In 1962, the US is scrambling to catch up with the USSR in the Space Race and it's finally time for an American to orbit the Earth. John Glenn is the perfectly stoic character for the job, and what follows is an action packed journey into outer space, full of close calls and national propaganda. But what's it really like to be an astronaut? What's the NASA campus like? What happened to him afterwards? And how did he end of back in space at 77? Host of 13 Minutes to the Moon and ex-NASA employee, Dr Kevin Fong, joins us to talk through it all. A huge thank you to listener Mark Kelsall for convincing Kevin to come on!

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In 1962, a riot broke out in the University of Mississippi after African American student, James Meredith is enrolled. It essentially becomes the last stand of the Civil War, with people turning up with old Civil War muskets to defend the favoured institution of Southern elites. It would help transform the kinds of opportunities available to black people in the South, but how were they able to avoid de-segregation for 8 years about Brown v Board of Education? And how did James Meredith end up campaigning for KKK klansman, David Duke? Charles K Ross, professor of History and African American Studies at the University of Mississippi is here to talk us through it all.

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YEAH YEAH YEAH, we’ve been waiting 88 episode for this and it’s finally here!! In the 60s, The Beatles’ rise to fame would change the landscape of pop music and fandom forever. People were so excited to watch them, they’d urinate and scream so loud you’d struggle to hear the music. No one had ever seen fan culture or heard music like it. So it’s no surprise that we’re absolutely ecstatic to chat to Mark Lewisohn, arguably the world’s LEADING authority on the Beatles! So ecstatic that we’ve made a two part episode, so make sure you listen to that once you’re done with this one.

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We told you we'd be back for more baby! We couldn't condense all of the Fab Four's urine filled success to one episode, so welcome to Part 2 of our bumper chat with the world's leading Beatles expert, Mark Lewisohn. In this part we're chatting US takeover, song writing style, John-Paul-George-Ringo friendships, and lots more. This is the second part of our conversation, so make sure you've listened to the Part I before feasting on this one.

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My guests are three very special ladies whom have all appeared on the show before, but this time, all three have memoirs out. Debbie Gendler was the first to appear on SATB (121: New York Stories) and her story as the 1st US fan (as far as I’m concerned) was initially laid out there. But now HER memoir has been published, I Saw Them Standing There: Adventures of an Original Fan During Beatlemania and Beyond. 

Debbie joins returning guests Carol Tyler (146: Fab 4 Mania) and Sibbie O’Sullivan (273: My Private Lennon) as they react to each other’s books. What ensued though was something bigger than what we anticipated, as the notion of collating their stories and those of other 1st-generation fans into something bigger and grander took shape. 

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It’s the greatest film of all time… Or is it? Lawrence of Arabia is a 1962 EPIC historical drama based on the life of T. E. Lawrence. It’s a tale full of familiar faces like Omar Sharif, David Lean and Peter O’Toole, and it impacted generations of film making. But how accurate is it? And how does it measure up to modern eyes? Our friend and film critic Helen O’Hara is back to talk us through it all!

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In 1961, an attack is launched on the Bay of Pigs in Cuba in an attempt to weaken Castro’s Revolution. But, the attack is a huge failure and it's shrouded in scandal and conspiracy. We have SO many questions - was the CIA actually behind it all? How did it all go so wrong? How did it lead to an escalation of the Cold War? Luckily Dr Stephen Wilkinson is back to help us sort through the weeds!

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