Episodes

  • Introducing Moonrise

    Introducing Moonrise
    Jul 18 2019

    You’ve heard about how we landed on the moon, now find out why we went there. Host Lillian Cunningham introduces a new Washington Post podcast that will explore the real story behind the moonshot — a wild tale of nuclear brinkmanship, backroom politics and sci-fi influence ... Coming summer 2019.

    We’ll be doing an exclusive preview of “Moonrise” at Chicago’s Adler Planetarium on Thursday, July 18, during Adler After Dark. Come listen to the first episode under the dome with us in a unique listening experience set against the stars. Then stick around for a conversation with Lillian Cunningham and an exciting panel of space experts. Click here to get tickets and find more information.
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    4 mins
  • The Tale of the Blue Light

    The Tale of the Blue Light
    Jul 19 2019
    A man who meets himself on the moon. A blue orb that bursts into flames. The quest to explain the unexplained. In the first chapter of "Moonrise," the journey to space begins.
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    20 mins
  • Visionaries of the Void

    Visionaries of the Void
    Jul 30 2019
    A tiny New York office fills with big ideas. A group of sci-fi writers bring space travel into popular culture. American rocketry begins to take flight. On this episode of Moonrise, the dream of the moon starts to become reality.
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    37 mins
  • The Shapeshifter

    The Shapeshifter
    Aug 6 2019
    A German rocket scientist with a secret mission and dark past. A science fiction editor under the watch of the FBI. In the third chapter of Moonrise, weapons of war lay the groundwork for space travel.
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    42 mins
  • Inside the Gulag

    Inside the Gulag
    Aug 13 2019
    A Russian rocket dreamer is sent to a Siberian prison. And the road to redemption stretches more than 5,000 miles. On this episode of "Moonrise," a look at the maestro behind the Soviet space effort.
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    39 mins
  • The Bomb and the Saucer

    The Bomb and the Saucer
    Aug 20 2019
    Nuclear fears haunt the American psyche. Fascination with aliens is on the rise. And the U.S. government begins secret rocket experiments. In the fifth installment of "Moonrise," the best and worst of science fiction's predictions start to spring to life.
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    39 mins
  • SPUTNIK!

    SPUTNIK!
    Aug 27 2019
    A top-secret memo in the Eisenhower administration. A plan to make space the new military high ground. And a Soviet beep heard from above. In the sixth chapter of “Moonrise,” humans launch the very first object into orbit.
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    41 mins
  • Nightmare on the Hill

    Nightmare on the Hill
    Sep 17 2019
    Congress investigates the Sputnik launch. Lyndon Johnson seizes the spotlight. And President Eisenhower gets backed into a corner. In the seventh chapter of “Moonrise,” space gets political.
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    49 mins