankind around the world. Traveling from the Stone Age to the present day, they explore a wide range of topics: the prehistoric lunar calendar; the role of the Moon in creation myths of Ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome; the role of the Moon in astrology; the importance of the Moon in establishing an Earth-centered solar system; the association of the Moon with madness and the menstrual cycle; how the Moon governs the tides; and the use of the Moon in surrealist art.Combining a thoughtful retelling of the Moon's cultural associations throughout history with the beautifully illustrated and scientifically accurate charting of its surface, Lunar is a stunning celebration of the Moon in all its guises. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/popular-culture

The first book to combine exquisite cartographical charts of the Moon with a thorough exploration of the Moon's role in popular culture, science, and myth. President John F. Kennedy's rousing “We will go to the Moon” speech in 1961 before the US Congress catalyzed the celebrated Apollo program, spurring the US Geological Survey's scientists to map the Moon. Over the next eleven years a team of twenty-two, including a dozen illustrator-cartographers, created forty-four charts that forever changed the path of space exploration.For the first time, each of those beautifully hand-drawn, colorful charts is presented together in one stunning book. In Lunar: A History of the Moon in Myths, Maps and Matter (U Chicago Press, 2024), National Air and Space Museum curator Matthew Shindell's expert commentary accompanies each chart, along with the key geological characteristics and interpretations that were set out in the original Geologic Atlas of the Moon. Interwoven throughout the book are contributions from scholars devoted to studying the multifaceted significance of the Moon to humankind around the world. Traveling from the Stone Age to the present day, they explore a wide range of topics: the prehistoric lunar calendar; the role of the Moon in creation myths of Ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome; the role of the Moon in astrology; the importance of the Moon in establishing an Earth-centered solar system; the association of the Moon with madness and the menstrual cycle; how the Moon governs the tides; and the use of the Moon in surrealist art.Combining a thoughtful retelling of the Moon's cultural associations throughout history with the beautifully illustrated and scientifically accurate charting of its surface, Lunar is a stunning celebration of the Moon in all its guises. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/book-of-the-day

If you were curating a mixtape that might be heard by aliens billions of years from now, but definitely would be seen by your fellow Earthlings, what would you put on it? In 1977, two Voyager spacecraft launched from Cape Canaveral on a journey that would take them out to our outer solar system and beyond. Affixed to the side of these two planetary explorers was the Voyager Golden Record. This ultimate mixtape of humanity contained 27 pieces of music and also pictures, greetings in many languages, and the sounds of Earth. Nearly 50 years later, we're exploring what's on the record, how it got made, and its legacy with one of it's makers. Oh! and we brought in our friends from Sidedoor to help :)Thanks to our guests in this episode: Ann Druyan - Voyager Golden Record Creative Director Lawrence Azerrad - Co-founder of Macroscopic Find the transcript here.AirSpace is created by the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum with generous support from Lockheed Martin.

Bats are the only mammals that truly fly. And the way they do it is very different from other flying things. The way they fly has only recently been understood and there are still questions. Scientist and engineers are trying to use what they do know to create bat-inspired flying machines, but things like bats self-cambering stretching wings skin, skeleton muscles and tiny hair sensors are proving difficult to replicate. Thanks to our guests in this episode: Dr. Sharon Swartz-Brown University Dr. Nancy Simmons-American Museum of Natural History  Find the transcript here.AirSpace is created by the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum with generous support from Lockheed Martin.

There are a lot of different aircraft that fight wildfires, from Host Matt's favorite Sky Crane helicopter to giant cargo jets that dump tons of fire retardant. But today we're taking about a truly unique, purpose-built firefighting airplane: the Super Scooper. This plane skims the surface of a body of water, collects a shocking amount through tiny scoop ports, flies off, and dumps it on a wildfire. We talk to a pilot about what it's like to fly one.Thanks to our guest in this episode:Scott Blue, Pilot, Bridger AerospaceFind the transcript here.AirSpace is created by the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum with generous support from Lockheed Martin.

