This week, SpaceX overcame a huge hurdle for commercial space flight--by landing a reusable rocket less than an hour after launching it into space. But technical barriers are one thing; how will a blossoming space tourism industry deal with the physical and psychological issues presented by space flight?
Plus from birth dates as ATM pins to pet names as security questions; a look at the surprisingly deep stories behind our digital passwords.
And a preview of our new podcast - The Ten-Minute Writers Workshop. Bestselling author Alexander McCall Smith talks about the worst distraction and best advice for aspiring writers.
Listen to the full show.
The Mental Effects of Space Travel
Sydney Brownstone is a staff writer at Fast Company’s Co-Exist, where she wrote about the often-ignored mental side of space travel. You can read her article here: "The Break-Off Effect."
Clever Apes: Curveballs From Space
When it comes to space, the public tends to steer towards the big questions - is there alien life out there? When are we going to Mars? But the world of astronomy is full of curveballs, important questions and insights that we, the public, don't realize are such a big deal. Gabe Spitzer is host of WBEZ's "Clever Apes". in this story, he learns about some of those big curveballs, and shares them with us.
You can listen to this story again at PRX.org.
Passwords as Keepsakes
Ian Urbina is an investigative reporter for the New York Times - his article for the New York Times Magazine, called “The Secret Life of Passwords”, is an intimate portrait of our human need to attach meaning to even the most meaningless aspects of our lives.
10-Minutes Writer's Workshop: Alexander McCall Smith
In November, the author of The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series, sat down with us at the Music Hall in Portsmouth to talk about his writing process.
You can read more and listen to his advice again here.
