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Want To Get Away? These Astronauts Talk About Life Off Earth, Dealing With Isolation and Facing Fears

Scott Kelly on the International Space Station. Photo: NASA
Scott Kelly on the International Space Station. Photo: NASA

Since our podcast and radio show 'Are We There Yet?' is celebrating its 4th birthday -- and many of us are quarantined at home with lots of free time -- our host Brendan Byrne is sharing his favorite conversations with astronauts.

Listen back to his picks on this "binge-able" list and be sure to subscribe to the podcast, or listen in every Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. ET on WMFE and WMFV.

Scott Kelly

Scott Kelly spent almost a year in space as part of an experiment to understand how our bodies function for an extending time in microgravity. He spoke to Byrne about the physiological challenges of life off Earth and the emotion toll isolation took on his mind. Kelly recently wrote an op-ed in the New York Times about his time in isolation and his tips for folks during the coronavirus pandemic.

LISTEN: WMFE | Apple Podcasts | Spotify

Chris Hadfield

Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield most famously spent his time isolated on the International Space Station filming a music video set to David Bowie's "Space Oddity." But Hadfield's trip wasn't all fun and games -- there was real danger. He spoke with Byrne about how he deals with fear and the unknown.

LISTEN: WMFE

Nicole Stott

Nicole Stott is a frequent flier on the podcast. On her first appearance on the show, she talks about the hobby she brought up with her for her long stay on the ISS -- a set of watercolor paints. She tells Byrne about how her time in space gave her a fresh perspective on life down on Earth.

LISTEN: WMFE | Apple Podcasts | Spotify

Bruce Melnick

Space stinks. Well, it doesn't stink until you come back. NASA astronaut Bruce Melnick talks about the wall of "smell" that hits you when you return to Earth on the Space Shuttle. Melnick also tells Byrne about the challenges of using the space toilet. Really high-brow stuff, we promise. ;-)

LISTEN: WMFE | Apple Podcasts | Spotify

Jessica Meir

Before making history as part of the first all-female spacewalk, Jessica Meir joined the podcast to talk about her expertise -- the physiology of animals in extreme environments -- and how the lessons learned will help get humans back to the moon and on to Mars.

LISTEN: WMFE | Apple Podcasts | Spotify
Do you have a favorite episode? Share it with Brendan Byrne and the rest of the space fans out there -- shoot us an email at AreWeThereYet@wmfe.org

Brendan Byrne is Central Florida Public Media's Assistant News Director, managing the day-to-day operations of the newsroom, editing daily news stories, and managing the organization's internship program. Byrne also hosts Central Florida Public Media's weekly radio show and podcast "Are We There Yet?" which explores human space exploration, and the weekly news roundup podcast "The Wrap."