DOGE ON MARS. 4/4: For the Love of Mars: A Human History of the Red Planet  by  Matthew Shindell  (Author) https://www.amazon.com/Love-Mars-Human-History-Planet/dp/0226821897/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr= Mars and its secrets have fascinated and mystified humans since ancient times. Due to its vivid color and visibility, its geologic kinship with Earth, and its potential as our best hope for settlement, Mars embodies everything that inspires us about space and exploration. For the Love of Mars surveys the red planet's place in the human imagination, beginning with ancient astrologers and skywatchers and ending in our present moment of exploration and virtual engagement.   National Air and Space Museum curator Matthew Shindell describes how historical figures across eras and around the world have made sense of this mysterious planet. We meet Mayan astrologer priests who incorporated Mars into seasonal calendars and religious ceremonies; Babylonian astrologers who discerned bad omens; figures of the Scientific Revolution who struggled to comprehend it as a world; Victorian astronomers who sought signs of intelligent life; and twentieth- and twenty-first-century scientists who have established a technological presence on its surface. Along the way, we encounter writers and artists from each of these periods who take readers and viewers along on imagined journeys to Mars.   By focusing on the diverse human stories behind the telescopes and behind the robots we know and love, Shindell shows how Mars exploration has evolved in ways that have also expanded knowledge about other facets of the universe. Captained by an engaging and erudite expert, For the Love of Marsis a captivating voyage through time and space for anyone curious about Curiosity and the red planet. 1868 JULES VERNE

DOGE ON MARS. 1/4: For the Love of Mars: A Human History of the Red Planet  by  Matthew Shindell  (Author) https://www.amazon.com/Love-Mars-Human-History-Planet/dp/0226821897/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr= Mars and its secrets have fascinated and mystified humans since ancient times. Due to its vivid color and visibility, its geologic kinship with Earth, and its potential as our best hope for settlement, Mars embodies everything that inspires us about space and exploration. For the Love of Mars surveys the red planet's place in the human imagination, beginning with ancient astrologers and skywatchers and ending in our present moment of exploration and virtual engagement.   National Air and Space Museum curator Matthew Shindell describes how historical figures across eras and around the world have made sense of this mysterious planet. We meet Mayan astrologer priests who incorporated Mars into seasonal calendars and religious ceremonies; Babylonian astrologers who discerned bad omens; figures of the Scientific Revolution who struggled to comprehend it as a world; Victorian astronomers who sought signs of intelligent life; and twentieth- and twenty-first-century scientists who have established a technological presence on its surface. Along the way, we encounter writers and artists from each of these periods who take readers and viewers along on imagined journeys to Mars.   By focusing on the diverse human stories behind the telescopes and behind the robots we know and love, Shindell shows how Mars exploration has evolved in ways that have also expanded knowledge about other facets of the universe. Captained by an engaging and erudite expert, For the Love of Marsis a captivating voyage through time and space for anyone curious about Curiosity and the red planet.. 1958

DOGE ON MARS. 2/4: For the Love of Mars: A Human History of the Red Planet  by  Matthew Shindell  (Author) https://www.amazon.com/Love-Mars-Human-History-Planet/dp/0226821897/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr= Mars and its secrets have fascinated and mystified humans since ancient times. Due to its vivid color and visibility, its geologic kinship with Earth, and its potential as our best hope for settlement, Mars embodies everything that inspires us about space and exploration. For the Love of Mars surveys the red planet's place in the human imagination, beginning with ancient astrologers and skywatchers and ending in our present moment of exploration and virtual engagement.   National Air and Space Museum curator Matthew Shindell describes how historical figures across eras and around the world have made sense of this mysterious planet. We meet Mayan astrologer priests who incorporated Mars into seasonal calendars and religious ceremonies; Babylonian astrologers who discerned bad omens; figures of the Scientific Revolution who struggled to comprehend it as a world; Victorian astronomers who sought signs of intelligent life; and twentieth- and twenty-first-century scientists who have established a technological presence on its surface. Along the way, we encounter writers and artists from each of these periods who take readers and viewers along on imagined journeys to Mars.   By focusing on the diverse human stories behind the telescopes and behind the robots we know and love, Shindell shows how Mars exploration has evolved in ways that have also expanded knowledge about other facets of the universe. Captained by an engaging and erudite expert, For the Love of Marsis a captivating voyage through time and space for anyone curious about Curiosity and the red planet

