Robert Zimmerman is an award-winning science journalist and historian who has written six books and hundreds of articles on science, engineering, and the history of space exploration and technology. He also reports on space, science, and culture at his website, Behind the Black (http://behindtheblack.com), with millions of readers per month.
His newest book, Conscious Choice: The origins of slavery in America and why it matters today and for our future in outer space
explains the errors the British made in building their Virginia colony and how those terrible mistakes could inform us in building our own new colonies among the stars. As Robert Zubrin said, "Zimmerman's ground-breaking history provides every future generation the basic framework for establishing new societies on other worlds. We would be wise to heed what he says."
The recommendations Zimmerman made in 2017 policy paper for the Center for a New American Security, Capitalism in Space: private enterprise and competition reshape the global aerospace launch industry (https://behindtheblack.com/books/capitalism-in-space/), have been largely adopted by the government, and have helped generate the fast paced changes being wrought worldwide by the new commercial space industry. His 2008 book, The Universe in a Mirror: the saga of the Hubble Space Telescope and the visionaries who built it (Princeton University Press), tells the story of the people who conceived, built, and saved the Hubble Space Telescope, while his first book, Genesis, the story of Apollo 8 (Mountain Lake Press), available both as an ebook and audiobook (https://behindtheblack.com/books/genesis-the-story-of-apollo-8/),
describes the epic family and political tale behind the first manned mission to another world.
His magazine and newspaper articles have appeared in Astronomy, Air & Space, Science, Natural History, Wired, Invention & Technology and a host of other publications. He has also written op-eds for publications such as The Wall Street Journal, The Federalist, USA Today, American Greatness, and The National Interest. In 2000 he was co-winner of the David N. Schramm Award, given by the High Energy Astrophysics Division of the American Astronomical Society for Science Journalism, for his essay in The Sciences, "There She Blows," on the 35-year-old astronomical mystery of gamma ray bursts. His third book, Leaving Earth:
Space stations, rival superpowers, and the quest for interplanetary travel (Joseph Henry Press), won the American Astronautical Society's Eugene M. Emme Astronautical Literature Award in 2003 as that year's best space history for the general public.
Zimmerman has also written one science fiction novel, Pioneer (https://behindtheblack.com/books/pioneer/), telling the thrilling story of one man's effort to make the first contact with aliens beyond the orbit of Jupiter.
In addition to his writing, Mr. Zimmerman is also a cave explorer and cartographer, and has participated in numerous projects exploring and mapping previously unknown caves across the United States. It is this activity that has allowed him to actually "go where no one has gone before," thus providing him a better understanding of the perspective of engineers and scientists as they struggle to push the limits of human knowledge.
Guest: Robert (Bob) Zimmerman. Topics: Space X static test, Congress & commercial crew, Planetary Resources & space property rights. You are invited to comment, ask questions, and discuss the Space Show program/guest(s) on the Space Show blog, http://thespaceshow.wordpress.com. Comments, questions, and any discussion must be relevant and applicable to Space Show programming.
Guest: Robert (Bob) Zimmerman. Topics: NASA FY13 budget & space policy. White Nose Syndrome bat update. You are invited to comment, ask questions, and discuss the Space Show program/guest(s) on the Space Show blog, http://thespaceshow.wordpress.com. Comments, questions, and any discussion must be relevant and applicable to Space Show programming. Transcripts of Space Show programs are not permitted without prior written consent from The Space Show (even if for personal use) & are a violation of the Space Show copyright.
Guest: Robert (Bob) Zimmerman. Topics: Space Act Agreement, private compared to government space, Kepler planet discovery, bats. You are invited to comment, ask questions, and discuss the Space Show program/guest(s) on the Space Show blog, http://thespaceshow.wordpress.com. Comments, questions, and any discussion must be relevant and applicable to Space Show programming.
Guest: Robert (Bob) Zimmerman. Topics: Space science missions, NASA budget constraints, civil space policy issues, commercial space, space politics. You are invited to comment, ask questions, and discuss the Space Show program/guest(s) on the Space Show blog, http://thespaceshow.wordpress.com. Comments, questions, and any discussion must be relevant and applicable to Space Show programming.
Guest: Robert (Bob) Zimmerman. Topics: Space policy and space news updates, commercial space. You are invited to comment, ask questions, and discuss the Space Show program/guest(s) on the Space Show blog, http://thespaceshow.wordpress.com. Comments, questions, and any discussion must be relevant and applicable to Space Show programming. Transcripts of Space Show programs are not permitted without prior written consent from The Space Show (even if for personal use) & are a violation of the Space Show copyright.
