This Week in Space (Audio)

Since at least the 1940s, UFOs and alien encounters have been a part of popular culture, and with tens of millions of true believers across the globe, these are powerful ideas with staying power. What makes these stories so appealing? Do alien visitations even make sense? If so, why are they so interested in us? Dale Skran, Chief Operating Officer of the National Space Society, joins us to apply Occam's Razor to these and other questions about what's out there.

Hosts: Rod Pyle and Tariq Malik

Guest: Dale Skran

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When the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11 rolled around, we were awash in documentaries, books, and more. One of the best documentaries was National Geographic's "Apollo: Missions to the Moon," produced by Tom Jennings. Join Rod Pyle and Tariq Malik for a conversation with the Peabody and Emmy Award-winning producer about the challenges of finding truly unique, unseen materials to make a must-see documentary!

Image credit: NASA

Hosts: Rod Pyle and Tariq Malik

Guest: Tom Jennings

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Dr. Greg Autry, Clinical Professor and Director of the Thunderbird Initiative for Space Leadership, Policy, and Business at ASU's Thunderbird School of Global Management, joins Rod Pyle and Tariq Malik to explore the world of space entrepreneurs, and how YOU can become one!

Hosts: Rod Pyle and Tariq Malik

Guest: Dr. Greg Autry

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Randii Wessen's title at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory--A-Team Lead Study Architect--may not sound sexy, but he leads a team of engineers and scientists that get to dream up where we send the next generation of robots in space and what they will do there. It's a fascinating, blue-sky job, and more fun than a guy oughta have. Listen to learn how NASA plans the future of deep space exploration!

Host: Rod Pyle

Guest: Randii Wessen

Download or subscribe to this show at https://twit.tv/shows/this-week-in-space.

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Sponsors:

• bitwarden.com/twit
• GO.ACILEARNING.COM/TWIT

Daniel Suarez has been a fixture on the New York Times Bestseller's list for a reason, and his latest book, "Critical Mass," will be no exception. It's a fast-paced adventure set in cislunar space to build out a newspace economy and rescue astronauts stranded at a distant asteroid, filled with drama and intrigue. It's also one of the most plausible looks at the future of spaceflight, complete with entrepreneurial space billionaires and cantankerous, mistrustful governments. In short, Suarez has looked into a newspace crystal ball and unveiled a likely future for the development of space--and made it entertaining as hell.

Get "Critical Mass": https://amzn.to/3Yjb9xu

Hosts: Rod Pyle and Tariq Malik

Guest: Daniel Suarez

Download or subscribe to this show at https://twit.tv/shows/this-week-in-space.

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Of course, you all know Tariq and Rod could rave about the best space books ever, but TWiT's own Jason Snell of SixColors.com just had to chime in, and what a group rant we had! The best of space nonfiction and fiction is coming your way.

Hosts: Rod Pyle and Tariq Malik

Guest: Jason Snell

Download or subscribe to this show at https://twit.tv/shows/this-week-in-space.

Get episodes ad-free with Club TWiT at https://twit.tv/clubtwit

Sponsors:

• bitwarden.com/twit
• GO.ACILEARNING.COM/TWIT

Don't look now, but the possibly spookiest thing you've seen yet in the sky is hovering overhead, comet C/2022/E3 (ZTF), otherwise known as the creepy green comet. Planetarium Director, astronomer, and space author Steve Fentress joins us to discuss the comet and other notable points of skywatching interest coming in 2023!

Image credit: Michael Jäger

Hosts: Rod Pyle and Tariq Malik

Guest: Steve Fentress

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When Walt Disney wanted to build a vision of the future for Disneyland's Tomorrowland in the 1950s, he turned to Wernher von Braun, former Nazi rocketeer turned US citizen and missile chief, to help design it. Along the way, the two men co-created a series of visionary shows about spaceflight for Disney's weekly TV show. Boeing engineer and space history expert John Rose joins us to discuss this unique and unlikely collaboration and how its effects resonate to this day.

Image credit: NASA

Hosts: Rod Pyle and Tariq Malik

Guest: John Rose

Download or subscribe to this show at https://twit.tv/shows/this-week-in-space.

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Sponsor:

• GO.ACILEARNING.COM/TWIT

2022 was a record year for spaceflight, and 2023 will be even more amazing! We gained a new moon rocket, set spaceflight endurance records, set a record-breaking launch pace, and diverted an asteroid. We also lost a Mars lander and possibly a Soyuz capsule... but overall, the new space age is shaping up nicely. And 2023 will blow us out of the water! Join Rod and Tariq for a fast-paced look at 2022 and 2023 in space, and don't miss Tariq's "lightning round" for next year!

Image credit: NASA

Hosts: Rod Pyle and Tariq Malik

Download or subscribe to this show at https://twit.tv/shows/this-week-in-space.

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The holiday season is always special, but few were more special than Christmas Eve, 1968, when Apollo 8 orbited the moon, with the astronauts reading from the Book of Genesis. Apollo Flight Director Gerald D. "Gerry" Griffin joins us to recall that very special time, and we chat with retired Air Force Colonel Karlton Johnson about NORAD's tracking of Santa.

Image credit: NASA

Hosts: Rod Pyle and Tariq Malik

Guests: Gerald D. Griffin and Karlton Johnson

Download or subscribe to this show at https://twit.tv/shows/this-week-in-space.

Get episodes ad-free with Club TWiT at https://twit.tv/clubtwit