DOGE ON MARS. 3/4: For the Love of Mars: A Human History of the Red Planet  by  Matthew Shindell  (Author) https://www.amazon.com/Love-Mars-Human-History-Planet/dp/0226821897/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr= Mars and its secrets have fascinated and mystified humans since ancient times. Due to its vivid color and visibility, its geologic kinship with Earth, and its potential as our best hope for settlement, Mars embodies everything that inspires us about space and exploration. For the Love of Mars surveys the red planet's place in the human imagination, beginning with ancient astrologers and skywatchers and ending in our present moment of exploration and virtual engagement.   National Air and Space Museum curator Matthew Shindell describes how historical figures across eras and around the world have made sense of this mysterious planet. We meet Mayan astrologer priests who incorporated Mars into seasonal calendars and religious ceremonies; Babylonian astrologers who discerned bad omens; figures of the Scientific Revolution who struggled to comprehend it as a world; Victorian astronomers who sought signs of intelligent life; and twentieth- and twenty-first-century scientists who have established a technological presence on its surface. Along the way, we encounter writers and artists from each of these periods who take readers and viewers along on imagined journeys to Mars.   By focusing on the diverse human stories behind the telescopes and behind the robots we know and love, Shindell shows how Mars exploration has evolved in ways that have also expanded knowledge about other facets of the universe. Captained by an engaging and erudite expert, For the Love of Marsis a captivating voyage through time and space for anyone curious about Curiosity and the red planet. 1958

In the latest episode of our “Positive Rate” podcast, Communications Committee Deputy Chair FO Melissa Monahan talks with CLT NATCA President Anthony Schifano and CLT NATCA Vice President Justin Garay about the service air traffic controllers provide as a vital part of the national aviation system. The NATCA officials give an overview of their union and detail the tools controllers use — including radar, radio, and surface detection — and characterize controllers as “the glue that holds the whole thing together.” They encourage pilots to ask ATC for clarification whenever necessary: “If you have a question, ask.” Each episode of “Positive Rate” features APA subject-matter experts working on the membership's behalf. The podcast is available through popular streaming services, including Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, and Spotify. You can search for “Positive Rate” or “Allied Pilots Association” on your platform of choice to subscribe and download. Your first opportunity to listen will be via AlliedPilots.org/Podcasts.

If you haven't listened already, go back and check out Part One. When you hear 'space race' you probably (correctly) think about the 1960s Soviet Union v. U.S. race to put an astronaut on the Moon. But a few hundred years before, the space race was all about Venus. About twice every century we here on Earth get to see Venus pass in the front of the Sun. Back the 18th and 19th centuries, this was a Big Deal. At the time, all astronomers wanted to be the first to use the transit of Venus to figure out the distance between the Earth and the Sun. In Part Two we're bringing you more adventures to observe the transit and talking about what the result (or lack of results) meant for astronomy.Thanks to our guests in this episode: Ted Rafferty, formerly of the United States Naval Observatory Dr. Samantha Thompson, Astronomy Curator - National Air and Space Museum Find the transcript here.AirSpace is created by the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum with generous support from Lockheed Martin.

Dr. Jennifer Levasseur, the Space Shuttle and International Space Station curator at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, joins us for a walkaround Space Shuttle Discovery in her home at the National Air and Space Museum Udvar-Hazy Center. Jennifer tells us all about caring for objects as big as a Space Shuttle and as personal as the watches the astronauts wore to space. Join us for an out of this world episode! (Yes, I went there)-----------------------------------------------------

A billion-dollar spacecraft, a daring deep-space mission, and one of humanity's biggest questions: Where did we come from? NASA's OSIRIS-REx set out to collect a pristine sample from asteroid Bennu, a cosmic time capsule that may hold clues to the origins of life in our solar system. But the journey was anything but easy.Guests:Erica Jawin, postdoctoral research geologist in the Center for Earth and Planetary Studies at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum and member of the OSIRIS-REx missionTim McCoy, curator of meteorites at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History and deputy mission sample scientist for the OSIRIS-REx missionMike Moreau, deputy project manager in the Space Science Mission Operations Project at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center 

When you hear 'space race' you probably (correctly) think about the 1960s Soviet Union v. U.S. race to put an astronaut on the Moon. But a few hundred years before, the space race was all about Venus. Twice every century or so we here on Earth get to see Venus pass in front of the Sun (with proper eye protection. Don't stare at the Sun, kids.) Back in the 18th and 19th centuries, this was a Big Deal. At the time, all astronomers wanted to be part of the effort to use the transit of Venus to figure out the distance between the Earth and the Sun. And to claim that astronomical victory for their respective empire. In Part One we're talking about the astronomical breakthroughs that made scientists and adventurers flock to the 1761 transit. Thanks to our guests in this episode:  Ted Rafferty, formerly of the United States Naval Observatory Dr. Samantha Thompson, Astronomy Curator-National Air and Space Museum Find the transcript here.Sign up here for the monthly AirSpace newsletterAirSpace is created by the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum with generous support from Lockheed Martin.

