As mainstream space tourism grows ever more likely, New Yorker writer Nicholas Schmidle tells Niki Seth-Smith about life inside the new space race, as explored in his new book 'Test Gods'.  What motivates men like Bezos, Branson and Musk? How does the approach to risk in private business compare with that at NASA? And should we be looking to space at all, with so much unresolved here on planet earth? Plus, Nicholas reflects on fatherhood and masculinity, including the life of his father: a fighter pilot and Top Gun grad.

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**Recorded in August 2021**

Further reading:

'Test Gods: Tragedy and Triumph in the New Space Race' (2021), Nicholas Schmidle

'The Right Stuff' (1979), Tom Wolfe

'In Praise of Astronauts' (2013) Paul Sims for New Humanist magazine