Month: December 2022

It is fifty years since the last manned-flight to the moon. While the Apollo missions have long been superseded by explorations further afield, the science journalist Oliver Morton insists the moon landings remain strong in our cultural imagination. In his 2019 book, The Moon, he explained how a spherical piece of rock had captured the world’s attention, but then been largely ignored. He tells Tom Sutcliffe how scientists and politicians are now once again turning their focus to our nearest neighbour.

Throughout history the moon has inspired artists, poets, scientists, writers and musicians the world over. The artist Luke Jerram has created an extraordinary replica of the Moon measuring seven metres in diameter, fusing NASA imagery of the lunar surface, moonlight, and sound composition. The Museum of the Moon has been exhibited hundreds of times – both indoors and outdoors – across the world, and Jerram explains how each installation has stimulated different events.

While NASA’s Artemis mission explores sending astronauts back to the Moon as a stepping stone to human exploration to Mars, and celebrity billionaires sell visions of private space travel, Mary-Jane Rubenstein sounds a warning. In Astrotopia: The Dangerous Religion of the Corporate Space Race she sees comparisons with the destructive effects of the centuries-long history of European colonialism. As problems multiply on Earth she dismisses the offer by wealthy messiahs of an other-worldly salvation for a chosen few.

Producer: Katy Hickman

Image: Museum of the Moon by Luke Jerram, Cork Midsummer Festival, UK, 2017

New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof spent more than a week in Ukraine touring towns recently abandoned by Russian forces and speaking with Ukrainians consumed with grief and trauma. He saw torture chambers, interviewed women who were beaten and raped by Russian soldiers, and learned of Ukrainian kids trafficked to Russia to be put up for adoption. Nick tells Andy that these crimes against humanity should remind us of the stakes as the war continues, and offers ways to help this holiday season.

Keep up with Andy on Post and Twitter @ASlavitt.

Follow Nicholas Kristof on Twitter @NickKristof.

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Check out these resources from today’s episode: 

• Read about Nick’s trip to Ukraine: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/16/opinion/ukraine-russia-war.html
• See the faces impacted by Russia’s trafficking of Ukrainian children: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/23/opinion/russia-ukraine-children.html
• Learn about the three charities Nick recommends giving to this holiday season: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/26/opinion/charity-holiday-gift-one-acre-fund.html
• Find vaccines, masks, testing, treatments, and other resources in your community: https://www.covid.gov/
• Order Andy’s book, “Preventable: The Inside Story of How Leadership Failures, Politics, and Selfishness Doomed the U.S. Coronavirus Response”: https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250770165 

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For additional resources, information, and a transcript of the episode, visit lemonadamedia.com/show/inthebubble.

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