Here it is, our 100th Episode! And the first under the new name! In February, my daughter and I headed to the USA and visited several aviation museums to celebrate reaching our 100th episode. So went for the OG of museums for the 100th, the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum in Washington DC. While it is still undergoing the renovations, it was my first time back in nearly 35 years. Join us as we look around.-----------------------------------------------------

The oldest Earth rocks we have are 4.3 billion years old, and samples we've brought back from the Moon are even older. But what does that have to do with craters on Mars? When the Apollo missions brought back samples, those rocks let us confirm the age of parts of our lunar bestie for the first time. Now, scientific models use data from those samples to extrapolate the age of other geologic events in our Solar System. Thanks to our guest in this episode: Dr. Beau Bierhaus, Senior Research Scientist - Lockheed Martin*Sign up here for the monthly AirSpace newsletterFind the transcript here.Take our listener survey at s.si.edu/airspace2025Find the transcript here.AirSpace is created by the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum with generous support from Lockheed Martin*AirSpace is editorially independent from its sponsors

There was a time, before Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon, when some researchers believed women were better suited for space than men. In 1961, a group of female pilots—today known as the Mercury 13—quietly aced NASA's toughest astronaut tests, even outperforming the Mercury men in some areas. But with the space race heating up, their mission was grounded— but not by science. But what became of America's first female astronaut candidates?Guests: Margaret Weitekamp, chair of the space history department at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum, and author of Right Stuff, Wrong Sex: America's First Women in Space Program andSpace Craze: America's Enduring Fascination with Real and Imagined Spaceflight Emily Calandrelli, engineer, author, and TV show host of Emily's Wonderlab and Xploration Outer Space

Right now there are seven women on Mars... kind of. The women of Hypatia Mars started out as a small group of friends from Catalonia who wanted to work together tp advance space science and women in STEM. Today they're on their second analog mission at the Mars Desert Research Station in Utah, testing systems and equipment, doing multidisciplinary research, and continuously working to reach out to girls and young women about what their careers are like.Thanks to our guests in this episode:  Carla Conejo Gonzalez, Co-Founder of Hypatia Mars  Dr. Ariadna Ferrés, Commander of Hypatia II  Dr. Estel Blay, Scientist Hypatia II Sign up here for the monthly AirSpace newsletterTake our listener survey at s.si.edu/airspace2025Find the transcript here.AirSpace is created by the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum with generous support from Lockheed-Martin

We want to hear from you! Fill out our listener survey at s.si.edu/airspace2025All the military aircraft and some of the civilian ones in our collections have to be demilitarized before they go on display or into storage. This process, usually called demilling, means taking anything out that might leak, corrode, explode or give away military secrets.Thanks to our guest in this episode:Dr. Mike Hankins, Curator of Modern Military Aviation-National Air and Space MuseumFind the transcript here.Sign up here for the monthly AirSpace newsletterAirSpace is created by the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum with generous support from Lockheed-Martin.

SPACEX/BLUE ORIGIN DAILY REUSABLE TURNAROUND CAN DELIVER A SELF-SUSTAINED MARS COLONY.  3/4: For the Love of Mars: A Human History of the Red Planet by  Matthew Shindell  (Author) https://www.amazon.com/Love-Mars-Human-History-Planet/dp/0226821897/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr= Mars and its secrets have fascinated and mystified humans since ancient times. Due to its vivid color and visibility, its geologic kinship with Earth, and its potential as our best hope for settlement, Mars embodies everything that inspires us about space and exploration. For the Love of Mars surveys the red planet's place in the human imagination, beginning with ancient astrologers and skywatchers and ending in our present moment of exploration and virtual engagement.   National Air and Space Museum curator Matthew Shindell describes how historical figures across eras and around the world have made sense of this mysterious planet. We meet Mayan astrologer priests who incorporated Mars into seasonal calendars and religious ceremonies; Babylonian astrologers who discerned bad omens; figures of the Scientific Revolution who struggled to comprehend it as a world; Victorian astronomers who sought signs of intelligent life; and twentieth- and twenty-first-century scientists who have established a technological presence on its surface. Along the way, we encounter writers and artists from each of these periods who take readers and viewers along on imagined journeys to Mars.   By focusing on the diverse human stories behind the telescopes and behind the robots we know and love, Shindell shows how Mars exploration has evolved in ways that have also expanded knowledge about other facets of the universe. Captained by an engaging and erudite expert, For the Love of Marsis a captivating voyage through time and space for anyone curious about Curiosity and the red planet. 1886 JULES VERNE "ROBUR THE CONQUEROR"

