The New Guys: The Class That Broke the Space Ceiling with Meredith Bagby

This week, I'm talking with author and producer Meredith Bagby about her book The New Guys, which follows the NASA astronaut class of 1978, the first to include women and people of color. We get into Sally Ride's complicated legacy (first American woman in space, closeted gay icon, accidental hero of the Challenger investigation), the very real dangers of flying on a shuttle whose O-rings had failed a dozen times before anyone died, and what it means to celebrate diversity milestones when the culture is actively trying to erase them. Also: Ron McNair playing saxophone in space, Shannon Lucid befriending a canary in a freezing Russian apartment, and Judy Resnick telling Tom Brokaw where he could stick his roses. Kristen Stewart is playing Sally Ride in the Amazon series adaptation, and I genuinely cannot wait.Become a Patreon member → https://www.patreon.com/cw/MaryMahoney Get the weekly newsletter and biweekly podcast episodes FREE! For $5/month, get ad-free episodes, a monthly bonus episode, a weekly newsletter of pop culture recommendations, and more! Timestamps00:00 Intro & Patreon updates01:20 Why Mary ended up reading a space book (thanks, Taylor Jenkins Reid)03:12 Meredith watched Challenger explode live as a kid — and never forgot it05:12 The class of '78: the first astronauts who didn't all look the same07:38 Sally Ride's hero's journey: lost friends, investigated her bosses, kept a secret13:58 The Challenger investigation — O-rings, cover-ups, and a document slipped to Sally18:21 How the women in the class handled the media, the sexism, and each other24:47 Ron McNair: physicist, jazz saxophonist, one of the greats27:42 Military pilots vs. Berkeley scientists — the culture clash inside NASA31:52 Anna Fisher: surgeon, astronaut, first mom in space34:00 Shannon Lucid: hid her pregnancies, aced a final two days after giving birth, lived alone in Russia with a canary42:00 How politics and budgets shaped the Challenger disaster48:00 What this history means now — DEI rollbacks, erasure, and why these stories still matter55:30 The Amazon series, Kristen Stewart as Sally, and new Challenger revelations57:30 Outro — Patreon, Instagram, and Jessica Fletcher memesTranscriptFull episode transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1sJYZv8iwMI4BvEcFbyi8xZ5osq7KINYVpglZbcqkIUk/edit?usp=sharing Connect with Mary:Website: www.marymmahoney.comInstagram: @mimimahoneyEmail: [email protected] with Meredith Bagby:Website: https://www.meredithebagby.com/ Twitter/X: https://www.tiktok.com/@merbagby Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/merbagby/ Book: The New Guys: The Historic Class of Astronauts That Broke Barriers and Changed the Face of Space TravelLove the show? Please leave a rating and review! It helps other listeners find Landline.Sponsor Message: Landline is sponsored by Libro.Fm. Listen to your favorite books and support your local bookstores! (Link: https://tidd.ly/40tPrKb )  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.