When Women Win1 Apr 2019

The Untold Story of Women & Space History - Sue Nelson

This show is about women in space, in science and in history. It's only becoming mainstream knowledge now that there were many women involved in global space programs in the 1960s. As part of the Mercury 13, Wally Funk was one of the pioneering women of space travel who often outperformed male astronaut candidates in tests of endurance. But just one week before the final phase of training, the programme was abruptly cancelled. Politics and prejudice meant Wally never flew into space. Undeterred, she went on to become an accomplished pilot and America's first female aviation safety inspector.

Today's guest, Sue Nelson, is a physicist who has authored a book about Wally Funk and her colleagues of Mercury 13. You'll be shocked when you hear what they went through just to take the tests - from being divorced by their husbands to losing their jobs, these ladies pursued space and science at immense personal cost. Sue wrote this book to bring their stories, experiences and learnings to a broad audience, in the hope of inspiring girls to pursue their dreams in science, and ensuring that the huge sacrifices and contributions that female aviators have made do not get left out of history books.

Sue Nelson is an award-winning science journalist and broadcaster, formerly a BBC science correspondent and Radio 4 presenter. You can find her on Twitter and LinkedIn.

This episode was made possible by the generous support of the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature. Sue Nelson was a guest author of this year's edition, where she talked about her new book Wally Funk's Race For Space. Gift it widely!

While you're here, please do subscribe to the podcast, tap a rating or write a review! Thank you.

Denne episoden er hentet fra en åpen RSS-feed og er ikke publisert av Podme. Den kan derfor inneholde annonser.

Episoder(103)

How to Build a Business That Saves Lives - Dr. Nadine Hachach-Haram

On the 100th episode of When Women Win Nadine and I talked about inspiration, resilience, and boundaries that need breaking. As a teenager in Lebanon, Nadine saw how access to quality healthcare chang...

3 Mai 202138min

How to Lead Diverse Teams - Sebnem Avsar Tuna

I talked to Sebnem about leading a culturally diverse team – and doing it remotely. We discussed how to flex your leadership style to ensure that all your employees feel like they're treated with resp...

26 Apr 202131min

Rebecca Minkoff: Be Fearless & Follow Your Passion

In this episode Rebecca and I talked about designing your life according to your passions.` Rebecca also shared the inspiration behind her new book, Fearless: The New Rules for Unlocking Creativity, C...

19 Apr 202137min

Bola Adesola: Charting Your Own Path Through Corporate

So what did we talk about? Value alignment, purposefulness and being discerning about where you work. We also discussed key leadership traits such as introspection and reflection, and Bola gave practi...

12 Apr 202135min

Catriona Wallace: Artificial Intelligence 101 and The Heroine's Journey

Catriona demystified artificial intelligence, making it easy to understand for someone like me, who has no background in AI. We examined ethical AI, how machines are set to change the world, and her r...

5 Apr 202141min

Elif Shafak: Why Storytelling Matters

What did we discuss? Literature, discrimination and emotional intelligence. Elif & I talked about why storytelling matters in the fight for just and equality. And Elif shared some tips on how YOU can ...

29 Mar 202134min

Farah Foustok: Invest in Yourself

Farah & I talked about investing in yourself, taking risks, losing it all, cultivating grit and rebuilding from scratch. Farah shared how working in the male-dominated world of Middle Eastern finance ...

22 Mar 202136min

Zélika García: The Business & Pleasure of Art

We discussed Zélika's passion for art and how she built a business to boost Latin America's art industry, despite facing hundreds of "no"s. Zélika stressed the importance of patience and focus, and ta...

15 Mar 202138min