SPACEX/BLUE ORIGIN DAILY REUSABLE TURNAROUND CAN DELIVER A SELF-SUSTAINED MARS COLONY.  4/4: For the Love of Mars: A Human History of the Red Planet by  Matthew Shindell  (Author) https://www.amazon.com/Love-Mars-Human-History-Planet/dp/0226821897/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr= Mars and its secrets have fascinated and mystified humans since ancient times. Due to its vivid color and visibility, its geologic kinship with Earth, and its potential as our best hope for settlement, Mars embodies everything that inspires us about space and exploration. For the Love of Mars surveys the red planet's place in the human imagination, beginning with ancient astrologers and skywatchers and ending in our present moment of exploration and virtual engagement.   National Air and Space Museum curator Matthew Shindell describes how historical figures across eras and around the world have made sense of this mysterious planet. We meet Mayan astrologer priests who incorporated Mars into seasonal calendars and religious ceremonies; Babylonian astrologers who discerned bad omens; figures of the Scientific Revolution who struggled to comprehend it as a world; Victorian astronomers who sought signs of intelligent life; and twentieth- and twenty-first-century scientists who have established a technological presence on its surface. Along the way, we encounter writers and artists from each of these periods who take readers and viewers along on imagined journeys to Mars.   By focusing on the diverse human stories behind the telescopes and behind the robots we know and love, Shindell shows how Mars exploration has evolved in ways that have also expanded knowledge about other facets of the universe. Captained by an engaging and erudite expert, For the Love of Marsis a captivating voyage through time and space for anyone curious about Curiosity and the red planet. 1886 JULES VERNE "ROBUR THE CONQUEROR"

SPACEX/BLUE ORIGIN DAILY REUSABLE TURNAROUND CAN DELIVER A SELF-SUSTAINED MARS COLONY.  1/4: For the Love of Mars: A Human History of the Red Planet by  Matthew Shindell  (Author) https://www.amazon.com/Love-Mars-Human-History-Planet/dp/0226821897/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr= Mars and its secrets have fascinated and mystified humans since ancient times. Due to its vivid color and visibility, its geologic kinship with Earth, and its potential as our best hope for settlement, Mars embodies everything that inspires us about space and exploration. For the Love of Mars surveys the red planet's place in the human imagination, beginning with ancient astrologers and skywatchers and ending in our present moment of exploration and virtual engagement.   National Air and Space Museum curator Matthew Shindell describes how historical figures across eras and around the world have made sense of this mysterious planet. We meet Mayan astrologer priests who incorporated Mars into seasonal calendars and religious ceremonies; Babylonian astrologers who discerned bad omens; figures of the Scientific Revolution who struggled to comprehend it as a world; Victorian astronomers who sought signs of intelligent life; and twentieth- and twenty-first-century scientists who have established a technological presence on its surface. Along the way, we encounter writers and artists from each of these periods who take readers and viewers along on imagined journeys to Mars.   By focusing on the diverse human stories behind the telescopes and behind the robots we know and love, Shindell shows how Mars exploration has evolved in ways that have also expanded knowledge about other facets of the universe. Captained by an engaging and erudite expert, For the Love of Marsis a captivating voyage through time and space for anyone curious about Curiosity and the red planet. 2006 MOLDOVA/GAGARIN

SPACEX/BLUE ORIGIN DAILY REUSABLE TURNAROUND CAN DELIVER A SELF-SUSTAINED MARS COLONY.  2/4: For the Love of Mars: A Human History of the Red Planet by  Matthew Shindell  (Author) https://www.amazon.com/Love-Mars-Human-History-Planet/dp/0226821897/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr= Mars and its secrets have fascinated and mystified humans since ancient times. Due to its vivid color and visibility, its geologic kinship with Earth, and its potential as our best hope for settlement, Mars embodies everything that inspires us about space and exploration. For the Love of Mars surveys the red planet's place in the human imagination, beginning with ancient astrologers and skywatchers and ending in our present moment of exploration and virtual engagement.   National Air and Space Museum curator Matthew Shindell describes how historical figures across eras and around the world have made sense of this mysterious planet. We meet Mayan astrologer priests who incorporated Mars into seasonal calendars and religious ceremonies; Babylonian astrologers who discerned bad omens; figures of the Scientific Revolution who struggled to comprehend it as a world; Victorian astronomers who sought signs of intelligent life; and twentieth- and twenty-first-century scientists who have established a technological presence on its surface. Along the way, we encounter writers and artists from each of these periods who take readers and viewers along on imagined journeys to Mars.   By focusing on the diverse human stories behind the telescopes and behind the robots we know and love, Shindell shows how Mars exploration has evolved in ways that have also expanded knowledge about other facets of the universe. Captained by an engaging and erudite expert, For the Love of Marsis a captivating voyage through time and space for anyone curious about Curiosity and the red planet. 1886 JULES VERNE "ROBUR THE CONQUEROR"