Guest: Robert (Bob) Zimmerman. Topics: Space X, commercial space, human spaceflight, government regulation, government space programs. Please note that you are invited to comment, ask questions, and discuss the Space Show program/guest(s) on the Space Show blog, http://thespaceshow.wordpress.com. Comments, questions, and any discussion must be relevant and applicable to Space Show programming. Bob began our discussion with a reference to the Space X announcement about Falcon 9 Heavy made by Elon Musk on Tuesday, April 5, 2011.
Guest: Robert (Bob) Zimmerman. Topics: NASA FY 11 and newly released FY 12 budgets. Please note that you are invited to comment, ask questions, and discuss the Space Show program/guest(s) on the Space Show blog, http://thespaceshow.wordpress.com. Comments, questions, and any discussion must be relevant and applicable to Space Show programming. Also check out Bob's blog at http://behindtheblack.com.
Guest: Robert (Bob) Zimmerman. Topics: Apollo 8 Genesis Christmas eve flight around the Moon 42 years ago, 2010 in review, 2011 forecast. Please note that you are invited to comment, ask questions, and rate this program on the new Space Show blog, http://thespaceshow.wordpress.com. For more information, visit Bob's blog, Behindtheblack at http://behindtheblack.com. We started our program by remembering the Apollo 8 flight which flew around the Moon 42 years ago today.
Guest: Robert Zimmerman. Topics: Election impact on space. Please note that you are invited to comment, ask questions, and rate this program on the new Space Show blog, http://thespaceshow.wordpress.com. We welcomed Robert (Bob) Zimmerman back to the show to discuss the impact of the recent congressional elections on space policy and programs. This was a difficult topic to address because nobody really has a clear idea of what will happen with the new congress let alone the Lame Duck congress that resumes work on Nov. 15 of this year.
Guest: Robert Zimmerman. Topics: U.S. Space policy, heavy lift, commercial space. We welcomed Bob Zimmerman back to The Space Show to discuss the passage by the House of Representatives of S.3729 known as the NASA Authorization Bill. Please note that you are invited to comment, ask questions, and rate this program on the new Space Show blog, http://thespaceshowoutsidethebox.blogspot.com.
If you prefer donating with a check, please make the check payable to One Giant Leap Foundation. Mail it to One Giant Leap Foundation, 11035 Lavender Hill Drive Ste. 160-306 Las Vegas ,NV 89135
Sunday: 12:00 - 1:30 PM (PT)
Monday: 2:00 - 3:30 PM (PT)
Tuesday: 7:00 - 8:30 PM (PT)
Friday: 9:30 - 11:00 AM (PT)
Other weekday times can be morning , afternoon, or evening as you will see from the program schedule below. When you see Wednesday or Thursday program options, it is because of my travel schedule and I am adding in special shows at the time chosen by the guest. The John Batchelor Hotel Mars segment is always Wednesday, 6:30-6:45 PM Pacific Time. All Hotel Mars shows are archived as Space Show programs.
Dr. David Livingston is available for business consulting and speaking engagements. Please contact him for specifics. You can reach Dr. Livingston by email at drspace@thespaceshow.com or (415) 455-9076.
Toll free for live broadcasts: 866-687-7223 | Space Show Office: 702-266-8743
© Copyright 2017 Dr. David M Livingston & One Giant Leap Foundation All rights reserved. No part of Space Show audio and video programs may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including but not limited to photocopying, recording, edits, transcripts, website uploads, including YouTube or other electronic or mechanical methods, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by Fair Use under 17 U.S.C. § 107, without the prior written permission of One Giant Leap Foundation. For permission requests, write to Dr. David M. Livingston, The Space Show, 11035 Lavender Hill Drive, Ste. 160-306, Las Vegas, NV 89135 USA.
The Space Show® wants to provide you with timely and relevant information on space issues and policy influencing the development of outer-space commerce, space tourism, exploration, planetary science, as well as other related space subjects of interest to us all.
The Space Show
C/O Dr. David Livingston
11035 Lavender Hill Drive
Ste. 160-306
Las Vegas, NV 89135
OFFICE TEL: 1-702-268-8743
LIVE SHOW TOLL FREE: 1-866-687-7223
EMAIL: drspace@thespaceshow.com
