Segment from Starry-Eyed

Discovery of Pluto

Brian talks to novelist Michael Byers about the very down-to-earth tale of American ambition that raised Pluto to the heights of planetary status, and inspired his novel Percival’s Planet.

Music:

Siesta by Jahzzar

00:00:00 / 00:00:00

The Great Dark Day

Brian, Ed and Joanne tell the tale of a Massachusetts day in 1780 when the sun didn’t seem to rise, and how contemporary science struggled to explain it.

Music:

Improv2 by Jahzzar
Prism Tone by Podington Bear
epoh by Ketsa

00:04:46

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs

A woman in late 19th Century Kentucky sees meat falling from the skies, prompting scientific inquiry and popular ridicule. Former BackStory producer Jess Engebretson brings us the story.

Music:

Jardins du Luxembourg by Jahzzar
The Mountain by Podington Bear
Blossoming by Podington Bear
Little Dipper by Podington Bear

00:08:29

Discovery of Pluto

Brian talks to novelist Michael Byers about the very down-to-earth tale of American ambition that raised Pluto to the heights of planetary status, and inspired his novel Percival’s Planet.

Music:

Siesta by Jahzzar

00:12:29

Fly Me to the Moon

In the mid-1960s, Pan-Am Airlines offered its customers the deal of the century – a chance to be on the first flight to the moon. Ed and Brian talk with two lucky listeners who signed up…and who are still waiting.

Music:

Pigalle by Jahzzar

00:06:14

Earthrise: Man’s New Dawn

Historian Robert Poole talks with Brian about the first picture of the earth from space. It was taken in 1968 by the Apollo 8 astronauts. The image of “earthrise” ushered in a profound shift in human perspective.

Music:

Backstairs by Podington Bear

00:05:50

Earthrise: Behind the Lens

Brian talks with Major General William Anders, the astronaut on the Apollo 8 mission who turned his camera on the “earthrise,” and learns first-hand what it’s like to see the earth as a whole.

00:11:27