We want to hear from you! Fill out our listener survey at s.si.edu/airspace2025Our museum collection, like a lot of other museums' collections, can be a working collection. That means that scientist come to do air or space research using objects in the museum. Sometimes it's as simple as an engineer coming after hours to look a little closer at a plane or spacecraft so they can better understand how it works. And other times researchers leave seismometers on the Viking Lander for several weeks. Thanks to our guests in this episode:  Dr. Malcolm Collum, Head Conservator-National Air and Space Museum  Dr. Ben Fernando, Post-Doctoral Researcher-Johns Hopkins University  Dr. Kevin Lewis, Vice Chair and Professor in Earth and Planetary Science-Johns Hopkins University  Dr. Andy Lazarewicz, Formerly of the Viking Seismology Team Additional thanks to Lisa Young and Becca Hiatt of the National Air and Space Museum's Collections Processing UnitFind the transcript hereSign up here for the monthly AirSpace newsletterAirSpace is created by the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum with generous support from Lockheed-Martin

Just in time for the 121st anniversary on Tuesday, I bring to you the story of two brothers from Ohio, Wilbur and Orville Wright, who changed the world forever with their groundbreaking first flight on December 17th, 1903. Though it lasted just 12 seconds, it marks the first powered, sustained, and controlled airplane flight, something humans had tried and failed to do for centuries. Join special guest Adonis A. Osekre and me as we delve into the story of the Wright brothers to uncover just how remarkable their achievement really was. Purchase "Windswept Dreams: The Wright Brothers' Legacy from Kitty Hawk's Dunes and Beyond" by Adonis A. OsekreCheck out askadonis.comSupport the show! Join the Patreon (patreon.com/historyfixpodcast)Buy some merchBuy Me a CoffeeVenmo @Shea-LaFountaineSources: "Remarkable Women of the Outer Banks" by Hannah Bunn West"Windswept Dreams: The Wright Brothers' Legacy from Kitty Hawk's Dunes and Beyond" by Adonis A. OsekreEncyclopedia Britannica "Wright Brothers"National Air and Space Museum "Meet the Wright Family"National Air and Space Museum "Who Were the Wright Brothers?"National Air and Space Museum "Before the Wrights Were Aviators"National Air and Space Museum "Researching the Wright Way"National Air and Space Museum "You Just Invented the Airplane, Now What?"National Air and Space Museum "Katherine Wright: the Wright Sister"Shoot me a message!

By the 1970s, World War II had all but disappeared from US popular culture. But beginning in the mid-eighties it reemerged with a vengeance, and for nearly fifteen years World War II was ubiquitous across US popular and political culture. In Reinventing World War II: Popular Memory in the Rise of the Ethnonationalist State (Penn State University Press, 2024), Dr. Barbara A. Biesecker explores the prestige and rhetorical power of the “Good War,” revealing how it was retooled to restore a new kind of social equilibrium to the United States. Biesecker analyzes prominent cases of World War II remembrance, including the canceled exhibit of the Enola Gay at the National Air and Space Museum in 1995 and its replacement, Steven Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan, Tom Brokaw's The Greatest Generation, and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Situating these popular memory texts within the culture and history wars of the day and the broader framework of US political and economic life, Dr. Biesecker argues that, with the notable exception of the Holocaust Memorial Museum, these reinventions of the Good War worked rhetorically to restore a strong sense of national identity and belonging fitted to the neoliberal nationalist agenda. By tracing the links between the popular retooling of World War II and the national state fantasy, and by putting the lessons of Foucault, Derrida, Lacan, and their successors to work for a rhetorical-political analysis of the present, Dr. Biesecker not only explains the emergence and strength of the MAGA movement but also calls attention to the power of public memory to shape and contest ethnonational identity today. This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose new book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

