TV Party Tonight: The Right Stuff (2020)

Mark Radulich

Flux : Radulich in Broadcasting

The Right Stuff

wnycdigital@gmail.com (WNYC Studios)

Flux : Radiolab

Sincethebeginningofthespaceprogram,we’veexpectedastronautstobefully-abledathleticoverachievers—one-partsciencegeeks,two-parttriathletes—amixthewriterTomWolfecalled“therightstuff.” Butwhatif,thiswholetime,we’vehaditwrong? Inthisepisodefrom2022,reporterAndrewLelandjoinsblindLinguisticsProfessorSheriWells-Jensenandacrewof11otherdisabledpeople.Theyembarkonamissiontoprovenotjustthattheyhavewhatittakestogotospace,butthatdisabilitygivesthemanedge.OnMissionAstroAccess,thecrewmembershoponanairplanetotakeazero-gravityflight—thesameNASAusestotrainastronauts.Withthem,welearnthatthechallengestomakingspaceaccessiblemaynotbetheoneswethought.AndAndrew,whoislegallyblind,confrontsunexpectedconclusionsofhisown. Bytheway,Andrew’snewbookisout.InTheCountryoftheBlind:AMemoirattheEndofSight (https://zpr.io/nLZ8H),Andrewrecountshistransitionfromsightedtoblind.Suspendedbetweenanxietyandanticipation,healsobeginstoexplorethemanyfacetsofblindnessasaculture.It’swellwortharead.  ReadthearticlebySheriWells-Jensen,publishedinTheScientificAmericanin2018.“TheCaseforDisabledAstronaut”(https://zpr.io/nLZ8H).  ThisepisodewasreportedbyAndrewLelandandproducedbyMaríaPazGutiérrez,MattKieltyandPatWalters.JeremyBloomcontributedmusicandsounddesign.ProductionsoundrecordingbyDanMcCoy.SpecialthankstoWilliamPomerantz,SheynaGifford,JimVanderploeg,TimBailey,andBillBarry OurnewslettercomesouteveryWednesday.Itincludesshortessays,recommendations,anddetailsaboutotherwaystointeractwiththeshow.Signup(https://radiolab.org/newsletter)! Radiolabissupportedbylistenerslikeyou.SupportRadiolabbybecomingamemberofTheLab(https://members.radiolab.org/)today.   FollowourshowonInstagram,TwitterandFacebook@radiolab,andshareyourthoughtswithusbyemailingradiolab@wnyc.orgLeadershipsupportforRadiolab’sscienceprogrammingisprovidedbytheGordonandBettyMooreFoundation,ScienceSandbox,aSimonsFoundationInitiative,andtheJohnTempletonFoundation.FoundationalsupportforRadiolabwasprovidedbytheAlfredP.SloanFoundation.

The Right Stuff

wnycdigital@gmail.com (WNYC Studios)

Flux : Radiolab

Sincethebeginningofthespaceprogram,we’vealwaysexpectedastronautstobefullyabledathleticoverachieverswhoareone-partscience-geek,two-partstriathlete–amixthewriterTomWolfefamouslycalled“therightstuff.” Butwhatif,thiswholetime,we’vehaditallwrong? Inthisepisode,reporterAndrewLelandjoinsablindlinguisticsprofessornamedSheriWells-Jensenandacrewofelevenotherdisabledpeopleonamissiontoprovethatdisabledpeoplehavewhatittakestogotospace.Andnotonlythat,butthattheymayhaveanedgeovernon-disabledpeople.WefollowtheMissionAstroAccesscrewmemberstoLongBeach,California,wheretheyhoponanairplanetotakeanelectrifyingflightthatsimulateszero-gravity–amethodusedbyNASAtotrainastronauts–andafterwardslearnthatthebiggestchallengestoafuturewherespaceisaccessibletoallpeoplemaynotbewheretheyexpectedtofindthem.AndourreporterAndrew,whoislegallyblindhimself,confrontssomeunexpectedconclusionsofhisown.ThisepisodewasreportedbyAndrewLelandandproducedbyMariaPazGutierrez,MattKieltyandPatWalters.JeremyBloomcontributedmusicandsounddesign.ProductionsoundrecordingbyDanMcCoy.SpecialthankstoWilliamPomerantz,SheynaGifford,JimVanderploeg,TimBailey,and BillBarry SupportRadiolabbybecomingamemberof TheLab today.     RadiolabisonYouTube! Catchupwithnewepisodesandhearclassicsfromourarchive.Plus,findothercoolthingswedidinthepast—likeminiseries,musicvideos,shortfilmsandanimations,behind-the-scenesfeatures,Radiolabliveshows,andmore.Takealook,exploreandsubscribe! DOWNLOADBRAILLEREADYFILEHERE (https://zpr.io/vWtJYGLn6UXm)   Citationsinthisepisode Multimedia:SheriWells-Jensen’s SETIInstitutepresentationLearnmoreaboutMissionAstroAccessOtherworkbyAndrewLeland Articles:SheriWells-Jensen’s,“TheCaseforDisabledAstronauts,” ScientificAmerican