By the 1970s, World War II had all but disappeared from US popular culture. But beginning in the mid-eighties it reemerged with a vengeance, and for nearly fifteen years World War II was ubiquitous across US popular and political culture. In Reinventing World War II: Popular Memory in the Rise of the Ethnonationalist State (Penn State University Press, 2024), Dr. Barbara A. Biesecker explores the prestige and rhetorical power of the “Good War,” revealing how it was retooled to restore a new kind of social equilibrium to the United States. Biesecker analyzes prominent cases of World War II remembrance, including the canceled exhibit of the Enola Gay at the National Air and Space Museum in 1995 and its replacement, Steven Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan, Tom Brokaw's The Greatest Generation, and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Situating these popular memory texts within the culture and history wars of the day and the broader framework of US political and economic life, Dr. Biesecker argues that, with the notable exception of the Holocaust Memorial Museum, these reinventions of the Good War worked rhetorically to restore a strong sense of national identity and belonging fitted to the neoliberal nationalist agenda. By tracing the links between the popular retooling of World War II and the national state fantasy, and by putting the lessons of Foucault, Derrida, Lacan, and their successors to work for a rhetorical-political analysis of the present, Dr. Biesecker not only explains the emergence and strength of the MAGA movement but also calls attention to the power of public memory to shape and contest ethnonational identity today. This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose new book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/history

By the 1970s, World War II had all but disappeared from US popular culture. But beginning in the mid-eighties it reemerged with a vengeance, and for nearly fifteen years World War II was ubiquitous across US popular and political culture. In Reinventing World War II: Popular Memory in the Rise of the Ethnonationalist State (Penn State University Press, 2024), Dr. Barbara A. Biesecker explores the prestige and rhetorical power of the “Good War,” revealing how it was retooled to restore a new kind of social equilibrium to the United States. Biesecker analyzes prominent cases of World War II remembrance, including the canceled exhibit of the Enola Gay at the National Air and Space Museum in 1995 and its replacement, Steven Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan, Tom Brokaw's The Greatest Generation, and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Situating these popular memory texts within the culture and history wars of the day and the broader framework of US political and economic life, Dr. Biesecker argues that, with the notable exception of the Holocaust Memorial Museum, these reinventions of the Good War worked rhetorically to restore a strong sense of national identity and belonging fitted to the neoliberal nationalist agenda. By tracing the links between the popular retooling of World War II and the national state fantasy, and by putting the lessons of Foucault, Derrida, Lacan, and their successors to work for a rhetorical-political analysis of the present, Dr. Biesecker not only explains the emergence and strength of the MAGA movement but also calls attention to the power of public memory to shape and contest ethnonational identity today. This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose new book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/military-history

Host | Matthew S WilliamsOn ITSPmagazine  

The International Space Station will be decommissioned in 2030 and crash down into the Pacific Ocean, ending more than three decades of international cooperation. Launched in the wake of the Cold War, the ISS is seen as a triumph of global diplomacy between the US, Russia and other nations. Its demise will mark the end of an era.Nasa has awarded contracts to commercial companies to develop potential successors to the ISS, and maintain a U.S. presence in low earth orbit. Meanwhile Russia and India have said they plan to launch their own individual stations, and China has already got its own space station, Tiangong. As the era of the International Space Station nears its end, this week on The Inquiry, we're asking ‘What happens after the International Space Station?' Presenter: Tanya Beckett Producer: Matt Toulson Researcher: Kirsteen Knight Editor: Tara McDermott Technical Operator: Ben HoughtonContributors: Jennifer Levasseur, Museum Curator at the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum, Washington D.C., USMark McCaughrean, former Senior Advisor for Science & Exploration at the European Space Agency and astronomer at the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, Heidelberg, GermanyMai'a Cross, Professor of political science at Northeastern University, and director for the Center for International Affairs and World Cultures, Massachusetts, USWendy Whitman Cobb, Professor of strategy and security studies at the School of Advanced Air and Space Studies, Alabama, USCREDIT: State of the Union address, 1984; Courtesy Ronald Reagan Presidential Library

MARS COLONY AND A TOWN NAMED FORTITUDE:   2/4: For the Love of Mars: A Human History of the Red Planet Hardcover – May 18, 2023 by  Matthew Shindell  (Author) https://www.amazon.com/Love-Mars-Human-History-Planet/dp/0226821897/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr= Mars and its secrets have fascinated and mystified humans since ancient times. Due to its vivid color and visibility, its geologic kinship with Earth, and its potential as our best hope for settlement, Mars embodies everything that inspires us about space and exploration. For the Love of Mars surveys the red planet's place in the human imagination, beginning with ancient astrologers and skywatchers and ending in our present moment of exploration and virtual engagement.   National Air and Space Museum curator Matthew Shindell describes how historical figures across eras and around the world have made sense of this mysterious planet. We meet Mayan astrologer priests who incorporated Mars into seasonal calendars and religious ceremonies; Babylonian astrologers who discerned bad omens; figures of the Scientific Revolution who struggled to comprehend it as a world; Victorian astronomers who sought signs of intelligent life; and twentieth- and twenty-first-century scientists who have established a technological presence on its surface. Along the way, we encounter writers and artists from each of these periods who take readers and viewers along on imagined journeys to Mars. 1960

MARS COLONY AND A TOWN NAMED FORTITUDE:   3/4: For the Love of Mars: A Human History of the Red Planet Hardcover – May 18, 2023 by  Matthew Shindell  (Author) https://www.amazon.com/Love-Mars-Human-History-Planet/dp/0226821897/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr= Mars and its secrets have fascinated and mystified humans since ancient times. Due to its vivid color and visibility, its geologic kinship with Earth, and its potential as our best hope for settlement, Mars embodies everything that inspires us about space and exploration. For the Love of Mars surveys the red planet's place in the human imagination, beginning with ancient astrologers and skywatchers and ending in our present moment of exploration and virtual engagement.   National Air and Space Museum curator Matthew Shindell describes how historical figures across eras and around the world have made sense of this mysterious planet. We meet Mayan astrologer priests who incorporated Mars into seasonal calendars and religious ceremonies; Babylonian astrologers who discerned bad omens; figures of the Scientific Revolution who struggled to comprehend it as a world; Victorian astronomers who sought signs of intelligent life; and twentieth- and twenty-first-century scientists who have established a technological presence on its surface. Along the way, we encounter writers and artists from each of these periods who take readers and viewers along on imagined journeys to Mars. 1951

MARS COLONY AND A TOWN NAMED FORTITUDE:   1/4: For the Love of Mars: A Human History of the Red Planet Hardcover – May 18, 2023 by  Matthew Shindell  (Author) https://www.amazon.com/Love-Mars-Human-History-Planet/dp/0226821897/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr= Mars and its secrets have fascinated and mystified humans since ancient times. Due to its vivid color and visibility, its geologic kinship with Earth, and its potential as our best hope for settlement, Mars embodies everything that inspires us about space and exploration. For the Love of Mars surveys the red planet's place in the human imagination, beginning with ancient astrologers and skywatchers and ending in our present moment of exploration and virtual engagement.   National Air and Space Museum curator Matthew Shindell describes how historical figures across eras and around the world have made sense of this mysterious planet. We meet Mayan astrologer priests who incorporated Mars into seasonal calendars and religious ceremonies; Babylonian astrologers who discerned bad omens; figures of the Scientific Revolution who struggled to comprehend it as a world; Victorian astronomers who sought signs of intelligent life; and twentieth- and twenty-first-century scientists who have established a technological presence on its surface. Along the way, we encounter writers and artists from each of these periods who take readers and viewers along on imagined journeys to Mars. 1955

MARS COLONY AND A TOWN NAMED FORTITUDE:  4 /4: For the Love of Mars: A Human History of the Red Planet Hardcover – May 18, 2023 by  Matthew Shindell  (Author) https://www.amazon.com/Love-Mars-Human-History-Planet/dp/0226821897/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr= Mars and its secrets have fascinated and mystified humans since ancient times. Due to its vivid color and visibility, its geologic kinship with Earth, and its potential as our best hope for settlement, Mars embodies everything that inspires us about space and exploration. For the Love of Mars surveys the red planet's place in the human imagination, beginning with ancient astrologers and skywatchers and ending in our present moment of exploration and virtual engagement.   National Air and Space Museum curator Matthew Shindell describes how historical figures across eras and around the world have made sense of this mysterious planet. We meet Mayan astrologer priests who incorporated Mars into seasonal calendars and religious ceremonies; Babylonian astrologers who discerned bad omens; figures of the Scientific Revolution who struggled to comprehend it as a world; Victorian astronomers who sought signs of intelligent life; and twentieth- and twenty-first-century scientists who have established a technological presence on its surface. Along the way, we encounter writers and artists from each of these periods who take readers and viewers along on imagined journeys to Mars. 1950